Snow Blowers... The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Calling all snow blower owners out there! Sorry if this has been done I just didn't see anything posted when I searched for snow blower suggestions.

Anywho, I've finally gotten sick and tired of shoveling my driveway and have talked the misses into investing in a snow blower. I was going to go with the ATV/plow combo but I've decided to go the snow blower route. I've got my eye on a few 2 stagers but wanted to get some real world feedback from you hoarders out there. Our budget is about a grand and it'll be used to move about 4 to 5000 sq ft of snow. Our winters aren't too bad but we do get a few burly storms each year that'll drop a couple feet in short spurts.

I'd like to get your take on what brands you like, what features you like and ones you can do without, that sort of stuff. Anyways thanks for the feedback!

 

Good choice! Atv's don't push snow very well! Worse yet, they can't push it back far enough to leave room for the next snowfall to be cleared...

If your getting big snowfalls, several inches to feet at a time, I think I'd want a 2 stage.

 

Are you talking walk behind?

If so, my input would be Ariens or Toro.

If money is not so much an object, Honda.

I would not look at anything else.

I have an 826 Toro. With chains on the wheels. It throws snow like crazy.

 

I have a toro. Very good machine.

 

I may get snow had a 40 inch day and half dump here 6 months ago

I have had. First # hp 2nd width
1972 Toro 724
1978 Toro 824
1980 Toro 824

They work great still at rental properties.. Need to be rigged to run as parts are getting hard to find..

48 inch blower on front of 18 hp cub cadet garden tractor blew my

46 inch blower front on JD rider blew tranny.

Found a great deal Honda 7 24 hydro with tracks used for 6 years never died never failed to start.. Gravel drive broke shear pins at road where town plows 5 times a season!! took 5 hours to open drive and garage every 12 inches!! Still got it won't sell it great backup!!

Quarter mile drive. Another 1/4 acre between barn house and garage to open.. See avatar. 45 minutes!!

 

I've had great luck with Airens products. I do recommend getting a big one even if you have to buy a nice used one. A bigger one doesn't get hung up and stop and slip as much as a smaller one.

 

Michigan snow and Pa snow are much different!
Anything can push fluffy snow.
even that yamaha

 

Have a Honda HSS928ATD... 28”. Tracks. Electric start.. 3 years running strong.. very happy with it... hope to never have to buy another one...

 

What ever you get I recommend a steel chute. Seen a few cracked and broken plastic ones

I've had a small Ariens 24" for a few years now and it has performed as well or better than expected. I bought the Ariens as it had the farthest throwing power I could find. I routinely blow snow from my driveway across the road in a 20'+ arc. My neighbours craftman with more hp can can barely dribble the same snow 5-6'.

Another feature I like on the Ariens is the fuel turn off. After each time I blow I turn off the fuel and idle the carb dry. Next time I use it, which is sometimes next season, I just turn on the fuel, prime the bulb a few times and pull. I was surprised that the few times it took a second pull that it didn't start on the first. Only used my electric start once just to try it.

A light would come in handy at times but relatively easy to add after the fact.

 

I have a Sears 28", two stage.
Just by chance, this one was on sale at the time
w/electric start....as in plug it in electric start. Get it.
It does really well.
I have learned that if it drops 6", blow it.
It works much better and efficient in small amounts.
I don't wait for a foot or 18" to blow.
I spray the catcher/augers/second stage blades and shoot w/WD40
before each session. Really keeps things moving.
If you can, let it thaw out between sessions.

 

I'll stand by Ariens for sure. Reliable, fixable, parts are cheap and plentiful. I think front drive/steer is more things to break, and heated grips are overrated. Never gotten cold fingers blowing snow - gripping the throttle, turning and angling the chute, etc keep the hands working plenty. Get a waterproof set of gloves and live happy.

Speaking of waterproof, the best snowblower accessory to have imo is a nice ski mask that goes down the neck a ways over your undershirt and below the coat. It works wonders for keeping blowing snow out of the neck area! My old man sent one up as a gift a few years back, a nice breathable Under Armor job - saved me worlds of suffering. My driveway is at the edge of an acre+ field and the wind is constant. With the house being right on the other side of the drive, I try to blow toward the field. I go in looking like the Abominable Snowman every time, but with the hood piece and thermals I'm still warm. ☺

 

I have a John Deere 1130se, does a good job...but it has never seen the snow that you see! Good luck getting something that meets your needs.

 

I'm in the Toro clan too. I bought mine in '98. Don't know what model it is but I know it has an 8hp Tecumseh. It always work very well. Then we didn't have snow for a couple years and it sat idle in the shed. When I got it out to use it the carb was all gunked up. I had never run it out of gas. I didn't feel like tearing it apart and rebuilding it so I just bought a new carb for $60. 10 minutes to change it over. Good as new.

 

I hafta agree with a 2 stage...but gonna beg to differ on the ATV comment.
When I worked for the bike dealership, we plowed the whole place with an ATV and 5' blade...and our snow piles were just as high as the piles at the grocery store next door that had their lot plowed by truck. The only difference was we drove up onto the pile and pushed up over the back if more room was needed...and they just pushed the whole pile up with their truck...different methods with the same results...and yes...it was usually a Yamaha...guess those Polaris' just can't hang...

If you are thinking a walk behind unit, and have a gravel drive...that's a real PITA!

 

nope. you guessed wrong... I was using a yamaha back then...before I graduated to the Polaris...

 

Ariens. They make the best walk behind snowblowers. The Honda may cost more, but I don't think they are better than Ariens.

Iirc, all Ariens have all steel chutes. They have well built gearcases, as well as every part of them.

 

Have you considered putting up a snow fence or two. Sounds like you have a good spot to use one along that field. This would stop a lot of wind blown snow getting to your driveway.

Another trick we used to use for wind blown snow filling up the drive way was to blow a couple of trenches in the snow parallel to the drive but back +/- 10, and/or 20' on the wind side. The blowing snow would get caught up in these trenches and fill them up long before drifting and filling up the driveway.

 

I have had Ariens snowblowers and they have worked well. I now use an atv with plow and have no problems with moving snow. You have to plan ahead and push that first snow far enough to leave room for the next. Heavy snows do take a bit longer just as it would with a snowblower. And it's more fun than walking around behind a snowblower. As mentioned, if you have a gravel driveway,as I have, it will beat the heck out of the blower.

 

I'm not sure if you guys have them in the US or not, but I've got an MTD Yardworks. I've had mine for 18 years and it's still going strong. Still, I don't recommend them. The sides of the auger box tended to bend in until I reinforced them. The wonderful self tapping screwed that they used to hold the first stage auger bearings in place snapped off in the first year. I replaced them with stainless steel bolts and lock nuts. The skid plates that the auger box ride on wore out pretty quickly. I just cut a couple of pieces of steel that forklift forks are made of and welded them onto the bottom of a new set of plates and haven't had to touch them since.

The one thing it has that has never missed a beat is the Tecumseh Snow King engine. That thing is bullet proof. Unfortunately, they stopped making them when Tecumseh decided to get out of the small engine business.