OT: snowblowers

[easylistener]

I need a snowblower. I was looking into a toro single stage but just don't know. Any suggestions or problems. I live in wisconsin and see some snow but the last couple of years not that much.

[Champagne taste beer budget]

I live in Minnesota, near Brainerd, and though we haven't had the usual amounts of snow the last couple years, I'd still opt for a two-stage. You're gonna be kicking yourself till April if you get a weaker unit than you end up needing. The 2 stage will handle the deeper, wetter stuff, whereas the single stage will make a good place to hang up your coat when you start sweating trying to shovel out 14" of wet stuff. JMHO, YMMW, etc etc etc.

[boomer9911]

EL, being from the Great White North, TORO is good, also check out Sears, I would say check out Canadian Tire but you don't have them in the US.

Your lucky, we got snow 2 weeks ago(6") and it's still hangin around..

Depends on what you want to spend, you can ALWAYS go over it after with a shovel to get the leftovers so to speak....

but it does depend on your snowfall and temperature(electric doesn't work good in -20C+)...how much snow, how often it happens. do you need physical exercise as well....beer and hockey thing

[garymd]

My wife talked me into getting the electric Toro 1800 "snowthrower" which I fought tooth and nail against. Thought it wouldn't do the job and was a sissy blower. I was dead wrong. We don't often get huge storms and if we do, it'll do me no good unless I blow the driveway every couple hours. However, anything up to 10" and it works great! You can get them new for about $280 if I remember correctly and I see them being sold used in the pennysaver and other places for about $100 - $200.

[oscarsear]

Glad to hear that the Toro 1800 works good for short falls. I just got one and it feels like a toy more than a machine. Doesn't snow much where I'm at either and I'm only going to clear nice, neat concrete.

[Bruinsrme]

Ariens 8 or 10 hp. model 1028 first choice......

Things to look for

hand warmers laugh but they are great

Chute adjsutment last year this became standard on most; changes the throw angle, VERY VERY handy

electric start standard on most

light very handy if it aint snowing

Something else to consider, I prefer the wider mouth. The reason for this is it cuts wider than the tires and reduces the number of passes. but the engine is too small wit the wider intake the blower will bog down.

REVERSE oh makes live great

model 8526

this is mine

http://www.ariens.com/snow_products/professional_sno_thros/926_dle/

[Royster]

I live in Appleton Wisconsin. So we have the same winters. I upgraded to the John Deere 1336. It is the largest in that line. It is 13 hp and a 36" wide cut and 34" tall. I found that just as important as a good 2 stage section, the height of the auger housing is really important. When the snow plow plows the driveway in, I can cut throught it in one pass.

A big blower can do all that a small one can and much more. If you don't buy enough blower, get ready to do some shoveling.

Both Deere and Ariens are Wi companys.

Hope this helps,

Roy

[sfogg]

Definitly agree on the Ariens recommendations. I bought an 1124 last year and it was great. Cuts through everything no problem at all. The hand warmers were actually really nice too as was the headlight. The other feature that worked out well was the locking differential. That made cutting into the frozen banks from the plows much easier to deal with.

Home Depot sells Ariens but they seem to be sort of stripped down models. It wouldn't hurt to go to an Ariens dealer to see what they have there as the price isn't much different but they had more features. At least that was what it looked like to me when I was buying it last year.Go quick though as at least around me they sell out for the season pretty quickly. I bought my 1124 in like Sept. and it was the last one they were going to get for the year. The winter before that was really bad so they apparently had an early rush on them last year.

As far as the John Deere's go I think they are just rebadged Ariens blowers that are painted green with slightly different options on them. My father has a few year old John Deere and it is definitly an Ariens blower.

As far as the single stage blowers go if you have any sort of hills and such keep in mind most/all of them are not really self propelled. They can pull themselves forward from digging into the snow to throw it but if they aren't actively throwing snow you have to push it. If you have a very flat area to clear that probably isn't a big thing but if not it would be.

Shawn

[J.4knee]

I'm glad I live in So Cal.

[picky]

easylistener: A couple of things:

You've already said that you live in Wisconson and that the snowfall has been "not so much" the last couple of years. But you failed to mention just how much concrete you have to clear. That's a huge factor, as well as what your budget is.

A large, two-stage machine is great if you have a large budget and receive lots of deep, wet, slushy snowfall and you have a long or circular driveway to clear. But, they are quite heavy and cumbersome if you own a "postage stamp" of a lot like I do. I don't see you lifting one up to clear your front porch any time soon. And, if your neighbor's house is very close to your driveway, be mindful of the fact that the two-stage units really throw that snow and ice a great distance. If you use one around my place, you'll be buying new side windows and siding on your neighbor's house! Two-stage machines can be expensive to buy and to run as they also use a lot more fuel to run those large engines.

Now, I have nothing against two-stage units. I simply want you to think of what is most practical for your particular situation. I've had numerous snow-throwers over the last 26 years (Toro, Snapper & Jacobsen). I live near Detroit, Michigan and our annual snowfall tends to be right around 40 inches per season. I have a 10 to 12 foot wide driveway that is approximately 80 feet long. I have a small private walk, a front porch and a public sidewalk that is 50 feet long. I have found that an electric snowblower will not cut the mustard when it comes to the wetter snowfalls we get here, nor will the smaller gas-powered units under 20".

Out of all the snowthrowers I've had, my 2-cycle engine, 20", single-stage Toro tends to give me the best performance overall and I would not buy one without electric start. The 20" throws both powder and slushy, heavy snow, yet it is light enough for me to lift and clear my front porch if needed. You can even hang it on the wall for storage if you wish. The 2-cycle engine runs in a superior fashion to a 4-stroke engine is frigid weather, plus it is lighter in weight. I would expect to get 7 to 10 years out of a snowthrower. 5-to 7 years if you live where salt is used on the roads as I do. I hope this information helps you decide.

[Cleve]

Here in WNY, I own a 5 hp MTD Yard Machine 2 stage 24" with sno-hog tires, 5 forward speeds, 2 in reverse It's manual start, but the Techumseh Snow King Engine always starts on the first pull, even in subzero temperatures, and with compression release you could pull it with two fingers. Been a very reliable, good performing machine other than a shear pin now and then. I paid all of $440 dollars for it new back in november 1995, have never regreted it. I live in a region that averages 100" a year, and have NEVER encountered a snowfall it couldn't handle easily, even when we got 26" one day, with a follow up 18" the NEXT day! A single-stage, however, won't cut the mustard with that much snow, especially at the end of the driveway where the plow fills in the heavy stuff.

[easylistener]

Thanks for the input.

My real problem is that I can not shovel, or shouldn't. I have used a lot of differnt two stage blowers before and they have a real hard time with the one or two inch falls. which is where most of the shoveling comes in. I would say the last four years we only had one snow fall above four inches a year. I guess if I have to put work in to shoveling I would rather do it one time a year than 15 times.

I have a three car wide driveway and it is about 40 feet long. I have fifty feet of sidewalk and a front stoop.

[Bruinsrme]

Dancing with a snow blower can be a serious workout. In 20 degree weather I wear a t shirt and light LLBean squall jacket or I remove the line from my 686 snowboarding jacket, and I am sweating like there is no tomorrow...

Home depot Arien Models seem stripped down but still work. Keep in mind these things can get heavy.

[easylistener]

I bought one so people in WI we aren't going to get any snow.

I bought the toro 3650 GTS. It is a good little mech. It has the 5 year start warrenty by the 2 pull. I got electric start though.

[Piranha]

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On 11/4/2004 9:32:50 AM J.4knee wrote:

I'm glad I live in So Cal.

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Me too. Plus I kinda like the beach.

[Audio Flynn]

I have a Simplicity 7 hp electric start 2 stage.

It is only needed 3-5 times per year.

It is always good to have a more robust unit than you need.

then you can still have the time to help a couple of elderly people nearby with their snow as a good deeed for the day.

[cluless]

Is there a snowblower that will SAFELY work on a gravel drive?

[easylistener]

two stage ones work the best for gravel. Just raise the runners up so it doesn't pick up the gravel

[Cleve]

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On 11/7/2004 9:39:35 AM cluless wrote:

Is there a snowblower that will SAFELY work on a gravel drive?

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Yes, with the skids raised to their highest setting, my snowblower has worked well in a dirt driveway for the last 4 years. I think I've only broken one shear pin in all that time

[tonyko]

.....live the dream, should have bought a Honda