OT: SNOW Blowers

geniusintraining

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geniusintraining
Join Date
Jun 2005
Location
SC
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So not that I have not been around snow, I lived in southern MI but was not reasonable for the removal, now I am getting to damn old to shovel it and since we dont get a lot I saw this the other day... and was wondering if any of you northern folks had seen any

https://snowjoe.com/collections/snow-blowers-shovels-cordless

I was thinking about the shovel kit. its more just for the walk ways at my shop and house, so cordless should work good for me
 
In my opinion there are only two brands of snowblowers. One is Ariens and all the rest aren't. When I bought mine it came with an option I never would have considered but now I wouldn't go without. Heated handle grips.
My next door neighbor has a snowblower for snow storms and a powered snow shovel for light accumulations. Both are gas powered. I'd plan on having more than just one spare battery for a tool that gets used in the cold. I'd hate to have the battery go dead just as I got to the end of the driveway where I have to clear the slush piled up by the town snowplow.
 
The shovel sounds good for walkways.

I have a Snowjoe with wheels i.e. one up from the powered shovel, it's coreded so I can't speak to cordless issues (inch-sq-ft of snow per charge). It's almost all plastic and I've only had it for one season so far, but as long as I keep the various wingnuts tight, and I get out every 10 inches or so it does the job pretty painlessly. My son has the same one and handled a two-foot cold snowfall a few years ago, although it went slowly. It will not handle a large pile of slush from the plow at the end of the driveway, but it can deal with a couple-three inches of same.

You are in SC, so you do not have the benefit of upstate NY where wet snow is less common; even my mid-1970s gas-powered Toro, which was not an Ariens but still a beast, had trouble when it was wet.
 
That is supposed to be one of the better brands, but I doubt that it would really move much snow. It might work to remove a couple of inches of light fluffy snow, but not much more than that.
 
Do you have a riding lawnmower? I've seen snow thrower attachments that go on the front of them. Might want to look into that.

I haven't tried the battery powered snow blower - but I can't live without my battery powered weed-eater and chainsaw now. I really don't miss having to mix the oil + gas and pull starting them.

I think from the snow blower perspective, it would be nice to not have to clean up the snow blower year after year, change the gas (or use stabilizer) and wonder whether it will start. It should be a case of just pulling it off the shelf and using it.
 
Battery powered lawn equipment -;););)


I have seen runtimes of only a few minutes. I have a DeWalt reciprocating saw that a full battery that will run a drill or impact 2 full days only lasts 5 minutes in the saw. And not just one battery - I have 6 large ones and about 8 small batteries.




Maybe in SC or GA where a blizzard may dump a whole 1/2", but Michigan's 14 to 18" dumps i have a 4 stoke Ariens with at least 10 gallons of gas in cans.


I used to work for the Michigan Ariens distributor in the 80's and it is a very well built line that holds up as long as you don't use it as a manure spreader in August (actually happened)
 
Many years ago I worked with a man that had designed snow blowers. He said there were two things needed for success: the blower should be two-stage, and the motor should be 5 hp or greater.

Snow-throwers like the so-called power shovels don't cut it for anything but light fluffy snow, and not too much of that. Heavy wet snows, which is when your back and heart really need the help, require a real snowblower.
 
Thanks guys, I moved to the mountains of NC a couple years back its about 3,500 feet here and we get maybe a couple feet a year, I still remember the lake affect snow from western MI but we get nothing like that and yes I am only looking to clear the walkways and steps.

Since they had the sale I bought one, so the next time it snows I will let you know if it does anything, the guy that mows my grass also has a blower that does my drive but I only call him when we get 4 inches plus

I am only a couple miles from App ski mountain but most of their snow is man made anyway https://appskimtn.com/live-cams

This is what I am trying to stop... https://ring.com/share/2eb19603-2a99-4e52-8410-334bb69acdf4

In that video there are two of us here that day (last Monday) and we were joking that only one can shovel the snow... that way someone can call 911 when we drop out
 
How many control engineers does it take to shovel a driveway?

I thought the NC snow plan was wait for it to melt. That's what we did when we lived in VA.

I like how the ergonomic shovel makes the anti-ergonomic effect of shoveling in slippers even worse.



LOL.
 
I'm with Steve Bailey on this one but, as you can tell from my user info, I'm a little biased.

Based on the cost of the powered shovels shown in the link it is probably worth giving them a rip. But I would be a little suspect of them being able to clear something that makes you fear for your health. Just keep your expectations low and hopefully you are pleasantly surprised.

Keith
 
Steve Bailey said:
In my opinion there are only two brands of snowblowers. One is Ariens and all the rest aren't. When I bought mine it came with an option I never would have considered but now I wouldn't go without. Heated handle grips.
My next door neighbor has a snowblower for snow storms and a powered snow shovel for light accumulations. Both are gas powered. I'd plan on having more than just one spare battery for a tool that gets used in the cold. I'd hate to have the battery go dead just as I got to the end of the driveway where I have to clear the slush piled up by the town snowplow.
Click to expand...

I worked at Ariens for a few years in the snowblower plant. I can say they are great quality and there is a lot put in to their development. I would suggest getting an Ariens, a deluxe 28 inch or larger with heated hand grips is an incredible machine.
On a side note, I heard from people at a competitor that shall remain nameless, that for quite some time their main target on snowblowers was "how do we beat Ariens" as far as I am concerned they haven't yet.
 

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