Someone recommend a snow blower.

[RLGL]

Ariens for me.

+1

 

[snoopy7548]

Another Ariens. I have a 24" Deluxe I bought about four years ago and it hasn't skipped a beat. It powers through the heavy crap the plow leaves at the end of the driveway, even when it has been almost 3' high. I don't see the point in heated handles if you wear gloves, but the auto-turn feature is nice.

I use 87 octane (10% ethanol) with Sta-bil marine additive and drain the gas/run it dry every spring and change the oil and spark plug so it's all ready to go in the winter.

Tip - silicone spray on the auger and chute helps a lot to prevent snow from building up. Also works great under the deck of a lawnmower. The first time you use it you'll be amazed at how much farther the snow is thrown!

 

[Exterous]

There's also no sense to oversize a snowblower, with the way climate change is, we're only going to continue getting less snow, not more.

Now now - given the people in charge world wide there is always the chance of a nuclear winter so I'd look for an oversized snowblower with optional CBRN attachments

 

[paperfist]

Dunno about snowblowers, but heated grips are an extravagance. I wouldn't waste money on that. That's what gloves are for.

Kinda frilly, but I like the idea as gloves get too hot after a while. I think at the 30" size I'd want it's basically a throw in.

I would not get tank threads, as it makes it hard to move it when it's off. With wheels at least you can still move it around. There's also no sense to oversize a snowblower, with the way climate change is, we're only going to continue getting less snow, not more. I usually shovel the snow all to one side, or to the middle and then use snow blower to throw it in the yard. Unless we get a big snow fall where it's like a foot then I'll use snowblower to do whole thing. The nice thing with the snow blower is getting rid of the snow bank when plow passes overnight as it makes it much faster to get to work on time after a snow storm.

Great point, something I didn't consider with the tracks. I'm not sure I agree with you prognosis on global warming, we already got dumped on pretty early this year. Last year we got a bunch of 3' - 4' snow dumps.

Yeah, I don't mind shoveling but the way my driveway is setup there's like 2' of grass on the right side where I can put snow and after that's filled you either move the stuff 30' to the front or back of the house which isn't happening when it's slush.

Now now - given the people in charge world wide there is always the chance of a nuclear winter so I'd look for an oversized snowblower with optional CBRN attachments

So I should look for the giger counter option when buying?

 

[UnklSnappy]

I thought you all had heated driveways.

 

[lxskllr]

I thought you all had heated driveways.

I do!

8 months out of the year :^P

I shovel very little. If 4x4 can't get me out, I just stay home and get to it when I can. I'll shovel the minimum necessary to get 4x4 to work. Getting back in can be an adventure, especially when the ruts get iced. Line up, hit the gas, then slam into the ruts til they catch like tracks. My back bothers me too much for stupid shit like moving snow. I have enough food to wait til spring if I have to.

 

[rstrohkirch]

I'm still rocking a 2000ish 26" 9hp electric start Craftsman my dad gave me 7 to 8 years ago. I just drain the carb and tank when I put it away for the spring and change the oil every other season. Works great. If I had to buy my own I would be buying used personally just because I'm comfortable with small engine repair and man these things are expensive new.

 

[NetWareHead]

What do you guys think of:
3 stage?
Heated grips?
Tank treads instead of tires?

Not convinced by 3 stage. I think its an advertising gimmick to differentiate on a slightly different auger design. Nothing is wrong with 2 stage. Pay more attention to tons of snow per hour, distance figures and other features.

heated grips are a luxury but I wouldnt dismiss a snowblower if it didnt have it. You can always wear gloves or use those heated pouches you an slip into your gloves.
Threads are great when you have to snowblow a driveway with slope or when operating on ice. They just get better traction than wheels especially when trying to push the machine through stubborn snow where a wheeled blower would just spin the tires. They are slightly more of a pain than wheels to move around. I have a tracked honda blower and I can put the transmission into neutral which lets me push the machine the same as if it were on wheels.

 

[ra1nman]

I've always gone through Craigslist for snowblowers. In 18 years being in WI I've gone through 2 other Ariens 5hp. From what I've experienced so far, 5hp is the sweet spot as it's easy enough to break out during light and moderate snow and hand shovel the rest. It would definitely struggle with wet packed slush but that's where hand shoved came in. I splurged this past August picked up a 8hp yard machines from the 90's. I figure with a newborn at home, I'm trying to get thing done quick instead. One thing I found unusual is that this unit included a box that you fill up with 15-20lbs sand to weigh down the front end? The only conveniences that I've come across using other machines are a headlight and an electric start.

There was 1 year where we had over 3' of snow and fairly large drifts and our neighbor had a beast of a machine that had dual augers and treads. Where a lot of 2 stage blowers were struggling, that machine was like a hot knife through butter at the end of driveways. That was probably the only snow fall that I saw having treads was worth it. Now that i think about it, it was the only time I've seen him use it.

 

[Gunbuster]

Here is the important part: Buy a bunch of shear pins. When you gobble up a stick or soggy/frozen news paper you will appreciate having those spare on hand.

 

[PingSpike]

I have a Toro 10hp and a pain in the ass hill driveway (Probably around 200-250ft long) as well as a parking area. It also snows a lot where I am since I'm part way up in the mountains.

Mine is wheeled, I actually think treads would be harder to use since I end up doing a surprising amount of muscling around. Never tried treads though so couldn't say. Even though the driveway gets pretty icy I haven't had much trouble climbing the hill, the snowblower grips better than I do typically. I remember thinking I'd need to buy a set of chains for icy conditions 10 years ago but I never got around to it so I guess I don't need them.

The toro has a plastic chute with a quick move joystick thing. The joystick thing is really fast to change directions and works pretty well. Lots of people are worried about the plastic, I've shot fist sized chucks of asphalt and lots of my driveway stone out that chute, not to mention plenty of ice and snow. At this point I'm inclined to believe Toro's claim that it is not a problem.

I use treated ethanol gas because its a pain in the ass to find non-ethanol. I change the oil but am to lazy to drain the gas every season. The one time I did was the time I had by far the hardest time getting it started next season. I also don't believe in the "Save your $300 mower by pouring rancid gas into your $30,000 car" line of thinking. Also not a fan of the "just go dump it in the woods, I'm sure none of it will get into your well water" line of thinking either. So I burn it in the engine and inhale the fumes for good health.

There's no shear pins on this unit. The sales guy said the magic gearbox handles it when it devours part of the town's crumbling road by accident. I guess that's sort of true. This unit has a number of nervous ticks it has developed over the years but it has NEVER jammed and stalled.

I used to think heated hand grips were for fairies but I was forced to snowblow in extreme cold last year or the year before and I finally kind of wished I had them as my thick gloves were defeated. But that has been a rare occurrence so I still don't think its a must have feature or anything.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I found you can use the exhaust to warm up your hands and inside of your gloves. But then your gloves smell like exhaust. lol.

 

[NetWareHead]

The toro has a plastic chute with a quick move joystick thing. The joystick thing is really fast to change directions and works pretty well. Lots of people are worried about the plastic, I've shot fist sized chucks of asphalt and lots of my driveway stone out that chute, not to mention plenty of ice and snow. At this point I'm inclined to believe Toro's claim that it is not a problem.

Ive had the opposite happen to me with plastic discharge chutes. And have heard about others having no issues with plastic. My only explanation is perhaps it is due to the grade of the plastic and brittleness in cold weather.
I had a craftsmen 11 HP snowblower. Nice machine but everything was steel except for the discharge chute: plastic. So I one day ate some of the ice/packed snow placed there by the plow at the end of the driveway. The ice chunks shooting out of the chute rocked it back and forth so badly it eventually snapped at its attachment points and detached entirely. So the snow, without a discharge chute shot straight up and landed on the running machine. Useless. Bought a replacement chute and used it for rest of the winter when I noticed the replacement chute was beginning to crack at the same place. Out of frustration I sold it and got myself a Honda, all metal construction. IMO plastic doesnt belong on a heavy duty snowblower part.

 

[PingSpike]

Ive had the opposite happen to me with plastic discharge chutes. And have heard about others having no issues with plastic. My only explanation is perhaps it is due to the grade of the plastic and brittleness in cold weather.
I had a craftsmen 11 HP snowblower. Nice machine but everything was steel except for the discharge chute: plastic. So I one day ate some of the ice/packed snow placed there by the plow at the end of the driveway. The ice chunks shooting out of the chute rocked it back and forth so badly it eventually snapped at its attachment points and detached entirely. So the snow, without a discharge chute shot straight up and landed on the running machine. Useless. Bought a replacement chute and used it for rest of the winter when I noticed the replacement chute was beginning to crack at the same place. Out of frustration I sold it and got myself a Honda, all metal construction. IMO plastic doesnt belong on a heavy duty snowblower part.

I'd be inclined to blame crapsman build quality, but maybe I just have been lucky.

 

[shortylickens]

I got my fuckin Kobalt snow shitter today.

Will let you dingleberries know how the hell it works as soon as we get more snow.
If it sucks, I will kill myself.

And blame it on Obama.

 

[paperfist]

Ive had the opposite happen to me with plastic discharge chutes. And have heard about others having no issues with plastic. My only explanation is perhaps it is due to the grade of the plastic and brittleness in cold weather.
I had a craftsmen 11 HP snowblower. Nice machine but everything was steel except for the discharge chute: plastic. So I one day ate some of the ice/packed snow placed there by the plow at the end of the driveway. The ice chunks shooting out of the chute rocked it back and forth so badly it eventually snapped at its attachment points and detached entirely. So the snow, without a discharge chute shot straight up and landed on the running machine. Useless. Bought a replacement chute and used it for rest of the winter when I noticed the replacement chute was beginning to crack at the same place. Out of frustration I sold it and got myself a Honda, all metal construction. IMO plastic doesnt belong on a heavy duty snowblower part.

I have a Craftsman with the same issue. Mine shattered on the 3rd use and I was like hmm I guess that plastic chute was really a bad idea after all. I used some duct work I had laying around to line the chute and ordered a replacement one. I never had to change it as the repair one has held up but the rest of the machine is falling apart.

How do you like your Honda? They look pretty sweet and have hydrostatic drives! Lol

Controls are at the top where they should be. My only hesitation is the price at the 30” ones are over $2k

 

[NetWareHead]

I have a Craftsman with the same issue. Mine shattered on the 3rd use and I was like hmm I guess that plastic chute was really a bad idea after all. I used some duct work I had laying around to line the chute and ordered a replacement one. I never had to change it as the repair one has held up but the rest of the machine is falling apart.

How do you like your Honda? They look pretty sweet and have hydrostatic drives! Lol

Controls are at the top where they should be. My only hesitation is the price at the 30” ones are over $2k

I say this without reservation but IMO Hondas are the best snowblowers one can buy. Commercial grade honda GX engine. (Go to an outdoor power equipment rental place and 90% of the engines will be the red honda GX motors.) Easy to use and turn; no more heaving the machine to one side to help it turn. Hydrostatic transmission allows you to pick the speed that is just right, no more 3 fixed speeds. I remember reading honda is doing away with shear pins as the hydrostatic transmission senses a blockage and stops the auger/blower; no more changing shear pins in the dark cold driveway. Built rugged and built to last.
I have 2 hondas. One of mine was purchased in 1994 and is still working great. Nothing has been replaced on it but consumables; gas, oil, belt, tires skid plate and normal adjustments. (I follow a strict winterization/off season program and treat all my gasoline for ethanol). It has a 5 hp engine and would out-throw my old 11 hp craftsman. The other honda has to be 20+ years old and sat in a garage for more than a decade. Original gasoline in the tank, the oil in the sump had turned to sludge. Tires had gone flat and dry-rotted. The carb was salvageable but not cost economical to fix so I had the carb replaced. Engine runs strong and performs great.
I know they are expensive; some of the priciest snowblowers Ive ever seen but it very well could be the last snowblower you would have to buy. It's not even a contest if you have the cash, hands down honda kills it. I'm a cheap fuck but spend big money on things I'll have for a really long time and are important.

 

[kage69]

Yep Ariens is what I went with too. Have a 24" 2 stage. No heated handles but it's an optional add-on. One of those things that's kind of nice to have I imagine, but not more than that. What I need to invest in is heated gloves. Any time I do anything outside it's my hands that get so cold. Rest of my body is fine but my hands get cold easily.

Before you go out, like 30-45min prior, go get your hands cold in the sink with water. Like, cold cold. Then, when you're at the "ok, enough" point, warm your hands up with friction, and by rubbing them together to get the circulation back and hands warm. No cheating with heating elements or it doesn't work. Your hands should now stay warm for the outdoor stuff, or at least much warmer than they were. Logging trick from oldtimer Mainiacs, has always worked for me. Doing this long term makes your hands more resistant to the cold IMO.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Before you go out, like 30-45min prior, go get your hands cold in the sink with water. Like, cold cold. Then, when you're at the "ok, enough" point, warm your hands up with friction, and by rubbing them together to get the circulation back and hands warm. No cheating with heating elements or it doesn't work. Your hands should now stay warm for the outdoor stuff, or at least much warmer than they were. Logging trick from oldtimer Mainiacs, has always worked for me. Doing this long term makes your hands more resistant to the cold IMO.

Interesting I'll have to try that. Was putting up the Christmas lights the other day and ended up coming in for a break so I can heat my hands over the stove element lol. It was not even that cold out like maybe -10.

 

[paperfist]

I say this without reservation but IMO Hondas are the best snowblowers one can buy. Commercial grade honda GX engine. (Go to an outdoor power equipment rental place and 90% of the engines will be the red honda GX motors.) Easy to use and turn; no more heaving the machine to one side to help it turn. Hydrostatic transmission allows you to pick the speed that is just right, no more 3 fixed speeds. I remember reading honda is doing away with shear pins as the hydrostatic transmission senses a blockage and stops the auger/blower; no more changing shear pins in the dark cold driveway. Built rugged and built to last.
I have 2 hondas. One of mine was purchased in 1994 and is still working great. Nothing has been replaced on it but consumables; gas, oil, belt, tires skid plate and normal adjustments. (I follow a strict winterization/off season program and treat all my gasoline for ethanol). It has a 5 hp engine and would out-throw my old 11 hp craftsman. The other honda has to be 20+ years old and sat in a garage for more than a decade. Original gasoline in the tank, the oil in the sump had turned to sludge. Tires had gone flat and dry-rotted. The carb was salvageable but not cost economical to fix so I had the carb replaced. Engine runs strong and performs great.
I know they are expensive; some of the priciest snowblowers Ive ever seen but it very well could be the last snowblower you would have to buy. It's not even a contest if you have the cash, hands down honda kills it. I'm a cheap fuck but spend big money on things I'll have for a really long time and are important.

Lol your comment about heaving the snowblower back and forth hits home. It’s part of my snow removal routine.

I researched the heck out of their lawn mowers and came to the same conclusion, they sounded like beasts.

I’ll start looking around for one. Getting rid of snow sucks, but it sucks more when you have to fight with the machine for an hour while doing it.

 

[woodman1999]

Just bought myself the 28" Ariens deluxe this past weekend. Not the version with their new "EFI" engine as I couldn't justify the price increase for new fangled technology. Should be getting it on the 7th from Lowes. I am sure since I bought it, it'll be a light winter with the snow storms, so northern Jersey can thank me now.

 

[PingSpike]

Been a ton of wet, heavy, sticky snow up here this week. In order to make me look like an ass it finally stalled my snowblower. Usually it just throws really, really badly when its like this.

This stuff is the worst, I think I'd rather have 2 feet of the regular stuff. I even have a better system for dealing with sheer ice than this crap.

 

[BoomerD]

Did anyone recommend Phoenix, AZ yet? Seems MUCH more practical...

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I prefer the drone method of snow removal for my enemies:

 

[sdifox]

Did anyone recommend Phoenix, AZ yet? Seems MUCH more practical...

I have seen the Phoenix drivers hydroplaning on the one thunderstorm they get in a year. No thanx. I felt like the air was trying to suck out all the water from my skin.