2 stage for sure! A snowfall that a single stage blower can handle is easily shoveled by hand. (and a shovel)
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snow blowers
- Thread starter suzuki2000
- Start date
Snobike Mike
Banned
Why would you want to shovel any snow???
You don't. That's why you buy a snowblower. But ...
The snow you really don't want to shovel can't be handled by a single stage blower.
and there you are, after spending hundreds of dollars on a tool that is insufficient, so the only recourse is to shovel.
how stupid do you look, buying a snowblower and then having to shovel the biggest and worst snowfalls.
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Snobike Mike
Banned
My sno thrower has never let me down yet in big snowfalls and is great for blowing away the small falls that would require a shovel because the 2 stage is too big. Long and short, there is no one size fits all answer and the farther north you go the more likely you'll need a blower as opposed to a thrower.
I recommend a two-stage as it give you more control over the height setting. Any one stage I have seen uses a rubber impeller that has to contact the surface. They wear, not fast, but they do wear. Also, for any gravel, you get a great rock slinger if you use a single stage.
A two-stage blower does a better job throwing the snow far enough out of the way. And usually, the two-stage blowers have better controls for directing the snow. My Toro has a really nifty set of directional controls that can be operated one hand and on the move so that when I pivot steer, I can keep the snow moving in the direction that I want. Yes, it pivot steers which makes it possible for very small people to handle several hundred pounds of equipment.
Bigger is better to a point but you definitely want something that can chew up the mountain of thick, hardened snow that the city crews leave at the end of the driveway. These machines can last a long time so good maintenance is important. They will rust though but it does not seem to affect the performance.
Last point - it is important to check the linkages and keep them properly adjusted so that you have full control. As cables stretch, you may lose control of the augur so it is important to check the cables and linkages - easy to adjust though.
Hondas are great I am sure but any machine that is well maintained will do the job.
To avoid the rust issues, every spring before you put it away spray it down with Krown or Rust check.
My snowblower is 5 or 6 yrs old now, and looks practically brand new still.
My snowblower is 5 or 6 yrs old now, and looks practically brand new still.
A light spray coat of wd40 will accomplish the same thing.
Perhaps.
I know i can still see the krown i applied when i pull it out for its first use in the winter time.
WD40 not so much.
[video=youtube;QS6aCtlCvKA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS6aCtlCvKA[/video]
Lord-Humongous
Active member
You need a two stage no matter what. I bought an Ariens, brand new, a few years ago and am very happy with it.
The old house had a real long driveway, going between 2 houses, so I had to push half to the front, half to the back.. Even with that, I found it easier to just bust out the shovel than the hassle with a snowblower for anything at 3" or less. Even 4" was hit and miss as long as it was powder and not the wet stuff. OP, go for a 2-stage for sure.. One other thing.. METAL IMPELLER!!! Plastic ones are likely to crap out once you pick up those clumps that the plows deposit at your driveway's entrance.
I got something similar to this one http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/y...re-ohv-snowthrower-0603754p.html#.UrdEj6eiu-c but paid about half price (crazy sale at HD).. Some thoughts on features..
1) Steel impeller is a must!!!
2) Love the adjustable height dealing with a gravel driweway
3) Mine doesn't have adjustable tilt, so it can be a bit of a pain. If you can get one that does, it's a VERY useful feature, get it
4) Headlight is useless and crapped out on me anyway. Didn't miss it or bother troubleshooting it
5) For most GTA homeowners having a whole bunch of forward/reverse gears is a non-factor. For me, it's a must - long driveway again
6) After the 2nd season, I found electric start to be useful for the first startup of the season (and yes, I winterize it properly). After that, starts by hand, no problem
7) Steering control adds to the cost and complexity without adding to utility
Would this be considered single or two stage?
[video=youtube;ItdRfvYHPAY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItdRfvYHPAY[/video]
[video=youtube;ItdRfvYHPAY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItdRfvYHPAY[/video]
[video=youtube;QBSuNz3g0oA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBSuNz3g0oA[/video]
can only post 1 vid per post
can only post 1 vid per post
phil_si
Well-known member
I had a ~5hp single stage 2 stroke for almost 10 years and it worked OK, but not great. You constantly have to smash it into the snow bank to make it work and its annoying and exhausting. I got a 9hp 2 stage about 5 years ago and wow, what a difference. It doesn't care how much snow there is or if its wet, you just adjust the speed and drive it slower. Some food for thought, a single stage works for up to around 10-15 cm max but will not handle icey snow at the end of the driveway which really is when you need it most, and if the snow is wet and heavy, forget about it, it will only throw it maybe 6 feet and clog all the time.
-Anything made by MTD is junk (yardworks, yard-man, yardmachine, troybilt, bolens), they've sucked so much quality out of the machines and engines its ridiculous. Theres one model with a plastic high-speed impeller that shatters or shears the engaging teeth when it hits ice lol, like seriously the things they do to save a buck.
-Briggs and stratton bought the old NOMA brand and they're still made pretty well but with chinese engines.
-Can't go wrong with Toro but I'm not a fan of their homeowner line with all the bells and whistles and joystick, just more stuff to break when you need it most.
-Ariens makes rock solid machines, they still use a quality briggs motor and their snow-tek line shares the same chasis, but with a chinese LCT motor which is apparently pretty good.
-Honda is the best, period but you pay for it.
That said I have a craftsman from '97 (Murray) and its pretty good, I've have had to fix it a few times, but I do it myself so reliability isn't as big of a deal for me as for someone who can't.
And P.S for anyone with a Tecumseh motor, they're great but they like to throw connecting rods if they go low on oil, overspeed or get run hard until they've warmed up. Avoid doing those things and they'll last forever.
-Anything made by MTD is junk (yardworks, yard-man, yardmachine, troybilt, bolens), they've sucked so much quality out of the machines and engines its ridiculous. Theres one model with a plastic high-speed impeller that shatters or shears the engaging teeth when it hits ice lol, like seriously the things they do to save a buck.
-Briggs and stratton bought the old NOMA brand and they're still made pretty well but with chinese engines.
-Can't go wrong with Toro but I'm not a fan of their homeowner line with all the bells and whistles and joystick, just more stuff to break when you need it most.
-Ariens makes rock solid machines, they still use a quality briggs motor and their snow-tek line shares the same chasis, but with a chinese LCT motor which is apparently pretty good.
-Honda is the best, period but you pay for it.
That said I have a craftsman from '97 (Murray) and its pretty good, I've have had to fix it a few times, but I do it myself so reliability isn't as big of a deal for me as for someone who can't.
And P.S for anyone with a Tecumseh motor, they're great but they like to throw connecting rods if they go low on oil, overspeed or get run hard until they've warmed up. Avoid doing those things and they'll last forever.
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I've got the Bolens version of this machine for 4 years and i've been happy with it so far. It's not a great machine but it's better then most of the cheap junk being sold these days. It's no honda that's for sure. I expect to get 10 solid trouble free years out of it, and only minor issues after that.
The headlight is just about useless, it's actually better then nothing but really not enough to work with. If it were mounted on the front of the machine it would actually work. Right now all you get is a shadow of the chute.
I find the speed settings on this machine are poorly spaced. I do almost all of my blowing in low gear. The other 6 forward speeds are unusable. Low speed is actually to fast for a good layer of heavy wet snow. I need a 0.5 and a 0.25 speed settings to be happy. On the fastest speed setting I almost have to jog to keep up that's how fast. Useless. The two speed reverse is the opposite. So slow that i just prefer to pull the steering triggers and drag it backwards of there's not space to turn around altogether.
The electric start is what attracted me to this model originally. Very nice feature for first startups of the season as mentioned, although most of the time it starts on the first pull or two even after sitting for months. Electric start is good for those with small spouses or with bad backs that should not be pulling a cord.
I have to disagree about the steering controls however. I find them to be very useful. Not for actually steering the machine in use but to cut a hard drift or bank or to move the machine around in the garage with the engine off. If im cutting a hard drift i cut power to the outside wheel and it helps to cut through without trying to twist around. As for moving it around off season, pull both triggers and tip the machine back to it's balace point and you can wheel it around like a hand cart, no internal mechanical drag.
As much as i like this machine, I do however hate the chute control with a passion. That stupid top gun arcade looking joystick is the worst. I miss my old machine with the traditional rotating chute control. This thing has limited positional detents. you can set it at straight ahead, 90 or 45deg to either side and that's about it. I like the old style that you could put anywhere. I hate turning around at the bottom of the drive, set the thing to 45 to the right start moving and then ooops.. didn't quite catch the 45 detent so it's flopped back to straight ahead and blown a bunch of snow over to where you have already cleaned. You really need a third had to keep on the joystick at all times.
I got mine on sale at Lowes 4 years ago and it was like ~$800. I'd buy it again.
There are some differences between yours and mine. I did most of my forward work on 2, sometimes slow it down to 1 if it's VERY deep (approaching chute height). Mine has a rotating control (no dildo-joystick), but you have to stop moving if you wanna adjust the tilt because it's right on the chute. I never had any issues even in tight spaces with mine. I'd usually back it into the roughly right place in the garage and manhandle it in place with the engine off.
