snowblowers(throwers?)

newfieannie · #1 02/21/15, 06:43 PM

so I've spent 520 dollars so far this year for shovelling(as I said before .first year paying someone) I will likely pay that much again if this keeps up. sometimes they don't get here for a couple days sometimes longer . although this has been a hard winter and other people to get to first. seniors that have health problems etc. my yard is so much worse than when I was doing it myself.

I use to have everything all cleaned.no trouble to get my car in and out. I would throw it up over the retaining wall.(this is with a shovel) the guys don't seem to be able to throw. they just pile it on the side. they only have plastic shovels (but I have all they need out there and I said to use them.)I was thinking maybe invest in a snow blower again.

I have one that I bought 15 years ago. my son is using it while I'm in the city. it is awful big though and not really anyplace to put it here. and really he needs it to get out for work.

I was wondering what they have now in the way of snowblowers. are there smaller ones that are powerful enough? in 15 years they may have come up with something .I looked at what Canadian tire had but don't really know what I'm looking at. my husband was alive when we got the other. I think we paid about 3000.maybe more.that could go through anything but we had quite a bit to do. a long driveway. I don't have a lot here.

I guess what I'm saying is I'd like a smaller one but one that will also do the job. I got to put something else in place for next winter! this is ridiculous. I'm tired of no room to back in or out and practically running into the bank of snow . I have to line her up out on the street and then shove down on the gas and get in fast. then I hit a patch of ice a couple times and slid and pretty near took the side off the shed. any ideas? Thanks a bunch! ~Georgia.

littlebitfarm · #2 02/21/15, 06:59 PM

We got a snowblower at work this year. Pretty easy to use. The best part is you can plug it into an outlet and just push a start button! Or you can yank on the cord if that is your thing. It is much lighter than the one my parents had 40'years ago.

Eco- · #3 02/21/15, 07:21 PM

In my opinion the small ones you have to fight with if there is a bunch of snow. Even my 26" can be a fight at times with huge snowbanks. Most plow people around here plow every 3" and with over 6' of snow (Boston market) that would be a crapload of snowplow bills @ $35-$70 a plow.

If you can find the space for a full sized blower it might be worth it....maybe store it at your son's house off season? For me, it's not worth blowing (no pun intended) back out shoveling or fight snow banks with those cute plastic small blowers.

newfieannie · #4 02/21/15, 07:35 PM

oh no I still have my own place out in the country where I store all my off season stuff. I was just thinking of getting a smaller one I could store here in my shed. probably not the plan though. my son says I should get someone that uses a snowblower next year as opposed to these people who just use shovels. ~Georgia.

Nimrod · #5 02/21/15, 08:21 PM

Amen to the electric start another member recommended.

You want something smaller and lighter than the one you had. The snow thrown over the retaining wall will build up and eventually it will slide back down. You have to have a blower that will throw the snow far over the retaining wall so it stays there. Does the snowplow fill in the end of your driveway when it goes by?

A 2 stage snow thrower will be too big and heavy for you but it will cut through the ridge left by the plow.

One of the larger single stage snow throwers is probably what you want. It will be light enough and throw the snow far enough. If you use a shovel to chop up the snow left by the plow it will clear it away. I don't see any snow throwers with a 2 cycle engine. They had more power for less weight than the 4 cycle ones available now. I would buy Toro or Honda. The quality is OK. Other brands not so much. Home Boy Depot has some that fit the bill for under $600 US.

frogmammy · #6 02/21/15, 08:24 PM

Georgia, I think your son has a good idea!

I have an electric shovel that does blow snow (Snow joe), and while it is good for the little I have to clear out...VERY little...

If you do want a snowblower of your own, take a look at the electric ones if you have a small area to do. I believe they do make some electric two stage, which might be needed with your snows. To me, the most difficult part would be getting from wherever I kept it, to wherever I needed to use it. And just check out EVERY review you can find for it!

Mon...PS...whatever you get, make sure it has an adjustable discharge! Makes a world of difference.

siberian · #7 02/21/15, 08:36 PM

Have a fortune tied up in mine. After 15 years there should be more work. But hate to get rid of him before taxes are filed.

newfieannie · #8 02/21/15, 09:08 PM

that one I had that I gave my son did have an electric start and a plug in etc. it was top of the line at that time. big but I had no trouble getting around with it and I'd have no trouble now except no where to put it. the shed is small and filled with garden stuff.

I didn't know you could get electric ones but I had an electric mower and brush cutter for the city and it became the bane of my existence. I get the cords tangled and cut off and what not. I dumped those and went back to gas. i'll come up with something eventually. the rain has just started. 30 cent. expected. maybe it'll take it all away and I wont have to worry about snow the rest of the winter. pigs might fly too!~Georgia.

DaleK · #9 02/22/15, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newfieannie

that one I had that I gave my son did have an electric start and a plug in etc. it was top of the line at that time. big but I had no trouble getting around with it and I'd have no trouble now except no where to put it. the shed is small and filled with garden stuff.

I didn't know you could get electric ones but I had an electric mower and brush cutter for the city and it became the bane of my existence. I get the cords tangled and cut off and what not. I dumped those and went back to gas. i'll come up with something eventually. the rain has just started. 30 cent. expected. maybe it'll take it all away and I wont have to worry about snow the rest of the winter. pigs might fly too!~Georgia.

30 centimetres would take away a lot of snow. Maybe 30 mm?

geo in mi · #10 02/22/15, 06:52 AM

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products...snow-throwers/

Maybe you can get some ideas from this.

geo

newfieannie · #11 02/22/15, 10:07 AM

I was waiting for someone to pick up on the cm. yes I meant mm. I can see the snowbanks slowly lowering. I dug a narrow ditch in the ice for the water to run down the street. roads are treacherous. police are warning to stay off them. some will go on them anyway even if they don't have to and there will be accidents if they haven't happened already.~Georgia.

newfieannie · #12 02/22/15, 10:19 AM

thanks Geo. a couple of those small ones might be the plan (well, one at a time) it does say light snow . but if a person can get at it after a little accumulation like I have been doing for years. that's all it is. light. I might check HD. they might have those. I got my husbands old Husk chain saw that's still going strong after 20 years or so. by the way some people are out cutting the snowbanks with their chain saws. I wouldn't do that though ~Georgia.

Alder · #13 02/22/15, 10:20 AM

We usually get lots of snow and wind here. Those electric things are toys. I wouldn't use a snowblower less than a 2 stage 26-28 inch cut with a 8-10 HP engine. And that is overtaxed on some days - adequate, but pushing the limits. Here, they run about $11-1200 for a good name brand.

Electric start is real nice, and tops my list of add-ons. Those things get real hard to pull start when the temps are below zero - and I run synthetic oil in mine.

Use Less · #14 02/22/15, 11:00 AM

I've been pretty lucky with the kid who came asking to shovel. The first time he showed up in January, I was down with a horrible sore throat and head cold, so YES. I shoveled this AM. It was likely short of the 4ish inches we agreed he'd come for. He does the driveway, front porch, walkway and brushes my car. Sometimes goes down the sidewalk, too, though the village intermittently does that with a snowblower. That part I haven't figured out, and since they voted to disband at the end of 2015, we'll see what that means for next winter. $10 a visit. It equals a solid hourly wage, of course, but I'm told his rate is inexpensive.

Harry Chickpea · #15 02/22/15, 12:28 PM

1. You have a neighbor kid interested in earning money and he has proven that he is willing to work.
2. You have no room for storing a snowblower.
3. You have already paid $500 for services.
4. You aren't satisfied with the general services except for the work done by the kid.
5. You aren't particularly interested in doing the job yourself.

Here is a thought - contact the kid and his parents. Offer to buy a snowblower and then lease or sell it to the kid over time.

Example - snowblower costs $700
Kid agrees to buy the blower over time
You sign agreement with the PARENTS of the kid for the purchase over two years and the kid initials it. (You can't have a legally binding contract with a kid)
You set a price for each time he clears your drive and walk after X" of snow falls. That price is deducted from what he owes you.
Until he pays off the blower, he pays you a wear and tear fee of $2 for each additional drive he uses the blower for. (He pays for gas and oil and this is primarily to make him more interested in paying off the loan)
At any time, he can use the money he earns to pay down the balance on the blower.

You are simply financing a start-up business for an enterprising kid using money that you would be spending anyway. Your benefit is that you get the job done the way you like and at a continuing discount. The contract would need a clause that if he DOESN'T do your drive promptly, you can repossess the mower (and sell it on craigslist).

newfieannie · #16 02/22/15, 12:46 PM

I don't know where all that came from. I don't have any neighbor kids. I pay a contractor 40dollars every time. he in turn hires others.he is having a hard time getting anyone now that want to bother. I've been beating ice this morning and in the mean time looking around . I think I could get one of those Rubbermaid? home depot sells where I could just walk in a small snowblower. and park it next to the shed and the retaining wall. which is only 3 steps from the back door. it's just a thought ~Georgia.

ET1 SS · #17 02/22/15, 02:45 PM

In 2001 we were living in Connecticut, a Toro dealer there had a nice selection. We bought the biggest model they had, and it worked okay for us. Then we moved to Maine and after a couple years we realized that our driveway here is just far too much for the Toro to handle.

We then bought a front-mount pto-powered 2-stage snow-blower that goes on our Massey-Ferguson tractor.

It is fantastic

Old John · #18 03/02/15, 09:11 AM

We have a nice Snow-blower, or Snow-thrower. It is about 30" wide. And it has Electric Start. I think we have had it 3 or 4 years.
Our Drive way is paved down to the County Road or State road that runs by the end of our driveway. And it's about 85 yards from the house down to the County/State road.
And, We have a drive completing the Circle. going up/down the back way.

I think I was out there nearly 3 1/2 hours yesterday. And I got both sides of the Circular drive cleaned. That machine was throwing the snow going down one side and then up the other. It's a wonderful Invention!

Truckinguy · #19 03/02/15, 09:31 AM

I have a 30" wide Yardworks from Canadian Tire and it's a great machine. I had the identical model a few years ago and had it stolen after having it only a couple of years. I wasted time for a couple of years after that with a couple of smaller ones then sucked it up and went back and put the money down for a new one just like the one that was stolen. It will bull it's way through snow that is higher than the opening of the blower and throws it quite a distance. I think it was regular $1200 and I got it on sale for $1000.

I have a Yardworks lawnmower, chipper and electric log splitter and they are all great quality and work well.

We don't get as much snow here in Southern Ontario as you do out on the coast but I bought a machine that was a bit bigger than I thought I would need and have used it up to it's capacity a few times so I'm glad I bought it.

Jim-mi · #20 03/02/15, 09:59 AM

There is many of those small toys for sale on craigs list. People thought they were getting a good deal............Then they found out that the thing was totally inadequate.....

But . . . . I am speaking from a Big snow area

My Huskvarna 30" is needed for my area..........