Snowblowers?

[racer122]

I finally did it, or so my chiropractor said. No more snow shoveling for me!

Any advice on snowblowers? Up here in Aspen we've got more snow than I can believe, and unless my 6-year-old gets better with a shovel, I'm going to have to give up on driving out of my driveway!

[stewp97]

Sorry to hear about your back. I don't blame it though. How many days have we had this winter that we didn't have to shovel snow :D. I can't believe how much snow is in town right now.

I have a John Deere 24". Works quite well. I believe they sell them at Berthods (equipment division). Lowes might have them too. Good Luck training your 6 year old!

peter

[ToyRunner1]

I got a 22" dual stage at Wally World for a good price. Make sure it is a dual stage with the amount of snow you get. The second stage throws the snow much farther than a single.

[newracer]

I got an MTD Pro from Sam's club a few years ago and it has worked great. Soon Sam's, Costco, Home Depot, etc will be putting them on clearance. That's when I got mine and I saved a bundle.

[Pioneer]

I bought a Ariens last year for doing sidewalks, and then it quit snowin. I think I used it once and we have yet to get enough snow to make it worth while. With the amount of snow your dealing with, I wouldn't bother going the cheap route. Also make sure you buy extra shear pins and belts.

[racer122]

Yeah, I hate to buy now (since it is definitely not the time of the year to get a bargain) so I'm hoping to trip across one for sale used.

But with the snow loads up here, I think you are right. There's no way to cut the corners and get an el-cheapo. I've done that too many times over the years. I have heard the Ariens are great, but I'm completely uncertain what the horsepower numbers mean. I've seen 3, 5 and 8 hp, but don't really know what that translates to in terms of moving snow...

[Pioneer]

I have a Ariens 1128 which stands for 11 horse and will clear a path 28" wide.

http://www.ariens.com/products_snow/s_professional_11528dle_features.aspx

That would be in the upper end of what you would want. It has hand warmers, a head light, drift cutters, electric start, etc........

It's hard to give you advice on which machine to get unless I can get a good idea as to how deep the snow is, how often you'll be using it, do you get really deep drifts, do you need to use it at night, will your wife be using it, etc.......

[racer122]

I'm in Aspen. We get lots of snow ... really lots.

Usually it's not the heavy, wet-blanket type of snow, thankfully. but we're at somewhere around 200 inches so far this year with the heaviest snow months (Feb and March) still ahead.

Usually less than a foot per snowfall.

My driveway is 3-cars wide and about 20 feet long.

[racer122]

Oh, and if I were to use it at night, the entire area is covered by floodlights.

We really don't get drifts, per se, very often. Occasionally the winds up on the ski mountain will really be whipping and push all the snow off and drops it on us, however, it really looks like natural snowfall to us (though it really isn't), since we're pretty much right between the bases of Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlands ski areas.

My wife is a girly-girl. No insult intended, but she won't be using it.

[mikee_357]

Honda 32" cut, 11 horse, track drive

Electric start
it will climb stairs,
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/ModelDetail.asp?ModelName=hs1132tas

[Jeepin4fun]

Honda 32" cut, 11 horse, track drive

Electric start
it will climb stairs,
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/ModelDetail.asp?ModelName=hs1132tas

Hands down the best snowblower on the market. Expensive, but worth it if you are up in the mountains. My shop carries them, pm me if you are interested in it.

[racer122]

Hands down the best snowblower on the market. Expensive, but worth it if you are up in the mountains. My shop carries them, pm me if you are interested in it.

I've got 3 kids instead of money, so top of the line is likely out of my reach. I need somewhere between good enough and climbing stairs.

Thanks a lot.
Billy

[Tiffany]

Following this thread, but my needs are a bit diffierent than Billy's. I am out east so tend to get a bit more snow than the Denver Metro, lots of sind and drifts and a driveway that is unfortunately shaded by the neighbors huge pine tree so unless the snow gets up fast it turns to ice.

Due to back and shoulder problems I can't really shovel so am looking for a decent snowblower for residential use.

Cheap is good, but good is better.

[Pioneer]

Based on what you said and not using the blower in depths greater than 10", I'd use this guy:

http://www.alamia.com/index.asp?PG=80&ID=872&VSP=1

I see allot of the contractors down here using them. You don't need a huge blower with 10+ HP and a super wide chute with drift cutters. Look in the back of the guys that do snow removal for a living (like myself) in Aspen and you will see probly 75% using the smaller Toro's and the rest gettin split between Ariens and Honda. The smaller the blower the easier it will be use. Also get one with that has dealer support in your area so if you need to get shear pins or a belt your not waiting 2 weeks for the brown truck.

[jeepn4evr]

I sold snowblowers last year for sears, this year I have different job but still work at Sears. Now I pretty much am sold on Crafstman products not only because I work there but have had good experience with them in the past. For those that don't know MTD makes Craftsman so basically are the same snowblower just different color & sometimes Craftsman will have an option the MTDs don't. At any rate basic rule of thumb is if you live higher than Golden you HAVE to have at least a 9hp. Anything smaller & you will be pissed you didn't spend the money & get the bigger one as you struggle with it through those 2 big snows you get. If I were you I might look at a 10 or 11 hp at least. Most the ones at Sears that big come with electric start, some with a headlight & some with power steering. Power steering works like a skid steer where it locks on wheel so you can turn on a dime.

Tiffany for you kinda depends on what you want to spend. Personally for the denver metro area I like the 5 hp w/ electric start. Real easy to use, not too heavy, but the bigger of the 2 5hp that Sears sells. Smaller models might do ok, but one good snow & they won't do what you need.

If you are down in the Denver area by the Sears on West Colfax& want to pick my brain let me know & I can show you the models Sears has. Part of my job now is testing & fixing returns. I haven't seen many of the snowblowers come back.

[Big Kev]

What ever you get make sure to tune it up every season. My parents have a snowblower back in Michigan that is going on 25 years old and still starts on the first pull. It has had a lot of use too, it is not just parked. We had a couple of winters, when I was in high school, with close to 300" of snow.

[CSP]

When I was looking for a snowblower to put on my tractor (not a lawn tractor either), I saw a lot of homeowner use snowblowers on Craigslist. Many that I bothered to look at were pretty new.

I think that snowblowers are many times an impulse buy and people tend to unload many of them that are in very good condition. I would have bought several of them, but they were just too small. My driveway is 3/4 of a mile long and can get drifts 4-6 feet deep.