So you're at the age when you've hung up the shovel and are perusing snow blower reviews, looking for the best product. If you grew up in the snowbelt, one of your chores might have been shoveling the walk. Maybe you even took your shovel from one door to the next, looking to make a buck. Good for you. You put in your time. Now it's time to let a machine take over before you pull something.
Blowers have two broad types. They can be single or double stage. If your home is someplace where the winters are distinct but not legendary, and the snowfalls rarely exceed four inches, a single stage machine should be fine for you. Fine one with serrated augurs and you can really hack through ice.
A good barometer for your choice isn't really whether you never get hit with blizzard conditions. It's about whether, when you get more than four inches it's treated like a blizzard. Keep in mind that every ten-inch pounding will melt back down to four sooner or later.
Your typical single stage machine has rubber-tipped augers that make contact with the ground. That's good news and bad news. The bad news is that it'll scrape the pavement of your driveway and fire gravel out the chute like buckshot. The good news is that the spinning augers provide a little drive even if it's manual. If you have a sloped lawn, though, you'll still be in for a good bit of pushing.
If your lawn has any sort of grade, your best bet is to find a gas-powered machine. Certainly, they're going to be somewhat more troublesome, because it has an engine and any engine needs maintenance. This particular engine is going to sit idle in your garage for over half a year at a time. It's better this than hurting yourself pushing a manual blower up a hill.
If you live somewhere that just laughs at a four inch snowfall, you should consider a two-stage machine. They can handle up to eight inches. Their augers aren't rubber-tipped, and they're designed so those blades don't touch the ground. So they aren't just the best option for snowbelt conditions, they're also the best option if you have significant gravel.
Whatever type you get, you'll want to make sure the chute is right for you. First of all, make sure it's easily adjustable. It's good to find one with toggle controls that shift the chute's direction. You'll also want to choose a clearing width that's in relation to your actual needs, which might not require throwing anything more than two feet. By all means, don't put your hand down the chute to pull out debris. Even if using a stick, turn off the motor first.
If you have a large, gas-powered behemoth, either make sure you're a bit of a behemoth yourself or make sure there's power steering. It also helps maneuverability if there's the capacity to disengage one wheel at a time. Also, halogen headlights are a nice accessory, keeping the shortness of winter days in mind. With this general overview, you're ready to look through snow blower reviews, in order to pick your particular machine.
Author Resource:-
Stuart is the owner of the website Snow Blower Reviews and has been passing on his experience for some time now, visit the website now for the latest product reviews.
Alternatively you can go straight to his review of the Yard Machine Snow Fox by clicking the link.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.netarticledirectory.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
