Avalanche! Drift Buster

[smfcpacfp]

I ordered one and it should be here this week. It is a device used to remove snow from house roofs without have to climb on the roof and shovel.

In my opinion the worst job in big snow country is cleaning the roof, especially on my 12 by 12 roof.

Here is the company's web site:

Avalanche Snow - Snow Removal Equipment for better Roof Maintenance

 

[MikePA]

I have a snow rake and using it provides quite the workout. Glad we don't get the snow you do!

 

[Bird]

Fortunately, I've never had to clean snow off a roof. And only one ice storm caused ice dams at the eaves resulting in roof leaks. As much as I hate our summer heat, maybe it ain't so bad.

 

[Tig]

The drift buster looks like a handy device. I have one problem valley with a skylight nearby. It's too high up to reach so I usually have to go up ther to deal with problems. One year after breaking my arm snowboarding I was concerned about the forcast for rain. Rather than go on the roof with one good arm I enlisted the help of my 14 year old son to help me with the snow and ice build up. His passion was little league where he was a pitcher with very good control. I packed handfulls of road salt into paper lunch bags. He layed a nice pattern of strikes from the eave up to the problem spot. The bags burst on contact and the salt did it's job.

 

[smfcpacfp]

My house is T - shaped (seemed like a good idea when I built it) and thus has two valleys, so that is a potential problem. My son graduated from college in May and moved to Silicon Valley. I like the salt bag idea. I actually did put rock salt in the one valley that had a ice buildup problem one year, and used heat tape subsequently

I also had the house reroofed with asphalt/fiberglass shingles this last summer and decided to see how things work out with the ice buildup.

Oh well, somebody here on this forum surely has used this device. I just hope he/she sess this thread and replies

 

[claridon]

Steve,
I've also recently purchased the Avalanche! Drift Buster and have only had one chance to use it briefly. It seem to perform as advertised. I've got a couple of spots on my roof that really drift over and we can count on 120+" of snow each year. It will get a workout here.
Four years ago I retired from my job in sunny Houston and moved back "home". Every year at this time I realize what a strong attachment a good family is. Anybody else looking at the move I made would think I'm crazy.
-Len

 

[smfcpacfp]

I agree - the bloody thing works. It is pretty hard work when you are using 28' of pole. The instructions regarding putting it together were poor, and the workmanship I would rate as just fair.

My main roof has a 12 by 12 pitch and porches by a 12 by 3 pitch. My house is T - shaped so I think there are some parts that I can't do.

Also, it doesn't work where you have been up cleaning off your roof by hand. You need untouched snow.

 

[claridon]

My approach will be to use a long enough handle to get the "head" onto the bottom edge of the roof. I'll then snap in the handle extensions and go to work. If I tried to put the extensions together before lifting it, there's too much deflection.