Snowblowing rules of thumb

[PeterK]

Wet slush is OK as long as you don't slow down. Drive into the puddles with the blower full speed and it will blow without clogging. But dry slush will pack hard in the chute so at the first sight of clogging either stop and clear it or head for a melt puddle and hope the water will loosen the slush and blow it out.

A good tip that I heard from someone that ran over the Sunday paper (twice) is not to do it. As well as filling your yard with scraps of newsprint, said newsprint will eventually jam the auger and shut down the blower (or break a pin.) Same for branches. Keep your driveway clear before the snow covers it up only to be found by your equipment.

And my wife found that if you don't turn the chute away from house windows quick enough, that a blower will pack snow real tight between the screen and the window. Makes the room real dark, real fast!

 

[Andy Z]

The photos of the 'bota at the top of the page......what model is that?

 

[Andy Z]

I was looking at some options for snow blowers. Our driveway is 2100 feet long so the the rear facing blower is not an option. The front mounted blower makes obvious sense but what about the rear mounted pull snowblower? Looks like it could work. Some comments about being able to tackle big snow with them, which is good. You can keep the FEL on as well. Any thoughts?

 

[Kubotafan]

And my wife found that if you don't turn the chute away from house windows quick enough, that a blower will pack snow real tight between the screen and the window. Makes the room real dark, real fast!

Was she in the house when it suddenly went dark?

 

[kiotiken]

I was looking at some options for snow blowers. Our driveway is 2100 feet long so the the rear facing blower is not an option. The front mounted blower makes obvious sense but what about the rear mounted pull snowblower? Looks like it could work. Some comments about being able to tackle big snow with them, which is good. You can keep the FEL on as well. Any thoughts?

I have no problem pulling my 74" pull type blower no matter how much snow we've had. I don't get huge drifts though and my drive is fairly level. If you're not going up hills, you should be fine. I use my FEL to move skids of firewood so removing it is not an option. I also love the blower for ballast, it's a lot of weight hanging a long way back, great for FEL work.

 

[Fluid]

I use a amber strobe warning light and try to use the wind by shooting the snow with it, if I'm lucky the wind works with me.

 

[Garandman]

In NH we have a 220 yard gravel drive that is plowed and I have an Ariens Pro 926 walk-behind to clear around the house. I expect to use the FEL to clear banks at the end of the drive, and will totally cheat the cold by using the Gerbing heated motorcycle jacket I have.

In Boston we have a much shorter driveway but the snow is actually a lot more difficult. We live very near the harbor and the Northeasters bring very heavy and wind-packed snow. Boston snowfall statistics are highly deceptive because they are recorded at Logan Airport, which is out in the middle of the harbor. While Boston officially averages 45" per season, the Blue Hills Observatory just a few miles away averages 60", which would put Boston in the top 25 snowiest cities. I upgraded twice to an Ariens 1124 Pro, an 11.5hp motor for a 24" bucket. That moves even the plowed, salt-infused snow we mostly have to deal with.

We're sailors so I have foul weather gear and on small boats we wear a "dinghy smock" top that has a sealable top collar. This is just the ticket for a walk-behind.

I also wear wetsuit gloves as the Goretex gloves I have soak through eventually anyway. A Balaclava and ski goggles and the wind doesn't really matter.

 

[skyhook]

I was looking at some options for snow blowers. Our driveway is 2100 feet long so the the rear facing blower is not an option. The front mounted blower makes obvious sense but what about the rear mounted pull snowblower? Looks like it could work. Some comments about being able to tackle big snow with them, which is good. You can keep the FEL on as well. Any thoughts?

I've got a 72" rear pull also, love it, ( they are a little more expensive though),,
It depends on the size and weight of tractor you have.
My L4200 handles it well in all types of snow.

 

[skyhook]

We have allot of cottages where we are, like others have said, ,
I usually take a dry run with the machine to look for obstacles etc,
set up a few "marker's" here and there, on those extremely cold mornings,
I plug er in for about 1/2 an hour then let er run for about 15 minutes to get the cab nice and warm,
turn on the lights and go out and play...lol
Around the end of Oct., I usually throw on the blower and front blade and pray for an early spring,
like usual, it never happens.

 

[RoyJackson]

It's a good idea to put in a few driveway reflectors (the kind that are 3' tall) so you know you're actually clearing the drive (instead of the lawn). I didn't realize I was clearing about half the blower's width (about 36") off the drive until the snow finally started melting last winter (snow in Vermont doesn't always melt between snow events).