Snow Blowers (Page 3 of 3)

Over 2 feet and it's still snowing and blowing.

Seacoast NH

Never did make it skiing. I didn't get my driveway done until 10:30am, and knew i wouldn't make it to the mountain before 1. Not worth it only to have to be home to clear the driveway again.

Had some amazing drifts here, I think we were close to 20" total. I did more tunneling with my snow blower than anything.

The piles on the race car were taller than me by almost a foot.

Odd he never chimed in...

So my 2 cents. I have worked in the power equipment industry for the last 20 years and what is being said is solid advice. The old Airens blowers were tough as nails. The new ones are good but not as tough as the old ones.

When buying a used one the the thing to listen for and check (on a 2 stage anyway) is the bearings on the drive and blower. When not running grab the shaft that the blower (the fan or impeller) is attached to, not the auger, it will be a little loose anyway. If the shaft is able to move up an down toward the the back of the blower that bearing is probably bad. Another way to check is reach down the chute (again with the engine off!) grab the blower and see if it will wiggle up and down. It should be tight. With it running when you engage the blower it should be smooth and not growl. If it does move or growl move on to the next one. It can be a real PITA to get that shaft out of that bearing to replace., sometimes requires destroying the shaft to get out.  And some blowers over 10 to 15 years old can be tough to get parts for. Tecumseh is long out of business and the new snow kings are a Chinese motor made by LCT not Tecumseh. Actually not a bad motor. Tecumseh was a great snow engine but some of them are getting to that point where they could be a little tired.

My rankings, money no object, two stage.
#1 is a Honda 2 stage hydro drive.
Toro, Airens, simplicity, are all good machines.
Husqvarna, Jonsered , cub cadet are good too.
I've had MTD cheap ones and on a paved driveway will work ok.

All above are good choices and have good features. If you want one that will last 20 years Honda toro Airens higher dollar units are best.  Price point wise Honda is way expensive but excellent blower. Toro cub and husqvarna and Jonsered have good units in the $800 range.

Single stage toro has the best. If you can find a two stroke ccr2000 that was the best single stage ever made.

And never ever by a Jacobsen snowburst absolute POS. No offense if you bought one. " nice hat, bet you get a free bowl of soup with it, looks good on you though".