1.24.2008

By the way, that 2nd picture is Power's bouding through the snow. He enjoys snow like no other and especially likes it when Adam shovels snow onto him. Good times.

Okay, snowblower? I mean, it sounds good, especially since the poor station wagon can barely get over the snow mound in the driveway. Is it worth the money? How affordable is a used snowblower? Fire away.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm more of a "find a neighbor with a snowblower and then find out what kind of beer he drinks" person. A few cases a winter usually gets you cleared out, because most guys with blowers can't wait to get out and well- blow away. I have childhood memories of my dad constantly trying to get our blower to start. Never seemed worth it to me.

The Kiser's said...

I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU HAVE ADOPTED THE ATTITUDE EVERYONE HERE HAS ABOUT THE SNOW. IT'S PART OF LIFE AND YOU DEAL. WHEN THE WARM ROLLS AROUND, YOU SPEND TIME OUTSIDE LIKE IT'S YOUR JOB.

AS FOR A SNOWBLOWER, THEY CAN VARY IN PRICES. I BOUGHT MINE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO FOR $275.00 USED. IT'S AN ARIENS WHICH IMO IS THE BEST YOU CAN BUY. IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH IT!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A LARGE DRIVEWAY. BEFORE I HAD IT, IT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO SHOVEL MY DRIVEWAY. WITH THE BLOWER, IT TAKES ME 10 MINUTES. THE BEST PLACE TO FIND A GOOD ONE IS IN THE CLASSIFIEDS IN THE ERIE PAPER. HOPE THIS HELPS.

freakface said...

Anonymous has the right idea, but here are the listings from goerie.com today:


SNOWBLOWER Honda HS1132 hydrostatic drive, tracks, excellent, $1200. Call 450-0661 after 4pm. Well, it's a Honda engine. How big a cut is it?

SNOWBLOWER Craftsman 5hp, walk behind, $175. Utility Trailer, 8x7, $200. Ph. 455-2603 I would avoid this - not enough power to throw the snow especially when the snow is wet.

SNOWBLOWER Ariens 5hp, 24" cut. Electric start, $100. 814-397-3316. I would also avoid this one - it won't go through a little deeper snow and won't toss it well. Too bad - electric start is a nice feature, especially if your pull-cord breaks.

SNOWBLOWER: MTD Yard Machine - 10hp/28” - electric start $450. 814-824-6218. MTD gear is usually not made particularly well, but this one has a nice HP/cut ratio and is pretty cheap.

SNOWBLOWER 2 Cycle used Toro, electric start, $100 obo. PH. 455-5255 Avoid - 2 cycle


So, if it was me (I have one, our company has several, and a charity I work for just bought one), I'd recommend getting as many HP per inch of cut as you can afford. 3HP/inch seems pretty good, except when the snow is wet. Then nothing works particularly well, but a snowblower is still better than shoveling that crap.

Also, I'd stick with a 4 cycle over a 2 cycle because the power will be better. Also, I'd stay away from the 5 hp models unless it's a small cut. You just won't throw the snow far enough to do anything.

If you can get one that is two-stage, do it, or you won't toss the snow very far, and if it's wet you'll be hosed.

How big an area are you blowing at The Cottage? How long is the driveway? How big is the pad? In our case, the driveway is about 200' long. We have a three-car garage and a turnaround. With an 8HP 24" I can clear it all out under the heavy snow load we get south of I-90 in an hour. If it isn't more than a foot I'm trying to clear then I can be done in 30-40 minutes normally. When I had this same snowblower in the city with a two-car garage and a two-car-length driveway I was done in ten minutes tops.

Gotta go. The hounds are getting restless...

freakface said...

Oh, and keep the heads up. It's going to be mainly cloudy and snowy for another 6-8 weeks yet. Sorry.

freakface said...

Whoops! Sorry - missed the second page of listings:

Yardman Gold 4.75hp 21” single stage, electric start, $280; Noma 8hp 25” electric start $325; Ariens 8hp 24”, electric start, $550; MTD 5hp 22”, $300. Call (814)434-2604 Well, a couple of those look like they might be OK. I don't know who Noma is. The Ariens looks like a good one. The others not so much.

SNOWBLOWER 5hp Ariens, electric start, runs good, $175. Call (814)838-0712 OK, but what's the cut?

SNOWBLOWER Lawn Boy gas, 20” wide, $90. Cell 397-3842 Don't know anything about Lawn Boy snowblowers, but if it's 2-cycle, avoid it.

Obsessive Foodie or Food Addict....You Decide said...

Don't ever stick anything inside a snow blower that you wouldn't well.....you get the jist.

Snoveling Show heheh shoveling snow is good exercise...but not in AR cause we don'ts gits no snows here.

And WHY would someone in Erie be selling a snowblower used if everyone needs a snow blower?? why do they no longer need theirs...hmmm something to think about.

Freakface just wrote you the operation manual on snowblowers...WOW

Obsessive Foodie or Food Addict....You Decide said...

My grandmother is 81 and lives in Erie and she shovels her own snow....we make her, it is good exercise. She is one fit meema.