Preferred snow thrower/blower poll

Seems the Toro CCR-whatevers are by far the most popular in central CT, since I got mine my Simplicity 8hp has sat unused(three years now).<p>Whats the favorite in your co./area?<p>Bill

 

We have a couple of toro two stage blowers, a few single stage, and a two stage on a john deer rider. They all work well.<p>Geoff

 

In my area, most people have ariens two stage models. On the storm, mine broke down and the shaft broke. I also have a small single stage snapper which is great for small snowfalls. My neighbor has a honda 621.<p>Bryan<br> <p>----------<br>The Snowplow Homepage<br>http://www.snowplow.web.com<br>

 

Bryan when are you going to tell us what plow you think is the best and why? Homework is due saturday.<p>Geoff

 

I just bought a new Honda 621A. So far here in IL we got a couple on inches and it worked excellent. It weighs a little more than the others but it shows with the way it is built. When using the snowblowers are you supposed to lift up on the back so the auger makes contact with the ground, or are you supposed to just wheel it using the wheels.?? Thanks

 

HONDA 621<br>We have two of them and you get the power of a 2 stage with the weight of a single stage. One pull and it starts everytime.<br>On the back of the honda they actually have a foot rest to help with down pressure on the auger.<br>We pull up on the handles and that also helps propel the machine forward.<br>Dino <br><p>----------<br> Professional Ice and Snow Management <br>Products:Services:Equipment www.sima.org

 

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The Honda 621 ROCKS hard!!! If you could figure out a way to hook it up to a hose you could pump your basement out, it's that good. We also have a two stage MTD from Agway...for when we get that 2 feet of snow...yeah, like that's ever going to happen. We can't say enought good about the HONDA. Starts up with on with the first pull, thows snow/water miles. Great machine!<p><p>----------<br>Professional Ice and Snow Management <br>http://www.sima.org

 

In western NY the single stage throwers that I have seen just don't have enough power to handle the 7-20&quot; snowfalls that we are accustomed to. We run 2 JD 2 stage blowers they do we a little more but they get rid of the snow in a hurry. Haven't had any problems with either one(knock on wood) Matt

 

My buddy's got a pick-up mounted snowblower. 8' wide, 375hp. It'll drive thru a 3' tall windrow at 7-8mph blowing the snow 60ft. It really works well, but I don't think it would be of much use on sidewalks.<p>It would, however, handle those 7&quot;-20&quot; snowfalls.

 

Sort of strange, I was just watching about a snow blower recall on TV while reading these posts. Seems the Arien's snow blowers, also sold by Lesco have been recalled for leaking fuel. I also have an old MTD 26&quot; 2 stage blower that will handle the deep stuff good. It has a lot of hours on it and my son still uses it to do several driveways here in town. When I want to get rid of some snow, I put my 48 inch 2 stage PTO driven blower on my 430 JD. It will move a lot of snow a long ways. The hydraulic lift is nice and the hydraulic motor to turn the chute is a neat feature for directing the snow too. It saves a lot of crank turning. I had one 38&quot; single stage blower, but that was on a smaller JD. It worked better than I expected, but for tractors, the two stage is nice.<p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

 

Eric is right those John Deer blowers will move some snow. <p>Geoff

 

Well I've used blowers a lot. The trouble is, I used the same ones for years. I can only tell you about them. For 5 years, I used blowers for a lot of blowing the toughest kind of snow. What's the toughest kind of snow? The snow that is on the street sidewalk, 18&quot; from the curb, that the road plows pushed up. Everyone agree? Heavy and wet, or frozen solid. A 3&quot; storm means 12&quot; min. of wet cement on the walks. IF you have a long frontage, you have a long time blowing ahead. Even fluffy snow when scooped off the road with all the salt and slush in it is heavy. I did approximately 300 yards of frontage every time it snowed. <br>What did I use? A Sear Craftsman 8 Hp, 26&quot; & 28&quot; 2 stage blowers. The 28&quot; model had the driftbreaker on top. This worked in deep snow, believe me. We had to tunnel sometimes. By that I mean the show was deeper than the auger housing was tall. So we tunnels a foot or two in, then backed out the machine, and a shoveler would cave it in. Then we'd keep tunneling, until the walks were clear. Sometimes took 2 hours alone if it was frozen. That driftbreaker on top helped when tunneling, but was worthless otherwise. The only problems were carb troubles from letting gas sit in them year round, and belts stretched out. I got new carbs and belts my first year there, and stored the machines properly in the off season. They started up no problem. Both were 8 HP Tecumseh motors. Before I worked there they had an old Gilson 2 stage that they said was the best.<br>My blower I use, is a 5 HP 22&quot; Craftsman 2 stage, 10&quot; impeller. It moves slush well, and far. It's a light machine I can lift on and off my truck myself, (I use ramps), it's easy to manuever, and does a good fast job.<br>My brother has a 8 HP 24&quot; Ariens. No offense, but what a hunk of junk. I tried to fix it last year, and it can't be fixed correctly. I can weld it together, but it will present problems. We keep it as a back up blower. It plain sucks. It starts right up with the electric starter. It was the first year Ariens came out with attachments for it.<br>You could remove the auger / impeller housing, and put on a powerbroom attachment. Only 2 bolts. It had 2 hooks on the top, and two tabs for bolts on the bottom. The hooks on top got worn fast. That makes the front and rear of the machine able to move seperately. You can feel it &quot;articulating as you use it. It feels like it's falling apart. I tightened every bolt on that machine, and it's still sloppy, including the handlebars. Some moron welded on a half ass cutting edge, so I had to cut it off and weld on a new one. The friction drive disc wears out too easily. I like the old machines with gear boxes and drive chains. They last.<br>I have a feeling the Ariens would do better with a broom up front. Oh, it blows snow good, just feels like it's ready to explode in the process. Very poor design. <br>As far as large walk behind blowers, the best design I've seen, is the old Toro 12 HP 32&quot;. It has a spring loaded cutting edge, a headlight, plenty of power to eat a sunday paper, and electric start. It belonged to a friend, and it saved me when we had a 30&quot; Blizzard.<p>~Chuck<p>----------<br>Chuck's Chevy Truck Pages - Snowplowing Central<br>http://members.aol.com/csmith669/plowcentral.html

 

I have a Troy-Bilt 10hpTechumsua Snow King 27&quot; wide snow thrower and it got put to the test last week. It worked very well. Dug out a couple of cars that were plowed in by the city (heavy,salty snow about three foot high) didnt dog down or nothing. And a driveway about 80 yds. long and a small parking lot at the end snow was about 2'drifts (dry stuff) boy no mater which way I turned the shoot it blew back on me(I looked like the abonimal snow man LOL). And I also have a Honda 3.5hp. single stage blower and you just cant stop that thing either. Well thats my two cents worth. <p>----------<br>Ken...Lightcap's Landscape Service<p><br>

 

I have one of those Toro CCR snowpups. This is the 3? hp tiny gas one. I like it because it is so lightweight. It weighs maybe 50#. I can put it in and out of the truck without dropping the gate. <p>It works well upto about 6&quot;. IT is also not the greatest thing for wet snow. Since I don't have all that many jobs to use it on, it suffices. <p>If we get the big storm, I pull out the old Toro 8hp 26&quot; 2 stage. That will move some seriuos snow. It is old and heavy. I will try to keep it forever, as the ones made today are not nraely as heavy. I also have a older Sears 5hp 22&quot; 2 stage. That is not as powerful as the Toro, but will still move its share of snow.