Guide: How to choose a snow blower
When you are looking to buy a snow blower, the first thing you will notice when you browse our website or walk into our store is that there are a lot of different types of snow blowers to choose from. You may feel intimidated or uneasy about picking one that would be the best fit for your snow clearing needs. Don’t worry we are here to help! We have created a guide to help you pick the right snow blower and if you still have questions, don’t hesitate to ask one of our experienced employees to get more help.
Ask yourself some questions about how you plan on using your future snow blower.
How much snow do you plan to clear? Being that we live in Michigan, we know better than anyone, the weather is unpredictable!
- For light snowfall of 8 inches or less, single stage units should be able to do the job.
- For medium to heavy snowfall, a two stage blower is more effective.
How large is the area that needs to be cleared?
- For smaller driveways and sidewalks, single stage units should do the trick.
- For larger areas and driveways, a two or three stage unit would be the right choice.
What kind of snow are you planning to clear?
- Single stage blowers will handle light snow, or snow that has yet to “harden”.
- Two stage blowers can move heavier snow and cut through hardened snow, tall drifts, and even ice.
- Three stage blowers will move even heavier snow, drifts, and ice more efficiently than a two stage.
What kind of path are you planning to clear?
- Push propelled snow blowers work best on level surfaces, where engine driven wheels would work better on sloped surfaces.
Snow Blower Features
Generally speaking, two and three stage snow blowers typically have more features available than single stage snow blowers. Listed below are some of the features available on snow blowers:
- Electric Starter – Instead of puling the manual recoil starter (for those unfamiliar with the term, think starting your lawnmower) you can plug in your and start your blower electronically.
- Heated Handgrips – the handgrips of the blower will be heated to make the work more comfortable.
- Speed Controls – options to increase or decrease the speed settings when going forward or reverse.
- Clearing Width – how wide your intake on the blower is, the wider your intake the more snow you can clear per pass.
- Intake Height – how tall your intake on your blower is, the taller your intake the more snow you can clear per pass and also clear higher snow drifts.
- Remote/Joystick Chute Control – how you control the chute direction and adjustments. (where you want the snow to be thrown to)
Our Advice:
- Picking out the best snow blower for your needs really does come down to your personal situation, however for most homes in Michigan, people tend to choose a two stage snow blower. It offers more power and options than a single stage blower. Two stage blowers can move hard snow and also even ice.
- If you do not have a large area to clear and are generally able to use the snow blower before the snow becomes hard, than a single stage blower could do the job.
- If you have a large area to clear and want more power to clear hard snow and ice, a three stage blower would be the best choice.
If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to stop in one of our locations and ask for help!