Depending on where you live, a snow blower can be either a nice luxury or an absolute necessity
Depending on your geographical area, a snow blower can be either a nice luxury or an absolute necessity.
When deciding whether to buy one, consider just how much snow you get within an average winter and what size an area you should clear around your home to really get your car on the highway safely.
If you have a brief driveway and a garage mounted on your house, you may be able to get away with a decent snow shovel. Or if you live in a location that rarely gets pummeled by winter storms, you may well be better off saving the amount of money you?d devote to a snow blower and hiring a plow truck once or twice a winter to dig you out.
cordless snow blowers But in the event that you get three or even more big snowstorms each year, or can?t afford to obtain trapped in your house while you await a plow service, a snow blower is definitely for you.
Choose the Right Snow Blower
The snow blowers inside our ratings range in cost from about $200 to over $3,000. Features and size dictate price; here?s what you ought to consider when zeroing in on the kind of snow blower that?ll last best.
Snow Blower Stages
All snow blowers use an auger to suck up snow from the ground and discharge it through a chute. On single-stage snow blowers, the corkscrew-shaped auger may be the only device moving snow. Two-stage models have an auger but also use an impeller, which is a fan that helps force collected snow from the trunk of the auger, out through the discharge chute. The impeller helps two-stage models collect snow faster and send it farther. Three-stage models have an auger and impeller but add something named an accelerator, which helps force collected snow from the auger to the impeller. These machines can clear the fastest and throw the farthest. Single-stage machines tend to be the worst performers, and we recommend only a handful of models.
Power Source
The vast majority of snow blowers use gasoline engines, and these models perform the very best. You?ll find some corded electric models, that can be used with an extension cord around 100 feet out of your home, but none perform well enough for all of us to recommend. A small but growing number of battery-powered electric models may also be available, but most lack the energy to clear heavy snow.