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5 Tips for Buying a Snow Blower

Anyone who buys a snow blower is often faced with a large number of products. From very cheap ones to very expensive equipment for daily use as a professional service provider. Here are five tips I learned from this review website.

1. Snow quantity and clearing area

First of all, you need to know what amount of snow you can expect in an average winter and what area you will have to clear with your snow blower in the future. A large garden, sidewalks or driveway require more power. For small areas and little snow, a blower with little power (possibly a cheap one with electric drive) is quite suitable. But even in deep, heavy and wet snow, a lot of power is always an advantage.

In addition, you must also pay attention to the clearing width. The larger the clearing width, the faster they are ready!

2. Single-stage or two-stage snow blower

A single-stage snow blower is sufficient for little snow or areas that are only covered with light powder snow. Please make sure that you do not work with a single-stage product on loose ground (gravel and similar), as the auger touches the ground directly for clearing. The single-stage machine is lighter and more compact than its multi-stage sisters.

The multi-stage throwers is always used when deep and compacted snow is required. Single-stage throwers are now of very good quality and are perfectly adequate for most homeowners.

3. Operation of the snow thrower

When purchasing the machine, pay attention to large and easily accessible controls. In winter they will use a snow blower with thick gloves. If you want it to be very comfortable, buy one with heated handles! If you have an external socket, you can rely on a device with an electric starter. This saves a lot of effort when starting the machine in cold winters.

Do you have to turn around often? Do you have a lot of bends to clear? Then look out for a product with power steering! This makes the work much easier.

You don’t always want to put the snow thrower right back in the shed. Some may want to share it with neighbors. In this case, always make sure that there is a cover to protect the machine.

4. Safety

Always make sure the blower has been tested and complies with the necessary safety regulations. The purchase of branded goods is recommended here.

Good products have front lights. This way you can always see where you are going, even during heavy snowfall or in foggy mornings. Especially in single-family settlements with little or no public street lighting a great feature!

And think of hearing protection for your own protection!

5. Wheels and ejection of the snow blower

The size of the wheels determines the possible grip of your snow thrower. For even better traction (especially on slopes, on undulating ground or in very snowy areas) it is advisable to purchase a machine with crawler drive.

The ejection and its adjustability determine the direction and width of the ejection. Two-stage snow blowers are naturally more powerful and achieve a higher range. But single-stage machines can also achieve 10 meters in most cases.


12 Tips for Snow Shoveling

Many people enjoy a lot of snow in winter. He’s just part of it. Those who have to push the snow are usually not so happy about the white splendor.

Snow pushing is not very popular with many people. On the one hand, drivers are not exactly happy about the snow, as they usually have to struggle with adverse road conditions. On the other hand, it is the homeowners who do not like the snow very much, because they always have to provide for free sidewalks.

Snow shoveling is the order of the day and – understandably – not very popular with many people. Not only do you have to get out of bed very early, but you also have to apply a lot of force to shovel the snow to the side. It becomes particularly difficult when the snow is sticky. Then it also gets stuck on the snow shovel and the work turns into torture.

So the snow doesn’t stick to the shovel:

If you don’t want to deal with this problem, you should buy a Teflon-coated snow shovel. The only problem is that these are usually very expensive. If you don’t want to spend so much money on it, you should try the following tip. This is a much cheaper variant. Take your old snow shovel and rub it with furniture polish. This has exactly the same effect and it hardly costs anything. That way you have at least one problem under control. Now it can go to the snow shoveling or snow pushing. What you have to consider, we have put together here for you.

Pushing snow – 12 tips

  1. If you live in a rented apartment, then you should look again in the tenancy agreement to see who is responsible for snow shoveling and spreading. If you have your own house, you must always comply with the requirements of the city or municipality. For example, here is the page for Minneapolis.
  2. As a rule, you must keep the walkways in front of your property free of snow and ice between 7 am and 10 pm.
  3. Before you start pushing snow, you should first think about where you want to shovel it. After all, it should be stored in such a way that it doesn’t get in the way of anyone. But sometimes that’s easier said than done. This is the only way to prevent the snow from getting bigger and bigger when it is snowing for a long time.
  4. If you have a garden or a large lawn on your property, then you should store the snow there, because the water can easily seep into the ground when the snow melts.
  5. If you do not have a garden, you must be careful not to push the snow onto the road.
  6. If you push the snow to the edge of the sidewalk because there is nowhere else more room for it, you should note that you must keep all passages, such as exits, clear. In addition, the piles of snow must not present any obstruction to vision or danger.
  7. If the snow is powdery and the snow layer is not too thick, it is best to remove the snow with a large broom. Since powder snow is very light it can be removed very well with a broom.
  8. If you have to push snow on cobblestones, you should rather use a broom. With a snow shovel, you can easily get stuck and ram the handle into your stomach.
  9. In order for the water to drain off well when the snow melts, you should check regularly that the water channels and drains are free of snow and ice.
  10. In many communities, salt spreading is forbidden. Use grit or sand as an alternative. This provides a better grip when running anyway.
  11. If you apply rolled gravel to the pavement, you should also remember to remove it after the snow has melted. If you fail to do so, you may have to pay an administrative fine.
  12. If the thaw sets in, you should put up warning signs with the inscription “Beware of roof avalanches!” so that pedestrians cannot injure themselves if suddenly snow masses or icicles fall down.