Small Snow Blower

[linda4]

I have a long driveway so use a plow on my 4x4 pickup for snow removal. But I also have a long, narrrow walkway as well and am looking to buy a good push snow blower for this winter. Can anyone recommend a good brand and model for about $400-500 ?

 

[carla6]

I would recommend you get a Toro 1800 Power Curve. You can get them at Wal-Mart of Home Depot for about $330 to $350. They were rated as one of the best last year by consumer reports.

 

[cwmdc]

What ever you buy, don稚 buy to small of one, and get a self propelled one. A good 8 horse will run a little more then you want to spend, but believe me, you will be happy with a bigger one then a smaller one.

 

[blades]

Hi, I run a snow removal service in WI. For walks and such I use the the Toro Commander series in the 6 hp range. They are light and nimble and do a very good job. This size is more dollars than you indicated but we found the smaller units to be too under powered.

 

[dusty-t]

Ditto on what they said. :biggrin::biggrin: Dusty

 

[Harriet]

I have a little Snapper that I've had for several years now. It functions and operates much like a lawnmower. I'm 72, and I handle it with no problem at all. It has never given me a moments touble either.

 

[Willyvon]

I would recommend you get a Toro 1800 Power Curve. You can get them at Wal-Mart of Home Depot for about $330 to $350. They were rated as one of the best last year by consumer reports.

Got mine for $299 on line from Ace Hardware with delivery at my local Ace. Just used it for the first time, 6-8" last night and yesterday. The supposedly flexible $80 100' 12/3 cord isn't really. The cord is a dictatorial bitch often in disagreement with the wind and always demanding 50%+ of your concentration. Gotta convince one or more of the makers to do a Li-Ion battery powered version with a battery pack I can remove and take indoors to charge like my Neuton mower or better, the Rechargemower battery. (google it, it is really a light pack). The battery chamber would require a sealing cover. Water and electrical connections don't mix well.

 

[reynoldston]

I would say Ariens is top of the line. Made to work on if you ever have problims.

 

[Willyvon]

I would say Ariens is top of the line. Made to work on if you ever have problims.

Except they only make the Amp which I don't believe allows ready removal of the battery between uses for in-house charging. It's not wise to rely on charging of lead acid batteries in an unheated garage in areas that routinely get sub-zero F temps on multiple occasions every winter. Then there's the $1500-$2000 cost.

 

[Willyvon]

Got mine for $299 on line from Ace Hardware with delivery at my local Ace. Just used it for the first time, 6-8" last night and yesterday. The supposedly flexible $80 100' 12/3 cord isn't really. The cord is a dictatorial bitch often in disagreement with the wind and always demanding 50%+ of your concentration. Gotta convince one or more of the makers to do a Li-Ion battery powered version with a battery pack I can remove and take indoors to charge like my Neuton mower or better, the Rechargemower battery. (google it, it is really a light pack). The battery chamber would require a sealing cover. Water and electrical connections don't mix well.

Re-thinking the water problem: there are a lot of water tight connector pair systems any one of which could be employed to seal off the electrical connections, machine to battery pack. Sealing the "lid" of the battery chamber wouldn't be necessary, only sealing the bottom and sides of it and the connection cable pass through near the top of the chamber to preserve the "innards" of the blower from water.