Buy a snowblower or hire a snow plowing service?

[mizzou]

 

[gorcorps]

This reminds me...when I finally get a driveway installed I want to get a heated one


Dumb question..but don't the cheap $500.00 or whatever sno-blowers useless if the snow level is over a certain amount of inches?

http://www.amazon.com/Toro-38381-18-...ds=snow+shovel

The "$500 or whatever" blowers are in a different class than what you posted (which should be obvious given that what you posted is half that cost). Once you start getting into the 5-600 range you get into the gas powered 2-stage systems with steel augers which move a lot of snow. The top of the line will be a couple hundred more, but you can find a good blower for $600 which will be fine for most people.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Smart-24...ge+snow+blower

 

[NetWareHead]

Meh, the tracked ones that ive used are a big pain in the ass. You need to start the machine to move them; the track mechanism is hard to move by simply pushing the machine in neutral when the engine is off. Tracks have superior traction and if you have a heavily inclined driveway, thats where it would be appropriate. I've never had a problem with a wheeled unit slipping on icy surfaces and if traction is really such an issue, tire chains are available. I used furniture dollies to move my tracked machine in the garage when engine is off.

 

[Gillbot]

The "$500 or whatever" blowers are in a different class than what you posted (which should be obvious given that what you posted is half that cost). Once you start getting into the 5-600 range you get into the gas powered 2-stage systems with steel augers which move a lot of snow. The top of the line will be a couple hundred more, but you can find a good blower for $600 which will be fine for most people.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Smart-24...ge+snow+blower

I started with a shovel but decided to try an electric snow blower from one of the SlickDeals posts a few years back. I got one of these for $99 delivered:
http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Joe-SJ620.../dp/B0040X4VBC

My driveway is around 120-130 foot long, 20-22 feet wide and it's handled everything I've thrown at it so far with the exception of the wife using it once and trashing the big pulley. $20 later, it was back in business! We've had snow deeper than the pickup is tall and it still manages fine. Is it the strongest or best? No.... But it clears the driveway better than a shovel for sure. I'm debating on upgrading to a gas powered one so I don't have to watch the cord or I'm gonna get off my behind and mount my plow to my ATV and make that work. Haven't decided which I'd prefer yet, better snowblower or the ATV with plow.

 

[NetWareHead]

The "$500 or whatever" blowers are in a different class than what you posted (which should be obvious given that what you posted is half that cost). Once you start getting into the 5-600 range you get into the gas powered 2-stage systems with steel augers which move a lot of snow. The top of the line will be a couple hundred more, but you can find a good blower for $600 which will be fine for most people.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Smart-24...ge+snow+blower

Whatever you do, do not purchase a snowblower with a plastic discharge chute. in fact dont purchase a snowblower that has anything plastic on the exterior. I purchased a second hand craftsman from craigslist and while the engine was solid, the discharge chute was plastic. The snowblower ate a chunk of ice/rock, somethign harder than snow and ripped the chute clean off. With no chute, the snow could not be directed. It launchged straight up and landed on the engine. A replacement plastic chute was almost $100. I replaced it and when I noticed the chute was wearing and going to break again, I sold the damned thing. I now have a Honda snowblower

 

[Gillbot]

Whatever you do, do not purchase a snowblower with a plastic discharge chute. in fact dont purchase a snowblower that has anything plastic on the exterior. I purchased a second hand craftsman from craigslist and while the engine was solid, the discharge chute was plastic. The snowblower ate a chunk of ice/rock, somethign harder than snow and ripped the chute clean off. With no chute, the snow could not be directed. It launchged straight up and landed on the engine. A replacement plastic chute was almost $100. I replaced it and when I noticed the chute was wearing and going to break again, I sold the damned thing. I now have a Honda snowblower

My electric snowblower is probably 80% plastic and is still truckin along after years and years of torture.

 

[NetWareHead]

My electric snowblower is probably 80% plastic and is still truckin along after years and years of torture.

An engine driven 2 stage snowblower is arguably going to stress its components, need more robust parts and accelerates the snow much faster out the discharge chute than an electric. In my experience, plastic components on a gas snowblower on the part that receives heavy stresses (discharge chute) is a stupid design flaw.

 

[nageov3t]

with that long of a driveway, why wouldn't you just park near the edge when snow is expected so you only have to shovel out one car's length?

 

[Vdubchaos]

My house had a corner lot, 2 car garage, about 3 car lengths long and cost $20 per visit to clear. How much is a decent snow blower? $400? So that's 20 visits plus time and energy. How often do you get enough snow to remove? For us it's about 4 times a year so that's 5 years worth of removal.

I didn't buy a snow blower.

You missing one important factor.

WHEN. When will that person come and clear your driveway? Will it be at 7am before you have to get to work? Or later on the afternoon/night?

hehe

 

[railer]

Use the plow service this year, then calculate $ spent at end of season and evaluate plow service vs. snowblower.

 

[NetWareHead]

with that long of a driveway, why wouldn't you just park near the edge when snow is expected so you only have to shovel out one car's length?

Because that then reduces to a driveway one lane wide for the rest of the winter season. The rest of that snow is going to freeze in place if not removed. I have tenants on my property living upstairs and my entire driveway needs to be done so they can get out too.

 

[nageov3t]

Because that then reduces to a driveway one lane wide for the rest of the winter season. The rest of that snow is going to freeze in place if not removed. I have tenants on my property living upstairs and my entire driveway needs to be done so they can get out too.

assuming the OP only has himself and possibly an SO to worry about, though, I don't get the big deal... the first snowfall of the year, I move my garbage cans from the back of the backyard up near the fence, and after that, everything beyond the fence is a winter wonderland until spring.

 

[NetWareHead]

assuming the OP only has himself and possibly an SO to worry about, though, I don't get the big deal... the first snowfall of the year, I move my garbage cans from the back of the backyard up near the fence, and after that, everything beyond the fence is a winter wonderland until spring.

yeah but then you can only fit your car alone in your driveway. Even if I didnt have tenants, I'd still do the entire thing. Visitors can come over and park in my driveway if I clear it during the winter.

 

[Peace Pilgrim]

Like other people have said. ATV with plow and you'll have fun doing the sidewalk and your neighbors will love you.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Like other people have said. ATV with plow and you'll have fun doing the sidewalk and your neighbors will love you.

ATV is a lot of money and does not do a good job at plowing. It's too light.....

 

[Peace Pilgrim]

ATV is a lot of money and does not do a good job at plowing. It's too light.....

I guess you would need a big atv. A good friend has this setup and lives for snow days. I suppose its not a realistic option, but certainly fun.

 

[DrPizza]

Looks like most people are saying snowblower.

A few people mentioned that the plow service may not show up when I want it to. This is what worries me most. At the last apartment I lived in, the landlady had a contract with a plow service. During bigger storms the guy didn't show up until after needed to leave for work, so I would end up having to shovel out the larger drifts around my parking spot and also entrance to the parking lot after the city plows went by. This was miserable. I don't enjoy shoveling.

I like the 4 wheeler with a plow suggestion that a few people mentioned, but my lot is a small village lot, so I wouldn't be able to have fun with it any other time. If I had a larger suburban/country lot I would probably go this route.

I'm still leaning towards snowblower.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

There's another suggestion: 3 or 4 years ago, my son picked up a pick-up truck in Rochester on Craigslist. $2000, plus an extra $500 if he wanted all of the plow equipment. For under $3k (comparable to that 4-wheeler), you can get your driveway done even quicker. And, you can offer to do the neighbors' driveways at a pretty steep discount, since you don't have to drive all around town to clean driveways. Do 5 neighbor's driveways and your own each time it snows, and that's $50 in your pocket toward the pick-up purchase.

I bought an electric snow blower last season that works great. Sure, the extension cord part kind of sucks, but once you get used to it it isn't bad.

That said, when it does start to snow, make plans to get on it right away and keep up with it. Once I get about two inches, I'm out there for my first rotation. If you let it pile up it gets much more difficult unless you've got a very expensive snow blower.

I made that mistake once during a nor'easter. I gave up around 2 or 3 am. The next morning, everyone's sidewalk had 3 feet of snow. Not mine - I had it cleared off at 2am. But, with the wind, it drifted in, and I wound up with around 30" of snow. BUT, unlike my neighbors, I had 8 foot piles of snow from keeping up with the storm. That sucked - I ran out of room for snow.

Because that then reduces to a driveway one lane wide for the rest of the winter season. The rest of that snow is going to freeze in place if not removed. I have tenants on my property living upstairs and my entire driveway needs to be done so they can get out too.

I've never quite figured out the anal retentive infatuation with seeing the blacktop in your driveway - EXCEPT when the snow is deep enough to cause problems driving on a long driveway, else the driveway has a significant slope to it. I've got a tractor. I have chains for the wheels. I don't have problems with traction - in fact (discovered while pulling out a truck that crashed into a snow bank), I get enough traction on the road such that if I'm not moving forward, those chains are digging asphalt out of the road. So, I can plow pretty effectively with the bucket on the front of the tractor, and the plow on the rear of the tractor. I don't recall if I even bothered last winter, and we got plenty of snow. It melts eventually. Pull in, back out, pull in a little to the side, back out. 3 or 4 times and you've packed the stuff down to walk on.

 

[boomerang]

In my case the driveway is nothing but curves. It arcs in off the street to enter the garage. To leave, you back out of the garage and go forward around a tight bend, meeting up the incoming arc near the road where you can pull out onto the road. The driveway is essentially a loop with one entrance/exit and a stub coming off of it to enter the garage. The point is that if I don't clear the driveway with each snowfall, the drive gets narrower and narrower until the tightest portion cannot be navigated. With passenger cars it's a problem. It's one of those things. If we're going to get a light snow with warming temperatures in the forecast and maybe some sun thrown in, the asphalt will melt off the snow on its own. If not, I'd better be out there dealing with it. Snow removes far, far easier than ice. I can't get a car out of my driveway if the snow is piled up high and the driveway has narrowed due to me not clearing it. It's not cool to be scraping the side of your car on the mounded up snow while trying to drive outside of the ruts.

 

[NetWareHead]

I've never quite figured out the anal retentive infatuation with seeing the blacktop in your driveway - EXCEPT when the snow is deep enough to cause problems driving on a long driveway, else the driveway has a significant slope to it.

When I snowblow, I dont need to see blacktop. The machine going to leave behind 1/4 to 1/2 inch. If I feel up to it, I shovel the rest off. I have an inclined driveway and if the remaining snow freezes into ice, it sucks to be more trying to park. At the very least I'll spread down some salt

 

[UnklSnappy]

I would go with the snowblower. The driveway gets cleared when you need it clear. And the plow guys always seem to end up tearing up parts of your lawn, which you then need to fix every spring.

 

[Gillbot]

An engine driven 2 stage snowblower is arguably going to stress its components, need more robust parts and accelerates the snow much faster out the discharge chute than an electric. In my experience, plastic components on a gas snowblower on the part that receives heavy stresses (discharge chute) is a stupid design flaw.

I don't disagree, but your generalization and assumption that one should never buy a snowblower with plastic parts is severely flawed. Mine has fared quite well and for the price paid, I've gotten more than my money's worth out of it. Would a gas one have been better? Perhaps, but they are also more costly and require more upkeep.

 

[Murdoc]

with that long of a driveway, why wouldn't you just park near the edge when snow is expected so you only have to shovel out one car's length?

I had actually thought about doing that but there's a detached garage at the end of the driveway that I would like to have easy access to. Plus, I occasionally have friends and family over. I'm on a busy street so parking on the street isn't an option either.

 

[sportage]

BOTH!
During those bad storms it takes hours for the crew to show up.
And DO NOT drive on the unplowed snow.
That crushes the snow down, turns into ice, and you'll never get rid of that.
Well, not with snowplowing or the shovel.

Snow is a challenge. You have to keep on top of it.

 

[NetWareHead]

I don't disagree, but your generalization and assumption that one should never buy a snowblower with plastic parts is severely flawed. Mine has fared quite well and for the price paid, I've gotten more than my money's worth out of it. Would a gas one have been better? Perhaps, but they are also more costly and require more upkeep.

Well you would be right too but we are not comparing apples to apples here. Its the reason why a plastic frame is appropriate for an RC car while a metal frame is appropriate for a pickup truck. I live in NH and you dont see many of those single stage electric snowblowers here so they were not in my mind when I made that statement.

 

[Midwayman]

When you need the service EVERYONE will be calling it at the same time. You should get a little blower so you can pull your car out in an emergency.



http://www.snowjoe.com/prodshelf.asp?dept_id=100006&parent_id=0


I think I'm gonna order that narrow one.

I have one of their blowers. Works fine for anything under about 10" as long as its not wet snow. Not enough power to throw lots of wet snow.