Alexb2000
En-Route
I want pictures!
I Bought a Snow Blower
- Thread starter RJM62
- Start date
I want pictures!
RJM62
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Geek on the Hill
I'll soon get a chance to test it. We have an active Winter Storm Warning with a most-recent prediction of 8" to 16" of snow today and into early tomorrow. Probably will be the wet, heavy stuff, too. A lot depends on the wind direction, but I usually get amounts toward the higher end of the predictions.
Bring it on, I say!
Rich
You getting hit yet? The cold weather pushed in here a couple of hours ago (it was still warm at 4:30am when I got to bed), and now it's getting bloody cold out, it has to be in the low 60s.
signu127
Pre-takeoff checklist
South Louisiana here...where exactly do you use those blowers at? Is this something you use on your driveway or sidewalk? This may sound crazy but cant you just open the garage and drive through it instead of blowing it out the way?
thanks
thanks
PaulS
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You use the snowblower on driveways and side walks, anywhere you need to clear a path. It beats shoveling hands down.
We are not into the main part of winter yet, but will be soon and snow can last for months after it falls. It keeps piling up. If you don't clear it, the snow will compress and turn into ice. Even as snow it is very slippery.
Some people, usually transplants from warmer climes, try to get away with not shoveling. If you have a car, it's hit or miss as to whether you can blast through it, usually you just end up stuck, the snow gathers under the frame and is a real ***** to get unstuck, you have to shovel or get pulled out. I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, that will go through most snow, but still can get stuck.
The problem with not shoveling is that usually after a few days, it freezes up and turns to concrete. Then you can't shovel it, you are stuck until it warms up and melts. Most people only make that mistake once.
signu127
Pre-takeoff checklist
Yeah, not some places. You know any of the Giests or Porches in Houma?
I know a few of both. I graduated with a Hans Geist and a Buster Porche.
They're all kin of mine, old Lloyd Geist Sr gave me my first airplane ride and stick time when I was 4, put me at the helm of a boat for the first time too, kind of set me on my path.
Pics are on the old computer that got hit with the Crypto Locker virus... I am sure I posted some of it on here before but have no idea how to use the search to find them.....
Feel free to hunt the down, when I get it out for more snow removal I will snap more pics for ya though....
Pics are on the old computer that got hit with the Crypto Locker virus... I am sure I posted some of it on here before but have no idea how to use the search to find them.....
Feel free to hunt the down, when I get it out for more snow removal I will snap more pics for ya though....
I wonder what would happen if you stuck a Go Pro in the snow pointing at your approach and shot it out, it would either be crappy footage or awesome.
signu127
Pre-takeoff checklist
They're all kin of mine, old Lloyd Geist Sr gave me my first airplane ride and stick time when I was 4, put me at the helm of a boat for the first time too, kind of set me on my path.
Lloyd Geist Sr was the seaplane guy in this area for a long time. I read he had a really impressive military career too. The person who taught me to fly (Charlie Hammond) started out working for Lloyd in the 50's. Did you live in Houma?
His 206 on floats was the first small plane I was in. He still had his P-51 then as well. He flew the P-47, P-38, and P-51 in combat and was IP in the P-39 training Soviet IPs.
I never lived in Houma, but visited quite frequently when I was running out of Fourchon and Morgan City.
dell30rb
Final Approach
I got a free husquavarna leaf blower from my dad. He had it 6 months and the ethanol ate the cheap fuel lines. I bought him a new Stihl to replace it for his birthday, and he gave me the broken husky.
$7 in replacement fuel lines and it runs on non-ethanol fuel now.
$7 in replacement fuel lines and it runs on non-ethanol fuel now.
Could have just used a different material for the fuel lines so ethanol wouldn't be a problem.
Tom-D
Taxi to Parking
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Tom-D
And you are going to need it this week. Oneonta is due 18" tonight.
Gary F
Final Approach
Your Husky should do fine. If you let wet heavy snow get too deep it will be a problem for ant snowblower. It's not uncommon here to need to do a run two or three times in a single day.
EppyGA
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Atlanta snow blower 
RJM62
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Geek on the Hill
This was one of last year's snows.
That wasn't an especially bad one. It's just one that I happened to have uploaded already.
This one is starting to pick up. It was wimpy this morning, but it's starting to come down in earnest now. I'd estimate 1.3 inches / hour at the present rate, and intensifying. Should be fun!
Rich
RJM62
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Yeah, the kid who delivered it said that. He said that model can handle two feet or more or fluffy snow, or a foot or more of wet snow, in its lowest gears; but that it's easier, faster, uses less gas, and causes less stress to the machine to do it two or three times instead.
I'm actually looking forward to this. I guess guys like to make a sport out of anything. My lady friend and my daughter both think I'm nuts.
Rich
Last edited:
nddons
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You're not nuts. I love doing it too. I live in a neighborhood of ******* who all have a snowplow guy do their drives for $35 a pop. The doc down the road (a pediatrician, so getting out of his lane is paramount for that emergency diaper rash that may happen at any minute) instructs the guy to plow his lane whenever it accumulates 1" of snow, so of course when he does that, he does the other neighbors as well, multiple times for a single snow fall.
I'm the only do-it-yourselfer in the neighborhood, and love using my 32" Ariens on my 350' lane. I would like to get a blade for my Deere lawn tractor for those light snows.
RJM62
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I must say, I was very impressed by my first two uses of machine.
The first was late yesterday afternoon, and the second was this morning. Each time there was only about four inches of snow, but it was very wet and heavy because the temperature has been fluctuating above and below freezing by a few degrees for the past couple of days.
The Husqvarna had no problem dealing with it at all and threw it much farther than I thought it was, considering how wet and heavy it was. I could have cleared my two-lane driveway with the chute pointed in the "wrong" direction the whole time. The snow and slush easily cleared the whole width of the driveway.
I did have to tweak the skid adjustment a bit. I'd left it at the high position because I have a gravel driveway, but that proved to be a bit too high, so I lowered them about 3/16". That made more difference than one might think. There's still about an inch of snow on the ground after clearing, but that's better than firing gravel projectiles into the air.
I also managed to break a shear bolt. I caught it in a mound of dirt along the edge of the driveway when I went too close to the edge. Luckily, they give you six spares with the machine.
This morning there was about another four inches, even wetter and heavier than last night's, so I cleared it again. And again, the machine made light work of it. On the occasional drifts and the spots I missed last night, it didn't slow down at all. It almost seemed to be saying to me, "Is this all you got? Where's the real stuff?"
I was using the machine in the third or fourth of its six gears most of the time because that was the speed I felt comfortable walking at. It worked fine in sixth at the depth it was throwing, but I wasn't in the mood for a jog. I'm sure it'll have no problem with deeper snow, especially because it would likely be fluffier than the miserable mix of slush, sleet, and snow that was out there this morning.
My driveway's about 110 feet long, and there's a parking are that easily accommodates four cars off to one side. I also cleared a path to the propane tanks in the back. Total time was maybe 40 minutes, if that.
The only annoyance (other than the shear bolt, which was my fault) had nothing to do with the snow thrower, but rather with the CARB-compliant gas can. Its nozzle was designed in such a way as to make it impossible to use unless you have three hands. Even then it would be a challenge. I finally gave up and "modified" the nozzle a bit to make it usable.
Rich
The first was late yesterday afternoon, and the second was this morning. Each time there was only about four inches of snow, but it was very wet and heavy because the temperature has been fluctuating above and below freezing by a few degrees for the past couple of days.
The Husqvarna had no problem dealing with it at all and threw it much farther than I thought it was, considering how wet and heavy it was. I could have cleared my two-lane driveway with the chute pointed in the "wrong" direction the whole time. The snow and slush easily cleared the whole width of the driveway.
I did have to tweak the skid adjustment a bit. I'd left it at the high position because I have a gravel driveway, but that proved to be a bit too high, so I lowered them about 3/16". That made more difference than one might think. There's still about an inch of snow on the ground after clearing, but that's better than firing gravel projectiles into the air.
I also managed to break a shear bolt. I caught it in a mound of dirt along the edge of the driveway when I went too close to the edge. Luckily, they give you six spares with the machine.
This morning there was about another four inches, even wetter and heavier than last night's, so I cleared it again. And again, the machine made light work of it. On the occasional drifts and the spots I missed last night, it didn't slow down at all. It almost seemed to be saying to me, "Is this all you got? Where's the real stuff?"
I was using the machine in the third or fourth of its six gears most of the time because that was the speed I felt comfortable walking at. It worked fine in sixth at the depth it was throwing, but I wasn't in the mood for a jog. I'm sure it'll have no problem with deeper snow, especially because it would likely be fluffier than the miserable mix of slush, sleet, and snow that was out there this morning.
My driveway's about 110 feet long, and there's a parking are that easily accommodates four cars off to one side. I also cleared a path to the propane tanks in the back. Total time was maybe 40 minutes, if that.
The only annoyance (other than the shear bolt, which was my fault) had nothing to do with the snow thrower, but rather with the CARB-compliant gas can. Its nozzle was designed in such a way as to make it impossible to use unless you have three hands. Even then it would be a challenge. I finally gave up and "modified" the nozzle a bit to make it usable.
Rich
RJM62
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Herman vanOoijen
Pre-Flight
One small thing that will help you, is having a spray can of starter fluid. I have a couple of snow blowers with electric starters that I use at the house and at the office and when I use starting fluid they start at first contact. Since you have no cover with the snow blower, you will get used to looking like a snowman depending how the wind blows!
Gary F
Final Approach
Sure beats shoveling.
Ghery
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PaulS
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Nice write up, sounds like it worked well. The CARB nozzle I have hooks onto the fill opening allowing you to push on the nozzle with the weight of the gas can to open the nozzle, works pretty well but still a PITA.
I find that I still need to hand-clear the last 1/4-1/2" that any blower leaves behind. I used a shovel, pushing plow-like more than scooping, but next time I might try a push broom that has a wider width for this last pass.
My driveway is paved, not gravel, but it is steeply sloped so I make a concerted effort to get down to the pavement each snowfall, then liberally use about 40-50 lb of de-ice on 120' of driveway plus 400 sf of carport immediately outside my garage.
Considering how often you need it, and the extent of the snow, that's about right. Kind of like municipal snow-clearing equipment -- it just isn't worth it for every town to spend millions on heavy plows that will get used once every five years. I like to see them improvising with dozers and road-graders when really needed.
PaulS
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Hardly improvisation, those are a must have around here, sometimes a truck pushing a plow isn't enough....
Miami snow blower:
nddons
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Sweet, Rich! I love that "Bring it on!" feeling.
I'm looking for a decent gas can, and just noticed that they're selling metal ones again. They must be gold-lined, because on Northern Tool and Equipment their Type II metal 5 gal tanks run from $75 to $280!!!
nddons
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Sweet, Rich! I love that "Bring it on!" feeling.
I'm looking for a decent gas can, and just noticed that they're selling metal ones again. They must be gold-lined, because on Northern Tool and Equipment their Type II metal 5 gal tanks run from $75 to $280!!!
jesse
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This is where the single-stage blowers really shine. I have a two stage but given the little snow we get generally in Nebraska I'd be a hell of a lot better off with a good single stage as it'll get down to the cement way more effectively.
dell30rb
Final Approach
Could have just used a different material for the fuel lines so ethanol wouldn't be a problem.
Thought about it but the fuel line kit was in stock and i dont run ethanol in lawn mowers etc.. Anyway
Gary F
Final Approach
Why? There's always some snow on my driveway. I just need to be able to drive on it without getting stuck.
Stewartb
Final Approach
Alaskans use snow scoops more than shovels but many of us use backpack blowers. The blowers are becoming popular for removing snow from planes, too.
http://www.ablackhorse.com/store/m/viewPrd.asp
http://www.ablackhorse.com/store/m/viewPrd.asp
Jesse...
I am a little confused on how a single stage will get" down to the concrete way more effectively"
..
Maybe I'm just paranoid. "Some snow" to me is whatever is left in the cracks of the asphalt that a shovel can't get up. If I leave 1/4" to freeze solid overnight, or to get packed down by tire tracks into a n(ice) smooth surface, I'm concerned about getting down safely (oddly, getting up and out is less concerning, esp since I bought a Legacy). My driveway is 120' long, straight downhill at about 10% grade. If I'm lucky, sliding down out of control would just hit the corner of my basement garage. Unlucky could send me into a pine tree to the right of that, or REALLY unlucky, off to the right of my driveway is an embankment that is protected by 4"x4" railroad ties that edge the driveway, and a couple of sapling pines that aren't going to stop a car.
