Snowblower Consensus

[Krice58 179]

What’s the consensus on the snowblowers? I have a plow already, works great but my the driveway at my new house is narrower and longer than my previous one and I don’t have room to push the snow to the sides so I figured a blower throwing it into my yard would be better. I’ve read that the single stage short chute can struggle with some of the slushy stuff and the 2 stages work well but take up more space and are much heavier. The sweet spot seems to be the single stage long chute based on what I’ve read. Any input from snowblower users? I’ll either stick it on my C160 or my 314. 

[ri702bill 12,898]

A heavy wet overnight snowfall of six or more inches can be a challenge to clean up. I have two tractors set up for winter use - the C81 with the plow and the 854 8 speed with the 32 inch single stage snowthrower. The plow is best for moving a small amount of snow quickly; the snow thrower can move a large amount of snow rather slowly. I tend to rough out the cleanup starting with the snowthrower and finish with the plow...However, dry fluffly snow is usually dealt with the plow only - If it is windy the snow thrower shoots the snow up into the air and it usually goes everywhere but where you actually want it to go...

 

Edited 2 hours ago by ri702bill

[Ed Kennell 47,103]

I've used all the blowers.  Short chute, long chute, and dual stage and they all work well in the dry deep snow but not very well in the wet small snows.    The single stage blowers must be kept full to  work properly and to prevent the chute from clogging.   This means the ground speed needs to be adjusted requiring a hydro transmission.

IMO, a cab is also a must when using a blower.     I now have 48" and 54' plows on my snow movers that I use to keep five driveways clean.    I have no problems pushing and stacking the snow on the lawns.