Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I just moved to Minnesota after being in the warm, no snow southwest USA.  I am new to the whole snow thing, so I have some basic questions about what I should get as far as a snow blower goes.  I see single stage and dual stage throwers, but can't seem to find out what the difference is??  Also, if all I am clearing is my driveway, which is 20' wide by 35' long, just what kind of horse power am I going to need?  I do know the difference in 2 cycle and 4 cycle engines, but that is about it.  I'm trying to get a head start on the whole snow thing and want to have a blower in my garage ready to go when the first snow hits.  Any advice is appreciated!!

Travis

Best Advice: Use the search function of this and other similar forums. You'll get loads of advice & opinion surely to keep you going round and round :). You may also want to ask your neighbors & even take a trip to that big box home store to browse their literature.

I bought a Toro CCR 3650 single stage last year for my driveway which is about the same dimensions as you state. I'm a little north of Chicago and last winter we got several 4"-6" snow falls with one 11 inch-er (this was a 3-4 year record snowfall for our area). The 3650 was able to handle it all, but in the 11" snowfall, I let the EOD pile ice overnight, so I had to do that by hand. Had I  gone out at night when it stopped falling, i would have been OK. You live & learn.

So, you'll need to know what your typical  snowfall is and to some extent the worst case snowfall you would want to deal with. A singe stage loses a lot of effectiveness above 12". One point to keep in mind is you get what you pay for. There are dual stage units that sell for less than what I paid for my Toro single stage, but those may require more maintenance then good Toro or Ariens, for example.

FWIW, I don't regret buying Toro, but I probably would seriously consider the 4 cycle Honda single stage, if nothing else then for the smoother engine.

To recap, the points I considered when making my decision for the Toro 3650:

- Most snowfall's do not exceed 6" in my area
- The 3650 is light & easy to maneuver
- Simpler design of single stage vs dual stage
- Small footprint in my 2 car garage
- Quality unit for the price point

Good Luck!

I agree with the above poster, you need to know how much snow is typical in your area. If you get frequent snow falls of more than 12 in  a self propelled 2 stage is the way to go. If most snow falls are less than a foot, a single stage with a 2 cycle engine is adequate most of the time. The single stage/2 cycle blowers have a couple of big advantages, one being they are so simple there is less to maintain and go wrong, but you MUST always use the right premix fuel (fuel+oil mixture). The are easier to manuver and take up less room. Some can't stand the smell of 2 cycle exhaust, in that case get a Honda 4 stroke single stage.

Next year you'll know exactly what size snow thrower you needed for last year. :-)

1. Single Stage

The engine drives paddles which scoop the snow and then throw it up a chute which directs the snow somewhere else. Generally less horesepower than a two stage but better at cleaning right donw to the asphalt since the paddles are rubber or plastc and act as squeegies .... sort of. Generally there is a throttle, a choke and a chute control. No gears, no forward or reverse, no clutch to engage.

2. Two Stage

The engine drives three systems, the auger, the impeller and the traction control. The auger chews up the snow and feeds it to the impeller. The impeller shoots the snow up the chute which directs it somewhere else. The taction system makes one or more wheels or tracks move and gives you powered forward and reverse movement. Most  blowers have 2 reverse speeds and 5 or 6 forward speeds as well as neutral. Generally there is a throttle ( more of an on off thing), a traction clutch control, an auger clutch, choke, ignition switch, a speed control ( stick shift)  and a chute control. There will also be some sort of traction control to make it easier to turn corners. Most two stage units are bigger, heavier and more complicated than single stage units. They also move more snow.

What you want depends on how much and what type of snow you get . It also depends on what you are clearing and how much money you want to spend.

If you go to the various manufacturer web sites you will find some fairly good descriptions of the various options.

One thing to be aware of. There was a long discussion last year  when someone noticed that the specs for the engines on the 9HP  blowers were the same as the 10 and 12 HP units. I think many people came to the conclusion that they were the same engine with different stickers on them and possibly different throttle governor settings . I can't say for sure but I wouldn't be surprised.

1 thing I didn't see mentioned, is that single stage blowers and gravel don't mix well.  They'll pick up the rocks and heave them right along with the snow.  A 2 stage has skids on the bottom of the housing that are adjustable, so you can set it high enough to keep the rocks on the ground where they belong.

Here is a little tip if you get a 2 stage. If the snow is wet and heavy spray the chute, augers and impeller with Pam or WD40 before you blow snow. It will help alot with snow piling up in the chute and causing a clog.