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

Hello!

This is my first post and I would appreciate any thoughts you might have based on your experience with two-stage blowers.

We built a house two years ago that has a concrete driveway (about 120' long) with an exposed aggregate border. The aggregate also forms the walkways for all three front entry doors and the garage apron. I have been using a Toro single stage for the last two years and have struggled at times with the amount of snow we receive here. We had over 100" last year and I felt every bit of that. We live in a lake effect snow belt so get blasted quite regularly. Given the direction of the prevailing winds the snow accumulates around our three car garage and entry areas and can be as high as 18" or more. I find with the single stage Toro that I am reblowing the snow repeatedly (as the turnaround area is longer than the snow can be blown) just to get it cleared.

After two years of this I've decided that a two-stage would be a better answer to this problem. However, my initial forays into local dealers have turned up several issues. First of all, we have an exceptionally nice (expensive) concrete driveway and several dealers have warned me that the skid shoes on a two-stage blower can scratch the driveway with repeated use. They've also indicated that the scraper blade could be a problem with the exposed aggregate. I've been abble to find a polycarbonate alternative for Ariens but have had no success with the scraper blade. As yet, I have been unable to locate non-scratch skid shoes or scraper for the Simplicity I'm interested in.

I am now also concerned with about a two-stage from a clearance perspective. If I set the blade too high (to avoid scraping) I could be leaving a significant residue on the blown surfaces. This was not an issue with the single stage Toro. This would not normally be a problem but I sold my SUV this year in favor of a rear wheel drive car. While I've ordered winter tires and rims, I'm concerned that leaving too much snow on the driveway will result in a slippery surface or ice buildup that could become problematic. My driveway has a 15 degree slope that adds to the problem. One dealer suggested that I use salt to eliminate the remainder but I believe the landscaping around the driveway would be adversely affected by this solution.

I guess I'm interested in two things. First, does a two-stage blower leave scratch marks on a concrete driveway? (from the skid shoes and/or scraper) And second, how does a two-stage handle a significant amount of exposed aggregate? Is the only solution raising the blade to a level where a significant amount of snow is left behind?

I was really looking forward to a two-stage blower but now am not so sure. The problems they impose may be larger that the challenges I currently experience with the single stage Toro.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and assistance.

PS I skimmed all threads in the forum back to 2005 and could not find an answer.

You could hog out the polycarbonate skids to fit
your machine hole positions. That will leave a new
inset area of the original size plus the hogged out
area. Put in a backer plate inside the newer wider
bolt channel to fill the area. The backer plate
will be the width of the original inset area plus
the hogged out area.
Then use a longer flange bolts possibly with
washers to go through the backer and poly holes.
I assume your driveway is very flat seeing it's
so nice. Given that you should be able to set the
skids just high enough that the scraper will not touch
and clear all your snow.

Thanks, Mech12 that's what I was afraid of. While I'm not anal about my driveway like JohnnyBoyUpNorth's neighbor, my wife and I are planning to retire in this house and want to maintain its appearance as long as possible. While I don't look forward to managing large snow days with a single stage, it seems the only option for the time being.

One final question, I currently have a Toro 3650 GTS that I bought 8 years ago. Are the new Toro single stage units like the 421Q 4-cycle an improvement over that model?

Thanks!

I've got a sealed, patterned concrete driveway. While my rusty skid plates don't mark it up (unless it sits in direct contact and rusts), I noticed that chains on the tires would occasionally scratch it. So I ditched the chains. I like the idea of the poly plates and will probably replace mine this year with those.

As for the scraper, I set my plates up so that I leave a snow base that I like to build up a few inches for the winter. It protects the driveway and there's no concern about it scratching.

I would never let a commercial plow come on the driveway. Oh, and I only use a plastic shovel (well, I use an Al one sometimes, but am careful with it). And no steel ice-chippers!

Brad wrote:
A bit late, but we've been using two-stage blowers on a gravel driveway for twenty years.  Generally we keep the skids down (i.e., scraper up), so we're never clearing all the way down.  For light snows, especially early season, this clears enough that the remainder will melt or sublime in a day or two.  Once we have a heavy snow, it remains packed down and it's safe to raise the skids.  As long as it remains as packed snow, traction is fine, but if we have moderate temperatures (28-40), the surface will turn to ice and become treacherous, forcing us to sand it.  It helps to have an AWD car, but we still have to walk the driveway for mail and trash.

We don't have a problem with the snowblower destroying the driveway.  It's very rare that a rock will come through, but that's mostly a problem of denting the blower.  I can't remember the last time we had to add material to the driveway, other than right up against the garage.  It helps to have a good driveway mix, such as star pack, containing both stone dust and stones, compacted down.

I've been getting some feedback regarding some older machines with distances between the bolt centers that prevents the Roller-Skid from fitting on the side of the auger box.  Simple solution: drill a new hole 3" from either the front or back existing holes!  In my humble opinion... I think you'll be happy you did!   If you want to get a set of these things go to SnowBlowersDirect.com under Accessories.  $29.99 per pair.

Use a two-stage for your big snows and set the scraper bar as high as you need to avoid scratching.  Then go back over it with the single-stage unit to clear down to the driveway. 

I've used the Ariens "plastic" skids.  They work well, except I think they are a little too wide - they tend to ride up over packed snow rather than cutting through it.  I have a plain concrete driveway and I set my scraper bar by putting a couple of paint stir sticks under it.  That will pick up almost all of the snow without scraping directly on the concrete.

longboat wrote:
Thanks for that tidbit of information.  I'm machining my own poly skids on the Bridgeport for the Honda and I made it wider and larger than Arien's version.  We'll see how it performs as far as tracking and riding up the snow.  I can always fine tune the shape of the skid's contact area after some snow trials.

How did your Ariens plastic skids hold up in terms of wear?  I can only guess at this point if it's riding on concrete and brick without a layer of snow to act as lubrication, it will wear out quick.

rafdog wrote:
I looked into these and would have bought a set if they fit my CC SWE930. But the bolt centers are 4-1/2". Too far for the product. Too bad. I would have liked to try them.

JimmyM wrote:

You may want to double check that: https://sites.google.com/site/rollerskid/

4. Fits machines with 2-3/4" and 3" bolt centers

The Roller-Skid fits machines with both 2-3/4" (MTD, Troy-Bilt, etc.) and 3" (Ariens, Toro, John Deere, Craftsman, etc.) bolt centers.

DavidNJ wrote:
I already measured the bolt distance. It's 4-1/2 inches.