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

Ok, tracks may be a little more effort to turn, but when you have 30 - 40 inches of blown hard packed snow, you need to have tracks!! A hydro drive helps too, because I had to go very very slow.

I had to put the Hydro Drive down to a crawl, and a few times I did have to back up, to let the cut snow fall in front, and then go forward again. There was a couple times when the tracks slipped, and I did have to rock the unit a bit, to get it going again.

This is on gravel, so I could not put the bucket all the way down which did cause some riding up, which I was able to control by going slower. I was able to cut this path in under 5 minutes.

My previous wheeled unit would never have touched this, and I suspect, other wheeled units would have not have got through this in the same amount of time: 

And Yes, I backed out, there was an obstacle at the front of the driveway.

larrylaverne wrote:

The wheeled unit is a MTD, 24 inch, 8 hp. Still in good shape, My Dad is going to use it in the city, it served me well when I still lived there, not a lot of drifting there.

The unit you seeing plowing through this stuff is the Yamaha YS928J, 28 inch, 9 hp, and weighs in at 373 lbs.

In reality, I should have built a 3 car garage, then I would have room for a tractor with a blower attachment. But this baby fits in the back, and I can sneak it past my wifes van, and out the garage door to clear us out!

So you got that stuff too!  Very similar conditions and experience with the Honda 928 here as well.

@rubinew,

That's a lot of snow.  Your choice of snowblower is definitely right on.  Tracks for tunneling through and Yamaha to throw that snow as far away as possible.  I didn't realize that Yamaha has a 2 stage deflector.  That's nice  to keep the snow stream tight when you have it angled down low.

Do you have markers on your driveway or sidewalks?  The pictures look like you're going through an open field.I always find it challenging to make the first pass and not run into grass, mulch beds.   Especially if the first pass is on one side of the driveway.  Not quite sure where the edge is, sometimes I run into 6 inches of grass before realizing it.

If I start at the middle and make passes and open outward, I don't have that problems since there are visual cues on the driveway.  The most challenging one is the curved walkway, 4 feet wide and running a 32" bucket.  I crawl slowly so I don't aerate my lawn.  :)

aa335 wrote:

I site the driveway from the sides of the garage, I sometimes get of the pad, but mostly it is okay.

The curved sidewalk to the front stairs is still a challenge, I often just cut to straight paths, then clean it up to the edges with the shovel.

No grass yet, hopefully next year!

rubinew wrote:

Th wheeled units are what most people need. Most people where I live really don't NEED tracks. Further Norh than we are it's a different story. For your needs there is no way a wheeled unit would work. You needed tracks. You probably don't have a lot of turns so turning isn't an issue.

I'm curious as to how well your wife was able to use it? Pics are great, really shows the depth of snow you have to deal with.

Location really doesn't dictate whether wheeled or tracked machines are needed.  Conditions are what matters.  As in rubinew's situation, hard packed drifting requires steady progressive forward speed even if it's just crawling as well as the ability to keep the bucket down.    The larger Yamaha and Honda machines are  ideal walk behind snow blowers for what he's dealing with.  However, if I were in his situation, I'd probably own a nice Kubota or JD 4WD diesel powered yard tractor with a heated cab and a 60" blower on the front.   Cut grass with it in the summer and blow snow in the winter. 

borat wrote:

I am with you on the Kubota, nice units. Maybe in the future, when I can build a place to store it. Meanwhile, the Yamaha fits in my current garage.

If I get a tractor in the future, I will have to build an extra shed to store it in. Good news is, if/when the time comes, I will be able to sell the Yamaha for a decent price.

rubinew wrote:
That snow in the pictures...can you walk on it?  If so I couldn't even imagine tackling it with my wheeled snow thrower.  Maybe a flame thrower...

Walk on it?  lol  We had the same stuff here and I could drive my SUV on it without leaving much of a footprint either.

Paul7 wrote:

Walk?? You could cube this stuff and make Igloos out of it!!

My wife took her van, Chev Astro, not 4 wheel drive,  through a thinner part, maybe 20 inches, about 6 feet wide, hung it up.

Had to shovel and scrap it out, esp the stuff under it, so she could finally get out

I had used the Yamaha to clear a path for her, I guess 10 feet wide wasn't enough  She skewed right, and backed into the drift by mistake.