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

New Hampshire winter. 34'x12' deck. Own a big Ariens for the the driveway, looking for an alternate for the deck. Will need to clear deck, roof rake pulled down roof snow, and clear again. Prefer gas powered. Thanks

Toro Powerlite.  2 stroke engine, 98cc, 3.25 hp.  Has soft rubber paddles, does not scratch deck.  Lightweight, 40 lbs, can be picked up with one hand and walk up stairs.

Very inexpensive to maintain and repair.

Hey, is TonsOfSteel and Stainless the same person?  Just wondering. 

Nah, my steel is a little rusted.

Don't seem to be available. http://www.snowblowersdirect.com/Toro-38182-Snow-Thrower/p2353.html Any suggestions from here? http://www.snowblowersdirect.com/quick_search.php Thanks

You may be able to find remaining ones at local Ace Hardware stores.  If not, check craigslist listing for used ones.

They're really simple, not much go wrong on them, and easy to fix.

I agree.  A nice SS machine would work well on the deck.  Even something like an older Craftsman machine with the 139cc Tecumseh two cycle engine would work well.  Just do what I did and  put a piece of string on the governor lever to jack the revs up.   Then watch the snow fly!!

I know you're looking for gas. And with your size deck, I would be too.

Just figured I would mention that I bought an older Craigslist Toro Powercurve 1800 electric for deck duty. My deck is probably more like 15'x12', something like that, and I have to carry the blower up the ~8' of stairs from the ground (so light weight is nice). I got a chance to use it last winter. I don't need to tell you that last winter in New England was a tough one. Even my little electric Toro did a great job. No muss, no fuss, as they say, and it did well even in the serious storms. I just pushed it slower for wet/deep snow, it still churned through. It sure beat shoveling the deck off every time, that's for sure! Caveat- I don't have to rake the snow off my roof, so it was dealing with un-packed snow.

So I'm sure the gas ones would be an even better solution. My electric has certainly earned its $25 already.

Yeah, the packed snow off the roof thing would put more demand on a machine.  That's for sure.  Something gas powered would definitely be better.   All the more reason to look at an SS machine with the most available power.  Or, as I said, get yourself a used Craftsman/Murray/MTD  with a two cycle engine and jack up the revs.  They will move some serious snow if you spin them. 

Thanks for the replies. Can the SS machines be adjusted to prevent damage to the deck? I do have 5/4 wood down, I didn't like any of the fake wood options....

I use a single stage on my 12' x 40' deck with Trex decking and it works very well. Most SS machines have an adjustable scrapper bar on the bottom of the bucket which allows the operator to make height adjustments but the paddles are rubber anyway and don't cause any damage. The sides of the bucket are typically about a 1/2" to 1" off the deck with a new scrapper bar set at its lowest adjusted setting.

I used to put the Toro Power Shovel to work on my 14' x 16' deck.   Now that I have the MTD SS machine sitting around, I'll just park it on the deck for the winter. 

I use a snow scoop similar to this:

http://www.acecalumet.com/snowtool.html

I can clear my 48'x10' deck in about 10 minutes, pushing it over the side where it falls 8.5' to the ground.  Then anothe 10 minutes cleaning up the fallen snow below the deck and relocating it to the rest of the backyard.  Then 5 minutes to clear the patio, and another 5-10 to clear out the courtyard and sidewalk around the house.  Works great on packed snow and EOD stuff.

If I don't feel like getting the 2-stage blower out, I can clean my 2400sf driveway almost as fast with this scoop as I can with the machine.  I'm a little winded afterward, but no sore back.  It's actually easier on the body than man-handling that craftsman mtd 928 around.  It's a great workout - if I wear anything more than a sweatshirt over my regular clothes at 15 degrees Fahrenheit, I start to work up a sweat, so dress lightly and you'll be comfortable!

I guess that scoop would work well if the deck doesn't have ballusters and railings.  I think the original poster was looking for something that can throw over without having to do repeated lifting.

Yes, the deck has railings and balusters. The blower will be on the deck all winter. I've been looking at the Toro SS 621 models. Wondering if I need all the accessories or if the Toro Power Clear 621 R would suffice? TIA

You definitely do not need the Quick Chute feature, but it's a nice convenience if is going to be used on the driveway and sidewalks.

I'd go for it.  Like the Chinese proverb "Buy once, cry once."

aa335 wrote:

I guess I'm lucky in that my deck railings are horizontal (originally built pre-code).  I re-built the deck this past year and kept the horizontal rails, but did add extra railing and made the rails bigger/thicker.  Nobody enforces the national code around here anyway, and home inspectors ignore it completely when it comes to decks.

longboat wrote:
It didn't bother or concern me at first.  However, when there's little children around that can slip through or fall down from there, that's a different matter.

aa335 wrote:

Agreed, but wife & I don't have any kids and don't ever have kids over.  Kids would have to make a concerted effort to climb or slip through these rails.  We have a dog and a cat - funny how they are smart enough to not climb over/through the rails!  Anyway, if we ever decide to sell the house, it will be a simple matter to attach balusters if the next buyer is concerned.

I also have to rake the snow from the roof onto the back deck, and falling about 8 feet packs it pretty well. Up to now I installed 9 foot ramps over the stairs so I can drive the 24" 2  stage up onto the deck. This summer I snagged a little ss that I am rehabbing. I'll let you know how it works on the packed stuff.

My deck is 16 x 28   and although it has a roof,  a lot of snow blows in from the 3 sides,  I keeep my SS Craftsman parked on my deck all winter.. My railing is before code so is only 30 inches high. I blow the snow out on 28 foot back side.

What exactly is your deck made of ?  TREX ? Chemically Impregnated Southern Yellow Pine ?  Western Red Cedar ?  Something Else ?