...Not to diminish the joy of owning the finest OPE pieces around, but it seems like you have a lot heavy artillery invested for the storm of the decade / century. ...
Agreed. I'm sitting here with a Crapsman 928 in my garage waiting for the next big snowfall...been waiting three years since the last one. I put synthetic oil in it just so I wouldn't have to change the oil every year (since dino oil breaks down over time). We've been getting a lot of 1"-3" snows, but every two or three years we get about a 15"+ snow with 3'-4' drifts.
If I had it to do over (or, rather, when I do it again), I'll forego the two-stage and pick up a Toro 621/721 for the 2"-10" snows, use my 36" pusher for snows less than 2", and use a snow scoop for the big snows and EOD. No need for a two-stage anymore - takes up too much garage space.
I got my snow scoop at Ace Hardware for about $45 a few years back, and it will easily handle the big stuff, with no strain on the back. Here is the one I got http://www.amazon.com/Ames-True-Temper-1600900-Avalanche/dp/B000KL2WG4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391439788&sr=8-2&keywords=snow+scoop although I paid a lot less. I think Home Depot has these from time to time, also.
In the meantime, I've been scooping the 2"-4" snows over to the side of the driveway with the 36" pusher, then running my 928 through the windrows just to give it some exercise...
