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.
I just had a stamper concrete driveway installed and also have the problem of scratching with the blower. Luckily I tried the blower out on the last 2" snowfall on one section toward the side and found some scratches where the skid shoes come in contact. We have the bluestone effect pattern and it is also a bit uneven so even if I set the scraper blade up the skids do damage. I've just purchased roller skid shoes but this still does/did not solve the problem entirely as the scraper blade still comes in contact with the concrete... I don't want to do double duty (sweeping/shoveling after cleaning) so I did some heavy drinking... oops thinking and came up with an idea that works perfectly, or at least better than leaving a half inch of snow behind. I have some rubber backed flexible flooring left over from a bathroom install and cut a strip approximately 1/2 to 3/4 wider than the scraper blade... aligned the holes (drilled to prevent weakness) and put it behind the blade. Now there's a 3/4 inch sweeper that clears the snow without the metal coming in contact... mind you, it isn't perfect but it's way better than leaving the 3/4 inch of snow behind from the start. I also cut a few extra as it will wear out after usage...
