Be prepared. Now’s the time to buy a snow blower for the coming winter

No sooner has the best summer in years slipped into golden autumn than the alleged weather experts are predicting an early start to winter.
Be that as it may, now is the time to plan for the harsh weather that usually arrives at the turn of the year.
Many of you probably wish you had purchased mechanised snow clearing equipment last winter, so be prepared this year. Here are three machines to cope with a variety of problems.
First is the Stiga Snow Electric Single-Stage Snow Blower

Swedish made especially for domestic paths and drives.
This starts at the push of a button and has 10 metres of cable supplied. The business end has a rubber-bladed auger which clears ‘back to black’, right down to the surface.
It is propelled forward as the augers turn, powered by a 1800 Watt engine.
Once the snow has collected it is thrown clear through a chute which can be rotated 180 degrees and is adjusted from the driving position.
This neat little machine which will save hours of shovelling, and possibly a bad back, has folding handlebars to help storage and an intake height of 25 cm. The working width is 45 cm.
There is a one year maker’s guarantee and free next working day delivery.
It costs £179, £20 less than the manufacturer’s recommended retail price.
Now a machine for bigger jobs around domestic and industrial properties.
The Stiga Snow Cube Dual-Stage Petrol Self-Propelled Snow Blower has a 212 cc four-stroke engine designed for freezing conditions.
The snow blower first drags snow and ice into the body of the machine with its revolving steel augers and then an impellor takes over and blasts it clear through the exit chute.
It is easy to drive with five forward and two reverse gears and has heavy tread tyres to handle difficult surfaces and an adjustable working height.
Front snow shoes can also be adjusted to allow working on a variety of surfaces. And the machine has a working width of 56 cm and the intake height is 50 cm.
The impellor can throw snow up to nine metres away through a chute which rotates 190 degrees adjusted by a single lever.
This one costs £699 – the maker’s recommended price is £779 and it is delivered free in two to three working days.
There is a one year warranty.
And another from the same company is the Stiga Snow Patrol Dual-Stage Snow Blower which has a clearing width of 55 cm and intake height of 50 cm. There is a 182 cc engine and four forward and two reverse gears for getting round tight corners.
This is another two-stage blower with a steel auger to drag the snow into the machine and break down the compacted stuff and an impellor to blast it up to ten metres away.
The chute rotates 180 degrees and along with the deflector to change the pitch of the stream can be operated remotely from the driving position.
Skid shoes fitted to the front are adjustable to allow for different surfaces and 12 in wheels have tough Snow Hog tyres.
It costs £599, £80 less than the maker’s recommended price. Delivery is free the next working day and there is a one year guarantee from Stiga.