A couple of weeks ago I saw my first snow flurry of the season. It wasn’t much, but where I live it was fairly deep in places, and it did make me think about the weather ahead. Snow perchance?
So how to keep calm and carry on when your driveway is buried under a white blanket? The answer, for an increasing number of people, is a snow blower.
But which? There is a bewildering array of models, shapes and sizes. Here is a brief guide to try to help you choose the right one.
- Pedestrian electric (pretty much always single stage)
- Pedestrian petrol single stage
- Pedestrian petrol dual stage (sometimes known as “two stage”)
- Commercial (roughly consisting of the larger pedestrian petrol machines and large-scale ride-ons
Single-stage snow blowers, both electric or petrol, are pretty much always propelled forwards by a simple front auger, usually made of rubber, tough rubber-style plastic, or steel with rubber coated blades. This auger scoops up the snow and throws it up and out of an exit chute.
Oleo-Mac Artik 52 Single-Stage Petrol Snow Blower
Single-stage machines are, in general, suitable for smaller domestic premises with, perhaps, a path or small drive to clear that lead to a fairly busy, or snow-cleared road. Here is a good example Oleo-Mac Artik 52 Single-Stage Petrol Snow Blower
Dual-stage snow blowers are usually self-propelled, mostly driven by petrol or diesel, and have two snow clearing devices. A front auger breaks up the snow and sends it back to a secondary device, an impeller that spins and further breaks up the snow, throwing the stream of broken snow up the exit chute. This impeller usually propels snow further than a single-stage machine can.
Dual-Stage Snow Blowers are more suitable for medium and large sized properties, particularly in rural areas with substantial paths and land, plus possible uncleared lanes around.
Here is good example of a dual-stage machine Oleo-Mac Artik 56 EL Dual-Stage Snow Blower (Electric Start)
Ole-Mac 56 Artik 56 Dual-Stage Petrol Snow Blower Electric Start
Also If you own pretty much any kind of business with a car park or a forecourt, a variety of walkways or maybe lawns, courts or greens, you are more than likely going to need a larger dual-stage machine, possibly even a large commercial Snow Blower like the Stiga Pro 1171 HST Commercial Dual-Stage Snow Blower
Stiga-Pro 1171 HST Self-Propelled Commercial Snow Blower
A single-stage snow blower is better on even surfaces, like tarmac, and can clean down to the surface (back to black) whereas dual-stage blowers are capable of clearing on a larger range of surfaces but ride slightly above the surface.
If you would like to know more, why not take a look at our whole Snow Blower range.
In the meantime, keep your paths clear, your hands warm, your fires burning and enjoy your winter garden.
Drew Hardy
