A glossary of terms and phrases used in snow blowers

Every piece of equipment has its own language and snow blowers are no different. So here is a rough guide to some of the words and terms used in snow blowing, to help make your purchase decisions run more smoothly.

Auger – A bladed cylinder, rather like that in a cylinder lawn mower, that revolves forward on a horizontal axis and clears snow,pushing it back into the body of the blower, and either up and out of the blower (single stage) or back to the impellor (dual stage)

Auger housing – Also called the intake hood. This is the hollow casing at the front of the snow blower inside which the auger -and impellor in dual stage blowers ) is fitted

Clearing width – The width of the hood and auger and the path in the snow it will clear.

Deflector – An adjustable extension or flap on the end of the exit chute (see below) that directs the angle of distribution of the broken snow stream. Usually adjusted by hand or wit a rod, very occasionally in top models it is remotely electronically controlled.

Exit chute – The chimney or pipe like part of a snow blower that channels the broken down snow away from the machine. It can usually be revolved to change the direction and will also usually have a control to change the height of the flow

Intake height – The height of the intake hood and therefore the cut off for the depth of snow fall that can be tackled Intake hood Also called the auger housing. This is the hollow casing at the front of the snow blower which gathers the snow and inside which the auger is fitted.(Also houses the impeller in dual stage blowers)

Skid shoes  – Small metal type fixtures, like rimmed plates, that are bolted to the intake hood to lift the hood and help the snow blower glide along on the snow or ice. They are nearly always adjustable and can enable a blower to work on loose surfaces like gravel and pebbles.

Scraper blade or scraper bar. A long strip of metal, (occasionally strong rubber or rubber encased metal) that is fitted to the underneath of the intake hood and removes excess snow or ice

Single stage A snow blower featuring just an auger that lifts snow up and out of a chute. Smaller domestic blowers are usually single stage and many are electric

Dual stage (sometimes called double stage or two-stage) A snow blower featuring both an auger and an impeller. The impeller, which is like a kind of cylindrical fan, revolving on the vertical, sits behind the auger and breaks down the snow even further while forcing the broken snow stream out and away from the blower, much further than a single stage machine is able. Dual stage blowers are always petrol and can be very powerful. Professional blowers are nearly always dual stage.