Which Snowblower?

[Crazygator]

If a guy were looking to get into a snowblower cheap, which brand, engine size and other features should he look for?

I might look on Ebay but wanted some advice from you pro's on the ones to get or the ones to stay away from. I need something easy into the truck too.

Looking at walkways at apartments and restaurants.

[Snowboy]

Why dont you go with a 2 cycle Toro. I see allot of guys use those 2 cycle units. They work on slush, they work on wet snow light snow just not the hard crap at then end of the driveway.

I use a Toro 13hp 33" for my house and the crap at then end of the drieway and i just put it into the weight transfer mode where it takes the weight of the engine and puts it in the front of the blower so it wont bounce up and down.
The blower flexe's a little side to side but doesnt rise up and just keeps sucking in the hard stuff.

[cardoctor]

i have 2 toro 2 stroke blowers
light weight and reliable
plus you can buy one for a couple hundred bucks

john

[johngus]

Toro 3650,enough said!!!!

[Ted]

Toro Snow Commander. Much better than the 3650's production wise.

Or one of these bad boys.

[wyldman]

Toro 3650.Lightweight,reasonably priced,and lots of power to get the job done.

The Snow Commander is $2-300.00 more,almost 50 pounds heavier,and the extra production from 4" and 1/2 a HP isn't worth it.The lighter blowers are usually faster in most conditions.

[Ted]

Bumpkiss.

The Snow Commander has a tilting bail which propels it forward. Much less fatiguing & more productive than the 3650's.

[urethane dino]

We have run the Honda 621's for several years, this season we bought a 3650 Toro since my local dealer stopped selling the honda 520. We used tye toro 3650 last weekend and were very happy with its performance. We bought the 3650 over the sno commander for the very reasons that Chris said. To heavy and to much money. If you are at the level get a two stage.
The 3650 will pull its elf along quite nicely, so I dont see that as an issue.
Dino

[Ted]

Well lets see, I run 6-3650's & 4 Snow Commanders along w/3 eXmark TT w/blowers 1 w/blade & 3 YardMachine 28/8hp & 2 Toro 13/32 PS.

We do well over 500 res. drives w/blowers. Since the Snow Commanders came out that is all I have been buying for the singles.

The bail & width saves time & effort.

Take it or leave it.

[snowplowjay]

The 3650's rock. Just last weekend mine ate through 13 inches with no problems. It will get another workout tomorrow and Monday too :)


Just dont bother with the Electric start option unless you absolutely think your going to use it. IMO its a useless option unless the operator is elderly or has some type of condition that will hinder their use of the recoil.



Jay

[Ted]

The 3650's won't even be touched if there's a Snow Commander avail..

[Lawngodfather]

Originally posted by Ted
Well lets see, I run 6-3650's & 4 Snow Commanders along w/3 eXmark TT w/blowers 1 w/blade & 3 YardMachine 28/8hp & 2 Toro 13/32 PS.

We do well over 500 res. drives w/blowers. Since the Snow Commanders came out that is all I have been buying for the singles.

The bail & width saves time & effort.

Take it or leave it.

The 3650's won't even be touched if there's a Snow Commander avail.. 80 driveways to a machine.

at a 1/2hour each, that's 40 hours. BULL **** oh great one.

[mikegamb]

Originally posted by Lawngodfather
80 driveways to a machine.

at a 1/2hour each, that's 40 hours. BULL **** oh great one.


Ted the BS has really gone to far this time.it must take you 2 days to do all those properties with snow plowers.next thing your going to say is you have 1200 of these

[SLC1]

We run Ariens 1336 snow blowers, nothing stops these machines. They are 13hp with a 36" cutting width. I like them cause if you are doing long walks there should be no reason to have to go back and make another pass cause the machine is so wide that it does a good job in just one pass. They are expensive but we learned long ago to spend the money up front for the right equipment then to buy something too cheap and then not be able to do the work with it. Just my two cents

[Rooster]

mikegamb:

Great pic, my hands don't seem to fit the STICK PLOWS so I'll stay with my Vee for the truck (and stay warm) and let the sidewalk crews deal with the small stuff!

plowing!

[mikegamb]

Originally posted by Rooster
mikegamb:

Great pic, my hands don't seem to fit the STICK PLOWS so I'll stay with my Vee for the truck (and stay warm) and let the sidewalk crews deal with the small stuff!

plowing!


:D :D

[Ted]

Your math is somewhat lacking Mr. Godfather. I mentioned 19 machines.

One must remember I am speaking of small subdivision drives that with the proper equipment take 3-5 min to clear. One must also remember these drives are frequently lined up side by each, in some cases over 20 per stop.

[Lawngodfather]

Originally posted by Ted
Well lets see, I run 6-3650's & 4 Snow Commanders along w/3 eXmark TT w/blowers 1 w/blade & 3 YardMachine 28/8hp & 2 Toro 13/32 PS.

We do well over 500 res. drives w/blowers. Since the Snow Commanders came out that is all I have been buying for the singles.

The bail & width saves time & effort.

Take it or leave it.

The 3650's won't even be touched if there's a Snow Commander avail.

I mentioned 19 machines. Read what you type, err make up.

minus 6 of 19, and how many more shall we take off.

[mikegamb]

Originally posted by Ted
Your math is somewhat lacking Mr. Godfather. I mentioned 19 machines.

One must remember I am speaking of small subdivision drives that with the proper equipment take 3-5 min to clear. One must also remember these drives are frequently lined up side by each, in some cases over 20 per stop.


QUIT WHILE YOUR AHEAD :D

[Ted]

& why would I minus 6 of the 19?

I still use the 3650's. There is not an SC on each trailer. Quite often Large push type shovels are used in place of the 3650's in lighter snow while the SC's are running.

Comprehension seems to be one of our primary stumbling blocks to understanding the True Greatness of my Residential Snow Removal Systems.

[Elite1]

I will have to try the Snow comander. I have 3 power lites, Two 2450 and a 2 stage 724.

The power lites are great for driveways. We plow all of our drive ways and the passenger snow blows the walks and in ftront of the door. They are only 38#'s one guy can get them on and off the truck. We tried to use the larger units, but found that the shovelers were doing just that, shoveling. After 6 or 7 hrs they were very tierd. They even mount to the back of my salt spreader.

The rest of the toy's only have to come on/off the truck once at an appartment complex.

Ted- how do you like the blowers on your exmarks?
Do you have belt or hydro. Have you tried a plow on them for less than 2 inches? More info, please.

I have a lot of experiance plowing with john Deere tractors.(425, 935, 1445) The Blades were much faster, than the blowers. They are nice for the $. Cab with heat ,4x4, hydro plow.

[kl0an]

I'd have to say if someone was looking to get into a snowblower cheap, look in the used ads of the newspaper.. We have a freebie section in the paper here that allows you to post ads for free on items under $100.. I've seen a few small throwers in there from time to time. I've also picked up Snow King 5.0hp two stage blowers at yard sales for under $200.. One of my best blowers is a Snow King I picked up for $125. Starts first pull everytime. I've also got some of the smaller 3 hp single stage blowers that work well.

It all depends on what your plan of attack is. If you're going to plow drives and walks with it, get a good blower, 5hp or higher.. Just remember, you gotta haul it to and from the job and that may be a major consideration. If you're just clearin walks at a commercial and blowin it into the parking lot for the trucks to plow away, you can get by with a smaller 3hp unit.. They don't have all the transmission parts or the two stage but, they're a LOT easier to get in and out of your truck.

I do have to admit, most of the commercial walks here in Anchorage are shoveled with good old shovels.. I've only seen one sidewalk shoveler using a 3hp blower and he was an "older" guy that ran the crews.

There are a lot of things to consider if you're buying the blowers for your sidewalk crews or if you're just buying it to plow a few drives..

Check the want ads in your local paper. You'll prolly find a good deal this time of year.. Garage sales are fun to pick up deals at too..

Paul Jordan
Anchorage, AK