Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I live in Calgary - we get a moderate amount of snow, rarely more than 8 to 10inches at a time, usually in the 2-4" range. The issue here is snow drifts.  I live in a north facing house at the south end of a cul de sac and get drifts all the time on the bottom half of driveway.  My driveway is for a 3car garage - not super long (probably 25ft, but easily 40 ft wide. I have been reading lots about single stage throwers - i like the fact they clean to the pavement, but am concerned if they can throw the snow far enough or can chew through a foot deep snow drifts a few times a year.  The other option of course is the 2 stage throwers - they seem a bit big and I've read they don't get down to the pavement. I am also not the  most mechanically inclined individual in the world...

Help?? Any thoughts on what my best bets would be?  I need something that my wife would be comfortalbe using as well. Any comments are appreciated...

Your best bet would be a single stage based on what you have stated, and an ice scraper to soften up and break down end of drive piles.  Single stage are simple, squeeze bail and steer.  They throw snow a good distance and easy maneuver and operate.

At least start with the single stage, after a season or two you will realize if you need to go up to the 2 stage.   Since both you and your wife are new to operating snowblowers, I would strongly suggest a single stage to begin with.

http://redhouseon7th.com/redhouse/reviews/toroSnowthrower221Q/

Maintenance on a two stage is not so complicated.  If you can read you can do it.  It takes about an hour a year and if you are organized less.  You need a few of common tools which most people have at home i.e. a couple of wrenches and screw drivers.

 

Calgary has an average yearly snowfall of 128 inches.  That’s twice the amount in eastern Mass.

We also get mostly many smaller snows per year and a few big ones. 

 

Clean to the pavement:  A two stage set properly will also clean to the pavement.

 

Toss far:  Single stages blast out the snow so no problem compared to a two stage. 

 

A single stage may not be the best choice because:

 

For the power you need they are very expensive given at least in my estimate that it will not be useful all the time or minimally a struggle to use often compared to a two stage.  Two stages are very easy to use and turn but you hear many comments about how difficult they are to use.  Many do not know how to use their machines.

 

If the cul de sac is large then you get more than ½ of the average road width.   Some plough guys do the area putting the snow more to one side of the cul de sac than the other.  I’ve met a few people who have very large cul de sacs and get huge piles at the end of their driveway.  Seeing you have a three car wide that would be a lot of high snow for a single stage to tackle. 

 

A single stage has limited width but that’s not a huge limiting factor.  Most people with an area like yours and your amount of snow would be happier overall with a two stage.  A decent size two stage would be a better bet at least in my opinion.  I should qualify that I am very familiar single stages up to 4.5 hp and not above other than talking with people.  Their too expensive for me given their overall utility.  The 4.5 I use is a Toro with excellent paddles and powerful Suzuki 4.5 with great compression.  I like the machine very much but it would never do as a main machine here with a 62 inch yearly average snowfall.  

 

Agree with previous poster, as a resident of MA as well, the first snowblower I ever used was a single stage with a 2 stroke, and I would have to say anything above about 4-6" it isn't much help. It worked great on the smaller amounts of slushy snows but a smaller 2 stage may be your best bet. At the EOD the single stage will still have you shoveling to break it up small enough to be manageable with the small single stage.

While I'm sure some of the bigger single stages may be able to handle a bit more than this but still won't be much good in bigger storms unless you are out there multiple times to clear it out. One of my previous neighbors had a single stage Toro with a 2 stroke (not sure of the model number) but he has had this thing for at least 20 years and while it may take him twice as much time and multiple trips outside during the storm he has made do with this for the last 20 years (blizzards and all).

If you set a 2 stage down low on the scraper bar it will often get just about right down to the surface, maybe not as good as a single but  good enough for me, my previous small 2 stage cleaned right down to bare pavement in most conditions.. My current driveway is about 30x25 and about a 15º slope and I have never had a problem with this little bit of leftover, and nothing a few handfuls of salt won't take care of. Often it would be harder to muscle a single stage though deeper snows and battle with the EOD rather than have a self propelled machine you will find in a small to moderate size 2 stage. I just picked up an Ariens compact 22 and it doesn't really take up much more garage space than a single stage would if space is an issue.

gdoll - a good single stage will be perfect for your application.  It will throw the snow fine and will go through a foot deep drift with zero issues.  Look at the Toro 221 or 421 models.

I'm not sure what type of singles you guys have been using, but I'm in MA as well, and we've had/used GOOD single stages my whole life, and never had any issues.  And I don't live down on the south shore where snow is minimal either - I'm much closer to worcester.  Lived on a cul-de-sac for 23 years - never had a problem (or a maintenance issue either).  Always had at least a 6 car driveway as well.

Sure, I have a big two-stage as well, but in 3 years I've used it twice, both times simply because I wanted to, not because I needed to. 

The talk about "muscling" a single stage around is also a bit confusing.  All the one's I've used (Toros and Hondas) have been as simple to operate as a vacuum cleaner - a mostly one-handed affair as well.  The Two-Stage, on the other hand, is a slow, plodding, "muscling" type effort - and when I need to go to work in the morning, walking along at 0.7 mph behind a 300lb piece of equipment is a waste of time.  My single stage can be moved around quickly, dragged backwards with one hand, spun around, tipped, lifted, pirouetted, whatever, with zero effort and with speed.

gdoll wrote:
You have a 40 feet wide driveway at the end of a cul de sac?  I can see the plow guys can have lots of fun after taking a sweep around the cul de sac pushing all that snow and then dumping in front of your driveway.  That is a very wide end of drive pile to tackle.  I didn't realize your driveway situation until I read your post again.  Around here, even if we have 3 car wide driveway, it tapers down to 1 1/3 wide at the driveway apron.  Of course, in your situation, you can choose to clear enough snow so that a car can pass through, not necessarily all 40 foot of it.

Based on what you said about getting a few foot high drifts a year, and typical snowfall of 2-4" at a time, and Calgary 53" annual snowfall, I would still recommend a modern single stage snowblower.  You can start your snowblower in the middle, and the snowblower can toss snow at least 20 foot to either side of the driveway.

I would go for a small 2 stage like a Ariens Compact 22. It comes with a very good Subaru engine and can handle a lot more snow than any single stage. Thay aren't that exspensive eather.  Most single stage units are 2 stroke engines.You have to mix oil with gas. You also have a rubber paddle to adjust time to time and or replace for ware. A  2 stage you will not have any of those problems. A  2 stage can handle end of day snow too. They are very easy to work on .  All you need to do is keep your oil changed, and keep FRESH gas in your tank. Most of us use Stabil in with our gas to keep it fresh. From time to time you may pick up a rock or something and brake a SHEER pin. A sheer pin is a pin designed to sheer off to keep you from damaging any thing. They too are easy to replace and are good to have a few on hand just in case. Keep it well greased and you are good fo more than 10 - 15 years service. I have a Ariens 924 that is 12 years old and never let me down.

I would have to lean towards a 2 stage as well. The EOD garbage that I deal with is tough for a 2 stage let alone a single. I realize you can chop it up a bit with a shovel but even that can be a task sometimes. I guess the best of both worlds would be one of each! Money being tight these days however, would push me towards a small 2 stage like the previous poster stated - a nice compact 22" or 24".

The reference to muscling the single stage would be the effort required to get through the EOD mess. A 2 stage will simply work it's way though a heap of compacted snow, where the single stage typically requires a lot of pushing and pulling while slowly taking small bites out of a pile. Not being self propelled means you are physically pushing it into and through deeper drifts and piles. While I agree that a single stage is a perfect partner for smaller snowfalls as they are typically very light and maneuverable.

Keep in mind I have never used a more modern higher powered single stage and like I said, my previous neighbor before I moved had plenty of luck only using his toro single stage but for the heavy snow that we tend to get in New England on the coast of MA I am better served with a smaller 2 stage. FYI I picked up the compact 22 referred to above with the subaru engine. While I haven't had a chance to try it out, I wouldn't think that it would cost much more than a better single stage. $699 at the HD, and it seems like a quality machine. Hopefully this is confirmed when I get it out in the snow.

FrankMA wrote:
I agree with FrankMA.  I have both a single stage and 2 stage snowblower, as well as various shovels and ice chippers.  Depending on the snow or temperature, you pick the tool best for the job.  My single stage gets 75% of the work around sidewalks, paver walkways, and near the house or flower beds.   The 2 stage takes care of end of drive and sidewalk intersections, as well as helping out neighbors.

If you must have just one and EOD is a big issue, get a compact 22-24" 2 stage.  They have metal auger to break down hard EOD, and that is their only advantage over a single stage, IMO.   I would venture to say that a 22" compact 2 stage with 200cc engine is unlikely to have more throughput than a 21" single from Toro or Honda.  21" singles have better efficiency.  Their auger/paddle drivetrain is lighter and simplier and no self propel to sap power that should be going to the auger..

Thanks for all the advice.  I went for the 24" 2-stage...ended up buying a Craftsman/MD with a 249cc B/S engine, 11.5 lbs of torque. Wish me luck!