Snow Throwers

What are the best snow throwers for me?

Snow throwers are available in two types- the single stage and the double stage thrower.   Whether a single or double stage, the typical residential snow thrower is a walk behind, self propelled machine with an 4 to 12 horsepower gasoline engine.  It can be single stage or two stages.  It is designed to remove snow from ground surfaces. A snow thrower will save you time, effort, and from possible injury .

Single stage snow throwers

A single stage snow thrower has an auger made out of combination of metal and plastic or hard rubber. The engine drives an auger through a series of gears. This auger cuts through the thick coat of ice by chipping, collects it, and then directs it out of the machine with some force. This way the ice on the ground is cleared from the driveway. In a single stage thrower, the machine is self-propelling as it rides on snow. Single stage machine clear a width of 12″ to 22′ and multiple passes are required to clear the snow in the driveway.

Single stage snow throwers use the single high-speed  auger  to both move the snow into the machine and force it out the discharge chute. The impeller is usually in the form of two or more curved  plastic  paddles that move snow towards the centerline of the machine where the discharge chute is located.  Single stage snow throwers usually are light duty machines. Small electric machines can actually be picked up to chew away deep snow banks a layer at a time.

Dual stage snow throwers

By comparison, two-stage snow throwers have one or more low-speed metal augers that break up the snow and move it into a separate high-speed impeller (sometimes called the  fan ). The impeller ‘blows’ or ‘projects’ the snow out the discharge chute with considerable force.  All but the lightest-duty snow throwers are typically two-stage machines.

The rotating augers of dual-stage machines are not used for propulsion, and rotate relatively much slower than the augers of single-stage machines, which must also discharge the snow through the discharge chute. Dual-stage snow throwers are self-propelled through ground-engaging wheels, which are linked to the engine through a transmission means of any suitable type. The engines of such machines are generally located directly above the ground-engaging wheels; the engine weight and location provides dual-stage snow throwers with superior traction vis-a-vis single-stage machines.

Electric snow throwers

Electric snow throwers are lightest, most compact and easiest to operate snow throwers. They usually weight up to 25 lbs and are used to throw snows at the depth of one (1) to eight (8) inches. It takes it weight from the fact that they do not have elaborate engine where you store up the fuel unlike gas throwers.  Unfortunately, their power is less than gas snow blowers and thus they only work well for loose snow and not the compacted or wet ones. Since they are compact and portable, they can be stored in very small spaces. You can even hang them on the walls if there isn’t any room for your storage area anymore.

Another consideration is noise. Electric snow throwers are quiet while gas powered units are quite noisy. A two stage gas unit will sound like a major construction machine. If you have low tolerance for noise or if you have neighbors who could become difficult, then look for an electric unit or a gas unit that is relatively quiet. Operating decibel levels are published on the machines.

Last, and definitely not least, snowblower attachment for use on tractor and tractor-like vehicle. These are some of the biggest snow throwers, but often represent a very sensible choice, because there is an attachment and not a dedicated vehicle. If you need to clear large areas, and own or plan buying a tractor or other vehicle that will support a snowblower attachment, this will probably be the way to go

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Snow Throwers