Need a snowblower....recommendations? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Need a snowblower....recommendations?

GreyGhost said:
If you really want to make your wife love you, use some of your fly-in money and install pyrotenax (I think they are called electro-cables now). Driveway will be entirely clear of snow and ice just don't let her see an electric bill or she may kill you.
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Pyrotenax is now just a brand name and now a division of Nvent or something like that. I've been involved with them one way or another for 40 years.

OP has a 9 car driveway so lets say 1200 square feet. At 40 watts per square foot that is 48 Kw or a load of 200 amps at 240 volts. Got a 400 amp service? Installation would probably start at $10K just for the cables. Add for paving, controls, labour, permits, branch circuit wiring and you can kiss a small BMW goodbye.

In Toronto they don't allow snow melting on city road allowance. Mississauga may be different. You could still end up shoveling but not as much.

If the melt water runs off onto the street or sidewalk it could present a slip-fall risk.

Depending on variables run costs would be in the $8-10 an hour range and a typical Toronto winter would see 600 hours on the clock, $5000-$6000 a year. The ability to stand in your living room window giving your snow shoveling neighbors the finger.........................................priceless.

 
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nobbie48 said:
Depending on variables run costs would be in the $8-10 an hour range and a typical Toronto winter would see 600 hours on the clock, $5000-$6000 a year.
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I don't want to do the math on Elton John's heated driveway in Caledon. It's a couple of hundred meters.
 
I bought a Toro 721e single stage 5 years ago for my 6 car driveway. Takes up very little space in the garage, my 4 year old can pull start it at -20, dead simple to maintain, and we've yet to have any snow it couldn't handle in a single pass. A 2 stage is overkill for 95% of Southern Ontario residents with a paved/interlock driveway. Gravel would be a different story, then a 2 stage makes sense.
 
SunnY S said:
for un grounded devices, its always best to run proper wiring with ground conductor.

Although arc fault breakers do offer some GFCI protection, your best bet and cheaper option is to use GFI's to protect ungrounded circuits.

Simply identify in your panel which circuits are ungrounded, wire them into a GFCI receptacle (these are as little as $15 each) beside the breaker panel.

this gives you some what of a ground protection, but is better than nothing at all, its much cheaper, and is recognized and recommended wiring method by ESA and many insurance companies.


don't waste your money on arc fault breakers, unless you feel you need them for whatever reason. Curiously, the electrical code requires arc faults on some circuits in a new build, but not all. Silly, the other un protected circuits have no chance of Arc'ing and starting fires?
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Thanks for that Sunny. My buddy has a similar aged house, and he installed the AFCI units wired just past his panel, and the guys doing our work recommended the dual AFCI/GFCI combi units on the lines with grounding issues. Hence why I looked at the breakers (approx $90/each), and my buddy's install was about $45-50/each with those AFCI units.

@Trials Thanks! I've got one of those and that's how I found the plugs with grounding issues.
 
FullMotoJacket said:
I don't want to do the math on Elton John's heated driveway in Caledon. It's a couple of hundred meters.
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The really big ones are done with heated glycol through natural gas heaters. Except for the Wynne era ton of electric snow melting at the Burlington GO parking lot.

The glycol system avoids the necessity of a nuclear generating station at the bottom of the driveway.
 
One of the OP's problems is that he has a petite wife and she can't handle the size of snow blower that he needs. Snow blowers tend to have heavy, torque laden engines that weigh a ton. Could a lighter machine be made with a Hayabusa motor?

OK not a Hayabusa but a lighter 5-10 HP machine with a lot of aluminum bits. Keep it a bit on the narrow side for weight savings, storage and maneuvering. A 24" machine does a 20 foot driveway in 10 passes. A 20" machine only takes 2 more passes and they're a lot easier to work and store.

Mind you, with the Hayabusa your snow could be on someone else's roof three blocks away.
 
I don't think you need to be strong to operate a large 2 stage snow blower. All modern 2 stage snow blowers propel themselves both fowards and back. As for turning them, you just tilt it back onto its wheels and then you can turn it easily. They are balanced in such a way that you can tilt them onto the wheels easily. Even a small kid could do it.
 
danp said:
I don't think you need to be strong to operate a large 2 stage snow blower. All modern 2 stage snow blowers propel themselves both fowards and back. As for turning them, you just tilt it back onto its wheels and then you can turn it easily. They are balanced in such a way that you can tilt them onto the wheels easily. Even a small kid could do it.
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The neighbours 9 year old started running the snowblower this winter (supervised). He struggles a bit, but that is partly technique and partly the fact that it probably weighs three times his body weight. He gets the job done quickly and safely.
 
Bought this a few years ago from Sears. Wife friendly, light and easily movable. Just need's a extension cord and push the start button and voila!. Handles most residential driveway needs, you can operate the auger from the handlebar which is a nice touch.

 
Daughter and her boyfriend bought a house in Hamilton and are sick of shoveling big time! The driveway is really old pavement about 20'x120'. My suggestion was a 27" minimum 2 stage mtd type.
Thoughts?

They get big snowfalls. King St at Redhill Pwy.
https://imgur.com/QgZ18GI
 
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Wingboy said:
Daughter and her boyfriend bought a house in Hamilton and are sick of shoveling big time! The driveway is really old pavement about 20'x120'. My suggestion was a 27" minimum 2 stage mtd type.
Thoughts?

They get big snowfalls. King St at Redhill Pwy.
https://imgur.com/QgZ18GI
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Broken concrete?
Gravely walk behind plow, plus a grass cutter attachment for the rest of the year.
 
I was thinking used.
... otherwise; something that plugs into the wall with a long extension cord.

Broken concrete and gravel is really bad for blowers.
 
Wingboy said:
Daughter and her boyfriend bought a house in Hamilton and are sick of shoveling big time! The driveway is really old pavement about 20'x120'. My suggestion was a 27" minimum 2 stage mtd type.
Thoughts?

They get big snowfalls. King St at Redhill Pwy.
https://imgur.com/QgZ18GI
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Seems reasonable. Keeping the driveway clean beside the house is easier if you have something with a big throw. I wouldnt too hung up on width. I'd take a quality 24 over a crap 27, it's only a couple extra passes.
 
Wingboy said:
Daughter and her boyfriend bought a house in Hamilton and are sick of shoveling big time! The driveway is really old pavement about 20'x120'. My suggestion was a 27" minimum 2 stage mtd type.
Thoughts?

They get big snowfalls. King St at Redhill Pwy.
https://imgur.com/QgZ18GI
Click to expand...

That's not a driveway. It's a parking lot. My daughter isn't too far away (Gage Park) with a 80 foot driveway between two houses. A two stage is needed to hurl the white stuff far enough ahead so it can shifted to the front or back yard.

One also has to consider the weight of the snow. A 5HP 27" works in Ottawa because the snow is cold and fluffy but not in southern Ontario where it is often wet and sticky. Here a slightly narrower higher HP version tends to work better. I can get my 24" 7 HP through the shed door.

Could I fit a plow to to a mobility scooter?
 
nobbie48 said:
That's not a driveway. It's a parking lot. My daughter isn't too far away (Gage Park) with a 80 foot driveway between two houses. A two stage is needed to hurl the white stuff far enough ahead so it can shifted to the front or back yard.

One also has to consider the weight of the snow. A 5HP 27" works in Ottawa because the snow is cold and fluffy but not in southern Ontario where it is often wet and sticky. Here a slightly narrower higher HP version tends to work better. I can get my 24" 7 HP through the shed door.

Could I fit a plow to to a mobility scooter?
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They told me that they have no intention of clearing the entire thing. Just back to the garage. And you should see the garage! Is a double decker. There is another one directly underneath accessed by identical doors in the back, 10 ft down. Hydro, water and sewage. It's going to be an office. The lot goes back down and behind the garage another 80ft with lots of places to set up trials sections.
 
Most snowblowers are made in China . They are probably made at two or three big factories . They change the color and engines for different makers . They are mostly made of plastic wheels for the belts materials . These machines are crap . You are better of getting a used machine 10 or so years old . Probably around $500 for good one . It will out last a new $1000 machine for sure .
 
pfbmgd said:
Most snowblowers are made in China . They are probably made at two or three big factories . They change the color and engines for different makers . They are mostly made of plastic wheels for the belts materials . These machines are crap . You are better of getting a used machine 10 or so years old . Probably around $500 for good one . It will out last a new $1000 machine for sure .
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I think you are right for most makes. There are some notable exceptions (like Honda) but you pay dearly for them. Even a 10 year old honda two stage will be 1000+. It looks like you need to go back to 80's models to get close to 500 (which seems nuts to pay that much for something 30+ years old).

The problem with old equipment is the parts can be unobtainable or priced horrendously. In my experience 10+ year old machines fall into this trap and I don't like paying significant money for them. As always, experiences vary so this may not apply to everyone. Some manufacturers (like Gravely for instance) may avoid this, but you are starting from an entirely different price point.
 
GreyGhost said:
I think you are right for most makes. There are some notable exceptions (like Honda) but you pay dearly for them. Even a 10 year old honda two stage will be 1000+. It looks like you need to go back to 80's models to get close to 500 (which seems nuts to pay that much for something 30+ years old).

The problem with old equipment is the parts can be unobtainable or priced horrendously. In my experience 10+ year old machines fall into this trap and I don't like paying significant money for them. As always, experiences vary so this may not apply to everyone. Some manufacturers (like Gravely for instance) may avoid this, but you are starting from an entirely different price point.
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The machines have been the same for 30 years . Most parts are interchangeable to a degree . If you get a older machine in good condition . The only part you may need is a new belt . I bet you can find them still for 30 year old machines . Most snow blowers these days the difference is the color and the engine .
 
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