When the winter weather starts to pick up, you have to ensure that the snow is promptly removed. Even a light snowfall can melt and refreeze, creating a dangerous layer of ice on which you or your loved ones could slip. Thankfully, snow blowers can help you clear away larger areas in less time. You can buy snow blowers that are electric or gas powered. Electric snow blowers are perfect for places that get an average of six to ten inches of snow each year. The nice thing about these machines is that they use regular outlets for power, and have long cords that enable you to snow away fresh powder snow off your property. Snow blowers are particularly useful for maneuvering through tight spaces where a snow shovel would be too awkward to reach. If you have many small stones or rocks in your yard, or tight corners where your recycling bins rest a few inches from the garage wall, a snow blower will help you get rid of the dusting and keep it from melting and hardening back into ice.
Snow blowers come in all shapes and sizes. There are single-stage and dual-stage, ranging in size between 24 inches and 30 inches in width. Many residential neighborhoods can stick to a basic machine. If you get up to eight inches of snow, you can use a gas or electric single-stage blower no matter how big the area is you need to clear. These have one auger used for scooping snow and for throwing snow. This auger is actually a spindle that has two or more blades or paddles that run along the width of the machine and eat the snow, then send it up and out of the chute.
If you are clearing between twelve and sixteen inches of snow you can get a two stage unit. These larger units have a chute which you can rotate 190 degrees. These snow blowers will throw snow between twenty and thirty feet away. They can clear a path between 12 and 20 inches, perfect for walking. They can also move, on average, between 200 and 900 pounds of snow every minute. This makes it incredibly easy to move a large amount of snow quickly, giving you less physical strain and less time shoveling by hand.
The standard residential snow blowers, perfect for clearing up to 60 feet of land are a single unit which means you only have to store one item. They are also very light weight, making it easy to hold and lift. You can chip away at piles of snow both large and small without wearing yourself out. The average snow blower weighs between ten and twenty five pounds. If you have to clear more than one acre of land, a gas snow blower is perfect. If you are clearing a smaller driveway, then you can rely on an electric snow blower. There are single stage units perfect for flat surfaces, and dual stage machines ideal for clearing uneven terrain.