SIngle stage vs 2 stage snow thrower

[DTro]

Just though I would share my experience from over the weekend for those in the market.

Up till now I’ve never had an issue with my single stage Craftsman thrower. Always starts, is light and maneuverable and very happy with it……until this weekend.

I actually cleared my drive a couple times in anticipation of keeping ahead of the snow. It was all good when I went to bed on Sat night. So then I peered out my window Sunday morning and seen the snow had drifted completely over my handy work, and not only that, but the plow left a nice 5ft high bank across my entire drive.

Plus, by this time there was a nice crust forming, and let me tell you it was a PITA with a single stage thrower. I basically had to break up each pass with a shovel and inch my way down the drive, pass after pass after pass, then when I was done, blow the pile at the street back into what I just cleared….rinse repeat.

I finally got all that cleared in about 4 hours, but I still had 40ft of sidewalk to clear, and all that snow from my drive had been diverted onto it. I knew I didn’t have a chance with the thrower and would have to shovel it all. As I was in the house resting, a buddy stopped by after reading a Facebook rant of mine. In the back of his truck was a big 2 stage thrower. He fired that thing up and had the sidewalk cleared in about 15 minutes.

The moral of the story is that once you get 12+ inches of snow and don’t keep up with it, a single stage thrower is almost useless and if you are in the market to get a new one and get a lot of snow or drifting, I’d recommend spending a little extra on the 2 stage.

I’m not unhappy with mine, but got to see first hand how much easier my job could have been.

[delcecchi]

Thanks to the snow plow operator I got to check. My Ariens (2005) impeller only runs when the auger is running. So that is a sample of 1. It wouldn't surprise me if the older, pre-lawyer, ones were different.

[jwhjr]

Thanks to the snow plow operator I got to check. My Ariens (2005) impeller only runs when the auger is running. So that is a sample of 1. It wouldn't surprise me if the older, pre-lawyer, ones were different.

Checked with my 2 stage yesterday too (2000 model) and the impeller also only runs when the auger is running.

[uffdapete]

ya'll want to see a snowblower from manland:

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/MechanicalFunnyBone/V8SnowBlower/index.htm