Snowblower/Snowthrower Help Needed (Minneapolis: how much, Home Depot, neighborhood)

[tobytobe]

Hi Guys, we are gearing up for not only our first Minnesota winter, but also our first winter as homeowners. We are clueless as to what to look for/avoid in a snowblower, where the best place to look for one and not get ripped off, etc. Any tips or insight would be greatly appreciated!

[moving123456]

Avoid electric and single stage, go with a gas powered 2 stage.

I like Honda which Home Depot sells, but I think the Craftsman models at Sears are about half price and have decent reviews.

Home Depot carries a couple other cheaper brands than Honda too.

Edit: Power steering is a helpful feature too.

[MnMomma]

It all depends on how much you need to clear. We have a gas 2-stage beast (purchased because we used to have a corner lot and tuck-under garage) that we pull out only for the really big snow falls. When we get the beast out, we also do a few of our neighbors' driveways.

But, most of the time we'd prefer to have a single stage blower since it does a better job of clearing the sidewalk. Our neighbor will often use his single stage to clear our sidewalk and then we just use a broom to clear it down to bare concrete.

Most of the time I just use a shovel. We have a short drive way and standard city-lot width of sidewalk.

[Norsky1]

+1 on how big of an area? I have a 90 foot long driveway about 10 feet wide that likes to drift up all over the place, 2 stage is the way to go for me, If I had a city log size driveway I probably would just shovel.

[tobytobe]

It's a standard neighborhood driveway. Probably enough for two cars length wise including the sidewalk and approach, and two car width.

[demtion35]

You may not need one if you are able bodied hand shovel wont take long

[Cruz Azul Guy]

You would still be better off even with a small snowblower. Even if your driveway is small all it takes is one heavy wet snow drift and your back is going to be killing if you try to shovel it.

I have an awesome small snowblower but I can't remember what kind it is. I'll check and get back to you because this thing works great and has never failed on me.

[Minnesota Spring]

Maybe we wont have any snow this year?
Hey, it could happen. (:

[TimtheGuy]

If you have a 'regular' city lot, I would get a TORO single stage. They cost about $550 and will get you through 95% of any snow storms here. If you live in the country or have a really long driveway then you will want to go with a two stage. The two stage will cost more.

[billhelm]

I bought a mid-range two stage for about 600 bucks from Sears last year. It's a nice machine but it's overkill for my city lot in Minneapolis. A lot of my neighbors have single stages and get by just fine.