the best of snow blowers

The best of snow blowers summarizes basic ideas and tips on the best types of snow blowers as well as links for customer reviews and ratings and some of the best online resources…

The best alternatives to snow blowers

Before buying a snow blower, think twice. What may seem a handy machine can in fact be a rather cumbersome, ineffective or a basically useless thing. For small snowfalls traditional shoveling is often a better option. And for very large snow removal jobs, you should consider the downsides of gas snow blowers (their high weight, their price, or their maintenance requirements). You should consider the alternatives to them: shovels and removal services… See: Snow Shovels: Standard, Wheeled and Electric.

The best type of snow blower

When choosing, consider four main classes of snow blowers: two electrics and two gas-powered. These four classes of snow blowers correspond to four levels of power output, with the electrics at the bottom and the gas ones at the top.

The electric units only perform well or reasonably for snow loads up to, say, four inches. The less powerful gas blowers have also a limited capacity and are only effective for snowfalls up to 8 inches.

Electric snow blowers also do not perform well in hilly surfaces or gravel drives, or for wet snow. Only the more powerful gas units are effective in such conditions.

The power output of snow blowers isn’t the only element of choice, but it is crucial for effectiveness. Though cheaper, more energy efficient, less polluting, easier to use and easier to maintain, electric snow blowers only perform well for small snow loads, in flat and non-gravel drives.

Two stage snow blower Gas-powered snow blowers (the single-stage and the two-stage classes) are the more effective solution for average and large snow-clearing jobs.

See, for details: Gas Snow Blowers: Advantages & Disadvantages and Electric Snow Blowers Advantages & Disadvantages

Best online resources on snow blowers

ConsumerSearch.com and ConsumerReports.com have very good guides and basic information on the best snow blowers. For safety tips concerning snow blowers see the Consumer Product Safety Commission's snow blower safety alerts. For reviews and tips from homeowners, you can take a look at The Snow Blower Supply blog.

Ariens, Toro, Snow Joe and other manufacturers have some videos about their products, showing some of their basic features.

the best customer reviews and ratings

Greenworks, Toro or Snow Joe are top manufacturers, with many of the best customer reviews and ratings for electric snow blowers. For prices, ratings and hundreds of customer reviews in Amazon.com, see: Electric Snow Throwers

Murray, Yard, Husqvarna and Poulan are top references in gas snow blowers. For prices, ratings and hundreds of customer reviews in Amazon.com involving snow blowers, see: Gas Snow Throwers