"Terry" wrote in message
...

"Commodore Joe Redcloud" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 00:55:44 GMT, "Szeifried"
wrote:

Okay after last nights dumping of 12" of snow, I figure I 'll open the
wallet and get a snowblower.

What I need is the scoop on the good , bad and ugly of what's out there.

I need at least a 10 hp

Thanks ,
Dave


Ariens. Make sure to pick the model you really want, as you will have it
for the
next 30 years or so. Good luck trying to find what you want this late,
and
after a snowfall.


Good luck; after a snowfall the 'pickings' may be few!
BTW my neighbours generally aged 55 to 60 plus, in comparison to my mid
70s,
have gone away from the larger 30 inch over 8 HP models saying they are
very
heavy to manipulate, which also discourages female members of the family
from even trying to use them! One of them gave away his large one to a
younger son in law who lives some distance away.
Neighbour and I now use my smaller 27 inch (it's either 6 or 8 HP?)
successfully. Including to 'dig out' occasionally, his transport truck,
his
two smaller vehicles and our two pickup trucks! With it in cooperation
with
others endowed with 'snow blowers, we also look out for neighbours
especially so relatives of the elderly widow can get into her driveway to
visit her.
So a case can be made for 'mid-size and manoeuvrable; unless of course you
have a 500 foot driveway on a 5 acre lot?


I agree. I often wish I had my little 2 cycle, "paddlewheel" back. Not
self propelled but it was so easy to maneuver around the driveway. However,
when the snow gets deeper than 6 inches it is nice to have a two stage.
Even with a 24 inch, 5 HP I have to walk halfway across the street to get
the thing turned around. I get an average of only 55 inches of snow a year
so that is not bad. If you live somewhere like Rome, NY with an average of
153 inches or Vail, Colorado with 335 inches, it is a different matter.