Educate me on snow blowers

I have endured 11 Michigan winters with snow shovels and now am keen to use a blower.

I don't want to spend more than $200 and have no problem buying a used machine. My driveway is short, about 2 1/2 car lengths long by 2 car widths wide. Driveway is just slightly inclined. What recommendations would you have for me?

2-stage, 5hp+, and chains.

I use a toro that has a E36 M3ty plastic chute. find a steel chute.

$200 at this time of the year in Michigan probably ain't gonna happen.

With the exception of really high end machines, almost all of the used ones that you'll find were manufactured by MTD and have Tecumseh engines. They're given different colors and brand names, but they are all just larger or smaller versions of the same thing.

Last year, I owned a Toro 6.5hp, a Craftsman 5hp and an Agway 5.5hp with tracks. They were all essentially the same.

Tracks can be helpful, but a tracked machine is hard to move around on dryer pavement because you need to slide it a bit to steer.

If you're shopping in the $200 range, it's important to understand that if you buy a fixer upper, you can't just go to Tractor Supply or Northern and get any horizontal shaft engine and drop it in place. The Tecumsehs have a second shaft that rotates off the cam in the opposite direction. One drives the wheels and the other drives the auger.

Also, don't replace the shear bolts with regular bolts. That makes things get expensive. Always have some spare shear bolts on the shelf.

The electric start snow blowers don't use a battery. The have a starter mounted on the engine but you have to plug an extension cord into it. If you lose power in the storm, you're gonna be pull starting it.

Woody wrote: If you're shopping in the $200 range, it's important to understand that if you buy a fixer upper, you can't just go to Tractor Supply or Northern and get any horizontal shaft engine and drop it in place. The Tecumsehs have a second shaft that rotates off the cam in the opposite direction. One drives the wheels and the other drives the auger.

I have heard you CAN in some cases replace the twin shaft engine with a single shaft engine using different pulleys and belts, one of my friends had an MTD with blown motor that he was going to replace with a cheap Harbor Freight motor, said he found a DIY how to do it on his exact machine, the one side effect being the drive direction got reversed. Aka you tell the blower to drive forward and it goes in reverse, and vice versa. I assume you have to play with different pulleys and belts to get it to work.

For old workhorse blowers, the 10+ year old Ariens units are beastly.

I have an old 2-stage Craftsman / Tecumseh power that I inherited, but I'm constantly having carb/tuning problems with it. I do not recommend. I end up shovelling half the time.

failboat wrote:

Woody wrote: If you're shopping in the $200 range, it's important to understand that if you buy a fixer upper, you can't just go to Tractor Supply or Northern and get any horizontal shaft engine and drop it in place. The Tecumsehs have a second shaft that rotates off the cam in the opposite direction. One drives the wheels and the other drives the auger.

I have heard you CAN in some cases replace the twin shaft engine with a single shaft engine using different pulleys and belts, one of my friends had an MTD with blown motor that he was going to replace with a cheap Harbor Freight motor, said he found a DIY how to do it on his exact machine, the one side effect being the drive direction got reversed. Aka you tell the blower to drive forward and it goes in reverse, and vice versa. I assume you have to play with different pulleys and belts to get it to work.

There is a pretty detailed How-To on this on You Tube, but it's not just a drop in deal. There's a bit of work involved.

Woody wrote: If you're shopping in the $200 range, it's important to understand that if you buy a fixer upper, you can't just go to Tractor Supply or Northern and get any horizontal shaft engine and drop it in place. The Tecumsehs have a second shaft that rotates off the cam in the opposite direction. One drives the wheels and the other drives the auger. .... The electric start snow blowers don't use a battery. The have a starter mounted on the engine but you have to plug an extension cord into it. If you lose power in the storm, you're gonna be pull starting it.

I got a hand-me-down Snowbird or some such non-sense MTD off-shoot brand circa 1975 from my dad. Somehow the piston decided to liberate itself from the pin and seize the motor. I'm pretty sure it was a Tecumseh engine, but it must have been an older one that predates the twin shaft motors. Either way, I got the $100 212CC engine from HF and it works great. It was a bolt in swap for me.

I second the note about the electric start. It was great to have with the old engine, but a pain in the ass when we lost power and didn't have a pull start installed. I think it'd be cool to get a tractor starter to play nice with the blower and then just build a battery box and seal it. Any reason why that'd be a bad idea, besides the battery maybe not having enough juice in the cold?

I have an old Sears blower that looks similar to the photo in that it is all steel and from the 60's or 70's. It has been known to destroy bricks, dog ties, and anything else in it's path. Maintenance has consisted of WD-40 and Sta-Bil. It weighs 980 pounds, but man can it clear snow!

I'll agree with Pinchvalve.... check CL for an OLD ariens or Sears unit (I believe the are the same).

abuse it, neglect it, throw snow 40' easily.