Hi Guys,
EDIT: yes, I spelled "height" wrong in my title, darn it!
Well, winter is upon us again here in Southern RI, and I am excited to be able to use my Toro 622 for the second time this season. This is a 1998 model, and it's my first year owning a snowblower at all (I inherited this blower from my Dad who upgraded this year himself).
The blower is mint and worked flawlessly my first time out after some basic maintenance from me.
My challenge is that I have two driveways, neither of which are very large. Both can hold four cars at 2 x 2 spacing. The challenge is that one driveway is paved, and the other is stone. Not crushed stone, but bluestone with the average stone probably 1" to 1.5" in length. Also it is somewhat uneven in the tire tracks, as I never did get around to leveling it out this Fall. Not terrible, but uneven nonetheless.
So I am trying to figure out the best strategy for my skid height. Right now I an about maxed out in height at 3/4" height from the scraper bar to the ground. I have not upgraded from the factory skids to an aftermarket skid.
The first time out I had the auger housing/scraper blade raised to maximum height, and I still picked up some stones, but not a ton. It was also learning-curve time for me as I had never used a blower on my driveways before. I did some "manual adjustments" on the fly, such as holding the auger off the ground a bit, which definitely helped.
Of course with the scraper raised all the way, there was left about an inch of snow on the surface after clearing. Not a huge deal, and perhaps a compromise so I can hit both surfaces with the same setting. But, the question is, is it worth it to change the setting between surfaces, i.e., start with the auger raised for the stone driveway, then drop it for the paved driveway? Or is there some happy medium? (perhaps wife/kids following with shovel)
Or even better, what can I fabricate or otherwise find or create to have an easily adjustable skid system???? As of now, it's four nuts with the ratchet...
These are all questions being asked as I sip a few beers and get ready to snowblow HARD tomorrow morning here near the beach!
Any advice is greatly appreciated. It's WICKED COLD here!!!!
Thanks!
Dave
EDIT: yes, I spelled "height" wrong in my title, darn it!
Well, winter is upon us again here in Southern RI, and I am excited to be able to use my Toro 622 for the second time this season. This is a 1998 model, and it's my first year owning a snowblower at all (I inherited this blower from my Dad who upgraded this year himself).
The blower is mint and worked flawlessly my first time out after some basic maintenance from me.
My challenge is that I have two driveways, neither of which are very large. Both can hold four cars at 2 x 2 spacing. The challenge is that one driveway is paved, and the other is stone. Not crushed stone, but bluestone with the average stone probably 1" to 1.5" in length. Also it is somewhat uneven in the tire tracks, as I never did get around to leveling it out this Fall. Not terrible, but uneven nonetheless.
So I am trying to figure out the best strategy for my skid height. Right now I an about maxed out in height at 3/4" height from the scraper bar to the ground. I have not upgraded from the factory skids to an aftermarket skid.
The first time out I had the auger housing/scraper blade raised to maximum height, and I still picked up some stones, but not a ton. It was also learning-curve time for me as I had never used a blower on my driveways before. I did some "manual adjustments" on the fly, such as holding the auger off the ground a bit, which definitely helped.
Of course with the scraper raised all the way, there was left about an inch of snow on the surface after clearing. Not a huge deal, and perhaps a compromise so I can hit both surfaces with the same setting. But, the question is, is it worth it to change the setting between surfaces, i.e., start with the auger raised for the stone driveway, then drop it for the paved driveway? Or is there some happy medium? (perhaps wife/kids following with shovel)
Or even better, what can I fabricate or otherwise find or create to have an easily adjustable skid system???? As of now, it's four nuts with the ratchet...
These are all questions being asked as I sip a few beers and get ready to snowblow HARD tomorrow morning here near the beach!
Any advice is greatly appreciated. It's WICKED COLD here!!!!
Thanks!
Dave