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Hey everyone; I live in upstate NY...

Welcome!

We a 64x32 hockey rink, the path from the house to the rink plus a double car inclined driveway that about 40 ft long. A 6 inch snowfall takes probably 90 minutes to clear everything and it goes up from there.

So...something like 3,000 square feet to clear? How steep of an incline is the driveway?

What's your budget?

Other things to consider: how much storage space do you have? If a 2-car garage that has 2 cars in it, you might not be able to fit a 30". Also, you'll need to temper whatever recommendations you get with what's available in your area. I don't know what your local dealers carry, but with labor and supply-chain issues, snow blowers are generally less available than usual. Or so I'm told...

 

Welcome!



So...something like 3,000 square feet to clear? How steep of an incline is the driveway?

What's your budget?

Other things to consider: how much storage space do you have? If a 2-car garage that has 2 cars in it, you might not be able to fit a 30". Also, you'll need to temper whatever recommendations you get with what's available in your area. I don't know what your local dealers carry, but with labor and supply-chain issues, snow blowers are generally less available than usual. Or so I'm told...

The driveway is probably a 20% incline. It's not terrible. I do have a 2 car garage used by 2 cars and a 10x12 shed is arriving this week so I have some room to work with. I think the absolute top end of my budget would be 1500 out the door.

 

Hey everyone,

I live in upstate NY and we get on average about 60 inches of snowand I am looking to upgrade my snowblower this season. I have gotten good mileage from a 24 inch Craftsman that's headed into it's 10th season. We get a lot snow and I have a lot of area to clear. We a 64x32 hockey rink, the path from the house to the rink plus a double car inclined driveway that about 40 ft long. A 6 inch snowfall takes probably 90 minutes to clear everything and it goes up from there.

I am looking to get some opinions on the size snowblower I need that will make my life easier this season. I feel that my 24 inch is a bit small for what I need but 30 inches seems enormous but maybe it is worth it.

Thanks in advance.

Then go in between?
Settle for a 28"?

 

Yeah I don't necessarily need 30", I just feel something wider than the 24" one I have now.

 

A used Honda track unit in 28 or 32 if you can find one. That is alot of area.

 

So I am on the Toro Power Max series. I am between 26" and 28". It does seem like the 28" given all the area I need to clear is better but maybe 26" with a better engine than I have now will be enough?

 

I am on the Toro Power Max series. I am between 26" and 28". It does seem like the 28" given all the area I need to clear is better but maybe 26" with a better engine...

I'm not as familiar with Toro's lineup as I am with Ariens'. A wider bucket can be faster if paired with a larger engine; the most relevant spec for you would probably be tons of snow thrown per hour, but I don't know if Toro publishes those. Some people look at the displacement-size ratio or torque-size ratio as a stand-in for tons/hour snow thrown.

In the Power Max series, the commercial 28" machine (1428 OHXE) has the highest displacement-to-width ratio, followed by the 26" (826 OHAE), then the other two 28" machines (928 OAE).

What's the model number of your current Craftsman machine?

 

To make life easier, maybe a snow removal robot is the best choice. Just search on google for such a Snowbot.

 

Do you add this much value to all your conversations?

 

One final question...is there a difference between a machine I buy at an independent dealer versus home depot/lowes? I have heard that the big box stores get different machines than a dealer.

 

my experience is they can carry 'old' stock -meaning, prior years model (which a layperson wouldn't notice) but you're being charged current years price. Also, there may be subtle design changes you'll miss out on as a result. That was my experience once, others may differ.

 

The dealers sometimes have models aimed at the serious user that the big box stores don't but I don't think you are going to get there with a $1500 budget.

If you are serious about maintaining a hockey rink all season, I would certainly lean toward a 28" machine.

 

The dealers sometimes have models aimed at the serious user that the big box stores don't but I don't think you are going to get there with a $1500 budget.

If you are serious about maintaining a hockey rink all season, I would certainly lean toward a 28" machine.

I was leaning towards the Toro 826 over the 828 HD. Both have 252cc engines so it seemed like the 828 might be under powered.

 

I like using the dealer for service and parts. IMHO, a dealer is more likely to go out of his way for his customers.

 

I typically would try to give business to the dealer. But with the supply chain I had no choice but to go with the Depot. I managed to get the last Honda in my state. And in the case of Home Depot the Honda was shipped directly from our power equipment plant in North Carolina and still had the 400 dollar reduction from the dealer msrp. On short. Go with availability and price. You can’t help local if they don’t have any supply to sell.

 

The width decision really has to do with what works. For our driveway a 28 -30 inch would be great. Back yard and the paths, no. 24 inch works overall for me. I just make more passes on the driveway.

I moved a heck of a lot of snow years back with a Toro 524. The Yamaha 624 moves like 42 tons an hour (acualy as I recall, I did some tests and it was more like 48 tons).

Throwing distance is the bigger issue, you want it to throw to where its not an issue. The old Toro was limited in that regard, newer ones with the 724, no. The Honda 724 throws it further than the Yamaha does, I don't need it but if we had a record snow fall it would be handy (we got 130 inches one year and I had failed to ensure I had not stacked up berms)

I would go with what works and has the specs to meet the needs (and you have a pretty serious need) vs a fixed price.