Foo - Snowblower or shovel ?

Overnight we had a pretty good dump of snow. Which means this morning we all had to go remove snow off of our walks and driveways. For me it was worse since I also had to do the sidewalk in front of our business. Anyhow, as I was shovelling I noticed that everybody else on our street had a snowblower. What gives? Are we that wimpy of a society that we can't get a bit of exercise by shovelling snow? I understand the elderly needing some extra help, however if you're in good shape why spew out crappy exhaust fumes simply to avoid sweating a bit.

How about you guys that live in snowy regions?

Last year we got just shy of 200" of snow. A few times we awoke to find 18" of new, wet, heavy snow on the ground. Shoveling my driveway sucked.

We finally got a snowblower.

This year? We had one good snowfall. Now there is nothing on the ground. Mountains are covered, but nada on the ground.

I do both.

When we moved to NH from San Francisco in 1990, we were forced to shovel. And we shoveled that driveway until I was about 11. Sometimes it would take 3 hours to get it all done, that sucks. It is crappy when you have to wake up early to shovel your car out. We finally bought a snow blower, and what a difference it makes! It takes maybe 20 minutes to get it all done, and it's especially a blessing in the mornings when you need to get your car out of the driveway. $749 WELL WORTH IT.

Last year we got just shy of 200" of snow. A few times we awoke to find 18" of new, wet, heavy snow on the ground. Shoveling my driveway sucked.

We finally got a snowblower.

This year? We had one good snowfall. Now there is nothing on the ground. Mountains are covered, but nada on the ground.

I do both.

You're from Alaska. You definitely have a good excuse. I would want to spend as little time possible in those temperatures.

When we moved to NH from San Francisco in 1990, we were forced to shovel. And we shoveled that driveway until I was about 11. Sometimes it would take 3 hours to get it all done, that sucks. It is crappy when you have to wake up early to shovel your car out. We finally bought a snow blower, and what a difference it makes! It takes maybe 20 minutes to get it all done, and it's especially a blessing in the mornings when you need to get your car out of the driveway. $749 WELL WORTH IT.

Got to admit that I haven't spent 3 hours shovelling since I moved away from Saskatchewan. Even then it was rare. However I enjoy the hour or so of shovelling now since it gives me a pretty good workout.

I'm a renter in a duplex where shoveling and lawn mowing are technically the responsibility of my landlady. The problem is that if she does it, she never does it all. She'll shovel a path from the front door to the street, but she won't shovel a path out back to the garage or the driveway. So, I usually end up doing most of the shoveling. Working and going to school full-time doesn't leave me with a lot of time to do it, though. Last year, she actually was out in the driveway shoveling but she fell and broke her shoulder. She laid there in the alley for 20 minutes yelling for help before our neighbors found her!! I've told her a hundred times that if she just buys a blower I will do all the snow, but she doesn't like the idea of polluting the air with a blower. This is ironic because if I don't get the shoveling done, one of our neighbors inevitably comes by and blows the snow. I really do like shoveling, but I just don't have the time to spend on it!

i have leaf blower. shoveling leafs is a biotch.

i shovel, there is probably only a handfull of times in the 5-6 months of winter where a snowblower is warranted, but i dont mind shovelling.

I usually shovel. I take my time and move little/little. I like being busy anyway and the exercise is great. I warm up and stretch a little first. I like the quiet and the time to be alone with my thoughts!

I live in an apartment building. The landlord is usually pretty good about plowing the parking area in the winter, but I still have to shovel a bit where he can't get with the plow. I don't mind it, it's a kinda fun and a good workout.

seeing as that I live in a house with a 1/4 mile drive, a snowblower is a must. And we don't have one of those wimpy little 2 ft walk behind blowers. We have a 5 ft wide, 3.5 ft high snowblower attachment for our John Deere. We figure if we can't get out with that beast, we don't need to because the road crews can't get through either. :D

Overnight we had a pretty good dump of snow. Which means this morning we all had to go remove snow off of our walks and driveways. For me it was worse since I also had to do the sidewalk in front of our business. Anyhow, as I was shovelling I noticed that everybody else on our street had a snowblower. What gives? Are we that wimpy of a society that we can't get a bit of exercise by shovelling snow? I understand the elderly needing some extra help, however if you're in good shape why spew out crappy exhaust fumes simply to avoid sweating a bit.

How about you guys that live in snowy regions?


Snowblower for 5"+ shovel for <5" unless its very wet/heavy snow then I`d see what works best. My time is valuable and I need to perform these winter tasks quickly.

If I owned a store front business I would first see if one of my business neighbors would be interested in taking care of my walks so I could focus on the business and not have to store/maintain a snowblower. I would then write off the money paid for snow removal. Time is money.

I have two properties on my street and I`m looking to purchase a third, I want to manage the yard work as efficient as possible so I can do the things I enjoy the most when time allows.

I use a 4x4 tractor with a plow for the driveways and shovel the walks. I don`t have a snowblower at the moment because I do not want to store/maintain another piece of 1 task specific equipment but I will probably have to if I get another property. Shoveling walks is only fun for the first 3 snows and then it starts to be a pain.

Probably depends on your situation, some good cases for having a snowblower have been posted here. But in reality most buy them for the same reason they have a riding lawn mower to mow a 3000 sq. ft. lawn. They are lazy.

We rent, so we get to watch someone else plow and shovel all the snow.


Much more entertaining than doing it oneself.

Snow blower pollute sooo much. Way worse than cars. But if you get a LOT of snow, there's nothing wrong with owning one.

I've always shoveled. Our driveway is pretty easy. One year we got lazy and ended up with a 6 inch layer of compressed snow that got wet and then froze, so it was pretty much ice. Had to get a pick out there to bust it up then throw it to the side with a shovel. That was the one day that winter I wore short sleeves outdoors.

Just got back from the Studio (wife's business) and the @#$%^ road plow pushed a ton of snow back onto the sidewalk I had cleared earlier this morning. Another hour of shovelling :mad: Still not enough incentive to buy a snowblower though. Now I just have to find that darn heating pad for my back ...

Snow blower pollute sooo much. Way worse than cars.

this make no sense wtf you talkin holmes

this make no sense wtf you talkin holmes

Actually he's right. Lawnmowers & snowblowers are some of the worst polluters out there. The only upside is that they are not used as often as cars.

i dont drive my snowblower 10,000 miles a year

i bet 200 miles in the car pollutes way more than 1 hour with the blower

i dont drive my snowblower 10,000 miles a year

i bet 200 miles in the car pollutes way more than 1 hour with the blower

I believe we're saying the same thing.

I believe we're saying the same thing.

i think so too, but mr bossmoniker made an incorrect statement

Actually, the choice is broom, snowblower, shovel or combo

Here's what I do
light snow (up to 2"): broom before stepping on the snow
snow 4" and up: snowblower or shovel
wet snow: shovel often!

because snowblowers don't have egr and air intake temp and pressure computers, and catalytic converters, o2 sensors and the lot...it's just a simple engine with minimal engine management...1 hour of snowblowing spews more pollutants than driving a modern fi car 2000 miles.


get out and shovel you wussies.

i have leaf blower. shoveling leafs is a biotch.

I have three big dogs. Shoveling POOP is a biotch. Do they make such a thing as a poop blower??

I have three big dogs. Shoveling POOP is a biotch. Do they make such a thing as a poop blower??

Yep. A Stihl BR 600 will blow dog poop up to 2 houses away:).

i like to blow my own

and blow others

I have three big dogs. Shoveling POOP is a biotch. Do they make such a thing as a poop blower??

Hey, sounds good as long as it blew it out in smaller chunks. Could be used as a fertilizer spreader. I think you're on to something here. I would run with this idea if I were you. Let us know how it works out. I could use one here at home.

Wait, how did we get off of the evils of snowblowing topic? Hang on, I think I can kick start it again.

because snowblowers don't have egr and air intake temp and pressure computers, and catalytic converters, o2 sensors and the lot...it's just a simple engine with minimal engine management...1 hour of snowblowing spews more pollutants than driving a modern fi car 2000 miles.


get out and shovel you wussies.

So you're saying that sirpoopalot is wrong?

i think so too, but mr bossmoniker made an incorrect statement

Alright fine, I'll be more specific. Per unit of time, a snowblower pollutes way worse than cars.

Happy now, sirpoopalot?

I think this would make quick work of my properties
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/glenngertz/V8snowblowerinuse.jpg

I think this would make quick work of my properties
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/glenngertz/V8snowblowerinuse.jpg

Awesome!

shoveling is good for you. if you've really got a long driveway get a plow for your vehicle or hire someone who's got one..or call in sick

What about a shovel blower? After all there are a lot of weird fetishes out there.

duh! Dingo.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff303/p4nh4ndle/IMG_0328.jpg

:( I wish I had snow to shovel. All these snow threads make me sad.

I shovel because I am a renter and in Pennsylvania there are only a few days you end up shoveling more than an hour.

Now back home in North Dakota it is another story entirely. Were I to ever settle back in the northern plains, I'd buy a snowblower without hesitation.

Snow Blower. Only get to use it once or twice a year here.

Snowblower. It takes me the better part of an hour to snowblow the driveway and walkway.

i have leaf blower. shoveling leafs is a biotch.

dude, you are soooo crazy :0)

I am not supposed to shovel because of my back, but I do it anyway and always regret it the next day. Plus, my driveway is made up of rocks that would be easily thrown by a snow blower.

i have leaf blower. shoveling leafs is a biotch.

I use a mulching mower.

Hooray growing up on a farm! Hooray bucket tractors! Dad would pile us up the best hills to go sledding down.

i have leaf blower. shoveling leafs is a biotch.

Actually, I ended up snow blowing a bunch of leaves that never got raked. Oh well. :rolleyes:

I use a mulching mower.

So do I, but it is a bit of a pain to get it into my flower beds and courtyard and onto back porch. So I blow the leafs into the yard, and then mulch them. Also use it to clean out gutters, makes that job a snap. I loves me my leaf blower.

shovel of course :D

http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/pub/mm/1130011796.jpg

PS yes, I am going to burn in a hot place for this but what the hey...

Snowblowers and riding lawnmowers are for wussies.

I shovel. Although last year when we had seven consecutive weeks of snowstorms I was seriously considering getting a snowblower.

I solved the problem 12 years ago when I sold the house and moved to an apartment building. Now I can sip coffee while watching the maintenance guys through the window.

FWIW, they use shovels, snowblowers and a pickup with a plow.

I solved the problem 12 years ago when I sold the house and moved to an apartment building. Now I can sip coffee while watching the maintenance guys through the window.

FWIW, they use shovels, snowblowers and a pickup with a plow.

puleeeaase!
Just move south and you won't need to even worry about a shovel or snow blower. I think we get less than an inch of snow/ yr avg. If any does fall, it'll all be melted in a day or 2.