Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Post-Snow Post

Well, I sure am glad I have my snowblower!  After the 2010 storms, I finally bought one.  Buying one in the Spring, though, I had time to do some research and get a good price.  Granted, they were "last year's models".  But they don't change much.  Really, what can they do other than make the blades that throw the snow heated so snow doesn't stick?  And I expect that will be a while.

I read in an article that one can expect any future event to be 25% "more" than what one has experienced before.  So when it came to the abilty to handle deep snow, I took my deepest snow and added 25% to that depth.

Good thing I did, because this Toro 24' wide and 20" tall input was barely enough!!!  And in a couple of drifts in the driveway, I had to tilt it up slightly and make 2 passes.  And THAT was while the snow was still falling Saturday after lunch!

But it worked perfectly.  The snow was dry and powdery and went "up, up, up, and away"!  The swirling wind made me keep rotating the output chute right and left (and I DID get snow back at me a few times).  Five passes up and down the driveway had it nearly cleared.  
Sunday morning, I went out and blew off the 9" of snow that had fallen overnight (6") and the 3" that drifted in with the wind.  Each time took only 20 minutes!

And removing the snow before it started to freeze on the bottom really helped.  The snowblower gets down to about 1/4".  The sunlight gets through that little snow and hits the black asphalt which warms enough to melt the remaining snow above it.  The next day, it was all clear, like this...
If I had to shovel the snow by hand, it would have been 2 three hour efforts; maybe 3 efforts.

Aside from that, we are all doing fine here.  The cats have a small area to step outside on the deck.  It took a while to shovel 4' though the 3' snowdrift (and throwing the shoveled snow 4' over the side of the deck was some work.  But I know to pace myself and take rest breaks.  I extended the path out toward the end of the deck a few feet every few hours on Monday, and completed it Tuesday.

You may have noticed a box from Chewy in the top picture.  Naturally, we were running out of canned cat food just as the storm hit.  But a Saturday online order arrived here this afternoon while there were still 2 cans left.  Good timing. 

Well, I WOULD have just driven to the local PetSmart for some if needed.  The roads are clear "enough".  But it was nice to have 5 cases of food delivered to the garage door!

5 comments:

Megan said...

Fabulous effort on the driveway Mark. Isn't good equipment a joy?

Is the snowblower too heavy to get up onto the deck?

Megan
Sydney, Australia

Mark's Mews (Marley, Lori, Loki, and Binq) said...

Slightly... It's an older model now, but the nearest I find is about 175 pounds. And I can barely lift a 50 pound bag of birdseed. LOL!

Mariodacat said...

It pays to do research! Smart buy on your part. We haven't had as much snow as you have had, but the snow season isn't even half over here yet. We have 18 inches on the ground and a big storm due next Tuesday. We're sick of winter already!

Katie Isabella said...

Whoa. I would have to call around and try to get someone to dig me out. Sure don't have a snow blower and here, we only have snows worthy of one every couple of years. And then, not all that bad except our blizzard in 1993. Now that was a corker!

Just Ducky said...

Having the right equipment is a wonderful thing.

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