Snow Blower Information

Updated October 2009

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In this report

Snow Blower Links

Alternative snow removal methods

If you decide to keep your manual shovel, home-improvement expert Danny Lipford says you can try floor wax to keep snow from sticking to it. The wax will reduce friction; it will also protect metal shovels from rust.

Another option is a Wovel (*Est. $120), which combines the shovel with a wheel and a lever so you can push rather than pick up and throw snow. In a 2007 review, The New York Times says the Wovel reduces lower back injury by 85 percent. Praised by Popular Mechanics, the International Hardware Show and Time magazine, the Wovel is available at Home Depot, Amazon.com and other retailers.

We didn't see many tests of a product called Bare Ground (*Est. $40 for Deluxe System), but it sounds interesting. Bare Ground is a spray that you put down before a snowfall, which causes ice and snow to melt on contact. The spray is supposed to last two weeks, and it's biodegradable. We watched a video test by Scranton, Pa., TV station WNEP, which tested Bare Ground prior to a snowstorm. The solution did prevent snow from sticking for a couple of hours, though it eventually couldn't keep up with the rate of snowfall. Still, for light snow, Bare Ground might work well enough to prevent it from sticking. The Bare Ground website has details.

Snow blower buyer's guides and safety tips

A number of general buyer's guides help consumers assess their snow-removal needs, explain what to look for when shopping for a snow blower and offer maintenance and safety tips.

SnowBlowersDirect.com offers an interactive tool for choosing the snow blower that best meets your needs.

SnowBlowers.net offers a buying guide, as well as information on many companies that make and sell snow blowers, including Toro, Ariens, Troy-Bilt, and others.

David Beaulieu, About.com's landscaping guide, has overviews of electric snow throwers as well single- and two-stage gas snow blowers. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Beaulieu also offers safety tips for using heavy equipment, including snow blowers, and for snow blower maintenance.

The Snow Blower Supply blog offers a mix of reviews, tips from owners, and safety and buying guides.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission's "Snow Blower Safety Alert" can be downloaded at its website.

Toro has a couple of videos about its products on YouTube; one demonstrates the features that all of Toro's Power Clear single-stage gas blowers have.

Manufacturer websites

Manufacturer websites are the best places to find detailed specification information on snow blowers.