Snow blower brand and use on gravel

[beck]

Am considering buying a snow blower. Any advice on which brands hold up better than others?

Will be used primarily on a gravel drive with hard packed gravel.Does anyone have experience to know if these pick up much gravel?

I have a small tractor and rear blade I use for snow but it's hard not to move gravel along with the snow. Not real keen on using a blower instead of the tractor but was thinking maybe a blower wouldn't disturb as much gravel as the blade does.

 

[jeepman3071]

Buy one of the older heavy duty ones such as the Ariens or Toro models. They are a built stronger and will take the abuse, also will cost less and you won't be as disappointed if you destroy it. We had a snow blower at our old house with a gravel driveway. The key is putting the skids on the side of the blower down enough so the scraper bar just skims the surface of the gravel. This will prevent it from picking up rocks.

 

[NHGUY]

Old Ariens models are tough.I wouldnt buy a new one.

 

[bepperb]

I really prefer a single stage, but I think on gravel you'll have to get a two stage or it'll rip everything up. We had a huge simplicity growing up that I doubt any amount of gravel could damage but as stated I suppose the skids could be lowered to keep from picking up any.

 

[otis24]

I had an old John Deere 524. Got rid of it because of the gravel. I used it for two or three years though. Still runs good.
The guy I sold it to said he had a friend with an older (1995) Polaris AWD 4 wheeler. I got it for 500 dollars and it runs good. Plan on adding a snowplow to it. I have a long narrow drive and the snow drifts deep.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Old Ariens models are tough.I wouldnt buy a new one.


Agreed. My father sold his last year and we were amazed at how quickly someone took it from the Craigslist posting. It took about an hour, no joke.

 

[JHZR2]

My wife and I, my parents, even my nearly 90-yo grandparents all shovel our own snow.



Couldnt you just cut down the big stuff using the blower to the depth of an inch or two, and then just shovel the rest? My parents have a weekend place with a shale gravel driveway, and we shovel it just fine.

 

[BISCUT]

Have had a John Deer 824 (entry commercial level) for I believe 13 possibly 14 years. It's a 8HP Techuseth and has only needed the belts changed and a carb adjustment the entire time of ownership.

What I'd look for is an oversized auger and a differential you can change out the fluid on.

 

[Gotch]

We used to set ours up for gravel using a 2x4 under the scraper and dropping the skids to the ground (on a flat, hard surface). Still picked up a bit gravel until a good freeze happened. No damage occured however. It was an old Massey Ferguson (80's).

Steel auger discharge chute required. Plastic gets quite brittle in the cold and can crack when stones are fed through it.

 

[JTK]

Like said, for gravel drive use, you'll need a two stage model with separate skid shoes and scraper blade. You need to set the shoes so the scraper blade is an inch or so off the ground to minimize stone/gravel intake.

As much as I agree with you guys in regards to the used, old, iron and steel beasts, they aren't necessarily the best machine for the job.

I've used old Toro and Ariens beasts that were not only extremely heavy, they were terrible to maneuver, needed tire chains to get out of their own way and they didn't throw snow all that well. Lots of clearance between the impeller and housing. Probably from being well-worn.

Sure, you can retrofit them with soft grippy snow-hog tires, install a "Clarence Impeller Kit" and maybe even more powerful, better running OHV engine, but that ain't for everyone.

Joel

 

[eljefino]

I have a gravel drive but get a solid freeze that locks it down. In other words I have perpetual layers of ice and sand (that I throw down) and more ice for a driveway. It's actually smoother in winter than it is in the summer.

I don't pick up much gravel. If anything leaves from late fall get into the first snow blowing and make a harmless but unsightly mess.

If you get muddy thaws over and over your situation may be different.

 

[JTK]

That's true. Once you get some hard-packed snow/ice, you're good to go. Still not great for a rubber paddled single stage machine though.

Can't beat a gravel drive! Cheap and easy to maintain. Ugh.. I've got ~100ft of heavily inclined asphalt leading to concrete up by the house.