How to choose the right snow blower
Ceaseless cold, merciless ice, sleet, and snow—if you loved last winter, get ready for the sequel. To beat it, in America’s most-frigid states, you’ll want a snow blower, a snow shovel, and ice melt. Why all three? Even the best snow blowers can’t reach everywhere and may leave behind a thin layer of snow that’s likely to turn into ice. For areas that get less-than-epic snowfall, you can get by with just a shovel and the appropriate ice melt.
When choosing a snow blower, the amount and type of snow you’ll be clearing will determine the right machine for you. So let the history of local snowfalls be your guide. Remember, though, that what falls from the sky is not the worst snow—it’s what plows leave at the end of your driveway that’s the highest and densest.
If you generally expect to deal with a foot or less of snow, you’ll probably want a compact, single-stage model that runs on gas and costs around $400 to $600. But for up to 18 inches? Consider a compact, two-stage unit. And if you want to be ready for anything, shell out $1,500 for the beefiest two-stage you can buy.
Clear winners
Two-stage gas blowers have some clear advantages. They add an impeller to the usual auger to outdo their single-stage siblings with faster clearing, farther throwing, and more muscle for heavier, wetter snow. But for all of their power, two-stage models leave behind slightly more snow than single-stage snow blowers, are heavier and bigger, and take up more storage space.
You also need to think about the width of the blower’s intake. Opting for a blower that can clear the widest-possible path sounds like a good idea, but bigger isn’t necessarily better: The engine needs to be strong enough to power the wider clearing path. We tested three Power Smart models of varying path widths; all came with the same 208-cubic-centimeter engine. That engine in the 22-inch-wide Power Smart DB7659-22, $500, gave it great throwing distance. But the same engine in the 28-inch Power Smart DB7651A-28, $745, threw the wet sawdust we use to simulate heavy snow only a few feet during our plow-pile test.
Corded-electric snow blowers are really for only the lightest powdery snow. Their one advantage over gas-powered snow blowers is that they make less noise—though that’s changing. The new gas-powered Craftsman 88694, $900, has a muffling design that reduced noise significantly in our tests. Like the 26-inch Toro Power Max 726 OE37771, $900, the 26-inch Craftsman doesn’t require the operator to wear hearing protection for safety. But the Craftsman is significantly better overall and is the quietest gas model we’ve tested.
Top-rated snow blowers
If you're shopping for a snow blower, here are the top three from Consumer Reports' tests of two-stage and single-stage gasoline models. None of the electric models in our tests made our top-picks list.
Two-stage gas
Compact two-stage gas
Single-stage gas
—Ed Perratore (@EdPerratore on Twitter)
More from Consumer Reports:
Best cookware from Consumer Reports’ tests
You can remodel your kitchen for as little as $5,000
Most and least reliable refrigerator brands
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of U.S.
