ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Oct 27, 2019 14:07:51 GMT -6
As I age I'm looking for alternate, read easier, ways of doing things. In Maine we can get a lot of snow and removal can be back breaking. 1" of rain can equal 7-10" of snow. For the big open areas I put the plow on the truck and sit in the heated cab and listen to the radio/stereo. Pretty easy. But how do I clear the deck? I have an absolutely monstrous 14HP snowblower, but it's too large and heavy for the deck, and if I need to bring it onto the roof I'd need a crane and it would destroy the roof.
That brings me to a solution (I hope). I've been researching battery operated and plug in snowblowers. The weight and size is right for most of them. Some are too big though. The battery powered units use Li-Ion and are definitely NOT what you're thinking for battery powered of 10+ years ago. Li-Ion has all sorts of juice and they can do a credible job. But I didn't like the quoted runtimes. That left plug in units. They have unlimited runtime, but need an extension cord. No big deal since it's use is only clearing the deck. All of what I'm discussing are small, what I would have considered "toy" units in the past. But they will throw snow supposedly. It might take 2 of us if we get a big storm. One of us breaking the snow off into chunks the blower can handle since the opening is only 18 x 12". But breaking the snow down is easy, it's getting it off the deck that breaks the back and that's the snow blowers job.
Anyway, I dropped the hammer on one and a cold weather extension cord. I hope it doesn't turn out to be an expensive mistake. I still view it as being a toy. It'll be here in a few days, hopefully snow will completely miss us this winter (not very likely). I can't help but compare it to the big one, so it's just puny in comparison; a toy. But the specs say it'll move 700+ lbs of snow per minute. We'll see.
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TobyC
Gem Star
Old stick in the mud.
Posts: 2,400
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Post by TobyC on Oct 27, 2019 15:11:39 GMT -6
Snow? What's that? South Carolina boy here. We get a flurry that doesn't stick every few years, all the schools and gov. offices close.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Oct 27, 2019 22:23:33 GMT -6
They close up here too. In years past they didn't because all Maineiacs knew how to drive on snow and ice. Now we have more idiots on the roads who don't. They need to be reminded that snow and ice are slippery "and this is how you drive on it". So to keep those folks safe they close things at the first flakes or so it seems.
I don't like snow and the cold, but I do like the result it brings... It keeps our population low. I like that a lot. That's one of the reasons we are now the safest state in the nation as far as crime. That and because lots of folks have guns at home and lots of folks carry since we now have Constitutional carry. The criminals can't tell who are the sheep and who are the sheepdogs since they all look the same.
But back to snow blowers... I informed a lady friend from Nova Scotia (a friend through southern BBQ), that I finally bought one and she told me that she had the same model bought a decade before and that it was still working fine, yada, yada. They get as much or more snow than we do. That made me feel good to hear that. I had forgotten what she bought but we did discuss it those many years ago. She did mention that she goes out and does snow removal a few times during the course of a massive snowstorm. She also bought it for her deck and in fact it was she who planted the seed. It just needed time to germinate and sprout.
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TobyC
Gem Star
Old stick in the mud.
Posts: 2,400
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Post by TobyC on Oct 28, 2019 11:26:46 GMT -6
They close up here too. In years past they didn't because all Maineiacs knew how to drive on snow and ice. Now we have more idiots on the roads who don't. They need to be reminded that snow and ice are slippery "and this is how you drive on it". So to keep those folks safe they close things at the first flakes or so it seems. I don't like snow and the cold, but I do like the result it brings... It keeps our population low. I like that a lot. That's one of the reasons we are now the safest state in the nation as far as crime. That and because lots of folks have guns at home and lots of folks carry since we now have Constitutional carry. The criminals can't tell who are the sheep and who are the sheepdogs since they all look the same.But back to snow blowers... I informed a lady friend from Nova Scotia (a friend through southern BBQ), that I finally bought one and she told me that she had the same model bought a decade before and that it was still working fine, yada, yada. They get as much or more snow than we do. That made me feel good to hear that. I had forgotten what she bought but we did discuss it those many years ago. She did mention that she goes out and does snow removal a few times during the course of a massive snowstorm. She also bought it for her deck and in fact it was she who planted the seed. It just needed time to germinate and sprout. Good man!
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mrconklin
Lather Catcher
First to Break One
Posts: 725
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Post by mrconklin on Oct 28, 2019 16:12:48 GMT -6
TobyC I was going to highlight the same passage. Great stuff. As far as the snow is concerned, I call our first big snow the culling of the herd. After the first big storm there is less traffic as some are scared off the roads for a bit and I think some store their cars and start using the bus if they can. I'm fortunate in that I can work remotely on the days with bad weather. If I had my way I'd live in a more remote location, but for now I need to be where I am.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Oct 28, 2019 21:28:36 GMT -6
Yeah, even the cops like us to carry, maybe not the "city" cops, or what passes for cities in Maine, but our local smaller town cops certainly appear to. My theory is that they know we're the good guys. After almost 40 years if I was a dirtbag they'd know it. In fact of they know my name there's something wrong. The key is for them to NOT know my name, at least in a bad way. I have a CC permit and I'm in the database as having one (an illegal database), but folks who Constitutional carry aren't in any database. There are advantages to having a permit and I've had mine since '82ish.
Owners of these Toro snow throwers are coming out of the woodwork. I mentioned it to my younger brother and he's had a smaller Toro model for years to clean his deck off. I never knew until today. There are times that I'm a bit slow. The wife didn't want it. In her words, "I clean off the deck now.". But she's not getting any younger either.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Oct 30, 2019 22:21:07 GMT -6
It arrived today. It's definitely lightweight, quiet too but that will probably change if we get snow. Notice I didn't write "when". I'm hoping this is a winter without snow. I'd really like to never get to use it. But if I do I was impressed that it has normal wear parts that are designed to be replaced and directions for that are in the manual. I assume its designed for longevity.
Unless it turns out to be a lemon, this will be my last planned post regarding it. If it turns out to be junk I'll let you know. So no news is good news. FWIW, I have never seen a Maine winter without snow. The least I've seen had maybe 18" on the ground, most winters see much more. I've been chest deep in snow before and Moose that are designed for deep snow with their long legs were yarded up under my hemlocks so that they could stay in their packed paths and reach up for their food. Hemlock isn't a favored food of theirs but they can get it easily.
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TobyC
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Old stick in the mud.
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Post by TobyC on Oct 31, 2019 5:54:32 GMT -6
Pix of blower and moose?
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Oct 31, 2019 7:04:56 GMT -6
I hope stock pix will work for you. Hmmm, a video...
This is the same model I have, so it's not a new design. If he doesn't state it it's a single stage. That's not a bad thing. It has the speed of the auger tossing the snow and no additional fans. My big snowblower is also a single stage and it can throw snow at least 100'. It has never jammed no matter what I asked it to handle.
Pix of moose... I didn't have a camera on the day I was thinking of where mom and calf were yarded up on my land. I always carry a gun in the forest and a camera would have been just too much. The dog and I had enough to do just to stay on the trail. I was wearing snowshoes and getting off the trail (incredibly easy to do) meant being in snow at least up to the chest and that was with snowshoes. The dog was a 160# Cane Corso and he was content just to watch and stay on the trail. Anyway, the video won't be mine. If the video doesn't convey it, they are very large animals weighing 1000# and more as adults. Oh, and they are delicious. A really mature (and large) one looks rectangular from the side. Other than the sensational way the material is presented it's fairly accurate.
I tried to approach a bull before hunting season one year and I chickened out as it faced me and started to advance. Did I mention how large they are? They are fearless since they are the biggest animal in the forest and they know it. They may be fearless, but I'm not. I got back into the truck and took off.
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ShadowsDad
Gem Star
None boring shaver!!
"It's not the bow, it's the Indian"
Posts: 4,534
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Post by ShadowsDad on Nov 12, 2019 22:27:00 GMT -6
We had a snowstorm that ended today. It started out as snow, then we had rain that formed a crust maybe 1/4-1/2" thick and also made the snow wet and heavy, then more snow on top of that. Not much accumulation but what was there was fairly heavy. I was actually surprised, it handled it fine. I didn't baby it, just rammed it into the crud on the deck and it never had a problem. So far I give it a thumbs up.
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TobyC
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Old stick in the mud.
Posts: 2,400
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Post by TobyC on Nov 13, 2019 9:22:16 GMT -6
Watch out for the cat.
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