As the name implies, the a snow blower is a machine which can remove large amounts of snow without much physical effort . Their use is especially useful if there is a large amount of snowfall at winter. Locating the right product for you can be hard so we have narrowed down the top 5 best snow blowers on the market for you.
This list could also be called the best 24 inch snow blowers as most of the entries are in the 24-inch clearing width in range.
Table Of Contents
Best Snow Blowers – Our Top 5 Comparison Chart
| Model | Clearing Width | Height | Engine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy-Bilt Storm 2460 Snow Thrower | 24" | 2 Stage | 208cc | |
| Poulan Pro PR241 Snowthrower | 24" | 2 Stage | 208cc | |
| PowerSmart DB72024PA Snow Blower | 24" | 2 Stage | 212cc | |
| Briggs & Stratton 1222E Snow Thrower | 22" | 1 stage | 250cc | |
Ariens Deluxe 921024 Snow Blower | 24" | 2 stage | 254cc |
Why should you buy a snow blower?
Back-friendly, thorough and time-saving
Where working with a more manual device like a snow shovel or a push snow shovel is too cumbersome and labor intensive.
In addition to removing snow and slush, a snow blower can also remove ice. Snow shovels usually leaves a thin layer of snow when clearing the driveway. This can quickly freeze in combination with moisture and low temperatures, increasing the risk of falling and causing spinning tires.
Handles ice
Snow blowers do not push the snow, such as snow plow or shovel, but crushes ice with its milling drum and hard snow and ice lumps in fine snow hooks.
What are the different types of snow blowers?
Manual snow blowers
These work best when there is little snow or powdery fresh snow. Here is muscle strength and a bit of condition is required. Nevertheless, even with wet snow, manual snow shovel or push snow shovel quickly reach their limits.
Advantages
- Easy maintenance
- Inexpensive
- For smaller amounts of snow
Disadvantage
- Performance deficits
- Capacity limits
- Manual labor
Electric snow blowers
Work quietly and cleanly. But even they reach their limit quickly with larger amounts of snow and rough terrain. These can be corded or come with a battery pack. Although it is worth noting that with battery-powered devices the more snow they have to clear, the faster the battery runs down.
We take take a look the best corded snow blowers and the best cordless snow blowers here.
There are two variants to this type of snow blower..
Corded Snow Blowers
Electric corded snow blowers work great in small areas and low snowfall, however they offer significantly less power, a smaller throw and a smaller feed width compared to gas powered devices.
Our expert tip:
Always pay attention to the position of the power cable when using the corded snow blower. Otherwise it can happen that the cable “gets lost” in the snow and you do not think about it anymore. If you then drive the machine over the cable, snow clearing comes to an abrupt end!
Battery Powered Snow Blowers
Here you do not have a cable to drive over. However, they only have a short battery life. As a rule, the current devices, depending on their price and quality, last about 30-60 minutes before they have to be charged. This should appeal mainly to users with little surface and snowfall.
Advantages of an electric snowblower
- Low noise
- Relatively cheap
- Low weight
- More environmentally friendly
- Easy maintenance
Disadvantages of an electric snowblower
- Lying power cable (corded)
- Short working hours (battery)
- Narrow intake width
Gas snow blowers
Loud but also powerful. Depending on the engine and equipment they manage to avoid any kind of snow and ice. Even with gradients they have no problems. The cleaning performance or the clearing quality is, of course, dependant on the model.
How does a Gas snow blower work?
The gas snow blower is one of the best snow removal machines in terms of performance. It is equipped with a gas fuelled engine and available as a single-stage or two-stage snow blower.
Single-stage snow blower
Ensures that the snow is picked up in one operation and immediately transported outside via the discharge chute. This engine variant is cheap and is great for light fresh snow.
Two-stage snow blower
This handles the operation in two consecutive steps. The milling drum scrapes snow and ice, picks them up and immediately transports them to a second auger or, if necessary, a blower, which then shoots the snow out through the chute.
It is equipped with a two-stage petrol engine. This easily removes wet, heavy and icy snow. Large areas and slopes are, depending on the equipment and engine, no obstacle for this machine.
Three-stage snow blower
The three-stage snow blower has only been on the market for a few years . It works on the same principle as the two-stage model, only one more step or step has been added. In the first stage, the collected snow is transported to the center of the mill, pushed further in stage two towards the ejection, and in stage three, finally transported upwards through the discharge chute, then out. The three-stage snowthrower is not as well represented as the other two models.
Conclusion:
Both variants have their advantages and disadvantages. The fields of application of the machines vary. Therefore, you should be aware of the conditions in your area prior to the selection. Do you have only a small driveway and a narrow sidewalk to clear? Or is it necessary to free a large yard and a lot of area from snow and ice? Do you live in the mountains, where it is particularly snowing? Or do you live in the countryside or in an area with little snowfall? Depending on local circumstances, one snow blower variant makes more sense than the other.
Advantages of a gas snow blower
- Powerful
- Efficient and fast
- Great on almost any terrain
- For large areas
Disadvantages of a gas snowblower
- Not as cheap as their electric counterparts
- High noise level
- Maintenance is associated with costs
(Gas, spark plug etc.) - Higher maintenance
Which snow blower should I choose?
There are several factors you should take into consideration when you are buying a snow blower….
Area
What is the area you need to clear? For a small area such as a garage entrance and a piece of walkway, a small electric snow shovel/push shovel or manually using a snow shovel most likely enough. For double garages, a paved courtyard, a longer plot and therefore walkway, a two-stage gasoline snow blower might be your best option.
Quantity of snow
How much snow do you average? You should determine the type of machine depending on the amount of snow. With little snow (5 – 30 centimeters) usually a single-stage snow blower in the gas or electric variant is sufficient. However, once you get to 30 centimeters of snow you should choose a two-stage engine gas snow thrower. But even with predominantly wet and heavy snow, the more powerful one-stage tiller is preferable.
Subsoil
What is the nature of the subsoil to be cleared? Do you only need to clear your paved driveway and sidewalk? Then a single-stage snow blower should be enough to do the job. Or is it also necessary to clear unpaved roads of snow and ice? For difficult terrain and heavy snowfall, two-stage gas snow blowers are a great choice.
Slope
On a flat surface, snow clearing, depending on the amount of snow, is easy for both snow blowers. However, if you live on the hillside or in the mountains, you should grab the more powerful version such as a two-stage gas snow blower.
Weight
Two-stage gas snow blowers are generally larger/heavier than an electric shovel or an electric snow blower. The wheels are often equipped with chains to help the snow clearing process. Making these machines great on slopes and on uneven terrain.
The stronger the machine, the heavier it is. The machine should still be manageable in relation to your body weight. The weaker one-stage models usually have rubber chains, and not so heavy engine. This makes these devices easier and easier to handle. They are ideal for flat terrain and minimal slopes.
Throw distance
If you want to transport the snow from the sidewalk or the driveway over your fence into the garden, a strong snow thrower is recommended. The throwing distances vary between 5 and 15 meters.
Maintenance
If you can not or do not want to carry out minor conversions, repairs and “re-establishing measures” yourself, it is of course possible to have your machine maintained by a specialist company. This obviously increasing the cost of your snow blower over time, therefore take this into consideration when looking to buy a snow blower.
All in all, single-stage devices require much less maintenance than two-stage snow blowers.
What to look for when operating a snowthrower?
Generally, only adults should operate the machines. Please make sure that the device has a weight that you can handle well. If possible, young children should not be in the vicinity whilst your snow blower in use.
Wear ear protection when snow throwing
Especially the big gas powered snowblowers which can make a noise of 85 decibels . In order to best protect your hearing whilst you are working, you should wear professional hearing protection.
Wear gloves and sturdy shoes
Even though there are models with handle heating under the upper two-stage snow blower, you should still wear warm gloves with good grip when working. Also good and non-slip winter shoes are important. In order to be able to guide the most heavy machines safely, you need a firm and secure stand. Because if you fall and the machine should develop a life of its own due to the local conditions, there is a risk of injury.
Our expert tip:
In order to be better seen on the road by other road users, we recommend that you wear a safety vest and clothing reflectors.
Do not use with medication or alcohol
If you are taking any medication that could affect your perception or which informs you that you should not drive or drive vehicles, we suggest not using a snow blower. This obviously also applies under the influence of alcohol. Be smart and be safe!
Work prudently
Always make sure that there are no persons or vehicles in the ejection radius and in the direct line of sight. Even smaller ice and snow clumps can cause serious injury and damage.
Our expert tip:
It is best to practice a bit in your own driveway before tackling the sidewalk.
Best Snow Blowers – Our Top 5
5. Troy-Bilt Storm 2460 24″ 208cc Gas Snow Thrower
As with all of the snow thowers on this list, the Troy-Bilt Storm can fairly simply handle heavy slushy snow and ice. A two-stage snow blower, the Storm comes with 6 forward speeds and 2 handy reverse speeds.
The adjustable chute can be rotated up to 200 degrees, this is performed manually using a crank control. To reduce marking your driveway or patio, Troy-Bild have supplied this machine with polymer skid shoes.
The 2460 model can be put to work on gravel, turf, cement, and blacktop. It is equipped with headlights and 15-inch X-Trac pneumatic tires with a very decent trend , allowing for a good range of movement.
Some customers have had a problem with starts
Some issues with the build quality.
- Good warranty
- Good value
- Build quality.
- Vibrations can upset the chute angle
- Manual cranking required
4. Poulan Pro PR241 24″ 208cc Snowthrower
This powerful snowblower comes with six forward and 1 reverse speed. Poulan have a long history in supplying quality outdoor equipment.
Easy to manoeuvre the Poulan Pro PR241 is a two stage snowblower which comes with a powerful 208cc engine delivering 10 HP. 13″ wheel provide traction for clearing paths through deep snow fall.
The housing at the front of the PR241 is 20″ wide by 12″ height and you can start it up via a pull start mechanism or a push button electric starter. The rotation of the chute and the deflector angle can be controlled from the control panel.
- Decent price
- Touch ignition
- One 1 reverse speed.
- No headlights.
- Customer service could be better.
3. PowerSmart DB72024PA 2-Stage Gas Snow Blower
With a throwing distance of 40′ is the PowerSmart DB72024PA snow thrower. PowerSmart are another well known brand in the field of out outdoor and garage tools and equipments. The DB72024PA is a two-stage snow blower, enjoying the power of a 212cc engine.
180 degree ejector chute rotation is possible and 12 in. serrated steel augers help this snow blower to cut through snow and ice with ease in tough weather conditions.
As with most snow blowers this self propelled unit offers an electric push start button and has a 24 inch clearing width coupled with a 21-inch clearing height.
- Easy to assemble
- Powerful engine
- The chute can jam sometimes.
- Very loud.
2. Briggs & Stratton 1222E 22″ Snow Thrower
This single stage snow blower from Briggs & Stratton is equipped with a 950 four stroke snow series engine, which can kick out 9.5 foot pound-force of torque. These engines are designed to withstand the harshest of winter conditions and still keep on going.
Headlights
The quiet and simple start hides the power of this machine, even though it is only a single stage, it can easily handle wet heavy snow and is capable of throwing this type of snow 30 feet or more.
- Great performance for a single stage snow blower
- Good fuel usage
- Plastic auger blades.
- No headlights.
1. Ariens Deluxe 921024 Gas Snow Blower
So confident in their product Ariens give a 3 year “bumper to bumper” warranty, along with a 5 year gear box warranty.
Powdery deep snow, ice or hills are not a problem with this machine with the Ariens Sno-Thro tire chains, giving you the traction, there are 6 forward gears and 2 for reversing.
This deluxe snow thrower comes with holegen headlights which provide ample lighting for your work area. (Although LED lights would be a nice addition). The chute angle is changable from the on board control panel, with a interlock placed on the auger allowing you to set the auger to the “On” position when you have the drive engaged. This is an excellent machine which you would have for many years to come.
- Great traction
- Easy to operate
- On the pricey side.
