What kind of snow removal equipment for home and summer cottages is best suited
Residents of apartment buildings do not think about snow removal, city services do it for them, but owners of private houses or summer cottages in winter often have to face the question of what snowblower for home and summer cottages is better in terms of price-quality ratio.
The content of the article
- 1 Why do you need snow removal equipment for home and summer cottages and its varieties
- 2 By the type of engine operation
- 3 Engine power and electric starter
- 4 What stroke does it work and how many speeds does the technique include?
- 5 What to rely on when choosing a snow blower
- 6 Snowblowers for home: how to choose (prices, reviews and specifications)
- 7 How to make a snow blower yourself
- 8 Video: DIY homemade snow blower
Why do you need snow removal equipment for home and summer cottages and its varieties
A snowblower is a special technique that is designed to clear snow from paths and walkways. The main thing in the design of such equipment is a rotating screw that captures the snow and throws it aside with the help of air flows.
The snow blower will significantly reduce your effort and time spent on cleaning the required area. With him, you do not need to use a shovel, and you can clear the entire yard, and not just the path to the road.
There are a lot of options for such a technique and it is necessary to choose based on the amount of work. There are several classifications:
- Powered by electricity or gasoline;
- Way to travel;
- The amount of snow captured;
- Movement type;
- The presence of an electric starter;
- By performance (motor power);
- Optional equipment.
Let's consider in more detail the features of the main types of snow blowers.
By the type of engine operation
Snow removal equipment for home and summer cottages can be powered by electricity or gasoline. It depends on the type of motor selected. Moreover, each option has its positive and negative sides.
Option of gasoline snowblowers for summer cottages and houses
Gasoline-powered snow blowers have a high power rating, but at the same time, their dimensions are much larger. The disadvantages can also be attributed to the rather high price, however, in terms of performance, such costs are fully justified.
At the same time, the gasoline version works autonomously, has a power of 5 to 15 hp, which allows you to remove snow that has lain for two weeks and managed to settle. This technique tolerates frost well (up to minus 20 degrees Celsius).
The petrol version is suitable for clearing snow from a large area, away from electricity. However, such equipment cannot cope with narrow sections, and the costs of maintenance and fuel are quite high.
Snow removal equipment for home and summer cottages, powered by the network
The electric model is lightweight and small in size. Copes well with narrow and hard-to-reach areas. Such devices are equipped with rubber augers, so they are even suitable for cleaning a porch or veranda. You won't hear any hum as you clear the snow, and the electricity costs are significantly lower than gasoline.
However, there is also an opposite side. Due to their low power, their performance is low, that is, they are unsuitable for large areas. They work only from the network, which means that access to electricity must be constant, while the cord always clings to something during operation. And the functionality of such a technique is low, usually only one speed, there is no heating of the handles and headlights.
Engine power and electric starter
By the power of the motor, you can determine how much area the technician can clear.
Table 1. Area that a snow blower can clear
Number of acres | 6 | 15 | 40 | 50 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Power in hp | 5,5-6,5 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
Models with high performance already belong to professional equipment, and it runs on gasoline.
Note! Any version of snow blower significantly loses power when clearing wet snow, and is also unable to cope with ice.
The electric starter is designed to make starting a gasoline powered snow blower easier. They install it on powerful options, then to start the technique, it is enough to plug the cord into the outlet. It is good to use this function to start a cold engine.
What stroke does it work and how many speeds does the technique include?
The more powerful the snow blower, the more speeds it has. They allow you to select the required operating mode by controlling the rotational speed of the screw. Decrease speed in dense and thick snow cover.
Snow removal equipment for home and summer cottages is equipped with wheels or tracks. This also applies to powerful machines, for example, electric models can be hand-held.The tracks have a large surface and their grip on the road is much higher, however, while driving, such a machine will leave more compressed snow behind.
And also on the gasoline versions of the snow blower, they additionally install a headlight, which is very much in demand on short winter days. Heated handle, which is convenient for the consumer in cold weather.
What to rely on when choosing a snow blower
To find the right option for clearing snow on your backyard, look at several selection options:
- What area needs to be cleaned. The required engine power directly depends on this.
- Do you need cleaning in hard-to-reach places. So, you decide on a petrol or electric option.
- The maneuverability and weight of the snow blower.
- Price and manufacturer.
To make it easier for you to make your choice, we suggest looking at the rating of users of snow blowers.
Snowblowers for home: how to choose (prices, reviews and specifications)
Consider the rating of snow removal equipment in the form of a table with reviews and product characteristics, as well as with an approximate cost for them.
Table 2. Low-cost gasoline options (rating of snow blowers by reliability)
Michael's review from Samara about Hyundai S 6560: “I got it only this year, because I realized that I couldn't handle it with a shovel. The power was enough to cope with a large layer of snow and ice. It passes through the square like a tank. I am satisfied "
Review of Pavel from Moscow Region about PATRIOT PRO 655 E: “I don’t know who is talking about the shortcomings, I was satisfied with everything, the power of the four-stroke was enough to clean the entire area in a matter of minutes, this is exactly what I was looking for”
Dmitry's review from Bryansk about Interskol SMB-650E: “I ventured to buy myself a domestic snow blower, and even a novelty. In general, I was satisfied, it throws snow well, only the handle is too small and there is little light from the headlights, but otherwise satisfied "
Thus, when thinking about which snow blower to choose for your home according to reviews, you can rely on the user rating, since opinions and characteristics usually coincide.
How to make a snow blower yourself
If you like to collect and craft everything, then you will be able to make snow removal equipment for the house with your own hands.
To make a small gasoline snow blower, prepare the following items:
- Engine from old walk-behind tractor;
- Sheet metal to assemble the structure;
- Plywood for the manufacture of sidewalls, 10 mm thick;
- Small steel corner (50 x 50 mm);
- A half-inch diameter pipe for making a handle.
Note! If you plan to equip a homemade device with air cooling, be sure to provide protection for the air intake.
From the selected blanks, the machine turns out to be compact, the width is no more than 65 cm.The main design will be a homemade auger, to make it do the following:
- Cut 4 discs from a sheet of metal.
- Cut them in half and bend them into a spiral.
- Collect all the blanks on one tube, the edges of which are equipped with bearings.
- Homemade snow screw.
Bearings can be of any size, the main thing is that they fit in size, that is, their inner diameter should coincide with the diameter of the pipe. It is necessary to additionally weld glasses for installing bearings into the sides of the bucket for receiving snow.
To make the frame, the corners should be welded, and strips should be mounted to their cross sections so that the engine platform is quick-detachable. Remember to attach runners or wheels to the equipment frame so that your homemade snow blower can move around.
Below is a video of DIY snow removal machine.
Related article:
DIY snowblower especially suitable for residents of suburban settlements and summer cottages. How to make a useful unit yourself from old tools - read our review.
Video: DIY homemade snow blower