Are snow blowers an essential piece of equipment? Even in climates that get a lot of snow, the general answer to this question is a big, fat “no.”
The snow blower is typically considered a luxury item meant to make its owner’s life easier. But anyone who’s never used one might be wondering: Are snow blowers easy to use?
In general, the answer is yes. There are, however, a few ways in which the humble snow shovel reigns supreme over the snow blower.
Here we’ll take a look at whether or not a snow blower is actually easy to use — or if you’re better off with a shovel.
Potential challenges of a snow blower
Transporting it
This is possibly the biggest downside of owning a snow blower over a shovel, though it likely won’t effect the entirety of the population.
If you’ve made a habit of going down to grandma’s to relieve her of her shoveling duty every winter, you may have a harder time doing so with a snow blower, depending on your vehicle of choice.
While a large pickup truck won’t be an issue in terms of lugging the thing around town, those with little cars with a small amount of space in them may not make it over to grandma’s this winter, at least not with their fancy new snow blower.
The need for fuel
There’s a reason many of us us walk or bike to destinations close to home. Driving just isn’t worth the fuel for the extra minute or two it will save. Snow blowers are no exception.
If you have only small areas to remove snow from, a snow blower may not be for you. Note that there are electric snow blowers on the market.
However, since they have to be plugged in, mobility with these is very limited.
Strategic snow placement
When using a shovel, it’s easy to simply throw the snow in the most convenient spot. With a snow blower, you’re merely displacing the snow in the same fashion as a shovel.
Unlike a shovel, snow blowers typically shoot snow pretty far. Suddenly, you have to worry about getting snow in other people’s driveways or on your front porch.
While this is easily avoidable, it adds one more degree of difficulty to the overall process.
Watch out for rocks
With a snow blower, you have a blind spot on the driveway. No longer can you merely flick a rock out of the way in a gentle fashion; if you don’t see a rock in time, it gets whipped across the street or even into a window.
As such, those with a gravel driveway may want to be careful about how they choose to go about removing the overlaying snow.
While you may be able to find a suitable snow blower with a bit of searching, the average unit may prove to be more of a burden than anything for such folks.
So are snow blowers easy to use?
Well, yes — snow blowers are easy to use. However, they come along with plenty of other considerations. You have to consider if you’ll be transporting your snow blower.
You’ve got to keep in mind it will need to be refueled regularly. And you must be considerate of where you’re blowing all that snow!
Are snow blowers easier to use than shovels?
Yes! The fact is that a driveway which might take 30 minutes to shovel might only take a minute with a snow blower. This being said, it’s generally a good idea to have a shovel laying around as well.
They have the ability to more efficiently squeeze into tight corners. Consider shovel a helpful supplement for your snow blower.
All in all, snow blowers a certainly a convenient tool for those in snowy climates. They’ll save you a lot of elbow grease and frustration!
Learn more about snow blowers
Are you thinking of buying a snow blower before winter comes? Read up on the best time to buy a snow blower. Then check out our buying guide to the Best Snow Blowers of 2022.
But before you plunk down your hard-earned cash, make sure to get educated. Find out if snow blowers are safe, if snow blowers work on gravel, and find out the answer to the question, “Can snow blowers break ice?”
You may also want to learn about snow blower stages. Happy snow blowing!
