Do Snow Blowers Work On Gravel?

Snow blowers are a useful tool for anyone living in a snowy climate. But if you don’t have a paved driveway, you may have wondered if a snow blower could be used on it.

Here we’ll examine the question, do snow blowers work on gravel?

Whether or not you can use a snow blower on gravel depends on the type of snow blower that you’re using.

Read on to understand the difference between the two main types of snow blowers.

The two types of snow blowers

Typically, snow blowers come in either single stage or two stage. Read on to learn about the different snow blower stages.

Single stage snow blowers

Single stage snow blowers are designed to make direct contact with the ground. So if you have a gravel driveway, a single stage snow blower will throw stones all over the place.

Eventually, cycling these rocks through the machine will damage the snow blower. It will probably shorten the life of your snow blower by several years.

It may also cause damage in other ways if the stones hit car or home windows. There’s also the possibility it could cause flying rocks to hit someone and injure them.

Fortunately, you can purchase a two stage snow blower that allows you to adjust the height so that the auger is not actually coming into contact with the ground at all times.

You can definitely use this type of snow blower on a gravel driveway without causing too much of a problem.

Obviously, there will be times when you will pick up a stone here or there but it shouldn’t be enough to hurt the snow blower itself and you can prevent it from causing damage to people or property by being careful where you aim the chute.

In other words, don’t allow the discharge chute to be aimed at anyone or anything. That way, you won’t get stuck with the bill for repairing damages.

Final thoughts

If you have a gravel driveway, your best course of action is to purchase a two stage snow blower. Then carefully adjust the height of the auger so you’re not allowing it to directly contact the ground.

This may take some trial and error in order for you to figure out exactly where it needs to be adjusted. Once you get the hang of it, it should speed things up considerably.

The good news is that you can indeed use a snow blower even if your driveway is made of gravel. That definitely beats having to go outside and shovel everything by hand.

There is no doubt that a snow blower is practically a required piece of equipment in certain parts of the country. If you happen to live in one of these areas, you will quickly understand how important it is to have a high quality snow blower.

Read more about snow blowers

Now that you know the answer to the question “Do snow blowers work on gravel?”, it’s time to go shopping. Check out our picks for the Best Snow Blowers of 2022 and read up on the perfect time to buy a snow blower.

  Although snow blowers are easy to use, you may be wondering if snow blowers work on gravel or “Can snow blowers break ice?“  You’ll also want to make sure you check out our snow blower safety tips.