Snow Blowers

Snow blowers are essential for managing heavy snowfall. Explore our snow blower section for detailed reviews and practical guides on a variety of models, helping you find your ideal make and model.

Snow Blowers – Single- or Two-Stage?
If you’ve never bought a snow blower, you might not realize that there are two main types to select from. Snow blowers are mainly defined as either a single-stage model, or two-stage, but what is the difference? And how does it affect price and features?

• Single-stage
  A single-stage snow blower is also known as a snow thrower – this should give you a clue as to what it actually does! They collect snow and ice by using an auger, before sending it up through a chute ready to expel. A snow shovel is also a type of single-stage snow thrower.

  Single-stage snow blowers are usually the lightest models on the market, so they are easy to maneuver compared to other versions. It does make them less suited to remove heavy, wet snow, as they don’t usually possess the power to achieve this. This also has an impact on the speed at which single-stage blowers move – they’re generally slower than two-stage models.

  Another notable feature is that the auger makes direct contact with the ground. This makes them an excellent choice for smooth driveways, but unsuitable for gravel pathways.

  Check out this comparison guide to find a range of great single-stage models.

• Two-stage

  The main difference between a single- and two-stage ice blower is the impeller design. The snow and ice is forced upwards by the impeller before being blown out of the chute on a two-stage model.

  These snow blowers are more powerful than their single-stage counterparts. They can collect a larger amount of snow and deposit it much further away. We recommend that if you regularly have to deal with more than eight inches of snow, your best bet is a two-stage snow blower.

  They are more expensive than single-stage models, and the auger doesn’t make contact with the ground. This means that they will leave a thin layer of ice. However, you can fit many two-stage snow blowers with an additional scraper to finish the job.

  You can find many great examples of two-stage snow blowers in our comprehensive guides.

• Three-stage
  There is, in fact, a third option! Three-stage snow blowers take it one step further. This is thanks to their additional accelerator augers, which makes the work far quicker and more efficient. They are more suited for large yards, tough snow conditions, and industrial-scale jobs such as farming.

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