Craftsman Snow Blowers – Stages Explained

in Home Improvement

If you say the sentence “I hate winter” in the middle of the winter, most people would totally agree with you. Some would look at you like you were insane since you were talking to yourself. However, it is an understandable statement given what was going on. You might be standing on the sidewalk, trying to go to work without feeling miserable. The sad cup of Starbucks on your hand doesn’t really keep the cold away but the caffeine is enough to wake you up. You go to work, wait for the end of your shift and go home to find your driveway covered in snow (read more).

The first thing on your mind is you just want to rest after a long day so you go inside, eat some dinner then sleep. When you woke up and looked to your lawn, it has gotten worse. Shoveling them out just for you to go out is an option, but a rather tiring one. You would be lucky if you have someone with you that can help you like a family member or a friend. If you are alone, then there is nothing you can do but shovel away. You can call snow removal services but it might be a little too late.

One machine that you can buy to make snow removal easier is a snow blower. An example of this is the Craftsman 88173. You may have seen this one before in most depot stores around town. These are more common in areas where winters are unbelievably terrible. Blowers have the capacity to clear out an area using an auger attached on its “mouth”. It will force the snow up to a chamber inside its body then spew it out from an attachment near the top. Using this machine really beats a shovel since the machine will do all the work for you. Read the Craftsman 88173 review to get more info.

However, if you are buying it for the first time, there might be some terms that you are not familiar with. For example, most blowers are generally divided into two types: Single Stage and Double Stage. Sometimes, there are some people who add another type: The Triple Stage. What do these entire terms mean and what’s the difference between them?

Snow blower

Single Stage

Snow blowers tend to be differentiated in a lot of ways like power sources and the wheel of choice of the manufacturer. The “stage” refers to the auger or the spinning part of the blower that picks up all the debris and disperses it elsewhere. This is the lightest of the three types because it has a really simple auger. It has a discharge chute but smaller compared to the others. Single stage blowers can only handle light snow fall at 3 to 4 inches most. It can be powered through electricity, cable connection or fuel.

Double Stage

This is the most common kind because it does everything that a single stage can do but better. It is bulkier, has a lot of additional parts and can even cover more ground than the previous option. All of the double stage blowers are powered by gas, meaning it can cover a lot of space.

Also, these blowers can tackle from 15 to 30 inches thick depending on the brand. It also has a part on the discharge chute called the impeller which helps in the collection of the snow. This is the part that also hurls the snow to a much further distance, making the distribution of snow even and simplifying your work.

Triple Stage

Triple stage is just the better version of the double stage snow blower. It is also powered through fuel, more commonly gasoline. It is even bigger and far more complicated looking than the two options above but it does the job even better. It also has an accelerator which makes the collection and dispersal even faster and further.

Now, What Should You Buy?

It all comes down to these two factors: Amount of snow in your area and preference. If you are living in places like Alberta or Alaska where the winter months can be unbearable, the double stage blower might be the better option. This would also be good for places where storms don’t really stop for most of the year. If it is on the worse side or maybe you are trying to build a snow removal business, the triple stage is the thing that you want. If the snow is so insignificant and yet you want to remove it from your lawns, then the single stage could be the one for you.

When buying electric blowers or any kind of equipment, make sure that you are going to use it as much as possible. For blowers, they usually last for a very long time so it can be a great investment if you buy a high-quality one for your family. You may not need this for most of the year, but it does have its uses in times of great need.

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