Snow Shovels
Sometimes you have to resort to the old fashion way of dealing with snow, shoveling it! It looks like this winter is going to be one for the record books, keeping a snow shovel on hand makes good sense.
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New York Landlord v. Tenant - Landlord removed snow from sidewalk
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Google Videos - Snow Shovels
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This should prove that crime does not pay. During the Great Chicago Snow Storm of 2011 -- Check out: www.tunnel1.com
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January 9th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
I hate shoveling snow! I usually don’t do anything about the snow each year until the mailman threatens to stop delivering my mail unless I do (one of these days I’ll catch him in a dark alley . . .). So when I bought this Snow thrower I wanted it to work, but not this well. I just finished clearing my walkways (front and back) and my driveway. For the first year ever I also did my sidewalks. It was so easy and so fast that now my wife is expecting me to be out there using it every time a snowflake drops.
Ok, down to the specifics:
Pros:
You just plug it in and push it around, it does the rest for you.
Electric, so no need for oil and gas.
It throws the snow far and at a slight angle making it mist (I was afraid it would simply throw the snow in my path so that I’d just have more snow to shovel when I got there. I was also afraid it would throw the snow across the street onto the neighbors’ parked cars. Since the snow mists neither of those is true.)
It seems to be well made (I hit several patches of hard ice, my fence, some decorative rocks, and a pumpkin that’s almost completely frozen and while it did strike them hard there’s no visible damage on the thrower, but the pumpkin got smashed to bits that I had to clean up . . . thanks!)
Cons:
The fact that it’s electric is a double edged sword. It makes it maintenance free like I mentioned earlier, but the cord almost always seemed to find its way in my path making me have to stop and go constantly. Also, it came unplugged far too easily (another reason for the stop and go).
It’s heavy. While I have no trouble lifting or swinging this thing around under normal circumstances, when I’m doing a balancing act over slippery snow and ice those extra, top-heavy, 13.5 pounds become a problem.
It does nothing for packed snow. Any snow that has been stepped on a few times, or driven on, this thing doesn’t catch. I could dig in deeper with it, but like I said I hate shoveling snow and it would easier to dig in with a regular, light weight shovel instead.
It reveals the ice patches under the snow. I mean seriously . . . would the mailman rather slip on ice and brake his neck or walk through a few inches of snow? What a wimp!
It does not work on steps or other tight places. There not much room for maneuvering this thing so steps with railings on either side need to be done manually with a shovel.
In the product description it also says that it works with up to 6 inches of snow. That’s not a real limitation since all I had to do was go over the top to remove the extra inches (instead of shoveling from under the snow) before going back under. All in all I’m very pleased with my purchase, even though it aggravates me to think that I spent over $100 for a wimpy mailman whose afraid of some snow. I should have him reimburse me for it and pay for my time wasted shoveling. What ever happened to “neither rain nor snow blah blah blah” that used to be their motto?
EDIT: I forgot to mention in the “pros” category that the height of both grips (main grip for pushing and lower grip for guiding) is adjustable. Since it’s been snowing here all night and morning I just got back from my second run with this and it was even easier an simpler than the first time around because I remembered that the height is adjustable and I brought it up to my level. No more bending over and coming back after it’s done with a sore back.
Also, some reviews here mentioned the grip being a problem because you have to press a button and a trigger at the same time. Personally I haven’t found this to be a problem at all and in fact I prefer it that way since it prevents me from accidentally squeezing the trigger when I don’t mean to. If it is a problem for you, though, I have seen plenty of good tips for fixing the problem (such as Velcro bands or twisty ties).
This time around the snow was completely fresh and unpacked so I did everything in about 15 minutes. The regular shovel usually took me at least an hour to do the walkways only (and that’s under moderate snowfall circumstances). Walkways, driveway, and sidewalk in 15 . . .? Yeah, it’s that great. I don’t know how they could have made it any better for the same price.
By the way, you might want to hold off on buying this until the price drops because I’ve noticed it fluctuating two times since I bought it. It’s now $15 more expensive than what I paid about a week ago.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:07 am
I purchased this last year when my husband became ill because he or I (herniated disc) could shovel the snow.
I just used it today. GREAT ITEM! Lightweight and effortless (other than keeping the cord out of the way) to use.
Also, watch for Mother Nature to change the direction of the wind so you won’t wind up with a face full of snow. It happened and I laughed. Better than being hurt using a shovel.
January 12th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I bought this as a gift for my boyfriend (we live in Buffalo, NY). We have a snowplow service for the driveway, but I thought this might be good for the walkways and in front of the garage. He didn’t seem very excited until he used it. If it wasn’t for the 40mph winds, he may have shoveled the whole driveway. It moved right through the snow, throwing it a good 15 -20 ft. He totally loved it. I immediately ordered one for my Dad.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:42 am
When you read the spec’s on the Power Shovel, you see that it weighs 13 pounds and you think, “Huh, that’s not bad.” It’s the heaviest 13 pounds I’ve ever lifted and after my first use, I feel like I’ve been lifting weights at the gym, more so than if I had just gone out and pushed the snow around with my snow shovel. It is definitely not an easy thing to use, in fact, except for the fact that I got done with my 2 car wide driveway which is about 30 feet long, and the sidewalk in virtually half the time, I’d say don’t bother. I was surprised that it didn’t have any kind of wheels on it for ease of moving and transporting. It slides pretty easily though, whether you are pushing it or pulling it. The safety lock button that you have to push every time before starting the motor is a pain. I mean c’mon. Does a weed whacker have a safety? (Well, mine don’t anyway)I think that they could re-think that 1 thing. The motor doesn’t sound like you think it would. It sounds kinda wimpy but it does throw the snow and it’s pretty quiet. But the way that it throws it forward makes it kind of messy. I had to go back with the hand shovel to clean up afterward. So, to review. It’ll cut your time in half which is the key feature. It’s rugged and put together very well and comes right out of the box ready to go. Do your shopping on your cord though. I got the Toro at my local True Value store but a 100 ft cord was almost 70 bucks. I found the same amperage, same cold weather cord at Lowes for 30 bucks less, even cheaper than Amazon has it. (But only 3 bucks. Sorry Amazon, just keepin’ it real!)