# Drift Cutters. Do they make a difference?



## Dannoman (Jan 16, 2018)

I'm talking about those slicer bars that extend a few feet above the bucket. I never had them and just wonder if they actually make a difference when going through deep snow.


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

they do work well after the first pass through deep snow/drifts.


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## toofastforyou (Jan 29, 2019)

I have some on one of my snowblowers (Husqvarna) but I'd rather not use them. I find that they create a risk of damage if passing near a vehicle or a wall of the house.

Claude.


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

In heavy snow areas, they work well, and I regard them as pretty much mandatory. (Heck, even the county here has them on thier heavy truck blowers that are already at least 6 feet tall . . .).

I have never felt any risk, since (at leastthe ones I have owned) do not extend any wider than the blower itself, so that hitting something would likely impact the skids first, not the cuttters.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I added them to my machine in our record-breaking winter. They tilt far enough forward that they don't stick up as high as I expected. So they don't add all that much clearing height. 

I should have skipped them, I don't think I've used them since. Oh well. At least the Ariens ones swing back and stow nicely next to the bucket, without really being a hindrance. So they're at least available, if suddenly needed.


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

Dannoman said:


> I'm talking about those slicer bars that extend a few feet above the bucket. I never had them and just wonder if they actually make a difference when going through deep snow.


I'd say yes.:wink2:
unfortunately photos didn't attach.


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

How's this Dannoman?


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## SimplicitySolid22 (Nov 18, 2018)

toofastforyou said:


> I have some on one of my snowblowers (Husqvarna) but I'd rather not use them. I find that they create a risk of damage if passing near a vehicle or a wall of the house.
> 
> Claude.



As Toofastforyou said you do have to be careful of Headlights,taillights and sides of cars but once you get use to them it is like knowing the width of your snowblower....you just know it. You know to stop sooner when heading straight towards the car or under a mirror. You sometimes still catch the edge of a Yew bush on edge of walk around back of house but usually you judge it right...ha-ha.


Awesome in deep snow!!!! AS others have said especially at high snowbanks at bottom of driveway and by mailbox...


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

They only help if the snow is deep enough. Then they slice the snow and the angle bend pushes the drift down in front of the auger *before* the drift lands on your engine and gas tank. Without them, you are truing to tunnel under the snow you are going to have snow all over the blower

I took them off mine as I have not seen enough to need them in 11 years with this machine.


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## Cold1 (Dec 20, 2017)

RedOctobyr said:


> I added them to my machine in our record-breaking winter. They tilt far enough forward that they don't stick up as high as I expected. So they don't add all that much clearing height.
> 
> I should have skipped them, I don't think I've used them since. Oh well. At least the Ariens ones swing back and stow nicely next to the bucket, without really being a hindrance. So they're at least available, if suddenly needed.



I agree - the Ariens ones are a disappointment, since they mount at too shallow of an angle. I just measured mine - they are 19" long, yet only rise 4 1/4" above the top of the bucket - not enough to make much of a difference. Drift cutters can work well, though. I had a set that I made myself for my old Craftsman that worked great - wish I had kept them. I may have to go that route again with my Ariens, since our snow depth has now reached the point where drift cutters are almost a necessity and the factory ones are just not high enough.


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

This is where they shine... Pics are of my Honda HS80 with Husqvarna drift cutters, which have now been transplanted to my HSS1332. I installed the same ones on the Troy-Bilt Tracker 2690XP I gave to my son; they really make a difference at the EOD.


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## Rob Chang (Nov 18, 2018)

tabora said:


> This is where they shine... Pics are of my Honda HS80 with Husqvarna drift cutters, which have now been transplanted to my HSS1332. I installed the same ones on the Troy-Bilt Tracker 2690XP I gave to my son; they really make a difference at the EOD.


Wow, that LED light bar! Those are some serious mods to a serious machine!


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

I have a couple sets of drift cutters. Don't often need them but they work very well. I usually make them from garage door motor track... The angle bar that is full of holes.


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## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

I usually leave my drift cutters flipped down, but occasionally when we get a nasty plow pile around the end of the driveway and I want to open the entrance up a bit more, I'll flip one side up (assuming the pile is above bucket height). The drift cutter definitely helps shave down the pile in that situation.


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## Raven186 (12 mo ago)

tabora said:


> This is where they shine... Pics are of my Honda HS80 with Husqvarna drift cutters, which have now been transplanted to my HSS1332. I installed the same ones on the Troy-Bilt Tracker 2690XP I gave to my son; they really make a difference at the EOD.


What kind of LED Light bar are you running on your Honda? And how much was it and was it fairly easy to hook up


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

Raven186 said:


> What kind of LED Light bar are you running on your Honda? And how much was it and was it fairly easy to hook up


$28.01 in 2017... $38 now.








32inch 180W Epistar LED Work Light Bar Spot Flood Combo Driving SUV Bar Offroad | eBay


Power 180W. Indoor and Outdoor uses Back up light. Unlike other vendors, your order will be fulfilled no matter what.



www.ebay.com


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## Raven186 (12 mo ago)

tabora said:


> $28.01 in 2017... $38 now.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Did you have to modify it to Mount to the drift cutters? Do you have any close up pictures


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

Raven186 said:


> Did you have to modify it to Mount to the drift cutters?


Nope, completely stock... Button head M6x20 S/S bolt, S/S fender washer, Neoprene washer, drift cutter, spacer (can't remember where they came from), and then the LED module. The bolt screws right into the end cap of the light bar.


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## ChrisJ (Nov 27, 2014)

Do they work in packed snow like the EOD?


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

ChrisJ said:


> Do they work in packed snow like the EOD?


Ayuh... Post #11.








Drift Cutters. Do they make a difference?


I'm talking about those slicer bars that extend a few feet above the bucket. I never had them and just wonder if they actually make a difference when going through deep snow.




www.snowblowerforum.com


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## sledman8002002 (Jan 20, 2021)

ChrisJ said:


> Do they work in packed snow like the EOD?


Yessir, (I have no pics from EOD but...) they work well for me too. I used to keep a set on my MTD but transferred them to the Toro.


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