# Does size matter?



## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

I've had a 24" wide snowblower for 20-odd years. This past fall I traded it for a snowblower with 28" width. I've used it only once so far, but it felt as though it took considerably less time to clear all of the usual areas with the 28" machine. 

A difference of four inches doesn't seem like all that big of a deal to me. Is it more important than I think?


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## scipper77 (Dec 4, 2013)

Did your old blower clear the driveway or did you end up blowing the same snow twice?


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## Colored Eggs (Dec 7, 2012)

A few inches can add up quick especially if the driveway is wide. Just 3 swipes can add almost a foot more of cleared snow. Now In my case I don't use all the length to blow. I always leave a few inches on the cleared side so less snow comes off the side.


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## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

What about the size of the engine, auger, impeller? They can all help with efficiency.


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## fronos4 (Jan 29, 2011)

Smolenski7 said:


> What about the size of the engine, auger, impeller? They can all help with efficiency.


I had a 28"/10hp MTD (12" auger/12" impeller) and now have a 30"/342cc (12hp) Ariens (14" auger/14" impeller). Definitely takes me less time to clear the drive now, given the contributing factors of engine size and snow capacity even though it's only 2 inches wider.


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## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

Smolenski7 said:


> What about the size of the engine, auger, impeller? They can all help with efficiency.


yep, the width means nothing if you don't have the rest of the blower to be able to move that extra volume.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

it is are birthright as American's to own the biggest, meanest, nastiness , machine to ever blow smoke and fire from it's bowels as we lay waste to frozen tundra. that we have to endure for some odd months of the year.


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## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

The old machine was a Crary BearCat, circa 1970's. 8HP Tecumseh power. It was a handful on my gravel driveway.

The "new" machine is a 1990's vintage Yamaha YS-828, with tracks. Also 8HP. It is a bit tougher to turn, but the rest of the time it is much easier on me as operator.

They both throw snow far enough that it is not an issue in the time it takes to get the job done. My driveway is not particularly wide so I don't think I'm getting away with one less pass. 

I think it may boil down to how hard the BearCat made me work, compared to the Yamaha. The Yamaha is also much quieter than the old beast, and it uses much less fuel. If it wasn't so old, and if parts weren't so hard to get, I'd marry it.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

One other thing to consider is most people store their blower in a garage or shed. So once you go from your house to the street you have to turn around and come back to the house to put it away. So even if you make one less pass and end at the street you still have to make the final trip home whether you are blowing snow or not.


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

If you are using a walk behind Sno Thro, I look at it this way

Lets' say that your driveway is 10' wide and you were going to take all full bucket width passes to clear it. 

A 24" wide bucket will make (5) passes. 

A 28" will make (4.28) passes (5 total passes) 

A 30" will make (4) passes 

A 32" will make (3.75) passes (4 total passes) 

A 36" will make (3.33) passes (4 total passes)



Am I correct in saying that all you'll save is a total of (1) full width pass for every 10'? 

I think storage might become one of the most important factors. A friend of mine let me try his Ariens 11/28 for a few storms during the 2010-2011 season. Storing it between two cars in a two car garage made a BIG difference. The extra 4" that it took up was a HUGE deal of space.

Age, ability and price also add in to the equation.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Size is all important. From the size of the engine to the width of the auger, the diameter of the auger, diameter of the impeller and the design and size of the discharge chute.


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## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

Kielbasa said:


> Am I correct in saying that all you'll save is a total of (1) full width pass for every 10'?


Yes you are, and you make an excellent point. I think most folks have a section of driveway much wider than 10' though, and a wider cut would make shorter work there.


> I think storage might become one of the most important factors.


Agreed, and another very good point.


Kiss4aFrog said:


> Size is all important. From the size of the engine to the width of the auger, the diameter of the auger, diameter of the impeller and the design and size of the discharge chute.


If you mean to say that the size of those components must match up, I'm sure you're right, and yesterday I saw a machine in action that was probably proving it.

My neighbor has a 32" John Deere. He was trying to figure out how to attack the 2-1/2 foot deep, 6 foot wide, oh-so dense road plow-pushed mass at the end of his driveway. A full width cut was rough, rough going for my Yamaha, so I was taking 1/3 width hacks each pass. My neighbor tried that, and his snow thrower wouldn't throw the snow; it just kind of belched it out a couple of feet. The only way his machine would actually *move* the snow, *throw* it up and out any respectable distance, was to fill the auger by taking a full cut. I wrote John Deere off my list of snow blowers to shop after seeing that.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

What I was trying to get across is that it's not just the width of the bucket. Doing the math on how many passes you need with with a 24" or 26" compared to a 28" or a 32" doesn't take into account a bigger impeller. If going from a 28" to a 32" gets you a bigger impeller it's possible that it may only save you one pass but you may be able to make those passes faster as it will move more snow. So faster and one less pass gets you out of the cold much faster than just one less pass.

What I'm trying to say is only thinking about auger width without looking at impeller, engine size ...... isn't a good way to judge the advantage. My 24" seems to take a lot longer to do the drive then the 32" and I'm sure it's due to speed. I feel as though I'm going slower with the 24" to do the same job my 32" can do.

The 10/32 has a 14" impeller and the blades are 5-1/4"+
MTD 8/25 has a 10" impeller and the blades are < 4"

The 24" is out in the cold right now so I measured the ones in the garage.
I haven't used the 8/25 yet.


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