The Trials Of Personal Snow Removal.

Yeah, a loader is absolutely the right tool for me. A plow would work decently well, but a loader would be waaaaaay more useful in the summer. I have just under 9 acres, pretty sure I can find plenty of redneck shit to do with it.

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My drive goes almost all the way to the little building in the distance. From there it's another couple hundred feet of private road out to the highway. Right now the neighbor does a pretty good job keeping that clear with his skid steer but I don't want to be reliant on him.

Hard to find decent deals on tractors with loaders around here right now, probably because it keeps fucking snowing. Anyone know anyone holding, hit me up.

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Originally Posted by liv2ski

400 ft driveway? Time for a plow blade on the front of whatever you drive.

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My driveway is four hundred feet of pure Antichrist.

Luckily, I have a few "push zones" (e.g., there's a drainage past lower driveway and before that power pole) where I'm able to over-push snow and get it far the fuck away.

If the snow's really wet, well, I'm mostly pushing down hill, otherwise, I'd be fucked.

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Originally Posted by The Reverend Floater

You could find an ass old tractor with a PTO and a blower on it for around the same price as a used HD truck with V Plow. I used to have one. If you have even a few acres, it's crazy how useful a loader is.

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But then you have to clear your drive in reverse gear.

You win Viva, that driveway looks horrible

A few years ago I rode a chair with a guy who had recently spent a week in Tahoe, it was one of the more epic weeks of snow in Tahoe history, i think he said they had 16 feet of snow while he was there. The resorts (or at least wherever he was) were closed for several days, he barely got to ski. The day before they had to leave they decided they needed to dig the rental car out, it took hours, basically all day. And when they finally exposed the car, it was the wrong car. Not sure what happened after that.

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Originally Posted by liv2ski

You win Viva, that driveway looks horrible

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You're only seeing the lower 3/4. The worst isn't even in that pic.

If I miss a certain regular Tuesday posting during the winter season, check the weather for SW CO. It may be that I'm plowing and shoveling.

Got a new belt on my Troy-Bilt yesterday. Thing is 10+ years old and I've done nothing but put gas in it. Runs like a champ. Only broke the belt because it had a big frozen chunk inside the auger that I didn't see when starting. So yeah, always make sure to run the auger for a minute to clear snow before storing the blower. Lesson learned.

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Originally Posted by Name Redacted

Got a new belt on my Troy-Bilt yesterday. Thing is 10+ years old and I've done nothing but put gas in it. Runs like a champ. Only broke the belt because it had a big frozen chunk inside the auger that I didn't see when starting. So yeah, always make sure to run the auger for a minute to clear snow before storing the blower. Lesson learned.

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And check your friction disk:

PSA Snowblower Traction Drive Fix
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...d.php?t=350694


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Snow Thrower Porn.
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We had our first (& possibly last) ever roofalanche here in Portland this week.
9:12 metal roof facing SW on a sunny cold day…maybe holding 6” [hey, it’s portland…!]
Low rumble, I look up and see the dust settling outside the window
Started like this:
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My snow clearing whip.
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Also my logging skidder, seven sister access assist, and yard work tractor (some accessories not shown). Love this thing.

I’ll play! At 6750’ on the edge of Durango CO.

My driveway is 500’ and steep. And NE facing with a couple of big turns.

It’d be a nightmare driveway for a lot of people. I clear it all with a Honda 1132. I’ve had plows hit it occasionally when I’m out of town and they just fuck it up.

It takes me an hour to do it right or 20 mins to gtfo for a powder day or work.

I can’t sleep when it’s storming anyway, so i usually just get up early and bust it out. I rigged a cup holder so I can bring my coffee. And a couple rips of green and some headphones and I’m stoked.


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That’s amazing w a push blower. Props to the 1132 and your cup holder!

Gotta put a cup holder on mine!

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Originally Posted by Viva

You're only seeing the lower 3/4. The worst isn't even in that pic.

If I miss a certain regular Tuesday posting during the winter season, check the weather for SW CO. It may be that I'm plowing and shoveling.

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Huh, I always had you pegged as some Golden Boy living in Newport Beach CA.

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Today I tamped down the 11 ft snowpack in the front yard.

Wow, impressive pile of snow there

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Originally Posted by frorider

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Today I tamped down the 11 ft snowpack in the front yard.

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Now that's thinking!

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Originally Posted by Thaleia

Foot of snow plus a layer of freezing rain on top today. Was supposed to ski. Nope, shovelled for three plus hours instead.

My current situation. Augers not spinning. Turns out the bolt that attaches the impeller shaft to the impeller pully wheel sheered off. This thing only breaks when used lol fml.

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This it's second breakdown this season, couple weeks ago it was a (65 F'ing CA$) belt.

Last season it was a bearing. Not too bad, at least that part was only 25 CA$.

Six years ago I had to put a new engine on it, but that was completely my fault. Had an oil leak that I didn't notice in time..

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Welp, many days, and multiple trips to the hardware store later, I got the sheared bolt out and fixed, only to discover I cracked the gearbox cover when putting it all back together. Expecting a 'once in several years' storm dumping two feet of wet and heavy over night this evening.

Some quick googling shows I can't source the individual cracked piece, but can get the whole (used) gearbox assembly for ~500 USD plus shipping. Will look some more later, but dude at the small engine shop already warned me awhile back parts for this are notoriously hard to source.

With out knowing or understanding how or why the bolt on the impellor shaft sheared off in the first place I'm half expecting it to simply break again. Time will tell I suppose.

Between that issue and now the gearbox cover kinda thinking we're nearing the end of the line for this this thing.

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Originally Posted by riff

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Big year on the east side of the cascades has me thinking about a blower or tractor…. Neighbor has heavy equipment and does the driveway but just keeping the rest dug out was exhausting during December and January


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You in town or up the highway near the hippys?

Millions of Japanese octogenarians stand ready to kick your ass shoveling snow

Making lemonade out of lemons/roof leak mitigation. [emoji24]

You can perform snow pit tests.Attachment 450645


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Finally found a good deal on an upgraded snow removal tool. Waaaay better than the snowblower.

Was away during the last storm.

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Took a while to make any progress. A tracked blower would be helpful, but the decade old arians is holding steady.
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Hopefully intense sun and temps in the 40’s will free some dams. Maybe some hammer drilling.[emoji848]

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I've never done it but a buddy has had good luck with filling an old sock with ice melt and placing it on or above stubborn ice dams. That one looks like a doozy!

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Originally Posted by Alpinord

Hopefully intense sun and temps in the 40’s will free some dams. Maybe some hammer drilling.[emoji848]

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Before I got the new roof, I used to do the hammer drill thing and it worked. Scary as hell though being under there for that long.

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Originally Posted by John_B

I've never done it but a buddy has had good luck with filling an old sock with ice melt and placing it on or above stubborn ice dams. That one looks like a doozy!

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That's interesting and I could anchor it there, along with other spots. Thanks for the idea. It's one of several, but this one is the worst as a north valley 12:12 dormer to 6:12 roof which then intersects a 16:12 rood section and pours over my office at the tree. Fun times.

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Originally Posted by jmedslc

Before I got the new roof, I used to do the hammer drill thing and it worked. Scary as hell though being under there for that long.

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Fortunately, if I fall, the office roof currently has a 'cushion' and short drop if I bounce.

As opposed to a bunch of wanking about I would suggest one of the Easyheat heatng cable systems to melt snow from roof & gutters, I was getting ice dams cuz all the vents for 2 living spaces come out on one spot making the big icicles and bending the gutters, now I plug it in and it keeps every thing very clear

good instalation is key, you gotta zigzag the 2 ft of the roof/ the gutter/ the downspout all in one string and be near to the plug-in, I couldn't get the thermostat control to work well so I just plug it straight into the 115V in for winter

don't forget to plug it in

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Originally Posted by The Reverend Floater

I did confirm that the Toro snow thrower I bought in a pinch last year is a piece of shit.

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After moving to Minnesota, I inherited a pretty new Toro Storm 2620 which was nice because if I didn't get one for free I was gonna splurge on a Honda track unit.

It's been going strong for 2 seasons and starts first pull. Broke a shear pin when i sucked some wood pile tarp on accident but that's it. I've chewed a lot of settled plow berm with it.

I would never willingly purchase a Toro but this is the other side of the fence. Also, I think I'm just a pretty talented blower and have a smooth touch so there's that. :biggrin:

Our ice dams are fucked. I fucked up big time when I didn't replace the attic insulation on the bath remodel that's still underway. Now I'm just riding it out with fingers crossed the gutters don't peel off and whoever last did the roof added enough water barrier in addition to the felt.

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

As opposed to a bunch of wanking about I would suggest one of the Easyheat heatng cable systems to melt snow from roof & gutters, I was getting ice dams cuz all the vents for 2 living spaces come out on one spot making the big icicles and bending the gutters, now I plug it in and it keeps every thing very clear

good instalation is key, you gotta zigzag the 2 ft of the roof/ the gutter/ the downspout all in one string and be near to the plug-in, I couldn't get the thermostat control to work well so I just plug it straight into the 115V in for winter

don't forget to plug it in

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Dude, because once a boneheaded wanker, always a bone headed wanker :cool:.....not to mention huge electrical bills the every 6 or 8 years the wanking is needed. This one, I waited to long. Hitting it sooner would have been the smart call.

Might want to try some dynamite up there.

ymmv but i get it every winter

I did wonder about electrical usage so I asked my personal electrition about the usage ?

Knowing that I probably need a visual he said " well that longest kit you got is 240W so that like leaving a couple of incandescent light bulbs on for the winter "

in any case happy wanking eh

A 240W strip running 24/7 would use about 173 kWh per month. Multiply that by your cost per kWh - US national average is $0.23 so about $40 additional to your electric bill per month.
I'm going to add a strip to my roof next year in one problematic area, but I'm also adding solar and will probably put it on a switch to help me control when it runs.

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

ymmv but i get it every winter

I did wonder about electrical usage so I asked my personal electrition about the usage ?

Knowing that I probably need a visual he said " well that longest kit you got is 240W so that like leaving a couple of incandescent light bulbs on for the winter "

in any case happy wanking eh

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The resistive ones for roofs I was familiar ate up electricity. I'm sure it'd be useful in other areas, but in this case it'd just move the problem down stream I think. I have one in my pump house for the main water line, coupled with a space heater, all on a timer. It racks up some $$.

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Originally Posted by I Skied Bandini Mountain

Might want to try some dynamite up there.

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Would insurance cover damages if I'm off target a little?:D

Don't wait till you are on the ladder, get the Instal instructions online to map out exactly what you need to do

don't be like that guy who puts all the xmas tree lights together/ fixes the dead bulbs and finishes the instal with the plug next to the angel and his wife laughs at him

I wanked about with the thermostat ( 75$ )that gets plugged in between the heat cable & the 115V which you don't really need , I would just forgo it

Only 240W for your heat tape? That must be a short length (under 60’?). I think it’s somewhere around 5W/ft for a regular (constant output) line and 10W/ft with a self regulating line. So it can add up depending on how much tape you need.

I just try and clear the eves back a couple feet when there is more than a foot of snow built up on the roof, or when I see the ice start to form. Snow rake and a bit of arm power is cheaper than the tape. The ice melter in a stocking does work(slowly), but can rot your gutters.

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I'm pretty sure that kit was 240W but fuck I don't remember what hapend last week

IME I needed more length than one would think because I had to zizgzag the roof to the end of the gutter which eats up bunch of length and then double back thru the gutters to the start so that is > than double the length of the roof

I don't do anything with the SE facing side of the roof cuz its not needed

in my case the snow constantly melts from roof mounted appliance vents and heat trace is the best way to completely mitigate my problem,

I could show you a picture of where the ice dam would be but a picture of nothing is pretty fucking boring

altho I havent tried the dynamite

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

....altho I havent tried the dynamite

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Also, in the 'hold my beer & watch this department', you could use firearms! Just for grins, I used my pellet gun as a 'hammer drill' for a few shots. It'd take a LOT of pellets.:rolleyes2