Steiner or compact tractor for blowing snow?

[JohnBuffaloMN]

What kind of snow do you get, fluffy or wet and heavy?

Some blowers can struggle with the wet and heavy stuff. No personal experience with the Steiner blower so can't say one way or the other.

Many swear that a spray down of the chute with some kind of non-stick b/4 throwing snow helps. Many also add rubber paddles to the impeller, which keeps the snow from clogging up the impeller. (youtube search for snowthrower mods: snow thrower mod - YouTube)

I'm looking at the 1.5" gap between the impeller and the housing on mine and eventually WILL do this mod.

 

[Industrial Toys]

There are various Steiner blowers. Mine surely is the heaviest of them all. It does plug up with the wettest of snow, if you let it, but it is not hard to unplug either. That is a blessing! Some blowers you can make a small hole and then blow it out, others just get more plugged and then you have a real solid mess to dig out.

That was also the undoing of the JD with a gear trans. When the revs dropped you could plug up the chute.

 

[SteinerGuy]

Thanks for the feedback!

Ultimately it was fate that decided for me. I wanted something that would fit in my 4ft wide trailer and through 48" gates. I found a 44" Bercomac deluxe from a Craftsman application that was in great shape for nearly free, and it came with V bar tire chains too. I made a subframe with a jackshaft that copied the OEM Steiner design, and got the impeller speeds figured out. In doing some research, I figured out that the late model Steiner blowers are all made by Berco anyway, and that the 48" model is just a 44 with widening plates on it. The subframe is a little heavier duty than it needs to be, but it worked out well and I got it mounted a few nights ago. Chute rotation is a hand crank, but I will probably upgrade to hydro eventually.

So far, it's great. Berco makes a good blower. This one is built like a HD blower, with a chain driven auger and direct drive fan. It's still lightweight enough that it's easy to attach and remove. Way quicker around buildings etc, and less fear of banging into something. The Onan seems to have good power and the blower seems well built and is reasonably lightweight - The tractor seems to handle the weight very well. We haven't gotten much snow yet, but now I am really looking forward to the first dumping.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I probably mentioned it but that was the reason I got my steiner. Blowing around buildings. Tired of ripping off baton, eaves troughs and banging into doors. A machine will always slide into what you want to avoid, so at least the steiner won't do much damage.

You can get caught in places though. Last winter I had to take a lever chain hoist to pull the steiner away from a building it got too close to. A worse scenario with articulation.

This for a while was my solution around buildings. I don't miss it. If it went too far over the hill, it was stuck! That Gravely would blow snow a mile though!



Oh, you can see a piece of repaired eavstrough that was replaced!

 

[Tony H]

Many swear that a spray down of the chute with some kind of non-stick b/4 throwing snow helps. Many also add rubber paddles to the impeller, which keeps the snow from clogging up the impeller. (youtube search for snowthrower mods: snow thrower mod - YouTube)

I'm looking at the 1.5" gap between the impeller and the housing on mine and eventually WILL do this mod.

The belting added to the impeller blades will absolutely keep the shoot from clogging and increase throwing distance. Don't buy the kit, just get some belting material or an old mudflap off a tract trailer. Very noticeable difference