- Leaf blowers work like powerful fans, concentrating air to send out a forceful blast that blows leaves into piles -- or into your neighbor's yard. As powerful as this fan is, it's not strong enough to deal with wet, heavy snow. Even if it can handle light snow, as the snow piles up it compresses and grows heavier and you'll soon reach a point where the leaf blower cannot move it.
- Snow blowers gather up snow by means of a powerful auger, then eject the snow through a chute at the top of the machine. They don't really blow snow so much as throw it, by means of an impeller that slings the snow out of the shoot. In fact, snow blowers are more correctly known as snow throwers. The auger takes care of scooping up the wet snow and carrying it up to the blower mechanism, which shoots the snow high into the air, allowing you to aim the snow toward the side of the walk or driveway, where it can pile up high. The blower in the snow blower only serves to move the gathered snow out of the way — it doesn't actually clear the snow from the driveway or walk. The auger takes care of that.
- Snow blowers are designed for use in wet, cold conditions. Though wet snow can sometimes clog up the auger, the wet and cold won't damage the mechanism of the machine. Leaf blowers deal only with dry leaves. Putting a leaf blower in contact with wet snow would damage the machine. In the case of an electric leaf blower, it could result in electrocution. Trying to use your leaf blower as a snow blower would ruin the leaf blower and could get you hurt.
- If you don't own a snow blower, you could borrow one from a neighbor. If your neighbor doesn't have a leaf blower, maybe you can work out a deal where he gets to borrow your leaf blower in the fall and you use his snow blower in the winter. You may be able to rent a snow blower. You could hire someone with a snow blower or plow to clear your driveway. Or you could resort to old-fashioned shoveling.
previous post
next post