Considering that said person once broke his thumb while watching his brother play football, I don't know of any. However, I'll do a little research.

I used to have an 18" electric job that came from Lowe's-can't remember who made it, but it was a pretty handy little device.

I've been very happy with the single-stage Toro I bought last year. It plows through some serious stuff for its size, and has always started on the first pull. I would highly recommend checking them out. Go to a hardware store where they'll demonstrate it for you rather than the big shops like Home Depot.

Get an electric start model, and don't skimp on the horsepower. I bought a Yard King two years ago. I've used it twice, expect the snowfall to become non-existent after you buy it.

My Dad had a great all-purpose snow thrower, wood stacker, wood stove cleaner and many other things. It's called a son. How old is your oldest? Seven? Give him a shovel and get him out there. He'll thank you for it someday. Either that or he'll hate your guts and put you in a shabby second-rate home run by the Mob. But if you want your driveway clean on the cheap you'll just have to take some risks.

Use your famous NH thrift. Find a neighbor/friend with a plow and make arrangements to have them do it for some other compensation (cookies, alcohol, books, baby sitting, etc). In about 5 years the kids will be old enough to take up the slack.

Agree with Robert. Many a person I know bought a snowblower after the bad winters of 93-94 and 96-97 but have used their machines maybe a dozen times since.

AWW:

Then I'd have to move the car.

Gov:

Why don't you stop on the way to work and help a buddy?

Like a lot of things, it depends on what you want to do. If you only need to clear a few inches at a time from a not-too-extensive space, an electric or single-stage gas model will do nicely. If you have a very long driveway, or expect it to deal with wet snow, or more than maybe 6" at a time, or cut through the plowed mounds blocking the end of a driveway, a two-stage gas model is going to be necessary.

I bought an 8.5HP two-stage gas from Sears at about this time last year because they were the only folks who still had anything similar in stock for immediate pickup; it was more than I'd wanted to spend, but I have been quite pleased with it (the electric start, while probably unnecessary, is nice). Northern Tool has a big selection and good prices.

And, obviously, you can get a real steal on one at an estate sale in July, but that would appear unlikely at this point...

Brooke - I hope you don't find my post flippant (I thought OJ posted it so my tone may be off).

Seriously, with 3 kids also I have avoided getting a snowblower. I am not a luddite but I think they are overrated unless you are in serious snow country (which you may be in NH) but then a friend with a plow may make even more sense. I have a neighbor who brings out the snowblower for every dusting - it takes him longer to start it than do his (small) driveway.

Note that I am also in New England in a 40+ inches a year area. I have a driveway 120 ft long by 12-15 ft wide and live on a corner so the plow puts a wall of stuff at the end of the driveway whenever it goes by. It takes about an hour plus to shovel it for snowfalls up to 6 inches. But I have no plans on getting a snowblower.

What are the stage thingies?

OJ:
Well, for starters I have my own driveway and wood stove to deal with now. Also, you never told me where your new place is. The last time I was at your house was still when you were living in the mondo condo.

Well, The Wife likes you, I'll see if she'll cook you a meal.

AWW:

I'm already in trouble with The Wife because today I taught the two year old a lesson: wear your mittens when Dad tells you to.

Stage: A single-stage snowblower has the one screw in front that picks up snow and crams it up the chute with enough force to throw it a few feet away: cheap and simple, but only works for relatively small models, and won't throw wet snow far at all. A two-stage has a second screw in the chute; it can throw more snow much further.

Mike:

Automatically or do I have to learn to shift stuff?

Translation: A 2-stage is much more entertaining to the boys, making the eldest more likely to volunteer to clear the drive, especially if the baby can be positioned as a target.

A typical 2-stage has a clutch on each handle. One engages both screws; the other engages the drive on the wheels. There is a gearshift that changes the gear/speed of the wheels, and a crank to change the facing of the chute.

Given that the clutches disengage when you let go of the handles, it's almost impossible to maim yourself with the screws, but you could certainly run over other people, and I suppose you might tip it over onto yourself with effort. I don't operate mine with the kids outside.

Cost-wise, buying and operating one of these vs hiring Jose's landscaping to plow your drive is probably a wash.

Mike:

Would running over a small child damage the snowblower?

I know nothing about snow blowers, but this thread is worth reading for entertainment value alone.

Because I'm cheap, and I have hardly any space in my garage for yet more stuff, I'm in favor of the "shovel when you can, pay a plow when you have to" school of thought. Hey, maybe someday I'll even find somebody that has a plow ...

Jeff:

See, I think we should just get a second Suburban, so that the whole drive is covered by car and no shoveling is required.

Mr. Judd: You could count it as a work out and shovel it yourself. Think of the buff (although probably pasty white) bod and good health you will enjoy the rest of the year.

I live in Florida. The only annoying snow we deal with are the snow birds behind the wheels of gigantic white Cadillac Escalades.

Excellent feedback! Looks like we need a 2 stage blower and there's no way I'm paying for that...
Get the shovel out and buff up that pasty bod!

Buttercup:

You'll pay for this....

OJ:

A single stage works fine for me here in Michigan, with a largish driveway.

Valuable tip, though: spray silicon into the chute before you start, which cuts way down on the single stage variety's annoying tendency to clog.

I've always thought one of these 500000 BTU propane torches would be just the thing for the sidewalk or concrete steps.

Odd, didn't get the link right on that one. Let's try again:

Torch

Mike - I was planning to get one of those to clear the snow off my car.

OJ - Is clearing snow off the driveway what a Cabana Boy does in the winter?

Brooke - If OJ breaks out the shovel, please make sure you have a difibulator nearby.

Shovel and a bottle of Aleve.

> I've always thought one of these 500000 BTU propane torches

500k sounds like a lot, but what a wimpy looking thing in the picture! I was exepecting something that looked more like a WWII surplus flamethrower at least.

Mrs. Judd:

Real men shovel, but if yours has gone girly, I would point out that most winters you can save money by putting a young local teen on retainer. Do that and, as the rest of the family is sqealing with delight at their neat, exciting presents, you can tell Orrin his present is that you are contributing the money you saved to his privatized social security account, the one he won't stop yapping at the rest of us about.

Peter - I agree. And I agreed with Buttercup above that a buff OJ surely couldn't be a bad thing for the Judd family dynamic. And if the driveway is the size of 2 Suburbans we're not talking about cleaning off the Interstate.

But then I figured the more time OJ spends shoveling the less time he spends maintaining this excellent blog. So perhaps chipping in and getting a snowblower might benefit the devoted readers of brothersjudd as well as OJ.

Buff is out of the question, but I am headed out to buy a new shovel today.

It is Christmas.