We used to clear snow with shovels but now thankfully we have snow blowers or snow throwers. These are certainly handy in winter and very useful if you are short on time and energy as most of us are these days.

There are various different types of snow blowers available depending on whether you want to just clear your paths or lawn, or clear much larger areas of snow.

Types Of Engine
Snow blowers can be either electric, or run on diesel or gasoline. The power of the machine is used to take up the snow and throw it out of the way. This is the main difference between snow blowers and regular snow plows.

Single-Stage Or Dual-Stage Snow Blowers
Snow blowers can also be categorized as single-stage or dual-stage snow blowers. The single-stage ones are often smaller and are called single stage as both the intake of snow and the output is done by a single impeller which is a type of rotor.

The single-stage snow blower is usually used for small shallow areas, but it can on occasion be used for larger jobs such as snow blower attachments for trains.

The dual-stage snow blowers are more commonly used than single-stage ones. The first stage is the breaking up of the snow after intake. Augers in the appliance do this function and also move the snow to the impeller. During the second stage, the impeller expels the snow out of the discharge chute. Having the operation in two stages makes it possible to clear larger areas of snow - dependant on the size of the snow blower itself.

Three Types of Snow Blowers
Snow blowers come in a variety of sizes, shapes and types. From those with small engines suitable for home use to those with a thousand horsepower diesel engines. However, the engine size is usually governed by the type of job the snow blower is required to do and there are three main categories:-

1. Where you walk behind the snow blower. This is perhaps the most common snow blower for home use. They exist in both single-stage and dual-stage and can be a reasonable and very effective choice for the home-owner.

2. Where you ride the snow blower. This is similar to riding a lawn mower and is still relatively small in size. They are useful for larger areas of land.

3. The snow blower attachment. This is used on tractor or similar vehicles. These are some of the largest snow blowers, yet because they are attachments, they are still a very reasonable choice. They are excellent for clearing large areas of snow, and especially useful if you already own a suitable vehicle.

So there are various choices to be made when selecting a snow blower and determining your needs first will make that choice easier.