frogdujour
frogdujour t1_iz2shk7 wrote
Reply to comment by icysandstone in Help me buy my first snow blower! What am I going to regret in 2 months? by icysandstone
I don't know where these libraries actually are, but many libraries have their own subscription to it for their community to use, and quite a few of them provide said subscription login/password openly on their website. So all you need to do is find one of those, and then just log in from wherever you are. I've used it a bunch, has worked for many years.
frogdujour t1_iyus5ng wrote
Reply to comment by icysandstone in Help me buy my first snow blower! What am I going to regret in 2 months? by icysandstone
If ever you want to browse consumer reports, just google "consumer reports library login", and you can find plenty of options to log in and browse with.
frogdujour t1_iyto7dy wrote
You can still do well with a used unit sold as fully refurbished, for waaay less than a new one.
A number of years ago I made the switch to a snowblower from hours of shoveling, but started inexpensively with a used refurbished unit advertised from a motor repair shop - $200 for a 24" Simplicity 2-stage, 8hp I think, with electric start (highly recommend!), probably late 90s vintage.
Well, it's about 7-8 years on, and it has worked flawlessly every season with plenty of use (upper midwest), starts right up every time, and I haven't had to do anything to it since I got it. I have about ~2000sqft to clear. A "little" snowfall of 2-4 inches I can do in 15-20min, a 12" snowfall maybe an hour, going at the slowest speed. For your place maybe a 28" would be optimal for weight and ease of maneuvering it around vs cleaning speed.
You don't necessarily need to drop $2k+ on something brand new, unless your budget makes it not an issue of course.
Edit: one more note... I start mine once about every 1-2 months in the off season, and let it run a few minutes till it gets hot. I run it dry at the end of winter, and then to start it in summer, I just add a very tiny bit of gas, and run it dry again. Best to not let ethanol fuel sit in the carb for months, or it WILL gum up and corrode things.
frogdujour t1_iz2t6bk wrote
Reply to comment by icysandstone in Help me buy my first snow blower! What am I going to regret in 2 months? by icysandstone
Some of those motor repair shops will deliver for you for a small fee. Or, if you're in a big enough town, you can find local delivery help on taskrabbit or something for maybe $20-30, or rent a pickup truck from home depot, $19.95 for 2 hours I think.