ColoRider said:
My paddle-wheel Toro would not have worked for our snow. Waaaaay too heavy and wet.
Now we have been "upgraded" to 12-16 inches, all wet, complete with wind, down trees, no power, slick/impassable roads, etc. Should be fun. I live in one of a series of steep, narrow east-west valleys, and the wind can be very impressive. You can tell its too windy to go varmint hunting because the anvil at the end of the log chain is standing straight out from the pole. Winter time here is extremely windy, with winds average from 15-25, and up to 60-70 fairly common. I sometimes think I moved to Wyoming. Well, the place that Wyoming was named after isn't that far from here (up near Scranton: Wyoming valley) Maybe the wind was the reason for the name migration.
The really bad part of all of this early winter blast is there are still hundreds that have yet to get back on their feet from the flooding earlier this year. Some were camped out in the remains of their homes, some had no homes to camp out in. This will likely do some of them in. Unlike all the media attention and subsequent federal spending about New Orleans, many around here have been hit just as bad, and are getting little if any help. But also, we're not them. We'll do fine in the end, but right now a few are still having many troubles. A mild fall would have really helped. I know: we don't get a vote.
I had a delay on a job start yesterday, which allowed me time to pull the mower deck and install the snow blower, chains, weights, etc. on the JD. I also went right by the JD dealer on the way to the job, so now I have an additional 80 pounds of suitcase weights on the rear weight rack, for a total of 160. Last year, I ended up blowing saturated slush with it, was surprised it would blow essentially half melted sno-cones about 25-30 feet. Looked like a long slush noodle arcing away from the chute. We generally have dry snow, but it is wet often enough to be prepared for it. My JD does very well. The weight and chains give traction every time. My next tractor will be 4WD, just like all of our other vehicles except the wife's Focus. (but it is cute)