Topic: 3 Stage Snow Blowers

[Hammy]

Cub cadet makes a three stage snow blower which looks great from what I can see online.  The drievway in our new house is huge and of course here in NL we get lots of snow so I was thinking about getting one.  Does anyone here own or know anything about the three stage snow blowers?  They seem to be a fairly new product.

Thanks

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Just googled a 3-stage snowblower.

I don't know that they will perform any better or worse than a 2-stage snowblower, to be honest.  That being said, I've never used one, and I've only used two-stages.    Certainly, if you want it, go for it. Nothing more fun than a shiny new snowblower at the beginning of winter. 

[Northernridge]

I bought one last year (3-stage Cub Cadet) and it has been a bad experience so far. It shears auger pins constantly (10 or 12 so far). The ones for the '3rd' stage are very hard to reach. It also burned out a belt so I had to visit the dealer. I bought it based on CR recommendations  and because I was to cheap to buy a Honda. 

It runs well, steers well and seems good in every other way but the impeller system does not impress. I've noticed that snow tends to spill out the sides too. Also I can't tell if it clears materially better/faster than my old Sears one.

I'll try it again for the first part of this winter but I expect to sell it. My dealer admitted teething problems, maybe they have improved the technology for this year.

[Hammy]

Thanks for the input, maybe I will just go get a good two stage and leave it at that.

[evil_twin]

I favor cheap and dirty (plan on replacing in shorter time) or high end when it comes to small engine machinery.

I've got 2-stage Ariens snowblower that's about 4 years old now.   Still running well, but a little small for my liking.   I think I'll look to a Honda as a special Xmas present if it dies in the next few years.

[KD]

Wow, this is timely as I was just thinking about these myself.  Do they throw snow any further, or is the 3rd stage only for faster removal?

A buddy of mine just bought this 54" unit for his side-by-side and it's a beast and should be for $5k. 

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-21-versatile-plus-54-br-for-atvs-utvs.php

They also have a 48" unit that should fit my lawn tractor, but it is belt driven and not self powered, so not sure how well that would work.  Does anybody have experience with this type of setup?

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-120-pto-snowblower-hydraulic-lift-sub-compact-cub-cadet-yanmar-sc-tractors.php

[mrthompson]

I bought a used 27" 2-stage Poulan Pro from my uncle two years ago.  It's probably 5 years old.  One shear pin was missing and there's some corrosion (he doesn't maintain his equipment very well).  I replaced the shear pins with 1/4-20 18-8 SS hex cap screws with lock washers & hex nuts.  I have only used the electric plug-in start so far.  Runs great.  No problems thus far.

[Hammy]

I have a TORO now and it works great, its just too small for my now much larger driveway.  Maybe I will by another one of those and have duel snow blowing.

[Northernridge]

Wow, this is timely as I was just thinking about these myself.  Do they throw snow any further, or is the 3rd stage only for faster removal?

A buddy of mine just bought this 54" unit for his side-by-side and it's a beast and should be for $5k. 

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-21-versatile-plus-54-br-for-atvs-utvs.php

They also have a 48" unit that should fit my lawn tractor, but it is belt driven and not self powered, so not sure how well that would work.  Does anybody have experience with this type of setup?

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-120-pto-snowblower-hydraulic-lift-sub-compact-cub-cadet-yanmar-sc-tractors.php

It actually does throw the snow quite far. I was surprised by that. I think mine is the second biggest model BTW.

I should have bought a Husq. my dealer sells both brands. I didn't take Snowman's advice.

[KD]

I have a TORO now and it works great, its just too small for my now much larger driveway.  Maybe I will by another one of those and have duel snow blowing.

Same problem here...12 yr old toro that works great, but too small at 24" and doesn't throw snow far enough.  Does yours have the power-shift feature?  That's a great feature for the heavy stuff at the end of the driveway.

[KD]

Wow, this is timely as I was just thinking about these myself.  Do they throw snow any further, or is the 3rd stage only for faster removal?

A buddy of mine just bought this 54" unit for his side-by-side and it's a beast and should be for $5k. 

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-21-versatile-plus-54-br-for-atvs-utvs.php

They also have a 48" unit that should fit my lawn tractor, but it is belt driven and not self powered, so not sure how well that would work.  Does anybody have experience with this type of setup?

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-120-pto-snowblower-hydraulic-lift-sub-compact-cub-cadet-yanmar-sc-tractors.php

It actually does throw the snow quite far. I was surprised by that. I think mine is the second biggest model BTW.

I should have bought a Husq. my dealer sells both brands. I didn't take Snowman's advice.

I need something that will throw snow at least 30 feet and something at least 30" wide.  My 24" takes me up to 3 hours to clear a heavy snowfall.  Wonder how far the Husq throws?

[Northernridge]

Wow, this is timely as I was just thinking about these myself.  Do they throw snow any further, or is the 3rd stage only for faster removal?

A buddy of mine just bought this 54" unit for his side-by-side and it's a beast and should be for $5k. 

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-21-versatile-plus-54-br-for-atvs-utvs.php

They also have a 48" unit that should fit my lawn tractor, but it is belt driven and not self powered, so not sure how well that would work.  Does anybody have experience with this type of setup?

http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-120-pto-snowblower-hydraulic-lift-sub-compact-cub-cadet-yanmar-sc-tractors.php

It actually does throw the snow quite far. I was surprised by that. I think mine is the second biggest model BTW.

I should have bought a Husq. my dealer sells both brands. I didn't take Snowman's advice.

I need something that will throw snow at least 30 feet and something at least 30" wide.  My 24" takes me up to 3 hours to clear a heavy snowfall.  Wonder how far the Husq throws?

A big Husq will handle the 30 foot toss and the Cub Cadet will too easily (could consider their 2-stage?). FYI my driveway is 115 feet long and 3-4 cars wide. Power, capacity and speed are very good on the CC, the auger system reliability has been the problem.

[dave]

I favor cheap and dirty (plan on replacing in shorter time) or high end when it comes to small engine machinery.

I've got 2-stage Ariens snowblower that's about 4 years old now.   Still running well, but a little small for my liking.   I think I'll look to a Honda as a special Xmas present if it dies in the next few years.

My ancient (20+ years old) Honda HS80 is a work horse.  Starts on the first pull every season.

[Fobroader]

My two stage blower will chuck snow 30ft if I wanted to. 3 stage seems a little excessive if its not attached to a tractor or a truck.

[Northernridge]

My two stage blower will chuck snow 30ft if I wanted to. 3 stage seems a little excessive if its not attached to a tractor or a truck.

I'm prepared to believe that it's just a marketing trick...that I fell for....and Consumer Reports did too.

[redman]

This would do the job and it's Canadian.

454 cubic inch big block Chevrolet V8 produces 412 horsepower, 430 foot pounds of torque and can throw snow 50 feet at just 3500 rpm



https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zvR-eaKUVqU

I use a 2 stage Ariens with the last of the Tecumseh Snow King engines. It's a 24" or 26" (forgot) and has never let me down. Not the easiest machine to move around though.

The 3 stage unit did makes sense in mechanical principal. Maybe they need some tweaking. It might be added complexity where a proven two stage works well.

I want this unit.

[Ex-airbalancer]

I hoping for a winter like a couple of years ago when we got no snow 

[Hammy]

I was looking at Hondas and they are much more expensive than most, is it just that they last longer?  The engine size seems smaller than most at 270 cc for track models.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I was looking at Hondas and they are much more expensive than most, is it just that they last longer?  The engine size seems smaller than most at 270 cc for track models.

They use hydraulics. It makes them pretty pricey to build, on top of the Honda markup.

[bridgecity]

I was looking at Hondas and they are much more expensive than most, is it just that they last longer?  The engine size seems smaller than most at 270 cc for track models.

The Yamahas and Hondas  are generally the best from a performance perspective.  YouTube some vids and you'll see what I mean.  Are they worth the price?  Not for my use, but for others maybe so.  Ariens and Toro are also well respected machines.