Prepare For Snowfall

Landscape contractors who augment their business doing snow management need to prepare for the snowy season. The first thing to do as you prepare for that first winter storm of the season is to make sure all your snow equipment starts. Don Girardot, with Tri-County Equipment, said the next thing to do is get rid of gasoline in the blower if there's any left over from last winter. "Put some new fuel in it, with some stabilizer in it, because we don't know when the next storm is coming,?EUR??,,????'?????<

Girardot also recommends checking the blower’s spark plug and your belts, and said not to forget to check the things that actually remove the snow from the ground.

"Make sure your augers' working properly,” Girardot said. “Now if it's a single stage, you have paddles on there that are rubberized [and] they may be worn. Let’s get those replaced. You [will also] have a scraper bar, [and] that has to be replaced, too. Now if it's a two stage, most of them are four cycle; we have to replace the oil [in] that."

Girardot said also check the sheer pins on the augers to make sure they are in place and in shape.

There's another reason to use a snow blower over a shovel to clear snow: It could actually save your life.

"We hear a lot of people say, ‘Well, I need the exercise,’ but you've heard it, and I have a friend or a neighbor and they've had a heart attack by using a shovel," said Girardot.

Most importantly, says Girardot, if you're doing any work on your snow blower, make sure it is off to prevent any type of serious injury, especially if you have to remove any clogged snow from the chute.