In the winter, shoveling snow can become quite a chore. To get this job done quickly, you can turn your lawnmower into a snowblower.
By attaching a snowblower part to your lawnmower, you can turn your lawnmower into a snowblower that works. Of course, this may not always be as easy as it seems. You can only do this on lawnmowers with a powerful PTO engine to clear the snow.
Disadvantages of Attaching a Snow Blower or Plow to Your Lawn Mower
1. You’ll shorten the Lifespan of Your Lawn Mower
Lawnmowers and snow blowers have been produced for different purposes. However, they can be converted with some modifications.
Like modifications on any kind of hardware or software, there are some risks to consider. By modifying, you can potentially shorten the life of your mower or you may cause your machine to break down frequently and encounter problems.
However, companies such as Husqvarna have introduced lawn mowers that are already installed with snowblowers.
This has created the opportunity for users to purchase a dual-purpose tool. This is preferable to trying to modify your existing lawnmower.
2. It’s Expensive
The blower attachment, which is the most important part you will need when converting your lawnmower to a snowblower, is almost as expensive as just buying a snowblower.
In addition, installing a new blower attachment every season will be very costly and time-consuming, as the snowblower attachment has to be removed before normal grass cutting can continue.
3. Clearing Is Cumbersome
If you do have a lawnmower whereby normal cutting is possible with a modified snowblower attached, the maneuverability of your lawnmower becomes difficult and therefore you cannot use your lawnmower properly.
In addition, on narrow and bumpy terrain, you cannot shovel the snow properly as the lawnmower body is not built for this task.
4. Storage Difficulties
Attachments can increase the volume of your lawnmower, causing you to need extra space in your garage. If you buy a snowblower instead, it will take up less space and save space.
Advantages of Attaching A Snow Blower Or Plow To Your Lawn Mower
1. High Speed
Although it may seem like a hassle to convert your lawnmower into a snowblower, it also offers you some advantages.
The most important of these is the speed of your machine. Your converted machine, with its high engine power and speed, allows you to clear the snow quickly.
2. Reduced Effort Requirement
A stand-alone snowblower may have difficulty removing large masses of snow, or at least it will be time-consuming. But a powerful converted lawnmower can do the job with ease.
3. Snow Blower
In order to determine the ideal snowblower apparatus, you need to know the amount of snow you will likely need to clear, its density, and the width of the field.
Generally, snowblowers operate on two levels. Single-stage blowers pull snow out of the discharge pipe as it pulls it out.
Two-stage blowers, on the other hand, take the snow and shred it with the help of the propeller while throwing it out.
Is it Hard to Plow Snow With A Lawnmower?
It’s easy to plow snow with a lawnmower. What you need to consider is how much of an area you need to clear and what volume of snow you will blow before installing the necessary parts.
A powerful engine and a large deck will double the power and volume of your snowblower. You can easily install one by attaching a plow or snow blower to a state-of-the-art lawnmower that has a PTO system (Power Take Off).
But as a disadvantage, you may reduce the life of your machine and experience a decrease in performance in the future.
Can a Zero Turn Mower Plow Snow?
Zero Turn mowers create a great environment for snow plowing with their flexible turning capability and high performance.
Zero Turn machines allow you to plow much faster and with higher performance than conventional lawnmowers and tractors.
Zero turns have put their weight on the market in the past years, allowing you to clear large areas of snow quickly without damaging your machine.
Is a 2 Stage Snow Blower Worth it?
Two-stage snow blowers allow you to clear large volumes of snow quickly in a short period of time.
The state-of-the-art step system prevents your machine from being damaged by external factors by breaking up unwanted materials such as stone, gravel, and sand that you will encounter while clearing snow.
In addition, the two-stage snow blowers have power wheels that provide support on slopes and larger areas.
Do Snow Blowers Work On Ice?
Only three-stage snow blowers produce very effective results on the ice. These machines collect the ice and snow and tear them apart with the bladed propeller inside.
These snow blowers, which quickly chop up and expel the materials they consume, have specially designed wheels with an additional grip that work excellently on ice and icy surfaces.
These machines are manufactured to handle the toughest conditions and the thickest snow. They are relatively low maintenance as they are built to withstand cold weather conditions, with antifreeze properties inside.
Is it Worth Turning a Lawnmower Into A Snow Blower?
Whether it’s worth changing your lawnmower to a snowblower is entirely up to you, but this method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
If you are converting a high-powered lawnmower into a snowblower, you will likely maintain high speed and performance. However, you will also shorten the life of your lawnmower overall.
In addition, you may find yourself having to buy a new machine sooner than expected, as spare parts are hard to come by and expensive when you do eventually find them.
Whenever you modify an item it is wise to consider that there will be problems or issues. This is because riding lawn mowers that do not have snow-blowing functions are not built to withstand the conditions of clearing snow. Therefore it is recommended to either buy a snowblower or buy a riding lawnmower that is also able to blow snow.
