Snow blowers – Making the winter not so bad at all
A shipping containers full of snow blowers imported from the United States to Poland 30 years ago is how NAC, New American Concept began as a company.
It took several more winters in the country straddling the Vistula until the tools found customers who found out that even a single snowblower has the performance and efficiency that are much better than of a platoon of soldiers fervently shoveling the snow away.
Today, snow blowers and sweepers can be found on every street, levelling the odds of the fight between men and winter.
How does a snow blower work?
Modern snow blowers, like the NAC STP196L-61-K, can easily tackle a sidewalk or park path completely buried in snow. The wide auger picks up the snow (be it fresh or frozen) from the ground and throws it through the side nozzle at least several metres away.
The engine of the snow blower powers its snow auger and self-propelled wheels, but unlike in self-propelled lawnmowers, driving is managed using a transmission gearbox with several forward speeds and one reverse speed.
As the tool weighs more than 50 kg, the propulsion makes manoeuvring it very easy and the operator holding the handles can feel like the captain of an icebreaker ship.
The harsh operating conditions of snow clearing have made the designers engineer a construction of the tool which is extremely robust and ready to take on many obstacles in the field. The side skids with height adjustment keep the snow auger spinning safe and clear from the ground, without any risk of hitting a hard pavement.
The wheel tread is just as impressive as on many all-terrain vehicles.
Convenience features of operation have not been forgotten – the swivel discharge nozzle helps to blow the snow out always in the same direction, even after turning around. The most powerful snow blowers can throw the snow to more than a dozen of metres.
The engine can be started without taking off the warm gloves, a great convenience when working in low temperatures.
A sweeper instead of a blower?
An alternative to snow blowers can be sweepers, like the NAC SWP80-196L-KC, where the snow auger is replaced by a petrol engine-powered brush with height adjustment and a high operating speed (300 rpm).
The hard bristles of the brush are not only great for clearing fresh snow, but also for removing sand, debris and dirt from sidewalks.
The working width (80 cm) makes the work fast, especially that the sweeper can go as fast as 5 km/h.
The drive controls are based on a transmission gearbox with 5 forward speeds and 2 reverse speeds.
Versatility and readiness of workers to take on new challenges are appreciated today.
The same goes for a class sweeper; buying an optional plough can help to convert the tool into an efficient ploughing machine for quickly clearing snow from a sidewalk, a road, or a truck apron. The tool can be upgraded with an optional bin for the debris picked from the ground.
Hooh hooh-hah!
With snow blowers and sweepers, no winter is that bad!
