Compared to residential use, commercial snow removal is another ballgame entirely, and in deep snow country, bigger is better. When removing snow is your livelihood, you need to get the job done well and fast. For commercial users, most snow is moved by sweepers and backpack blowers.
Stihl BR 700
Backpack Blowers
The most common item by far for commercial buyers is the Stihl backpack blower. With the Calgary climate we get a lot of the light fluffy snow, and moving air seems to be the best and quickest method for removal. The vast majority we sell are gas powered and they’re great for snowfalls up to about an inch, besides being useful year-round.
Ariens Platinum 30 SHO
Snowthrowers
Toro single-stage snowblowers have great flexibility for residential use, and leave a nice, clean finish. However, you probably wouldn’t want to use one to clear a parking lot. If you have a large volume of drifting snow to move fast, and a clean finish is of secondary importance, an Ariens two-stage snowthrower can do the job. These can deal with heavier snow, slush, ice and drifts by employing a steel auger in combination with a fan, breaking up a greater volume of snow and ejecting it farther. These machines are popular with commercial operators and acreage owners. Snowthrowers are designed to be bigger, stronger, to handle deeper snow and to throw farther, but they are not designed to leave a clean finish. Typically the metal auger leaves an eighth of an inch or so behind.
Gravely Power Brush 36
Sweepers
For a fast, clean finish, a Gravely sweeper is the way to go. These machines employ a rotary brush core and are ideal for clearing 1–3 inches of snow leaving a clean finish. They do falter with wet, heavy snow, but the vast majority of sidewalk work is done quite handily with these sweepers. Sometimes in extreme conditions you’ll do well to use a sweeper in conjunction with larger snow removal equipment. Most sweepers we sell are of the walk-behind variety, but if you’re clearing snow for a shopping mall, you might opt for a big Ventrac sweeper with an enclosed cab.
One common maintenance issue with sweepers is uneven wear on the brush core due to overuse of a single direction. This causes the brush to “cone”, making it difficult to employ the other direction, and drastically reducing the life of the brush. It’s very important to regularly alternate the brush’s direction to prevent this and maximize the useful life of the brush core.
What We Wish You Knew
There are a lot of bigger stores that don’t service what they sell. We get plenty of service calls for bargain-basement gear bought at these places, equipment that often has no channel for obtaining parts. Every brand we sell has an excellent parts channel and warranty support: Stihl blowers, Toro single stage snowblowers, Ariens two-stage snowthrowers, Gravely and Ventrac sweepers, and we service them all.
If you have questions, drop by Arn’s and have a chat with Brian, Jeff, or any of our other sales and service associates. They really know their stuff!