think I’m going to be needing a new one soon.
seems like I see a lot of plastic ones.
are these any good?
bobl Volo, non valeo
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Replies
Plastic is nice and light, but if you've got a gravel driveway, or if you want it to last, then a metal strip across the leading edge is important.
Scott.
I find the metal strip on the leading edge can damage wood decks or roofs. Plastic lasts just fine, tho I do mostly lift-type shoveling, not scrapeing on a concrete drive.
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>>>tho I do mostly lift-type shoveling, not scrapeing on a concrete drive.Good point. With my 1,500 ft driveway, I'm mostly shoving snow off to the side. It would kill me to lift all that.Scott.
Yeah, the better plastic ones are good for general use -- more durable than the earlier aluminum shovels and lighter, plus the snow doesn't stick to them. A solid steel push shovel is best for clearing relatively small accumulations (under 5 inches) on a large, smooth surface. An ice scraper (like a garden hoe but with the blade pointing straight out) is the only way to go for large amounts of ice.Sometimes for really heavy, wet snow a scoop shovel (eg, grain scoop) works better than a snow shovel, due to the smaller size.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
I stick with an alum. grain scoop for snow. If it gets compacted or i get ice, i use a long handled square nose steel garden shovel. I can get under the ice with it or turn it around and chip with it. I don't get too hung up on worrying about beating up the edge.
Plastic ones are nice and light. If you keep up on it they work fine. Sometimes I don't wait for it to stop snowing. I shovel twice.
I also just got one with a metal wear strip. Try to find on that has a straight metal piece.
I also have a flagstone walkway with all the irregularities of the flagstone. A shovel with a metal edge would catch on every little edge and scar up the stone. So the plastic one with no metal strip works for that. that would be the same for anything you shovel that you don't want nicked up by the metal.
Both of them were inexpensive ones.
Did ya see this one?
I covet one.
http://www.wovel.com/
That looks cool. I have been using one of these for years: http://silverbear.biz/?gclid=CI6zwN-l6JcCFQEpGgodvyWzDA.
I can't believe that is good in heavy snow.
Plastic is a fine snow shovel and like walter said it depends on the weight of the snow.
On a different note. We have had 40" of snow this year, thank God for snow blowers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How come in the "dump it" picture there are wheels on the side of the scoop?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Mine doesn't have wheels. That picture was actually the first I have seen of one with wheels. You dump them by jerking the thing back, leaving the snow. They work great in heavy snow and excel at moving things like huge chunks of snowbank that would be backbreakers with a conventional shovel but can just be slid away in giant blocks with the scoop. As long as you have a dumping area. They are very common in these parts, and have been for years, though it seems like everyone except me has a snowblower these days.
Those wheels are a $15 option. Probably a good idea for a lot of layouts, since you can't make a high pile with that thing. You've got to spread it out, and that means traveling further.AitchKay
It's ridiculous of me to buy a snow shovel like that -- we get serious snow so rarely. But, alas, I covet.
I'd be glad to have you come up and try mine out. I've got a driveway that you can try it out on:)
Nice thing about plastic ones is that snow doesn't stick to it. I remember how metal got snow froze to the surface and it got heavier and heavier, or you had to beat the snow loose with each throw.
Watch out for handles. Some have finger jointed dowels! I found out the hard way, trying to lift a full shovel. A guy can hurt himself that way! No big deal, just went to the shop and grabbed a fir closet rod to replace it with, but when you buy it, you expect it to work.
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Spray it with PAM cooking spray.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
or silicone or armoural
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'll let you and riversong have a debate about amoural, LOL.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
It depends on the type of snow you're moving.
Light snow with little moisture content moves easily with most any shovel.
The wetter and heavier it gets makes the shovel choice harder. When its heavy I like a grain scoop of alum. or plastic with a D handle so you can get up close for the lift
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I've been using an old grain scoop for years, but seems like the handle gets shorter every year.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
And thats a good thing , isn't it ?
I'm not sure. The ground seems to be getting further away too.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
Only problem I have with a 20 year old grain scoop are the half moons worn into the corners of the blade. Anybody out there with a 20 year old plastic snow shovel (who doesn't live in the south) let me know how its doing. BTW, the grain scoop also sees duty on the gravel drive that washes out in big storms and moving piles of landscape rock and many piles of sand. About the only thing my grain scoop hasn't moved is grain. On top of that, its the perfect style if you are of a mind to stop shoveling and do a little shovel racing.
20-year-old plastic snow shovels don't exist (at least not any more), but the better units produced in the past 5-10 years are quite durable -- there's been a significant improvement in quality. And I'd bet that the plastic shovels wear no faster than aluminum ones.I do use a grain scoop sometimes when the snowplow berm is especially nasty, but it'd be a royal pain in the arse to use it for the driveway.Different tools for different conditions.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
Or to paraphrase Sly Stone,"Dif'rent Tools, for Dif'rent Fools!"Aitchkay
Don't get hooked on the ergonomic, bent handle shovels. I have one and hate it. When you throw the lighter snow out of the bucket, it doesn't want to come out all of the way. I leave a dusting of snow with every throw.
My next shovel is going to be a pusher, like a bull dozer on a handle.
Depends on your snow.
There are a multitude of snow shovel designs, and each has it's advantages. If your snow tends to be light and fluffy, one of those big, deep, plastic shovels will work great.
If your snow tends to be wet, you will want a shovel that almost looks like a flat plate.
If your footprints turn instantly to ice, you might have need for a heavy-duty, all steel 'transfer' shovel and a proper ice chipper / scraper.
Finally, if the layer of snow near the pavement tends to form a layer of ice, you will need to break this up before you scoop it off. Again, a propper chipper is called for.
thanks everyoneI'll most likely get one with a metal strip
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter WFR
"But when you're a kibbutzer and have no responsibility to decide the facts and apply the law, you can reach any conclusion you want because it doesn't matter." SHG
I've got a few different ones:
I use both plastic and aluminum grain scoops, plastic for the painted wood front porch.
Steel, and steel-edged plastic, for the sidewalk.
And yeah, definitely one of those straightened-out hoes for chopping and scraping ice.
A plastic kids shovel with the classic, flat, snow-shovel shape, is great for sliding snow under the bottom of a porch rail, where you've got 4" or less of clearance -- shove a load through, and pull it back quick to dump that load in the flowerbed. Sure beats heaving it over the top rail!
Aitchkay
I use the kid's snow shovel for moving cellulose insulation in the attic.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
And then there's always the fundamentalist religious approach --"I let God clear my sidewalk."
He either get's kinda backed up, or He doesn't have that great a work ethic, but He almost always gets it cleared by June 1st.
Good enough for me...
AitchKay
Sooo... god giveth and God taketh away?
Sorry for waxing religous. I just got back from BSF. (bible study fellowship) ;^)
Plastic is great in light snow, but breaks if you have to lever up frozen crust left after compaction by footprints or tire treads.
Steel is strong but heavy and snow will stick. The snow sticking problem can be solved by heating the blade and saturating it with Paraffin wax.
Aluminum is a great compromise and also benefits from waxing.
"benefits from waxing."
There are a lot of things that could use a good waxing this time of the year.
Are you talking about getting your bishop buffed?Aitchkay
View Image
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Yep, like I said in 114564.30!AitchKay
I uesd the cryptic version...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
are you aware of how dangerous snow shovels are?
Many people die every year shoveling snow (most because of heart attacks and a few because of more bizare occurances).
I think snow shovels are even more dangerous than golf clubs.
But those of us who are members of the NSA (National Shovelers Association) will stand up for the rights of snow shovel owners all across this land.
you'll only get my snow shovel when you pry it out of my cold dead hands!;)
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Yeh well I suppose there is a simlar (club?) for golf clubs? A golf club club as it were?
I prefer the one with the son attached to it
I find the maintenance of those to be very expensive.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
Yeah, their optional wheels are more than a fifteen dollar upgrade
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I have seen how they work. I just can't get my head around how they are easier than a shovel.
I've done far more than my share of shoveling. Or maybe I should say, "more than my share of MOVING snow."
1. You gotta get rid of it before some buffoon drives or walks on it. Those bozos that believe one should pack it all down with a SUV, driven repeatedly over it, does not deserve ANY form of help.
2. One should avoid at all costs, lifting the snow. Waste of movements and unnecessary labor.
3. Snow should be pushed, not lifted. A rolled steel blade shaped like a snowplow blade, should be the tool of desire. Steel, not Al or plastic. With a second steel, preferrably carbide, strip along it's back near the snow end.
4. Long handles are for kids. The ideal snow shovel has a D handle, a bit longer than a coal shovel. The handle itself must be firmly secured to the blade via rivets or a through bolt. I hate shovels that spin on it's handle. Especially, when one is in the situation where he has to lift rather than push.
5. The motions employed while moving snow need to mimic a snowplow. Meaning the blade should be at a 5 to 10 degree angle to the path being shoveled, thus allowing the snow to be pushed forward and off to one side in the same motion.
6. One moves from side to side - perpendicular - to one's drive. Do not run it's length. In a good effort, one simply pushes his blade (while standing straight up, not bent over) in repetative movements, going from one side to the other. Right at the edge of the drive, a bit more of a push, coupled with a bit of lift, will throw the snow free of the work area. One spins around and walks to the other side of the drive, pushing the next stripe to the other side with the same pushing/lift at the end.
7. It's important to have a big boulder or ceement block close by to strike the edge of the shovel against to remove any adhereing snow. Be sure this strikeing does not cause a dog ear to the corner of the blade. If so, get your small sledge to beat it back into a flat shape.
Plastic shovels are for gurls and/or kids.
Good, steel ones with the D handle are rare. When you see one, get it.
Of course, when you get above 6", Fine Homeowners get out their 2 stage Toro Blowers.
The big issue: Remove the snow before some clown drives on it.
Sorry, but sometimes you gotta lift the snow. And sometimes you gotta throw it. If all you do is push it to the edge of the drive pretty soon your drive is only five feet wide.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
With suficient speed and the right shovel, lifting is minimized. (But never eliminated.) I always go to the edge of the drive.
Maybe we outta have a snow shoveling/moving contest.
I'll bet my drive and walks are prettier following a snowfall than anyone else's!
It will take a picture to prove, however.
When ever we get another dumper out here in Denver, I'll post a picture.
Even with the snow blower, it's a struggle to keep the driveway from closing in some winters. Note that we don't always get nice dry, fluffy snow here, but can get just about any type from slush to light powder, often in the same 24-hour period.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
That's what wimmen are for.
If you're willing to risk having one of the many heart attacks that always follow snow storms.
Or you simply buy a 4x4 and drive over it.
I have a deal with Mother nature.. any snow left after Memorial day I'll shovel. Right up to labor day. After that she's left to her own devices.. I suppose in my driveway well sheltered from southern sun I've got an inch packed down. Out of the several feet we've had fall thus far.
Since my driveway isn't very smooth since I ran my 30,000 pound telehandler on it for nearly 7 years and the bricks are somewhat rutted shoveling it would be a real bear. It's 25 feet wide and 120 feet long (contains almost 15,000 bricks) so shoveling it would be a real bear of a task..
There should be laws against people having timber frames and lousey driveways.
Be ashamed.
please go look at the pictures 85891.1 (the driveway is a little further in than the first picture ) of my home and tell me my driveway is lousy!
I love the look, texture and recyled (free) nature of those bricks with a history dating all the way back to 1906. If that means my driveway has some charcter, so what!
I want character rather than plain blandness of asphault or concrete. I spent one whole summer on my hands and knees laying those brick and when I finished the driveway while flat wasn't easily shoveled..
Driving over it during the spring thaw for 7 years with a 30,000 pound telehandler did make some ruts but the nature of freeze thaw cycles reduces those ruts more every year..
I hate bland! featureless driveways!
You're the one whom said it wasn't nice:
"Since my driveway isn't very smooth since I ran my 30,000 pound telehandler on it for nearly 7 years and the bricks are somewhat rutted..."
Time to get your SIL out there for some repairs?
G
As I said the natural freeze thaw cycles will eventually bring the driveway back level. even once it does I won't shovel snow..
I did more than my share in my youth and now with my heart I'm not going to risk death to remove something that mother nature will remove anyway..
I wish I could say the same thing. Unfortunately, I am afflicted by WIFE fulltime and SNOW only occasionally. If I could get rid of WIFE, I could willingly accept SNOW without shoveling. But, alas, WIFE removal is much more expensive than SNOW removal and, at times, death from shoveling doesn't seem like such a bad deal!
What? Wife doesn't know how to work a shovel??
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
Now we know who has control in your house!
Buy wife a 4x4 <grin>
Gee, you guys spent your New Years Eve discussing snow shovels? <double grin>. I guess it beats watching watching Brady Bunch re-runs. :) BTW, Happy New Year!!!!!!!
Edited 1/1/2009 12:16 pm by wood4rd
yeah, you're right, and come to think of it, they dont always work that well either
with all the purported "global warming" snow removal shouldn't be an issue...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
The irony of global warming is that winter storms will be worse! frankly if Global warming stopped winter from coming I'd be out there with spray cans doing everything possible to make Minnesota the next Miami beach..
This might not be what you had in mind but I'm sure it will move snow, the one I used would move shale quit well %-}
The loader I used for my driveway was a bit smaller.
-Paul
Might want to put rubber tracks on it!
Paved driveways are highly over rated :-)