that makes sense...

I don't know if there's much else a testing lab can use to test a snowblower other than actual snow. Which is nigh impossible to do if you're reviewing blowers during the summer and fall. The only difference between the snow and sawdust is that snow is a bit more sticky.

@MiltyKiss: Win. :)

I hope those testers have damn good face masks. That's not good stuff to breathe for a living.

*sings*

Froooooosty the Partical Board Man...

It doesn't have that same ring to it.

@MrEvil: Couldn't the moisture of snow cause rusting, where sawdust couldn't test for such a scenario?

@MrEvil: And that whole part about sawdust being flammable.

@hellinmyeyes: I thought it was Inflammable, right?

@MrEvil:
Thoroughly ridiculous!
Sawdust doesn't get packed down.
The sawdust they use probably always has the same moisture content, while snow can be light & fluffy, as it was this morning in Chicago or heavy & wet as it was a couple of months ago.
And if it's wet, then the chute clogs up.
And if there's a strong wind, the snow gets a hard crust on top.

@MrEvil: damp sawdust is just as sticky.

@Greasy Thumb Guzik:
I dunno water down some sawdust and it should be able to emulate wet snow quite well. The wood fiber should be able to absorb quite a bit or water.

Frankly I find this quite ingenious.

@MrEvil:

Nobody said the sawdust had to be dry, did they?

Most snow I have been around does not move as easily as sawdust at all.

I have a snow blower and I hate it, the damn thing it very difficult to push and really only works well in 4 inches or less snow. In the amount of time I'll usually spend getting the snow blower out and ready to use, I could have just shoveled the damn driveway instead.

@pb5000: Would you go so far as to say your snow blower blows?

@AlteredBeast: No, it doesn't blow, which is why it blows.

Wouldn't it make more sense if it were wet sawdust instead of dry?

@geekgrrl77: Wet sawdust absorbes water, and becomes mushy...more like oatmeal than snow.

@floraposte: It sucks almost as much as my vacuum, boom [www.instantrimshot.com]

@Greasy Thumb Guzik: Sadly, you are wrong. I have a sawdust pit in my yard that we use for our horses's bedding. It does develop crust when it gets cold and a little wet, when wet, it's HEAVIER than real snow as snow is just water, and wet sawdust is sawdust and water. Our pit/enclosure is larger than the truck that delivers it, as it compacts in the bed of the truck, and expands as it falls out.

That would explain why I saw a snowblower freeze up in Vermont. Another analog: Training for bobsled runs on concrete in Jamaica.

@AlteredBeast:

How 'bout:

Particle board man, particle board man,
Doin the things particle board can,
What's he like? It's not important,
Particle board man . . .

(Accordion solo)

etc.

This news blows.

So... blowing clouds of sawdust around... isn't this a slight fire hazard?

Hose that stuff down with a tad bit o' water, and, you have a pretty decent analog for snow...albeit, the smell would be a tad different... ;-)

@AlteredBeast: I am pretty sure you can make fluffy moist saw dust. If you soak it, it will be mush, but a light mist of water and keep it aerated, it should be okay.

@failurate: Sawdust absorbs moisture pretty quickly, and gets sticky and heavy fast. Even if left fluffy somehow, it may get mushed up in the blower, causing problems, that snow wouldn't cause.

@pb5000: I got a snow blower for Christmas, it's fantastic. 6 inches of snow would usually take me a couple of hours or more to clear, now I can buzz through it in around 30 minutes.
Moving a couple of tons or so of snow with a shovel is miserable work.

@YourTechSupport: Inflammable means flammable? What a country!

Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?

Don't eat yellow sawdust, either.

Snow doesnt start on fire when your snowblower jams...

At work today they had me use a leaf blower to clear snow off of sidewalks. Worked just fine on the powder snow we got today.

That looks like the pile of skin I have been saving since I started using the pedegg.

@kc2idf: Win.

Don't they know you test all snow stuff at Michigan Tech?

[www.mtukrc.org]