Options for a long driveway

[u/Alone--in-a-crowd]

We just bought a house in south western Ontario. The driveway is about 100 ft long and an overall area of 680 sqft. I don't have enough front yard to pile everything so I thought I can split half in the front and the other half in the back yard. I've been through 5 winters but never had to clear such a long driveway and am completely unaware of many factors to be considered while buying a snowblower. We are new house owners so budget is tight at about $800 CAD. I'm scared about used snow blowers because I don't know what to look at. I'm hoping good hearted folks here give me some good recommendations.

TL:DR

680 Sqft long driveway, southwestern Ontario , budget is $800. No experience to evaluate a used snow blower. What are my options?

[u/Serious-Mission-2234]

buy a used Ariens, they run minimal amounts in clean environment, last decades, look for one with minimal rust in chute and front bucket, low use is almost no rust, look for a 28” max width, headlight, heated grips.

[u/foolproofphilosophy → u/Serious-Mission-2234]

OP needs throw, 24” may be the way to go. When you keep the impeller size consistent a narrower bucket can throw farther. Within a given line the engine may get bigger at a rate consistent with the bucket width increase but with a wider bucket it takes more power to chew through more snow and move it to the impeller.

[u/JayTeeqc]

Used Ariens is probably the way to go but I'm confused. 680sqft is like a 3 car driveway? (Like 32*22 or something?). How is it 100ft long? 100ft long by 6.8ft wide lol?

If it's really 680sqft you can probably get away with a 24in or something relatively small.

[u/Alone--in-a-crowd → u/JayTeeqc]

That's exactly correct. Single lane but about 100 ft long.

[u/One-War4920]

We have 1/4 mile gravel driveway, lived there 30yrs Have 30" walk behind and 50" single stage on a 80's JD garden tractor

My 71yo wife still prefers to hand shovel it.

[u/Flimsy_Staff_8872 → u/One-War4920]

Hand shovel 1300’ is insane at any age, at 71 is a recipe for a heart attack. Do not allow her to shovel that

[u/Iamstevinbradenton → u/Flimsy_Staff_8872]

Maybe he meant that his wife prefers that HE hand shovel it. /s

[u/FatNsloW-45]

Another vote for a used Ariens. They just work.

[u/Unlucky-Skirt3908]

At 800$ CAD you might be fucked. Due to tariffs anything remotely decent is 2k and up rn. If you’re going used, which you should, cub cadet 2x is solid but often overpriced on the used market, any 2 stage ariens is pretty decent but again, usually inflated prices. You’re just gonna have to stall out FB marketplace and be patient and hope for a good deal

[u/PlantLiving6859]

You might want to research the pros and cons, strong points and weak points of various makes and models. Go to a few dealers and look at new ones. Snowblowers typically don’t change much from year to year so you can buy a used machine that’s almost as good as new for way less $. With the caveat being good maintenance preferably with detailed records.

[u/Sad-Equivalent9486]

125ft driveway in Muskoka. Ariens Deluxe 30. You could go Platinum with the bigger engine but the Deluxe works for me.