We bought our Troy-Bilt sight-unseen through realtor negotiations between us and the owners of the property we were buying. Moving from warm, sunny, coastal Florida to the mountains of Pennsylvania we knew having a snow blower was a necessity - not only is our driveway over a 1,000 feet long, but it is also about 200 feet from where our driveway ends to where the front door on our cabin is. In other words, there is plenty of ground to cover in a snow storm here!!!

Buying a used Troy-Bilt was a great deal for us, having used it now into our third winter here. Normally retailing for 800/900 dollars, we bought ours for $300, and it really wasn't even that used, just 2 years old ~ it still had the electric starter cord in the original wrappings, the blades still shone, and the Troy-Bilt red was as red as red could be. We were ready for all that white stuff!!! lol

Now we really had not planned on using the Troy-Bilt to do the driveway, but when the Willy's plow froze to the ground, as well as the concrete block I had placed in front of a back tire ~ well . . . The Troy-Bilt was there to roar into action! And roar it did - it is very LOUD!!!

There is really nothing more peaceful than snow-blowing 1,000 feet of driveway ~ yes it was so loud you could not hear anything, and yes it did vibrate your arms numb after a while, and yes you finished up looking like the abominal snowman - but put all that aside and walking back and forth, back and forth, through all the whiteness, through the woods and silent beauty, it really was a peaceful chore. You want to have a turn! lol

Don't mind me, I do tend to ramble around a bit. :o)

The Troy-Bilt 6 horse-power snow-blower delivers the power. You have the choice of a manual pull handle start which requires little effort to pull the cord out, or an electric start option. The Troy-Bilt comes with a power cord where all you have to do is make sure it is plugged in to an outlet and you just push the start button~ Now that's easy. With either choice of start you do need to prime the engine by pushing the flexible rubberized primer "button" a couple of times to get the gasoline into the motor. As a safety feature the Troy-Bilt will not start unless in neutral, and it will never ever start if the blades will be in an engaged position at start-up.

The controls for snow-blowing and engine/wheel drive are on the Troy-Bilt's handles, right where you need them when doing a job. The Auger Drive control lever (what gets the snowblower blades/auger going) is on the right handlebar. Push the lever down and the auger begins to rotate - release the lever and the auger stops.

The Wheel Drive control lever is on the left handlebar. Holding this lever down will cause the wheels to turn, pulling the snowblower either forward or backward depending on what gear you have it in. It is safest to not have the lever engaged and to have the gear shift in neutral when starting your Troy-Bilt.

The Discharge Chute Control Rod is found below the left handlebar. There is a elongated knob on the hand for easy gripping. By turning the rod clockwise or counter-clockwise you will move the snow discharge chute from the left side to the right side ~ you can stop at any point inbetween. This comes in quite handy for controlling where you want the snow to blow - you can turn the rod while you are snowblowing. You want to blow the snow away from the pathway you are clearing and sometimes when snowblowing straightout in a driveway situation you may want to blow the snow straight out to the front of you - this will effectively move the snow forward as you go.

There is a discharge chute deflector cap that you can adjust the vertical angle that the snow comes out. On windy blowing days you want the angle lower to reduce the amount of snow being caught in the wind and blowing back into your face!

The Gear Shift sits low along a bar between the two handlebars. It is low enough and far enough in so that you will not be hitting the gear shifter with your knees as you walk along. You can move between reverse, neutral, low, medium and high speeds. At high speed you had better be ready to speed walk behind this blower as it is moving on down the line!! Medium speed is a nice brisk walk and low is good for deep or heavy snow or when you need more control in tight situations or where you will be making turns. The Gear Shift moves fluidly with only slight resistence as you move between gears.

There is little effort needed once you have the Troy-Bilt in gear -- it is a work horse and you have to keep up with it!~ It is quite heavy and awkward when manually turning around in the snow -- if you do not have the room to turn while it is in motion, then you can pivot it around into the direction you want to go.

The auger is fitted with shear bolts for protection of the snowblower augers. If you are snowblowing and hit a rock or other hard object that may break the auger blades the shear bolts will break before the auger will be damaged. I have never had my shear bolts break, but I do have an extra set of them just in case. If you are doing any work or clearing around the augers make sure the snowblower is completely off-- this could be a very dangerous piece of equipment if you forget to follow common sense safety rules.

The only problem we have had with this Troy-Bilt is the control lever cables (that go from handlebar control levers to the wheels for auger mechanism) froze up one winter when the snow was blowing wet and freezing. The one cable froze up in the "on" position (the wheels thanks goodness) and the other cable froze up in the "off" position -- a good thaw out and lubrication of the cable did the trick.

After using any snowblower remember to clean off any icing or packed snow (after you have turned it off!) ~ frozen snow and ice left packed in among the auger blades could prevent the auger from turning next time you need to use it. Also, ice and packed snow around the discharge chute bottom (where it swivels on it's base) can prevent you from being able to direct the snow properly.

The Troy-Bilt uses regular unleaded gasoline. Do not mix oil and gas for this machine. Use 4-cycle engine oil with a rating of SG or SF. Use SAE 10W or 0W30 for temperatures below 0 degrees, SAE 5W30 for temps between 0 and 32 degrees. SAE 10W30 is fine above 32 degrees.

We are into our 3rd winter here and I highly recommend the Troy-Bilt. If you have read my recent lawn mower review, then you already know what brand I'll be shopping for soon! The Troy-Bilt is quality made, very reliable, and you know it will do the job it was made for. Get a Troy-Bilt~ !!!

Recommended: Yes