Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Troy-Bilt™ Storm 3090 XP Snow Thrower - A Review


One of the things I like best about living in Ohio is that we have snow. And one of the things I like least about living in Ohio is that we have snow. On the positive side of things, snow is pretty. And because it's rain in frozen form, it's good for growing things, perhaps even better than rain. It insulates the plants when the temperatures nose dive, then when it melts, it waters them.

But snow can create problems when it comes to transportation. Our home faces west to an open field and there's nothing to stop the snow as it blows in, except for our house. This means that we always have drifts right in front of our garage and most of the way out our driveway to the road.

Romie used to use a blade on the front of our lawn tractor to push the snow out of the way, but that put the snow in large compacted piles along the perimeter of the drive. I always cringed at what the weight of that heavy blob of snow was doing to the growing plants beneath it. And when another wind or snow storm came along, the snow sometimes would get blown back over the driveway.

Troy-Bilt™ to the rescue! The Storm 3090 XP Snow Thrower has so many great features that our snow removal has been taken to a new level. I would imagine that most snow throwers do just that - throw snow out of the way. The Storm 3090 does it with panache.

There's enough power (355cc OHV Troy-Bilt™ 4-cycle engine) to easily move heavy snow and the easily-adjustable chute lets you put it where you want it. We had a pretty large snow in December that allowed us to take the Storm on its maiden voyage and it performed handsomely.

I took a video of Romie as he got rid of the large drifts in our driveway. You'll notice he does some adjusting in the beginning, but remember, it was the first time for using it and there are always some adjustments to be made. Nothing major, just tweaking. When he was finished, he was happy with the performance and how easy it was to use. In fact, when I asked him if he could find anything wrong with it, his short and sweet answer was, "No, not really!"



Two luxury features that make using the Storm better than some snow throwers are the headlight and the heated hand grips. Many times the snow needs to be removed before going to work and it's always dark. That headlight helps a LOT! No explanation needed for why the heated hand grips are a plus.
 
Here's a list of its many great features:

Touch 'n Turn power steering provides the ultimate in maneuverability
Push-button electric start
Just One Hand operation - steer with one hand, freeing the other hand to adjust the chute direction without stopping
All-wheel drive
6 forward / 2 reverse speeds
30" clearing width
21" intake height
4-way joystick chute control - easily controls chute pitch and direction from the operator position
12" serrated steel auger
Deluxe adjustable and reversible skid shoes
In-dash headlight and reflective strips for safer operation in low light conditions
Standard heated hand grips
16" x 6.5" X-Trac snow tires
2-year limited warranty


You can read a complete description of the Storm 3090 XP on Troy-Bilt™'s website.

We're due to get 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow, so we'll likely put The Storm through its paces again. Maybe I'll even get out there and do the snow throwing. That is, if Romie will share the fun.


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The product or merchandise being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for testing and reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine, with no suggestions whatsoever by the manufacturer or distributor. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.

3 comments:

Farmer Fred said...

That's one product I hope I never have to review here in California! Sunscreens, yes. Snow blowers, no. Good job with it, enjoy the snow!

Kari Lønning said...

I have a 38 pound Toro snowblower. My sister has the same one. Hers starts and works wonderfully. Mine has trouble starting but when it does, it is a joy ... (It doesn't like to start when it's cold, so it's in the greenhouse as I write.)

It's started snowing hard in CT a little while ago. Enjoy your newish toy.

Donna said...

here in my neck of the woods where we get storms off the lake every few days, we like the Ariens...very similar and can it throw snow...lots of it too...my husband loves it so much he has been known to do others driveways...great post!!!

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