The part of a snow blower that cuts into snow and lifts it up is called an auger. It rotates constantly with its curved blades that are fitted on to its drum-shaped surface. Some snow blowers will actually propel forward when they get in contact with snow to ease the amount of work required. Some snow blowers still need to be pushed to move on ahead.

The snow that is loosened up and picked up by the snow blower is directed away from the path by the discharge chute. This chute is operated by rotating a crankshaft. A small, bladed wheel is fitted behind the auger (see above) to send the loosened snow into the discharge tube.

Snow blowers that use only an auger to collect and discharge snow are known as single stage snow blowers/throwers. Two (Or Double) stage snow blowers have both auger and impeller.

The power rating (Usually in HP) of the engine that a snow blower has gives a good indication of the kind of performance you can expect.

There are many pros and cons of Gas vs. Electric for a snow blower. The obvious advantages of electric is that it is much quieter, and you do not have to worry about gas and other related supplies.

There are however a few restrictions on using an electric snow blower. Of course, you are limited by the reach of the power cord. Gas powered snow blowers are generally much more powerful machines, but come at the price of being more heavy and tough to lug around. Once on the drive way however, a Gas blower moves with breeze due to the mechanics of it.

Gas powered blowers also handle wet snow more efficiently then an electric one. In summary, it depends on what you need and how much snow you are needing to remove on a regular basis.

Whatever type of snow blower you are buying, you want to look for these common attributes:

* Look for a comfortable height at the handles. Try out the handles, controls and grips and see if it would suit your gloved hand.

* Check the weight of the snow blower, especially if you know you will have to lug it across large distances or even flights of stairs

* Check for added features which can help making your clearing task easy and more efficient. (Drift cutter kits, chains that reduce wheel spinning, shear and locking pins, etc)