Here in New England we often get loads of the frozen white stuff more commonly known as snow. If you also live in a region that sees snow during the winter time then you may either own or are considering purchasing a snow blower. But did you ever wonder how to keep the machine from digging up your gravel driveway or gouging your pavement? Enter the snow blower skid shoe.
Snow blower skid shoes are small pieces of metal or polyurethane located at the bottom forward most point of the machine. They are used to control how much or how little snow is left on the surface as the snow blower passes over it. They are easily adjusted by loosening the nuts or bolts that hold them in place.
Now that you know what skid shoes are, and what they do, how do you properly use them? Well it’s not too difficult but sometimes it takes a little trial and error to get things the way you want them. So let’s take a closer look at the important but often overlooked skid shoe.
What is the purpose of skid shoes on a snow thrower?
Many people don’t know what the skid shoes are or what they do. I’ve even heard people complain about how their snow blower performs not knowing they could have made it better with a simple adjustment of the shoes.
The shoes are meant to provide the point of contact between the machine and the ground. Without them the front housing of the snowblower would rest directly on your driveway which can be problematic.
Skid shoes are especially important on a gravel or stone driveway. If they are missing or not adjusted properly the machine will scrape into the ground and pick up rocks and just generally make a mess of things.
How do you change the height of the skid shoes?
Changing the height of your skid shoes is a relatively easy process especially with a simple trick that can save you some aggravation.
Here are the basic steps for adjusting your skid shoes:
- Loosen the nuts that hold the shoes onto the snow blower. There’s no need to completely remove the nuts or bolts.
- Slide the shoe either up or down to achieve the desired height.
- While holding the shoe in place, tighten the nuts down
- Check that it’s firmly in place and won’t move during use then move to the other side
TIP – To more easily align both shoes to the same height place the snowblower on a firm flat surface, preferably concrete or pavement. Next you need to find something to place underneath the front assembly that houses the auger. You’ll see at the bottom a “blade” of sorts similar to the bottom of a snowplow. Place your item of choice between this and the floor. Cardboard works great, just use however many thicknesses you need. Now you can adjust both shoes up or down til they touch the ground and lock them in place. You’ve now set your snowblower skid shoes evenly.
How do you know how high to set your skid shoes?
As you can see the process to adjust the shoes on your machine is pretty straightforward and can be accomplished with common household tools. But you may still be wondering how you know what height to set them at.
Although some of this will be personal preference and you may even need to adjust them more than once to get them where you want them, there are some general guidelines you can follow.
Gravel
If you’re using your snow thrower on gravel surfaces you should lower your skid shoes (which sets the machine HIGHER) so that you aren’t digging into the dirt or picking up stones that can potentially damage your machine.
This is especially a problem during the first couple of snow falls when the ground is still likely not completely frozen and easily dug into. I like to set mine to leave just a little bit of snow on the driveway, which also leaves most of the rocks and dirt there as well.
Concrete and Asphalt
When snow blowing on a nice even hard surface such as concrete or asphalt you can afford to let the machine get closer to the surface. Some people even run their shoes all the way up and let the housing scrape their driveway clean.
There are downfalls to doing it that way too though. Most driveways and walkways will have at least some spots that stick up more than others, cracks for example or lines of sealant. In addition all that scraping can mark up the surface which might leave it looking less than nice in the springtime.
For these reasons I would recommend setting your shoes to keep the snow blower up off the ground just a bit, perhaps a single thickness of cardboard. It won’t leave much snow and it’ll save you from marking up your driveway.
But Won’t the skid shoes still mark up my pavement or concrete?
Ahh, that’s a great question. Honestly, yes they could. They’re much less likely to leave “scars” than if you let the whole bottom of the machine slide along your driveway though.
However, there is a solution for this as well. You can purchase replacement skid shoes that are a universal fit (one size fits most) and are also made of polyurethane. This material is much softer than the painted steel plates your machine came with.
Now you’re sure to keep your driveway free of nasty scrapes. These polyurethane shoes are also able to be flipped over so if one side gets worn out, you simply take them off and flip them and you’ve got a brand new edge to work with.
Proper setup makes for better snow removal
Taking the time to set up your machine properly will not only help you keep your driveway clear and looking nice but also potentially save you time and aggravation in the long run. I hope you found this article useful, now get out there and get your shoes set before the next snow storm.
