Thursday, January 6, 2011

Troy-Bilt Storm 3090 XP Snow Thrower Review


Christmas came early when Troy-Bilt offered us the opportunity to host a snow-thrower giveaway here, and receive a free snow thrower in exchange for a review of our freebie. Ramble On Rose was the lucky winner of the giveaway, and you can read her review of her machine here.

The Troy-Bilt Storm 3090 XP is one big, honkin' snow thrower! Somewhat larger than our old one (which was passed down to my oldest daughter and her husband, who REALLY needed one in their new home with their large horseshoe driveway,) both the Lawn Man and I have each had an opportunity to use it once so far this season.

To be frank I was a bit intimidated by the size and features of the snow thrower. Its operation appeared to be somewhat more complicated than our older snow thrower. But I took my time reading the manual and the quick-start guide, and it was actually much easier to operate than it looked. Features like power steering, one-hand operation, and the joystick chute control make handling this large machine a piece of cake even for me. Since my work is seasonal and I'm off in winter, I like to take care of the snow so the Lawn Man can just come home and relax after his long work day.

The first time out, I took my time with the Storm 3090 XP as I familiarized myself with its operation and features. Since I used the machine in the morning when the sun was blazing, I didn't need the headlights. I'm sure they'll come in handy in the future though. Although this machine is very heavy, the automated features like power steering and turning, and six-speed forward, two-speed reverse self-propelled motion make it surprisingly easy to handle. Although I tested it on a fairly light (3") snowfall, this machine is very powerful. With its wide augers and the powerful way it throws the snow out of the chute, I'm confident it will handle a much heavier, wetter snowfall with ease.

The feature I love most of all on this machine is the hand warmers! Even with thick, warm, waterproof gloves, my hands were almost always very cold, and even painfully so with the old snow thrower by the time the driveway and walks were cleared. Not so with our new snow thrower! Of course I still wore gloves, but the heated hand grips are a wonderful addition to this machine. Even after just one use, I can't imagine ever owning another snow thrower that doesn't have this feature.

The sidewalk in front of our house is old, and somewhat uneven. I had problems with the snow thrower 'jumping' when it hit an uneven spot in the walk. Referring back to the manual, the problem seems to be with the skid shoes, which fortunately are adjustable to accommodate uneven surfaces. It may take a bit of experimenting to get them in the right position so the snow thrower will operate smoothly over the sidewalk.

The Troy-Bilt Storm 3090 XP is a well-built, sturdy, large, powerful, yet easy-to-handle snow thrower, with lots of excellent easy-to-use, well-designed features, and one I would highly recommend for anyone looking for a snow thrower of this size.

15 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great snow thrower, one that you can use. We have one that is too big for me to handle (kept it from our other house) and no hand warmers.

    Eileen

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  2. Thanks for the link love! I really hope Tech Support tries out those hand warmers! It's a great snow thrower!

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  3. In winter, handwarmers should be standard equipment in everything. ;^)

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  4. It looks handy enough for any household and can just park/store it at any corner when not in used later. The features that this thrower has sounds good.

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  5. wow! That's some machine...and hand warmers to boot. Does it turn easily? Balisha

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  6. It really is Eileen.

    Glad Tech Support is enjoying the snow thrower Rose! The hand warmers are fantastic!

    Capital idea Helen!

    Yep - we found a good spot in the garage where it fits just fine Stephanie.

    You're lucky you never have to worry about snow throwers! :)

    It does turn easily Balisha. It has a power turning lever on each of the hand grips - one for left turns, one for right. It was fun trying that feature out for the first time!

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  7. That does look like one big machine! I bet it makes short work of clearing your driveway. But if I were buying one, the heated handwarmers would clinch the deal for me. Let's just hope you don't have to use it too often this winter, Linda.

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  8. Linda, I hope I never need one in Nashville~although a nice bit of snow to cover my garden all winter would be appreciated! May you have just the right amount of snow in your garden this winter. gail

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  9. Anonymous11:34 PM

    Are you sure you didn't accidentally post a picture of an SUV? That thing is HUGE!

    It looks cool, but I'd probably be intimidated by it too. I'm kinda floored by the idea that it has headlights and a hand warmer. That's pretty cool.

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  10. Rose, I used to call our old one a big honkin' snow blower - didn't even know they made 'em bigger than that! It does work fast with that wide front end. The hand warmers are the BEST!

    I hope you don't need one there too Gail! The winter's still young, but so far I think we're somewhat behind in snowfall compared to the last couple of years. There's a light dusting out there that's been around for a few days, but I think we're in for more this week.

    LOL MBT! All it needs is a seat and we could made it a rider. It actually does have a plastic 'cab' accessory too to keep the wind (and snow) off the operator. It's definitely huge - biggest one I've seen.

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  11. If the snow ever gets deep enough here to need one of these, we'll just pack up a move further south. Meg already complains too much about the noise leaf blowers make. Difference is I know I can out rake by hand any standard leaf blower, but no way I can out shovel a snow blower.

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  12. I used my new snow thrower earlier this week and agree with your overall assessment. I did raise the skid shoes as high as they would go, because I was concerned about scratching the concrete with them. It still left big scratches in the concrete. Did you notice any scratching on your concrete?

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  13. Moving further south is an appealing option this time of year Randy.

    I'm not thrilled with the noise either, or the gas, but it beats the alternative. If it's not too deep I'll shovel it, as long as the tendinitis isn't acting up.

    Oooh, ouch Carol! So sorry about the scratches. I did notice scratches on the blacktop drive - just yesterday in fact. Hmmm. . . think I'll contact Troy-Bilt about it and report back with their suggestions to remedy this problem.

    I've used ours twice now. I was more accustomed to the controls so it was even faster and easier to use the second time.

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  14. Wow Linda, lucky you! I'd love a fancy snow blower with headlights and hand warmers, then it would be easy to blow out the driveway even if it's dark out. It would have come in very handy last weekend as a matter of fact...

    My 14 year old snow blower doesn't have any fancy features, but I couldn't have such a long driveway living so far up north without one.

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  15. Those hand warmers would definitely come in handy in frigid Wisconsin Cinj!

    I'm glad your teenaged snow blower is helping you stay dug out!

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