There are many snow blower accessories, from heated hand grips to tire chains, and each is designed to make operating a snow blower less difficult. Some of the snow blower accessories are easy to install and can typically be attached to the machine by the owner with a minimum of tools and expertise. Other types of snow blower accessories, such as headlights, are best left to the professional installer. Electric starters, snow cabs and some optional drive systems are also better left to a professional mechanic to put into place.
The typical snow blower is a very utilitarian machine to operate and can easily frustrate some operators. There are a number of snow blower accessories that can make using this device more appealing to some. One of the more comforting of all of the snow blower accessories is the heated hand grips. These grips allow the user to hold onto a warm surface and aid in the elimination of cold and stiff hands and fingers that can make it difficult to operate the snow blower. For some operators, the addition of the heated grips allows the snow blower to be used for much longer periods of time because there are no more cold hands making controlling the machine difficult or painful.
Tire chains are one of the snow blower accessories that aid in the ease of controlling the snow blower. Without chains, the operator is commonly pushing against the snow blower in an effort to make the machine dig into the snow. The inclusion of the chains on the tires creates improved traction and the drive system of the snow blower is usually able to power itself through great depths of snow cover. The chains also make operation on icy surfaces much easier as the snow blower does not simply slide around on the ice.
One of the more popular additions to the snow blower is the electric start conversion. This accessory allows the user to simply plug an extension cord onto the starter component and spin the engine until it starts. In extremely cold temperatures, a snow blower engine might require literally dozens of pulls on the pull rope to bring the cold engine to life. Cold temperatures make the engine oil very thick, which contributes to the difficultly of pulling the engine to start. Some snow blower accessories, such as the headlights and snow cab, make it easier to see where the machine is going by illuminating the area in sundown conditions as well as keeping the blowing snow out of the operator's face and eyes.