As we’re heading into winter, much of what you’ll hear about related to lawn and yard tools involves putting them away for the winter. Every year, we drain the irrigation system, clean off the lawnmower, trimmer, and other tools, stabilize or drain the fuel, and put the winterized tools away until next spring.
There are some tools, though, that get as much—or even more—use during the winter as they do during the rest of the year. Blowers help with cleaning up the yard in late fall and clearing snow. Chainsaws and pole pruners also help with winter cleanup if there’s a winter storm. They’re also good for winter pruning, and you can use chainsaws for firewood. And if you do lose power because of a winter storm, a portable generator is a great tool to have on hand.
Blowers
Blowers are one of those lawn care tools you can use all year round to clean up around the yard. As we head toward winter, you’ll typically see them used as leaf blowers in the fall. Getting fallen leaves off the yard helps keep the lawn healthy in the winter. If you left the leaves, sunlight wouldn’t get to the grass and the leaves could trap moisture.
Blowers are also great for blowing dirt and debris off lawn furniture and sturdy lawn equipment before storage. Many have an optional gutter attachment so you can get those cleaned out before winter. Then, once winter comes, blowers are a good tool for removing snow.
If you’re not sure whether you’ll be using the blower during the winter or not, make sure you store it with stabilized fuel in the tank or use fuel that doesn’t contain Ethanol. That’ll keep fuel from going bad and damaging your blower if you don’t use it enough to use up the fuel within 30 days.
Chainsaws
Chainsaws are one of those tools that often see just as much use in the winter as during the warmer months. Depending on what you use the chainsaw for, you might even use it more in the winter for cutting firewood or trimming broken branches after a winter storm. You can also use chainsaws and pole pruners (which we’ll look at next) for winter pruning.
The type of chainsaw that will work best depends on how you want to use it. Battery-powered chainsaws are a great choice for many homeowners and on-the-go professionals who need tools for tree pruning and light firewood cutting. If you need more powerful saws or ones with much longer cutting bars for felling trees or cutting firewood, you’ll likely want a gasoline-powered saw.
Winter weather changes some things about how you use and maintain a chainsaw. Switch the winter/summer shutter if your saw has one. Also, check the owner’s manual to see if you should change to a thinner bar and chain oil for cold weather. As for other small engines, if you can’t use the fuel up within 30 days, make sure you use a fuel that doesn’t contain Ethanol or add a fuel stabilizer when you purchase the fuel.
Pole Saws
Pole saws, also called pole pruners, are often used in the winter for many of the same reasons chainsaws are. They’re useful for clearing storm damage, particularly if partly broken tree limbs haven’t yet fallen to the ground. It’s usually much safer to cut limbs while standing on the ground rather than climbing into the trees. For safety reasons, do not use a chainsaw or pole pruner while in a tree unless you are trained to do so; contact a professional arborist.
Pole pruners are also a great tool for winter pruning. An expert from Chicago Botanical Gardens says it’s best to prune most deciduous trees and shrubs in the winter. Winter pruning makes it easy to see what you’re cutting since leaves aren’t getting in the way of seeing the overall shape of the plant. To learn more, read our “Beginner’s Guide to Winter Pruning.”
When you’re looking at pole saws or pole pruners, those names can be used for hand-powered equipment such as Corona’s tree saws or power equipment. Both battery-powered and gasoline-powered pole pruners are available, such as the ones from Stihl and Echo.
Generators
Portable and standby backup generators are another piece of equipment often used during the winter. They provide power if you’re traveling, and they can act as a backup power source in the event of a winter power outage.
Here at Richardson Saw & Lawnmower, we recommend Honda generators. Honda provides a guide to make selecting the best generator easy. A portable generator isn’t powerful enough to run heat pumps if your entire home is heated with electricity (you’d need a standby generator for that). However, a portable generator can power space heaters and a variety of other equipment.
While we all hope for a winter without severe storms and ice, you just never know when something might happen to knock out power. When you’re choosing a power generator for backup power in the winter, make sure you get one with enough power to run all your essentials. To help with this choice, check out our article “How To Choose The Right Backup Power Generator For Your Home Or Business.”
Need Some New Tools?
If you need a blower, chainsaw, pole saw, or generator before winter, come visit us at Richardson Saw & Lawnmower. We carry trusted, high-quality brands including RedMax, STIHL, Echo, and Honda to meet all your winter equipment needs. You’re sure to find something that will be a good fit for your winter cleanup and cutting work, as well as a generator to power essentials in an emergency. You can browse our products online, or stop by if you have any questions or want to check out the blowers, chainsaws, pole pruners, and generators that we carry.
