Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - size of snowblower engine

Question: What size snowblower engine should I be looking for to take care of my driveway? I live in NOrthern NJ and have 3,000 sq feet of driveway parking lot to clear.

I just went to Sears, it being December, they had 20 lawnmovers on display and no snowblowers (snowblowers sold out)!

A Ariens 4HP Snow blower would do you just fine. A 8HP or 10HP is overkill for residential use!

My .02
I would say it depends on what your annual snowfall is, how wet the snow is, and average drift depth.
The one I use is an 8hp, I do my house the Mother in laws and her neighbors, when the snow is wet it will not throw it very far. I can also use a reduced throttle setting if the snow is not very deep or wet, but if we get dumped on I have extra power at wide open.
There were times when we got buried a 10hp was working hard to move the snow, a friend had a 10hp three stage.

You will pay more for more horsepower but it may be worth it.

I have a driveway that's about 80 foot long and have an older snow blower with a 5HP tecumseh engine. It's underpowered. With only a 5HP motor the blower boggs down on heavy wet snow and I can only take a partial cut when the snow is wet or deep. I've looked at new like sized blowers in the stores and they are mostly equipped with 8HP engines. Since my existing blower is an older 2 stage one I think the companies have wised up. I've threatened to repower my existing blower with a bigger engine, but just haven't got around to it yet. If you only have a smaller single stage blower, say about 18 inches wide, you can get by with a smaller engine, but those blowers usually have small 2 cycle engines anyway. I've had those types of blowers before and they work well for sidewalks but won't throw snow far enough to clear a driveway. With a larger blower I wouldn't go with anything smaller than an 8HP engine especially if you can get significant snow fall like we do here in Iowa. The only way I know of to completely eliminate the chances of snow is to have a good blower in excellent condition ready to go in the garage at a moments notice. I know this because we only get snow here when my blower is broke down for some reason.

I work as a mechanic in a power equipment shop and would advise you to go with the 8 HP unit on any Manufacture. The smaller Hp units just don't hold up! Sometimes it's overkill but when you need it it's priceless.:)

I was out at a store this evening that had some snow blowers on display and here is a brief size vs hp chart:

30in wide 10hp
26in wide 8hp
24in wide 5hp

For a small driveway or a sidewalk the 5hp would do OK. The problem with clearing a larger area is throwing the snow far enough so you don't have to move it twice. That's easy for a sidewalk, but not so easy when you have a wide driveway. You need HP to throw snow, the farther, the more HP. A strong stream of snow also won't blow back in your face, which isn't so nice when it's minus 20.