The 49 can move a lot of snow but it is not so great in wet conditions. Not so much because the thrower is single-stage but because the front of the housing is tapered. This means that really heavy snow has a tendency to wedge and pack in front of the blower instead of going into the auger. All modern blowers have straight, thin sides to avoid this scenario. That said, I love the 49. It's super fun to blow with and much more maneuverable than my 47 dual-stage.

I added hydraulic chute rotation and a linear actuator for pitch adjustment. The chute itself is stock. Towards the end of the 49 thrower production a longer chute was introduced. That’s what you see here.

@@jd140qc3 is the longer chute better ? Love the scraper box. Did you make that just for snow ?

@@captainedc Yes, I like the longer chute better! The box blade was made using leftover wood from a garage shelving project. It was really only meant to be a prototype to make sure I was happy with the dimensions before I started welding. However, since I only use the box blade for snow it has held up fine for many seasons and making a metal version ended up on the backburner. I have a scraper blade from a 49 snowthrower mounted underneath.