Snow blower repair shops are backed up as Minnesota is hit with snowstorm

Some snow blower repair shops are backed up in the Twin Cities as Minnesotans rush to prepare for the winter weather.

Cedar Small Engine Sales in Minneapolis makes big money on wintry days like this.

Customers are taking a trip to the store to repair an old snow blower or bring home a new one.

“I like the snow. I coach hockey and I’m a big fan of winter,” Burleigh Biel, customer, said.

But Biel isn’t a big fan of the clean-up.

“I don’t always love the removal portion of it,” he said.

Biel dug out his snow blower to battle the snow, but it was tapped out.

So he spent his Tuesday afternoon searching for a new one to bring home.

Micheal Scott, Cedar Small Engine Sales mechanic, kept tools in hand as the shop stayed buried in business.

“When you hit the snowfall, then you get the person that just wants to come in that day and wants it done,” Scott said. “We’re about a month and half behind.”

He said a common issue is owners are leaving gas in their snow blower too long and it damages the equipment.

“If you leave the old fuel in there, basically that’s going to gum up your carburetor and it will not run,” Scott said.

Molly Montana, customer, had to wait in line to get her snow blower fixed.

“He gave me some tips to make sure that I don’t have to come back,” she said. “I’m just dropping it off and I meant to bring it in a couple months ago.”

Montana may have to worry about her driveway, but MNDOT said the roads are in good hands.

“We have 200 plows in the metro and 400 drivers that keeps our plows on the roads 24 hours a day,” Anne Meyer, MNDOT spokesperson, said.

MNDOT calls this winter storm “challenging” because the snow is coming down faster than they can clear it.

“Nothing is instantaneous when we’re dealing with Mother Nature’s wrath as we are now,” Meyer said.

But some say finding the bright side of winter woes is in the DNA of Minnesotans.

“You’ve got to embrace it or it’s going to a long winter for you each year,” Biel said.

Experts encourage snow blower owners to use fuel without ethanol and to make sure to continue off-season maintenance so the blower is ready to use in the winter.