SAH Ingersoll Rand 11.8 cfm gas Air Compressor

The volume of snow produced depends on many variables. The two largest contributors however are the water volume and weather conditions. The only one you can control though is the volume of water you are pushing through your snowmaker. The higher the flow (GPM – gallons per minute) of your pressure washer the more snow you will make. With that in mind the SG4 works with pressure washers rated from 1.3gpm to 2.1gpm. The SG6 works with pressure washers rated from 1.3-2.5gpm and the SG7 is fully adjustable from 1.3gpm to 8.0gpm. Under good snowmaking weather conditions the SG4 combined with a 2.1gpm pressure washer can produce up to 60 cubic feet per hour, the SG6 with a 2.5gpm pump will make up to 80 cubic feet per hour and the SG7 with a 7.5gpm pump will make up to 225 cubic feet per hour. The best example we can give on how much snow can be made comes from photos our customers provided from past contests. Most entries show the result of one night of snowmaking. Buying Viewing the quick compare of the available SAH packages, you can evaluate which snowmaker and pump combination best suits your needs.

In order to make snow you need freezing weather conditions, there is no way around this. Click Here to view our snowmaking weather chart and weather tool to determine if snowmaking is possible where you live.

You will need a small, continuous duty, compressor for all three models. A compressor with the rating of 5.4CFM @ 90PSI will work with all our snowmakers. (See Compressor Ratings below) The SG4 works with pressure washers with a GPM (gallons per minute) rating of 1.3 to 2.1gpm. The SG6 works with pressure washers with a GPM (gallons per minute) rating of 1.3 to 2.5gpm. The SG7 is adjustable from 1.3 to 8.0gpm for high volume snow making. Click here for a quick compare.

Absolutely! Click here to watch our demonstration video to see how easy it is to set up a SAH™ snowmaking system.

Yes! We have several SNOWatHOME™ dealers located across the country and in Germany. You can find them here or on the dealer locator link located at the bottom of every page.

Because the electric pumps are much quieter than the gas pumps, most customers want to purchase the electric option. However, many people don’t have a 220V power supply available where they would like to hook up their pump. To add one is as simple as a quick phone to your local electrician and have him perform the wiring for you. This is a relatively easy task and should run between $100-$150. A cost most will find to be nominal for the noise reduction benefit when running their snowmaker all night. If you are concerned that you will not be able to run your snowmaker far enough away from your house, consider adding a high pressure extension hose (available in 50′ and 100′ lengths).

If you are utilizing all electrical components for both the Pump and Air Compressor, the average cost is about $0.78 per hour. To break it down for you, both the 6gpm and 7.5gpm High Volume Pressure Washers require approximately 5.29kWh. The air compressor requires 1.8kWh. Figuring the average cost per kWh in the US as of January 2011 was 11 cents per kWh we have the following equation: (5.29kWh + 1.8kWh) x $0.11 = $0.78 per hour. If you know what your current electrical costs are you can plug it into the same equation for a more personal estimate.

Internal mix snow makers operate by mixing compressed air and water inside the plumbing of the snow maker. This design does work but it has its drawbacks. One of the issues with this design is maintaining the air and water pressure balance to keep an even flow of water coming out of the snowmaker. This issue causes a reduction in efficiency. Another problem is the likelihood of having water flow back into the airline and doing permanent damage to your air compressor. Internal mix free plan designs can be found here.

External mix snow makers mix air and water outside the body of the snowmaker. This design eliminates most of the problems associated with internal mixing. External mixing completely eliminates the issue of water entering the air line because they are not connected. External mixing also utilizes the water and air more efficiently (less energy). The SNOWatHOME™ line of snowmakers and E-Type free plan design are all external mix designs.

Many warm areas still experience a few nights of freezing temperatures. As we say here at SAH, “It only takes one cold night to make a big pile of snow at home.” We recommend using our SAH Weather Tool to determine how many nights you could have made snow in the past to see if it is possible to make snow in your area. Unfortunately any snow maker we talk about on the web site will not work when the temperature is above freezing. There are very few options when it comes to making real snow in warm weather. The only method we know of is basically a process of shaving ice. Click here to see a company that does this process.