We are in the midst of a nasty winter storm. Just before midnight, snow began falling as a fine mist. By 10 am we had about four inches on the ground as the misty snow changed to misty sleet and freezing rain. I went out to shovel. For about an hour I used a conventional snow shovel to clear the walkway to the house. Thanks no doubt to my recent weight training, my body seemed to tolerate the workload.
Using the same shovel I cleared the snow off our two cars and then cleared the snow from around my wife’s car in the driveway.
It was time for the Wovel. The Wovel, also called a Snow Wolf, is an ingenious contraption. An oversized shovel pan is mounted on a shaft. The shaft passes through an axle. A large wheel is mounted on the axle. The wheel is a sandwich of two wheels bolted together.
To move snow, you push the shovel pan into the snow and then push down on the cross bar at the user’s end of the shaft. The real advantage of this design is that instead of lifting and throwing the snow, you push down on the crossbar while stepping forward, casting the snow away. In addition to being ergonomically clever, it clears snow much faster than a conventional snow shovel.
Another advantage of the Wovel is transporting the snow. Instead of carrying a heavy shovel-full, you let the wheel bear the weight.
I admit that the Wovel looks weird but you can’t deny the physics of the thing. It appeals to the recumbent rider in me.
I made short work of the rest of the driveway. I cleared a spot on the street for our garbage cans. (Pick up is scheduled for tomorrow but that ain’t gonna happen.) I then cleared the street out to the point where the snowplow had passed. As I worked the continuing precipitation made the snow heavier and heavier.
The Wovel started to wobble. As I finished the area in front of our driveway, the Wovel’s plastic wheel started to disintegrate. Two metal bolts that hold the hub of the wheel together had fallen off. Now each time I turned the Wovel the right half of the wheel started to slide away to the side. I kept putting it back together but each successive shovelful of snow put more stress on the plastic blades that act as spokes of the wheel. After another ten minutes one of the blades broke. My Wovel was kaput.
The Wovel was made by a small Connecticut company that is apparently no longer in business. My online searches have all come up with “No Longer Available”. Even on Amazon. Bummer.
I continued clearing snow for another hour the old fashioned way. I am sore in places that I didn’t know I had.
My wife took the second shift, mostly clearing sleet and ice.
Our fingers are crossed that the power doesn’t go out.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 