Compressors and Accessories Now Available!

If you haven't noticed, our website has changed a little bit. In addition we now have several air compressors and accessories available. All compressors ship via Ground Service (DHL,UPS,FEDEX) and not by freight. This saves you the hassle of arranging shipping with a large truck that often requires a lift gate at an additional charge.

For more information on the compressors or to see all of our air compressor accessories we offer check out the compressors page on our products page.

Stay tuned, we still have more home snowmaking products to bring you soon!

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

New Product Suggestions

We need your help! We want to hear what kind of products you'd like to see SnowStorm Snowmaking manufacture or carry. We have several projects currently underway to bring you even more home snowmaking options. Look for these new items to be available either later in the season or for next season! Your going to be impressed with what's in store!

The only way we can continue to improve is with your help. If you have any suggestions for items you would like to see us manufacture or carry please contact us with your suggestion! We will consider every suggestion and try our best to make it available for you.

You can email us your suggestion to contact@snowstormsnowmaking.com or by filling out the form on our Contact Us page on the website.

Let's hear your suggestions!

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Happy Holidays

On behalf of everyone at SnowStorm Snowmaking we would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

If you have been considering ordering a snowmaker for a holiday gift, it's still not too late to order. In stock orders will be shipped right up until the day before Christmas Eve. If you require next day delivery please contact us for a shipping quote.

Happy Holidays!

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Drought Reminder

The winter season is now upon us and many of us have started to make snow for the year. All of us at SnowStorm Snowmaking want to remind you that we encourage you to refrain from making snow if you live in a drought affected area. This is mainly in the Southeastern parts of the United States where rain lacked this summer.

In some areas the droughts are so bad that water restrictions are in place. If you are caught using water that is not deemed necessary (making snow) you could be fined for violating the water restriction. Check with your local government if you are unsure if your area is under a water restriction.

We know you want to make snow in your backyard this winter, but we ask you to consider saving water if you live in a drought affected area.

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Snowmaking Tip

Here is a tip for you if you are making snow with one of our new internal mix Veyron/Vector Snowmaker's or a snowmaker assembled from kits 2 and 4.

A common mistake people new to snowmaking make is to open the nucleation valve too wide. This is the valve that regulates how much water mixes with the compressed air. If you open it too much, you will be running your nucleation nozzle "rich". This simply means you are letting too much water mix with the compressed air. The result is extremely wet snow or ice.

You just barely need to crack open the nucleation valve. This means once water comes out with the air, stop opening the valve. You want to get more air coming out the nucleation nozzle than water. Always be sure to check up on your snowmaker so that both air and water are coming out of the nucleation nozzle. If no water comes out you will not make snow and may be evident that water is back flowing to your compressor (although it may just mean your air is overpowering your water and you need to open the nucleation valve more).

As a reminder to prevent water from back flowing to your compressor, install a check valve on your airline. These can be bought anywhere that sells plumbing fittings or on our Parts and Accessories page.

Good luck and remember if you ever need help when your making snow, feel free to email us!

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Holiday Orders

It's that time of year again. People are starting to do their holiday shopping for friends and family. Why not give the gift of snow this holiday season?

Whether your looking to buy a snowmaker as a gift or just use one to make snow around Christmas decorations, it is best to order your snowmaker early. In the winter months we get swamped with orders and even back orders. We generally have the back orders filled in a timely fashion, however we encourage you to order early if you want to get your snowmaker by Christmas. We have already begun to feel the rush of holiday orders and want to make sure we get your snowmaker to you by Christmas if you are giving it as a gift or want to ensure a white Christmas.

We will be shipping orders right until Christmas Eve and then begin shipping the day after Christmas. If you decide to order at the last minute, remember that Next Day Delivery is offered at a slightly higher cost. Please contact us for a quote if you wish to place an order with expedited shipping.

From all of us here at SnowStorm Snowmaking, have a safe and enjoyable holiday season! We look forward to helping you make real snow this winter!

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Videos now on Youtube

For those of you who have difficulty playing the videos on the website we now have the videos on Youtube as well. To view the videos on Youtube follow these steps:

1. Go to www.youtube.com
2. In the search box at the top of the page search for "snowstorm snowmaking"
3. The videos should all come up and just select which one you want to watch

Because the videos were not initially made for viewing on Youtube, the quality may be lower than what is on our site. We apologize for the inconvenience, but the videos still give you the chance to see the Veyron Snowmaker in action, and how much snow it made with a small pressure washer in marginal snowmaking weather in only 2.5 hours. Just imagine how much snow you can make with a larger pump, colder temperatures, and longer run!

As we said before keep checking back as we will be loading videos of the Maverick and Vector soon.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

New pics/videos on site

We added a page to our site that contains videos. Right now we only have a video featuring the Veyron. We will be adding the Vector and Maverick Snowmaker's at a later date so be sure to check back. In addition we have also added new pictures to the photos page of our site. Be sure to swing by our website and check out the videos and pictures. If you have any pictures or videos you wish to send us, please email them to us at contact@snowstormsnowmaking.com and we will load them on the site!

The videos on the site require Quick time to view them. If you don't have Quick time a link is provided at the top of the videos page where you can download it for free. We are trying to upload the videos at other places where you can view them if you still have trouble. Check back here and the site for updates if and when we load them somewhere else.

Think cold and think snow!

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

New products to be found on site

We will be offering a new snowmaking kit on our website and also several new accessories for your home snowmaker. Keep checking the site for when they will be available. They should all be on within the next two weeks. With any questions you have on our new products please feel free to contact us and we would be glad to answer your question.

Our new kit will be designed for large pressure washers and high pressure pumps. It will have the same output as our Veyron Snowmaker. The kit will contain 5 nozzles compared to only 3 nozzles in kit 2. These nozzles have higher flow rates for bigger pumps resulting in higher snow production output. The new kit will be able to make up to 180 cubic feet of snow per hour! Along with this new kit we will also offer a combination kit that also includes kit 1.

Since a lot of people who purchased our kits were interested in check valves and since we are now offering our Vector, Veyron, and Maverick Snowmaker's in internal mix, we will begin selling check valves on our Parts and Accessories Page. These 1/2" check valves are high quality and will prevent the back flow of water to your compressor should your water overpower the air or should your compressor shut off.

Finally, we will be offering a larger snowmaking nozzle. This nozzle will be used to replace the nozzle on the Maverick Snowmaker or in Kit 1. The nozzle should only be purchased if you find the nozzle on the Maverick or in Kit 1 to be too small.

These new items should appear on our site within the next two weeks on both the Products Page and Parts and Accessories Page.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Vector/Veyron Snowmakers to be changed to internal mix

We have decided to switch back our Vector and Veyron Snowmaker's into internal mix snowmakers from external mix. The reason for the switch was for two main reasons:

1. With the external mix design you were unable to add more water to the mix. This meant that as it got colder you couldn't add more water resulting in lower snow production rates.

2. Internal mix designs use less compressed air making them efficient. You will be able to use a 4CFM@90PSI compressor with the new internal mix design compared to 6CFM@90PSI.

Since internal mix snowmaker's can cause water to back flow to your compressor we will also be offering check valves. Now you can order your check valve directly from our Parts and Accessories page and not have to find one in a hardware store.

Current customers of our Vector and Veyron Snowmaker's (no matter when purchased) can have their snowmaker's converted to the new internal mix design by sending us back the tower of your snowgun. For a small fee we will convert your tower into the new internal mix design by adding a valve to regulate your nucleation nozzle and also add a nucleation nozzle on your tower.

If you do not wish to send back your tower and wish to have the new internal mix design, for a higher fee we will send you out a completely new tower. NOTE: Only customers that own a Vector and Veyron Snowmaker will be eligible for the new tower.

We will begin shipping new towers to interested customers beginning 11/19/07. If you wish to send your tower back to have it converted into the internal mix design, we will begin converting them on 11/19/07.

The fee for sending us the tower to convert it will be $60 (this will include return shipping, added nucleation nozzle, an adjustable valve for the nucleation nozzle, and new owner’s manual).

The fee for just obtaining a new internal mix tower will be $85 (this will include shipping and also a new owner’s manual).

Current customers who are interested in either obtaining the new internal mix tower for the Vector or Veyron should contact us by filling out the form on our contact page or by emailing us at contact@snowstormsnowmaking.com

Customers who are interested in sending back their towers to have them converted should contact us by filling out the form on our contact page or by emailing us at contact@snowstormsnowmaking.com

If you wish to add a check valve to your air line to prevent the back flow of water, simply add $15 to your order and we will install it for you. Otherwise you can order one from our parts and accessories page and put it on yourself.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Maverick Released

Earlier today we released the Mavrick Snowmaker. This snowmaker makes real snow using a garden hose and air compressor. For more details and specs on the new snowmaker visit http://snowstormsnowmaking.com/maverick.html

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

New snowmaker to be released

SnowStorm Snowmaking has been working on several projects over the summer months including new snowmaker designs. We anticipate on releasing one of our newest snowmakers sometime this week or early next week.

The new snowmaker that will be released will function using a garden hose and small air compressor. THERE IS NO NEED FOR A PRESSURE WASHER WITH THIS DESIGN! The snowmaker will be excellent for someone just getting into snowmaking as it teaches the fundamentals of making snow in the simplest way possible. The snowmaker will also come installed with our special snowmaking nozzle. This nozzle spreads the snow over a wider area and also eliminates sputtering common in other nozzles.

Here are some specs of the new snowmaker:

Requirements:

Garden Hose: Garden hose with running water (frost free spigot recommended)
Air Compressor: Minimum of 4CFM@90PSI or more
Temperature: 30ºF or less (Design will make snow up to 39ºF if humidity is low)

Benefits and Features:

Snowmaker mounted inside tower to protect snowmaker from elements

Same stand design as our Vector and Veyron Snowmakers (we have never had one complaint about our stands!)

Internal mix design allows you to make snow up to 39ºF if low humidity is present

Produces 1"-2" of snow per hour over a 25'x25' area depending on your water pressure

Anticipated price: $199.99 + $25 shipping (subject to change)

We have several projects still underway and hope to have more items available to you soon. Keep it right here on our blog or check our site for more info on our newest gun.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

New Website

We have finally launched the new website. The videos will be added in a few months when the weather gets cold enough to show our snowmakers in action.

We still need pictures from you! We know you must have pictures laying around somewhere because we've recieved emails from people that have made their local news and appeared in their local newspapers. If you have pics, please send them to us!

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Product Overview:Snowmaking Kits

Our snowmaking kits were introduced earlier this year and have proved to be very popular. Their reasonable price makes getting into snowmaking at home very affordable and easy to do. Although there is some assembly required to construct the snowmaker, it typically doesn't take any longer than 15-20 minutes to put an entire snowmaker together. All of the kits come shipped complete with instructions for both the assembly and operation of the snowmaker. Although no tools are required to assemble the snowmaker in the kit, a wrench or vice grips can be helpful and help eliminate your snowmaker from leaking once in operation.

The kits come shipped with everything you need to assemble a homemade snowmaker. This allows you to save time by not having to run around looking for parts if you purchased plans. The kits are perfect if you are not familiar with the types of parts and fittings needed to assemble the snowgun. The kits also come shipped with the special nozzles that cannot be found in stores. If you purchase kit number 2, the special connector for electrical pressure washers is included (22mm fitting). This fitting is difficult to find in stores (if at any) and also insures that you have safely and properly hooked up the pressure washer to the snowmaker.

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Where is the cold weather?

Although our last blog post was about customers' making snow, the cold weather seems to have gone away. Most of the United States has been experiencing above normal temperatures for the last few weeks. Luckily it has started to snow in the mountains out west and hopefully some of that cold air will spread across the country later this coming week.

Until then, think cold and think snow. Remember if you live in an area where there is a drought watch, warning, or emergency, we ask that you either limit your snowmaking activity or make no snow at all until the drought has been lifted. We appreciate your cooperation in conserving water if you live in a drought affected area.

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THE '07-'08 SNOWMAKING SEASON HAS OFFICALLY BEGUN!

That's right! We've received emails from various customers’ telling us about their first opportunity to make snow in their backyard this year. The majority of emails came from the higher elevations of Colorado as well as parts of northern Minnesota. Although the snowmaking runs were short, that didn't stop people from getting up early (or in some cases not going to bed at all) to make snow in their yards!

We've received a lot of messages from people making snow for the first time and are glad to have been able to help out. As always if you’re making snow for the first time and ever have a question about anything, please feel free to contact us via email and we would be glad to help you. Remember, our main email address is checked EVERYDAY even AFTER HOURS to answer any questions or help with any problems you might be having.

Several ski resorts in Colorado have also begun to make snow for the season so keep an eye for opening dates in the near future.

From all of us here at SnowStorm Snowmaking,

Best of luck to you on your snowmaking ventures this season.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Nozzles

It's that time of year again. People are starting to build their snowmakers for this winter from our snowmaking plans found on our products page and also in our snowmaking guide (also found on the products page).

The last few weeks we have been receiving several calls and emails regarding which nozzles to use. Ultimately it comes down to which snowmaker you are building.

If you are making the design that uses a garden hose and an air compressor to make snow, you have two options. First you can buy a custom stainless steel snowmaking nozzle from us on the Parts and Accessories page. This nozzle ($15) sprays out the mixed air and water (nuc) in a 40º spray pattern. This helps spread the coverage over a larger area. The nozzle also eliminates the sputtering that arises out of a homemade nozzle for this snowmaker design.

If you rather construct your own nozzle out of a pipe cap for this design you must have the CORRECT size hole drilled in the cap, or you won't make snow. The best thing to do is purchase several pipe caps and experiment which size hole works best for your compressor. Remember this design calls for matching your air pressure to your water pressure. If you water pressure is 60 PSI, your air pressure should be 60 PSI also. This means your compressor MUST be able to maintain 60 PSI of air in the tank. If not, the hole you drilled is too big and once the pressure drops below the water pressure you will no longer make snow, and could cause the water to over power the air, causing back flow to your compressor.

If you’re making a homemade nozzle from a pipe cap here are the recommended sizes to use based on your compressors CFM:

4CFM@90PSI- single 1-16" hole drilled in center of pipe cap

6CFM@90PSI- single 3/32" hold drilled in center of pipe cap

10CFM+@90PSI- single 7/64" hole drilled in center of pipe cap

OVER 20CFM@90PSI- single 1/8" hole drilled in center of pipe cap

Some people find it best to use two small holes drilled in the pipe cap. Again, the best thing to do is experiment with which size hole works best with your compressor. What might work for your compressor might not work on someone else’s. We personally find it best to use a single hole drilled in the center of the cap.

Make sure that when you run the snowgun with both air and water, both air and water come out of the nozzle. If not the hole is too small, or your air/water is over powering the other.

For the design that uses a pressure washer you MUST purchase the nozzle kit ($25) from us. You cannot make these nozzles at home and cannot find them in stores. The high pressure water needs the special nozzles to properly atomize the water into smaller droplets. If you try and make nozzles for the pressure washer design out of strictly pipe caps, you will only make ice. You can however use a pipe cap for the bottom nozzle (nucleation nozzle) instead of the special nozzle in the nozzle kit. We don't recommend it because a better nozzle comes in the nozzle kit. If you rather use a pipe cap, you can find the size hole to drill in the pipe cap above.

NOTE: If you purchase one of our kits, the special nozzles are included. This is just to help those people who are making their own snowmaker based on the plans found on our site and in our snowmaking guide.

To order nozzles from us go to the Parts and Accessories page on our site. To order snowmaking kits, plans, or the snowmaking guide, visit our Products page.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Snowmaking and Droughts

We know that every customer that orders from us enjoys snow, so much that they even have to make it themselves when Mother Nature lacks. One of the main requirements for making snow is water. Whether you are using a pressure washer or garden hose to make snow, you will be using lots of water to make snow.

For several areas of the United States rain was lacking in several areas this year. This has since caused droughts throughout the country and in some locations restrictions on water use.

SnowStorm Snowmaking highly encourages its customers living in a drought area to be cautious in making snow this winter. If your area is under a drought watch or warning we recommend not making snow at all to conserve water. If you decide to still make snow and you are in a dry location from the lack of rainfall, we recommend making sure there are no restrictions on water use before you make snow.

We also encourage customers to refrain from making snow if they know the weather will be warming up right after they make snow. If the weather gets warm it will melt your snow and waste all the water you used. Although this water will eventually trickle back down into the water table, it will take awhile. Some of melted snow will also evaporate and may not return as precipitation in your area.

We appreciate your effort in helping conserve water if your area is under a drought watch or warning this winter.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Summer is almost over!

As summer begins to wind down now is the time to start preparing for winter and most importantly, making snow in your backyard!

As the hot days of summer slowly change into fall, winter will be here before you know it. Some people will be fortunate enough to begin making snow as early as late September and early October.

Here are some tips to prepare for making snow:

Make sure all of your equipment is working properly
If you made your own snowmaker, check and make sure that there are no leaks coming from the snowgun
Inspect hoses and replace them if they are worn or damaged
Check and make sure your water spigot is working properly

Remember it is always better to discover a problem early and fix it, then to find out about it the night you can make snow!

When you finally get to make snow this season be sure to send us your pictures so we can post them here on our blog and also our website. Send these pictures to contact@snowstormsnowmaking.com or mail them to us.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Snowmaking Guide

A few weeks ago SnowStorm Snowmaking released our newest item, our home snowmaking guide. The guide in addition to providing information on making snow also includes our plans so you can make your own snowmaker out of common plumbing fittings.

The guide is 16 pages in length and covers the following topics:

Buying an air compressor
Buying a pressure washer
Weather and snowmaking
Types of snowguns
Common plumbing fittings used in making a homemade snowmaker (from our plans)
Snowmaking nozzles (both homemade and custom snowmaking nozzles)
Plans to build a snowmaker that runs off an air compressor and garden hose
Plans to build a snowmaker that runs off an air compressor and pressure washer
Tips for making snow
An overview of SnowStorm Snowmaking's products

The guide can be emailed to you and be opened with Microsoft Word or another similar word processing program.

The price for the guide is $14.99 and can be found on our products page.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

New Checkout System On Site

We have updated the checkout system on our website. Before you could only order one item at a time, and this was a pain if you wanted to order multiple items. We are happy to announce that now you can order as many products as you would like and pay for them all at once. Simply click add to cart for any item you wish to purchase. It will be added to your cart where you can change the quantity or checkout. If you wish to continue shopping just close the window and it will take you back to our site. If you don’t wish to order anything else click on the view cart button on the left side of any page under the navigation bar and it will take you to your shopping cart.

You can then click on proceed to checkout. You can either pay using a credit card or Paypal, whichever you prefer. If you have any questions or problems ordering, please feel free to contact us and we would be glad to assist you.

Welcome to the blog!

Hello everyone and welcome to the SnowStorm Snowmaking blog! We have decided to create a blog to keep everyone up to date on all of our upcoming news and events. The blog will also include information regarding SnowStorm Snowmaking's products, as well as future products SnowStorm Snowmaking is coming out with. We hope to update the blog a few times a month so check back often to see what's new. In the winter months we hope to update the blog several times a week with photos from customer's making their own snow with our products. Thanks for checking us out and be sure to check back with us soon.

http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/

Veyron Snowmaker

As some of you may have noticed we came out with a new home snowmaker in mid July, The Veyron. The Veyron Snowmaker is the big brother to the Vector Snowmaker and was designed with gas pressure washers in mind. The Veyron has a unique nozzle configuration for large pressure washers or pumps that flow a high rate of water (greater than 2.3 GPM). Unlike the Vector Snowmaker that has 3 nozzles, the Veyron has 5. As a result, it doesn't restrict the flow of water from your pressure washer, and since its nozzle configuration is for high output pressure washers, it makes more snow than the Vector Snowmaker. The Veyron Snowmaker is capable of producing up to 180 cubic feet of snow per hour, now that's a lot of snow! The Veyron also comes with a quick connect fitting installed for hooking up a gas pressure washer hose. With the Vector Snowmaker you had to change the installed fitting for electrical pressure washers if you had a gas pressure washer, but the Veyron snowmaker eliminates that.

When we tested out the Veyron earlier this year it performed far better than we expected. After hooking up the compressor and pressure washer the ground immediately turned white with a coating of snow, and this was only done with a 2.5 GPM pressure washer! The Veyron is also an external mix snowmaker which means there is no chance of air back flowing to your pressure washer or water back flowing to your compressor.

So if you’re looking to make snow in your backyard and have a gas pressure washer consider the Veyron Snowmaker. Just be sure that your pressure washer flows a minimum of 2.3 GPM of water or more.


If you’re looking to make real snow and have an electrical pressure washer, consider the Vector Snowmaker.

The Veyron Snowmaker costs $499.99 and the Vector Snowmaker costs $449.99.


Either one you get, you won't be disappointed. They all have the same benefits and features, except they are painted in different colors, have different nozzle configurations, and have a different fitting installed for hooking up the pressure washer hose.


http://www.snowstormsnowmaking.com/