Many businesses will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it would be smart to get any snow removal equipment serviced now.

The snow will be here soon and those at Gerlach's Power Equipment say now is the best time to take out your snow blower and make sure it runs. If it doesn't, then you need to bring it in to get serviced.

Harvey Waldinger has been selling snow blowers and equipment for thirty years and he's seen his fair share of winters. "So I've seen quite a few winters here. I've seen some bad ones and I've seen some mild ones."


He anticipating what could be a harsh winter in the coming months, which is why he stresses the importance of preparedness. As Waldinger explained, "It's been three pretty mild winters, there's a good chance it could be a bad winter this year. Nobody really knows until it gets here, but you need to be prepared."


He advises customers to do a once over of their snow thrower and if they notice anything out of the ordinary to get it serviced, from there, the experts will take over.

Waldinger described the process, "We go over the snow throwers, lubricate all the cable, change the oil, spark plug, make sure the drive is working and the augers are working properly and that it's all ready to handle whatever amount of snow we get."


Not only is Gerlach's busy servicing snow blowers and throwers, but they are also busy selling them ahead of the Christmas season. There's a lot of options when it comes to snow removal equipment, but what's the best for an Erie winter?


"We probably recommend a two stage snow thrower that self propels so you don't have to push it or anything and that seems to handle the type of winters we get here in Erie pretty well", said Waldinger.


He admits sales have been slow due to mild winters, but hopes they pick up with another Erie winter right around the corner. "The new snow thrower sales have been slow, but right now it's been more servicing and repairing their present snow throwers ready for the season", said Waldinger.


Gerlach's also stays busy by doing commercial snow removal. Waldinger recommends people bring in their snow removal equipment sooner rather than later as they are backlogged with requests.