How Much Snow Can You Make with a Home Snow Gun?
A few factors will determine how much real snow you can produce with a home snow gun. Let’s look at the 3 most important factors that will determine snow output:
Water Flow (GPM)
The amount of water moving through the snow gun will be the most important factor in snow output. The standard term to measure water flow is GPM (gallons per minute). Each pressure washer will have a GPM rating clearly labeled so you can measure the amount of water it will output. The more GPMs of water moving through the snow gun, the more snow will be made.Â
In general, 1 GPM of water will make 1″ of snow per hour. 2 GPM of water will make 2″ of snow per hour (so on and so forth). The area spread for each snow gun will be different depending on the design. Backyard Snowstorm’s 3 sizes of real snowmaking machines are designed for small, medium, and large water flow and snow outputs. For more information about these snow guns please CLICK HERE.
Temperature & Humidity
The outside temperature and humidity play another important role in the volume of snow produced. With home snow makers, colder temperatures and lower humidities will make bigger piles of snow. Colder temperatures and lower humidities will assist in quicker and better freezing of water droplets produced through the snow gun. As a result, snowflakes are formed and attach quicker to other snowflakes making the overall volume of snow bigger. If you make snow on the edge of snowmaking conditions (SEE WEATHER CHART HERE) you will tend to make heavier “dense” snow. In most snowmaking conditions, the snow will be great for creating snowballs, making snowmen, sledding hills, etc.Â
Snow Gun Nucleation Efficiency
Another big factor is the creation of nucleation ice crystals that are essential for snow formation. This is where the science comes in! Most snow guns are built with a “nucleator” or fittings arranged to act as a “nucleator”. Snow Gun nucleators are designed to create extremely small ice crystals that act as nucleation sites where snowflakes can form. Without producing these small nucleating ice crystals, snow is not able to form.Â
The size of these ice crystals is also extremely important. If the ice crystals created in the nucleator are too large, snow will again not form. Improper or inefficient nucleator design will decrease the amount of small ice crystals that are small enough to produce snow.
 Backyard Snowstorm snow guns feature a commercial nucleation nozzle designed for proper ice crystal formation. Over the years, we discovered how important the nucleator is to a home snow gun design. Our commercial-grade components drastically increase the efficiency of snow formation so you can make more snow at a lower cost. For a more in-depth article on snowmaking science CLICK HERE
