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ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - In our never-ending quest to do away with back-breaking labor, Ryan Butler of St. Paul has come up with an invention that really blows.
"So what's cool is from the controller you can just the shoot aim for the snow that is blowing," said Butler.
Butler created a remote-controlled snowblower he calls a Spyker KAT that makes easy work of clearing driveways and sidewalks.
"I've always been into remote-controlled toys like cars and boats and stuff,” said Butler. “I couldn't find anything like this to buy, so I figured I'll try and make one."
He says it can remove up to 10 inches of snow without its operator having to lift a shovel to do it.
"This will definitely save on your back from shoveling," he said.
Butler says he used a 3D printer to make the plastic pieces and then assembled the machine from his own designs. He says its powered by six 12-volt batteries, similar to a golf cart, and can clear snow for two hours on a single charge.
"This machine I used for the last snowfall, we got to clear four of my neighbors’ driveways on one set of batteries and it could handle all of that snow without having to break out the gas power snowblowers," said Butler.
Butler started selling a smaller version through his website a couple of years ago, but he hopes the larger snowblower will be cat nip for people suffering from snow fatigue.
"Most people who drive down the street who have seen me using it will stop and ask me questions while I'm using it," he said.
Butler says the snowblower can carry up to 300 pounds and he hopes his invention gains enough traction to carry us all into the future.
"It’s environmentally safe and friendly and you don't have to go in the house after blowing your driveway reeking of gasoline,” said Butler.