It has started getting cold at night. Last night it got down to 30 degrees F here at home. In December in North Carolina we often get into the teens.

It rarely snows real snow in North Carolina. But at 15 or 20 degrees F it seems like you could use snow maker technology to make your own snow. The key is to get the cost down – we are talking about a cheap snow maker, but one that actually works for small-scale applications. Is this possible?

These videos show signs of promise. The first technology uses a pressure washer and an air compressor:

A closer look at the equipment you use:

This is not complicated technology, and you may not even need a pressure washer. Here are instructions for making a nozzle:

The other kind of snowmaker uses a fan, like this:

People make these themselves as well, although it’s a little more involved. The description says, “Fan is a custom 8 blade 17in fan, running off a 1.5hp motor. Water is ~ 200PSI from a Cat310 on a 2HP motor”:

This is a nice video that explains how they do it at a ski resort:

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