# Rechargeable snow blower



## Kiss4aFrog

Anyone bought one of the rechargeable snow blowers ??
The reviews on their site are very positive but curious if any of the members have one ??
I'm kind of curious as it would be great for the back deck and pathway to the dogs "bathroom" that I can't get my 2 stage to in the winter.

They are only $400 and you'd never have to clean a carburetor again and already has an LED headlight 

The Only Rechargeable Snow Blower - Hammacher Schlemmer


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## dhazelton

I wonder how long a charge lasts. If you told me 10 years ago that I would own a LiOn battery powered circular saw that I could cut framing lumber with today I would have thought it would cost a fortune. This certainly would eliminate any worries about ethanol and storage.


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## time2time

When you are pricing it, you should also see what the cost of a replacement battery pack would run. If you find any reviews, see if they are just new owners. If I were looking, I would really like to find out how long it might be before the battery starts getting tired. 

Battery powered tools are really convenient, but personally I often find battery powered stuff to be more expensive, weaker, and not have the same life expectancy (where battery replacement is prohibitively expensive).

Prob more opinion than fact here, but just sharing my thoughts..


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## Kiss4aFrog

Battery pack was listed for about $145


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## micah68kj

You're not going to run it on the grass very much, Frog. Ss blowers and grass don't mix. And Imbet that battery pack ain't too light either. I really think I'd stick with gas. JMHO. 
By the way, neighbor 2 doors down got an electric blower as a present from his daughters. I watched as he dragged the cord behind him. It came unplugged once, when he hauled on it. It was pretty pathetic. He didn't really know how to use it. I felt kind of bad for him. It was some green machine Earthworks® or something.


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## sscotsman

Here is the exact same machine under the "Snow Joe" label:

Amazon.com : Snow Joe iON18SB Ion Cordless Single Stage Brushless Snow Blower with Rechargeable Ecosharp 40-volt Lithium-Ion Battery : Patio, Lawn & Garden


Most of the "good" reviews are from people who have used it once..maybe twice..in a small amount of light snow.
to see how it handles in 3 or more inches of wet snow..and for an accurate feel for the battery life, read the 1-star reviews..


Scot


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## bwdbrn1

One of the members on My Lawn Mower Forum from Connecticut bought himself a Snow Joe sj620 this winter and had this to say about it over on MLF. We all know they got some snow out east this year. 

"I just bought my first snow thrower. a snow joe electric. It freakin rocks. I was watching my neighbors use their humungous gas guzzlers, then I saw another with an electric one that throwing snow just as far. No gas fumes in the garage, I can carry it up onto my deck and I can carry it down into the basement for strorage in the spring, It only weighs about 25 pounds so I could even lift it into my truck if needed. Im liking it very much."

It's a corded one though.

Snow-Joe-Ultra-18-Inch-13.5-Amp-Electric-Snow-Thrower-â€“-SJ620- | Snow Joe

Like the others have mentioned, replacement batteries can be pricey. I've had three different rechargeable mowers that I bought replacement batteries for through batterysharks.com for much less than the mower's manufactures wanted for equivalent batteries. So that might be an option if and when battery replacement is called for.


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## Blue Hill

I'm not saying it's good or bad, but I have to  roll my eyes when the manufacturers play the green card and say "no carbon emissions". What do they think pukes out of the stack of the coal fired power plant that produces the electricity to charge the batteries?  just sayin'


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## micah68kj

Blue Hill said:


> I'm not saying it's good or bad, but I have to  roll my eyes when the manufacturers play the green card and say "no carbon emissions". What do they think pukes out of the stack of the coal fired power plant that produces the electricity to charge the batteries?  just sayin'


I hear you Larry. I've wondered the same thing. As they say, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."


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## caddydaddy

bwdbrn1 said:


> "I was watching my neighbors use their humungous *gas guzzlers*, then I saw another with an electric one that throwing snow just as far."


OK, I chuckled at the "gas guzzler" comment he left!  I also live in Connecticut and have a pretty big driveway. Even with all this snow, I've only used 4 gallons of gas this Winter! Not what I'd call a "guzzler". LOL!


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## time2time

Blue Hill said:


> I'm not saying it's good or bad, but I have to  roll my eyes when the manufacturers play the green card and say "no carbon emissions". What do they think pukes out of the stack of the coal fired power plant that produces the electricity to charge the batteries?  just sayin'


I think batteries in general are pretty un-green. Not sure if newer lithium ions are better, but batteries have generally been a bit of a toxic mess when it comes to disposal.. (And i would wager that their manufacture is probably not so eco-friendly either).

Like the over-used (and abused) organic label, 'green' has some merit, but is too often misused as so much marketing hype. (I'm sorry, is my cynicism peeking thru?  )


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## SnowG

"Green" as in using electric motors, generally just means you're burning fuel somewhere else, storing limited energy using batteries made from toxic soup and heavy metals that are an ecological nightmare when you consider total manufacturing and recycling life cycle. The net "green" gain isn't a slam dunk.


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## db9938

This of course does not even address the toxicity of the battery, nor the manufacturing of the battery or the mining of the materials. And nearly every battery in this category uses a plastic exterior. Um, what's plastic made from, hello.


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## wdb

Maybe it's me but $400 buys a lot of cheap plastic snow shovels.


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## Biketrax

*WOW !!!GLAD I read this thread and the reviews!*

I was thinking of getting this for a 70 y.o. single female neighbor that I help on occasion with advise. I am staying clear of this, after reading those one star reviews!! 
I also just handled another neighbors electric hand held snow blower, I found that to be very heavy, and cumbersome with a significant stress on the back after holding it for over 5-10 min. It kinda makes you tend to lean forward. With all the weight of the motor low! very unbalanced.
I am sure glad everyone chips their two cents in around here!!
PS Been scanning the snow blowers for sale on craigslist tons of deals out there! Especially if you know what to look for


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## 94EG8

I'm in no way sold on these battery operated units, but $145 for a replacement battery isn't that bad. Unless you live somewhere where it hardly snows you're going to spend that much in fuel in a season anyway.


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## sscotsman

94EG8 said:


> I'm in no way sold on these battery operated units, but $145 for a replacement battery isn't that bad. Unless you live somewhere where it hardly snows you're going to spend that much in fuel in a season anyway.


Absolutely and completely not true..not even close..I live in Rochester NY, one of the snowiest cities in the USA..I use three gallons of gas in a normal winter, four gallons in a heavy winter..that's $7 to $10 worth of gas this winter, $20 a year tops when gas was over $4 a gallon..and 90% of snowblower owners use less than that..for most people it would take 10 to 20 years to burn $145 worth of gas with a snowblower..

Scot


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## time2time

My first blower was a toro electric. This was for a 25x100 property, with a long and narrow alleyway on the side. First winter in the house was a big snow winter, and the alleyway killed me. Could not chuck the snow to the side, so i had to pretty much carry each shovelful to one end of the other. that spring i decided that i had to rethink my strategy and consider getting some sort of blower. I started at the bottom, with a simple electric.

The toro 1800 was helpful (at least for lighter amounts of dry snow), but it got a little clunky as i got further from an outlet. 25 to 50' of cord in the snow gets old. I think a couple of people here supplement their gas blowers with an electric for their deck, so they don't have to deal with stairs.

The rental property has a couple of tight spots where i have to pick up the blower, so i do not think a 2 stage would work. Ideally i think i am going to keep a light SS there. Might keep the powerlite, or possibly look for a 2450 (or something similar). I plan to keep the heftier toro 3560 at home (a block away), where i have more square footage to clear. 

If i had a deck, a toro 1800 or a light SS gas blower would suffice for that task (though i would not want to keep a gas blower in the house). No perfect blower, but sometimes a small selection of blowers allows you to use different 'tools' for different part of the job.


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## 94EG8

sscotsman said:


> Absolutely and completely not true..not even close..I live in Rochester NY, one of the snowiest cities in the USA..I use three gallons of gas in a normal winter, four gallons in a heavy winter..that's $7 to $10 worth of gas this winter, $20 a year tops when gas was over $4 a gallon..and 90% of snowblower owners use less than that..for most people it would take 10 to 20 years to burn $145 worth of gas with a snowblower..
> 
> Scot


I burned about $145 a year with a 12hp Tecumseh, a bit less now with the Honda. Large driveway, used use a couple of gallons a storm, probably more like 1 gallon now, 10 - 12 storms a season, gas was until recently $5 a gallon here.

Mind you gas is a bit more here in Canada. Even at that with a small driveway and lower gas prices I can't see spending less than $50 a season on fuel.


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## Loco-diablo

I figure my 2 stage ariens used about a gallon per storm, x 10 storms @ $2.25 per gal.
So I may have used $25 of fuel this season.

I actually wouldn't mind keeping a SS rechargeable around either. Just for the deck.
I've been meaning to pick up some sort of cheap power shovel for this purpose but just haven't gotten around to it. It would be nice to not have the hassle of electric cords or maintenance.


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## sscotsman

94EG8 said:


> I burned about $145 a year with a 12hp Tecumseh, a bit less now with the Honda. Large driveway, used use a couple of gallons a storm, probably more like 1 gallon now, 10 - 12 storms a season, gas was until recently $5 a gallon here.
> 
> Mind you gas is a bit more here in Canada. Even at that with a small driveway and lower gas prices I can't see spending less than $50 a season on fuel.


You brought your estimate of annual gas use from $140 a season (ten times too high) down to $50..thats a good start!  even $50 is way more than average, more than double, but at least now you are in the ballpark..

$4 a gallon times 10 or 12 gallons equals $40 to $48..and no one uses a full gallon *every* time they take out the snowblower..that simply doesnt happen..maybe for a 2-foot blizzard, but not for a 6" storm..

2 to 3 gallons a winter is probably average..thats less than $10 a season..5 gallons is higher than average..virtually no one will use 10 gallons in a season, for one homeowner with one snowblower..that amount is an extreme outlier..

I would say average use, adding up all snowblowers in the USA and Canada, is in the range of $5 to $10 worth of gas a season.
$20 a year is certainty possible, but unusual..

Scot


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## time2time

For anyone doing so much serious blowing that how many gallons you use per year becomes a point of discussion or debate, a battery powered blower would likely not be a serious option. (I think that was roughly where the thread started..  )


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## sscotsman

time2time said:


> For anyone doing so much serious blowing that how many gallons you use per year becomes a point of discussion or debate, a battery powered blower would likely not be a suitable option. (I think that was roughly where the thread started..  )


Excellent point!
If someone is burning 10 gallons of gas a year, they have a TON of snow..they are in the high-end Pro series catagory..one of these rinky-dink electrics isn't going to remotely cut it..

These battery and electric snowblowers are for people who get 2" or less per "storm", seldom more, and relatively small areas to clear..and for people in those climates, they will be burning about $3 worth of gas a year..making the $140 battery replacement cost make even less sense..

Scot


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## JJG723

My brother and I do snowblowing for 7-10 houses depending on the size of the storm plus a school and a church property each storm. This winter we've used approximately 30 gallons of gas. We're located just north of Boston. Its not uncommon for our machines to be running for 4 - 10 hrs. straight. One blizzard (30in.) a couple years ago my brother was away so I was stuck doing all the work myself. Over the course of 3 days I used my machines for 26 hrs. and burned 13 gallons of gas. 90% of that was with my '05 Ariens 1332pro with the Tecumseh 13hp ohv. 

Needless to say, electric snowblowers aren't in the cards for me.


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## brickcity

i always fill my 5 gallon can before first storm and put whats leftover in my car. don't think i ever used the whole 5 gallons. right now i have about 2 gallons i will be putting in the car this week so the gas i bought at around $2/gallon cost me 6 bucks. last year gas was 4/gallon and i used around the same amount so it cost around $12.


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## clamdigger

Not sure where most of you fellas live, but up here I only wish 1 can of gas would do me a winter. I didn't even start my blower until January this year and I'm already on my 3rd can (5 short gal/20L) of fuel. My 10.5 Tecumseh is in excellent tune and all systems lubed. Its just been a b#@# of a winter. I'm generally outside for the better part of 2 1/2 to 3 hours each time. Some storms have needed 2 or 3 go outs. This is snow as high or higher than the Auger mouth. I can count on at least one refill during a job. I'll quit and go in for a coffee before I'd ever do 2 refills. General clean up for drift-age or small snowfalls 6" or so, 1 tank is plenty, but here in "SnowvaScotia" we definitely eat some fuel during winter, and its usually closer to $6/gal.
One feature I really like on my machine is the throttle, I put it down when I'm pulling the high stuff over with a shovel, transiting in high gear, or to let it cool down prior to shut-off. Seems a lot of the newer ones just start-up at full speed and that's it no idle option.
Cheers.


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## SnowG

I think these electric machines might be a good choice for clearing a deck/patio or short walking path, or small urban driveway with light snow. Beyond that, not so good.

Even if the snow is light and not deep, cord management is an issue (even more of an issue if 50+ feet of cord) and the battery units won't last on a longer driveway.

EOD? Fuggedaboutit!


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## kueh

I have the SnowJoe iON 40v. It actually works pretty well .... on fresh and old unpacked dry snow. It is light and portable, much easier to handle than an electric shovel. I get about 35 minutes on fresh snow and 20 minutes on old snow. Pavement cracks are an issue, probably will have to replace the scraper bar in couple of years.

Complaints are that the handles are too short. I'm 6' tall. There is the safety switch which must be depressed before the impeller lever will work. The chute design requires modification (too much spillage when the chute is right angles to the travel path.)

Oh. Double car width, 100' of driveway plus sidewalks.


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## SnowG

For modern 4-cycle engines, estimated gas consumption per hour = horsepower/15. That's horsepower actually used (not engine rated power).


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## UNDERTAKER

I got one of those TORO corded 1's. works good up to a certain point. I would never count on it. if we get a Halloween type storm through here. but for 4-5 inches it does the job. and on the plus side I can run it at night. and it beats using a shovel.mg::emoticon-south-park


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