Any thoughts on electric snowblowers?
Just tossing around the idea in my head to replace my Troy Bilt. I understand they’re not going to clear a 12 inch snowfall, but we really don’t get alot of those in central MN. Not sure how long they’ve been around either, might be better to wait a few years for the next generations of them?
Thinking the same thoughts of using an electric snowblower for my deck. Interested.
There are numerous electric models on the market now so actual performance is going to be something you’re going to have to research depending on the model you’re looking at.
The vast majority of problems I see with snow blowers have to do with improper summer storage. The thing I see with electric blowers is that people will assume summer storage doesn’t matter anymore. It will still matter. Keeping the batteries properly maintained to get the maximum lifespan out of them will be an issue that will require some research. Also as with any cordless tool I think you have to consider the batteries as a wear part that will have a finite lifespan and then need to be replaced.
I would want to look into the cost of battery replacement and think real hard about if you’re going to be comfortable spending that kind of money when the time comes.
I have a Ryobi 40v and it’s great most of the time but you’re screwed when you get a snow it can’t handle if it’s your only one. For things it can handle I prefer it to the gas one since it’s light and maneuverable. For most snow types it throws further than my gas one because of how fast it spins. It generally can’t go through the snowplow stuff along the street though and especially if the snow is heavy/wet it goes through a 6AH battery in 20-30 minutes. Other downside is it doesn’t have the weight to scrape well so once you get tire tracks or something it’s only going to go over them. I used it last week for a 3-car wide driveway with about ~6 inches of powder and just shoveled the last couple feet along the street.
Neighbor just bought an EGO 24 inch 2 stage snow blower just before we got dumped on. It uses 2 56V batteries and I have to tell you it’s pretty impressive, will blow snow like any gasoline blower of equivalent size. It’s a lot lighter than a regular blower. He has a heated garage so proper charging of the batteries is easy for him, I suspect if it sit’s in the cold you’d have to keep the batteries inside to make sure they are at full charge when you need them. They are expensive however, I think he paid $1800 for his. It handled the street stuff pretty well.
I have the Toro 60v and love it. Going on my third winter with it, and yet to have a snow it can’t handle. Including end of the driveway snowplow berms. It came with a 7.5 ah battery, and I also have a 6 ah battery from my Toro electric lawn mower, and very very rarely have the 2 batteries not been enough to get what I needed done. From bagging long grass, fall cleanup or big snowfalls both the mower and snowblower have been great for my standard suburban sized lawn and 3 car garage. Super light, quiet and powerful. I also got the leaf blower, so I’m all electric battery powered for my lawn/driveway. Let me know if you have any questions!
I think those egos and toros are suppose to be great machines. If I had the money I would diffidently invest into one.
My neighbor has an Ego that does a pretty good job. When we get a lot of snow, I clear his plow berm for him, but other than that, it seems to do a nice job.
FWIW I have the single stage like the link, and paid around $550 2 years ago. Which was just slightly more than the same single stage gas model. Prairie Lawn and Garden in EP is awesome if anyone is in the area and has questions or wants to check them out.
FWIW I have the single stage like the link, and paid around $550 2 years ago. Which was just slightly more than the same single stage gas model. Prairie Lawn and Garden in EP is awesome if anyone is in the area and has questions or wants to check them out.
Wow, thought for sure reading your earlier post that you had a two stage and I looked up the price and pretty spendy. But if you are saying the single stage can handle pretty much any snow then I’m more interested since the cost is more reasonable.
I have an Earthwise plug in for my decks. $88.00 dollars at Menards a couple years ago. Works fantastic for up to 8 inches of snow….but…just did the roof of my boat house and since it is so light just lifted it up and did the top layer and then finished off the rest. Took very little time to blow off 20 inches of snow on 16′ by 8′ roof.
Wow, thought for sure reading your earlier post that you had a two stage and I looked up the price and pretty spendy. But if you are saying the single stage can handle pretty much any snow then I’m more interested since the cost is more reasonable.
Yeah it’s a workhorse, and since it’s so light it’s not a real problem working it back and forth on the plow berms at the end of the driveway or around the mailbox
I recently used a Toro electric (don’t know the model but sounds like it might be the same one that BigWerm ha), but was very surprised at how well it did. My only problem was getting used the Toro’s joystick that they use for their gas blowers as well. Think about it — none of these companies would put these out if they didn’t work, especially Toro. They wouldn’t want their name on them. Just like augers, it took us some time to warm up to the idea of going electric.
I predict that this will go the same way augers did. People will resist and swear that gas is far superior, then some will catch on, then eventually we will be arguing between different brands of electric blowers. Sign me up for the day that people can’t give away their gas blowers like the auger in my rafters.
Once they dial in both the grass and snow market you solve the problem of batteries sitting unused. Getting a new battery will suck, but it is way easier and faster for Joe “I don’t take care of stuff” than dragging your machine in for a carb clean. Plus, I know I don’t at all track the price of that fancy non-oxy gas I’m buying all the time and might be surprised how much a spend on gas/oil as opposed to a battery every few years.
I just bought the ego single stage snowblower and it does a decent job. Since it is a single stage the heavier wet snow is where it struggles a bit. Bought it to clean off my deck since the auger is not metal and won’t hurt the deck. I also bought their leaf blower and that thing is killer. More powerful than my gas blower. I would recommend looking at what other tools are offered from each company since the batteries are expensive if you are going to purchase an electric snowblower. In case of the ego leaf blower it was about $20 more buying the kit with the charger than just buying the 5.0AH battery separate. Ego is also making a zero turn electric riding lawnmower.
I also have the single stage Ego to clear my 3-car driveway and sidewalk. I do it all in 8 mins vs. 20-30 when doing it by hand. I’d buy it again.
If I was to buy again I would not get an electric plug-in snowblower. We have a Toro and manipulating the cord is a real PIA. It does work well but hate dealing with the cord. Have not used any battery operated ones yet.
Well this 6-8” of heavy snow was about the capacity for my single stage Toro 60v. Bogged down a couple times at the end of the driveway and used up both batteries doing my all of my 3 car driveway and the end of the neighbors driveway.
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Batteries and cold winter just don’t bond well. I run to many big battery tools to know that. If you can keep them warm all the time then yes. Out snow blowing no thanks. Then when batteries finally die off the replacement cost is higher then a new gas blower. I’m sure the battery operated do fine. But for how long is the real question.
The EGO 2 stage will definitely compete and sometimes outperform a gas blower (especially with the 2 10ah batteries). Mostly comes down to if you are willing to pay $2000 for the convenience. I have the EGO mower and it works great, and wanted to get the blower, but after consideration, realized I could buy 5 $400 gas units (1 of which has been great for the past 20 years) for the same price. I’ll eventually move over to the battery blower, but not until the prices make more sense.
Lets see what your electric snow blower will do this morning on my driveway?
Lets see what your electric snow blower will do this morning on my driveway?
Even the cheapo 40V did pretty well last night and again this morning. If I had let it all pile up until this morning there is no way it would have worked though.
Batteries and cold winter just don’t bond well. I run to many big battery tools to know that. If you can keep them warm all the time then yes.
Pretty easy when you are using it for the driveway of your heated house, it’s not a job site sitting outside all day. I think the coldest I’ve used the Ryobi is -10 and they worked fine. Once you are using it they stay pretty warm dumping the whole battery that fast. Last night I had to let them cool down for a bit before they would charge.
Batteries and cold winter just don’t bond well. I run to many big battery tools to know that. If you can keep them warm all the time then yes. Out snow blowing no thanks.
Yeah like Reef said, the problem is actually overheating with a full workload on them, not being too cold. They just aren’t in the cold long enough for the cold to be a significant factor. After my previous post they recharged for about an hour while I put the kids down, and then I went out and finished my neighbors driveway. I was sweating like a Kardashian in church by the time I was done, but you’ll have that with any single stage and a big snow. This morning was where it really shined though, toss the battery in and banged out the 4″ we got overnight in about 10-15 minutes.
I was sweating like a Kardashian in church
banged out the 4″ we got overnight in about 10-15 minutes
I have and love my EGO yard products… weed wacker, hedge trimmer, leaf blower….
How big to they make electric snow blowers? I will be in the market for a blower and I have a very large driveway….. I thought I would be looking for the biggest and badest gas walk behind…… You guys got me thinking I should wait for a monster electric version…..
You guys got me thinking I should wait for a monster electric version…..
Maybe a Tesla snowblower huh 
I might be looking into an electric blower too. I don’t even own a blower currently as I use a skid steer but one would be nice for the new deck, concrete slab and walkways. Plus, maybe the wife would help out 
I just got done using a Toro 60V 2-stagen blower at a family member’s house. Battery died on me after trying to chew through the hard stuff left by the street blow at the end of the driveway. Learned a lesson on that one and I should’ve brought my gas blower. Other than that, I am still impressed. If there were a backup set of batteries available I would’ve been good.
But I am back to my same early concerns about electric ice augers before I finally jumped over — running out of juice. It’s too easy to always have a gas can with you to get going again. Not so easy with batteries.
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