Battery powered snowblower

[Big Cliff]

Anyone have one? If so I would love to hear what you think of it. I need to do something for this winter, I just got a quote of $750.00 to do my driveway and path for this winter and they only come if there is 3+" of snow. Gas ones are a pain to store and service, corded ones are not practical for my place as I would need about 100+' of wire. Battery powered seems like it might be a good option. 

[b2kptbo]

The person across the street from me has one, looks to do the job. I have a battery power "snow shovel" works good for my one car driveway.

[lew]

When I was a kid and then my own kids after me would go door to door asking if they wanted their driveway shoveled and that's how we made our extra spending money. 

No kids in your neighborhood looking to make some extra cash Cliff ?

[vance]

2 years ago I bought a toro 60 volt single stage snow blower and couldn't be happier with it !! I have a 4 car driveway and side walk to do and I can do this twice with 1 -2 inches of snow. Just don't leave the battery in the cold as it reduces work time.

Edited September 22, 2023 by vance

[BITEME]

2 hours ago, lew said:

When I was a kid and then my own kids after me would go door to door asking if they wanted their driveway shoveled and that's how we made our extra spending money. 

No kids in your neighborhood looking to make some extra cash Cliff ?

i tried to talk the kids into it...…   but I did the neighbor on either side and the one across the street lots of treats and food all the time open the door and always a surprise

 

made alot of money as a kid walking around with a shovel

[BITEME]

2 hours ago, Big Cliff said:

Anyone have one? If so I would love to hear what you think of it. I need to do something for this winter, I just got a quote of $750.00 to do my driveway and path for this winter and they only come if there is 3+" of snow. Gas ones are a pain to store and service, corded ones are not practical for my place as I would need about 100+' of wire. Battery powered seems like it might be a good option. 

no electric for me i just bought one of these used for the coming seasons 

https://www.yamaha-motor.ca/en/power-equipment/snowblower/yt624ejc/YT-624EJB

[Big Cliff]

 

12 hours ago, lew said:

When I was a kid and then my own kids after me would go door to door asking if they wanted their driveway shoveled and that's how we made our extra spending money. 

No kids in your neighborhood looking to make some extra cash Cliff ?

This is a seniors community Lew so no kids locally. I use to do mine and my neighbors but it's just too much for me now. I have tried seven different snow removal companies in our area, I've been quoted everything from $950.00 for the season (up front) to $30.00 per but in a big storm they come once for every three inches so a foot of snow = $120.00. My driveway is barely big enough to park 4 cars and the path to my propane tanks would be about 60'. While I really don't want to do it myself, I really don't have many options.

10 hours ago, BITEME said:

no electric for me i just bought one of these used for the coming seasons 

https://www.yamaha-motor.ca/en/power-equipment/snowblower/yt624ejc/YT-624EJB

Christ, my driveway isn't big enough to even turn that thing around in lol

[pikehunter]

Wish I could advise on which battery powered blower Cliff. I once had a little Toro electric blower I got on clearance, it worked too good! I had to duct tape a piece of plastic to the chute so it wouldn’t blow the snow so far!  The electric was a pain though with the cord being dragged around in the snow and my driveway had so many slanted uneven spots that the lightweight blower wanted to go where it wanted, not where I wanted it to go. Buy a high voltage battery blower, I myself like the Ryobi+ because the batteries will fit other Ryobi tools. I hope I solved my snow clearing problem this year, we sold the house and bought an apartment condo. Moved August 1, so far so good 🤞I sold the little electric blower and gave my like new Cub Cadet with power steering and heated handles to my son.

[scuro2]

I have had an EGO for two years now. We have a fairly big driveway and it almost always I can do it on one charge. If you have a very long driveway I'd get gas. For most (99%)people electric works great. As an added bonus you can use the batteries for an electric lawnmower or other devices. I several pieces of equipment so I am using the batteries year round. No problems ever on the start and you don't have to worry about gas separation etc. Probably the nicest thing is no stink from a two stroke motor.

[Terry]

I think most blowers and lawnmowers are 4 stroke these days 

[John]

Well Cliff, I'm not sure I would go that route, especially where you live. I have a neighbour who bought a high end Ryobi last season as he has a matching Ryobi lawn mower which he is really happy with.

The snow blower handles 2, 3,4" of dryish snow, he has a 50' single car driveway. However, the first heavy snowfall of 6-8" it bogged down and ran out of battery 2/3 down. Don't think it would be even close to handling the accumulation at the end of the driveway from the plow.

Buy a higher end, mid size 4 stroke blower, don't go too big. Put chains on the drive wheels and it will go through 'most anything. I use gas treatment all season.

[scuro2]

I didn't even buy the high end two stage EGO model. We've got a two lane 30' driveway. I don't know about ryobi but two years ago we had 13 inches of snow to the point where the snow was higher then the mouth of the snowblower. The EGO cleared it. It was a little extra work and required charging the batteries but I got one lane done and the walkway on a single charge.

2-4 inches of dry snow? I laugh in your face John. I jog with the snowblower at that height and it chucks the snow 30'. It's like electric cars, everyone who doesn't have one has an opinion but they are basically ignorant. If I lived in Buffalo or had 300 ft driveway I'd get gas, for 90% of the people electric is better. and cheaper. Ditto EV cars. I get 400km for $4 for EV car.

Edited September 29, 2023 by scuro2

[John]

17 hours ago, scuro2 said:

I didn't even buy the high end two stage EGO model. We've got a two lane 30' driveway. I don't know about ryobi but two years ago we had 13 inches of snow to the point where the snow was higher then the mouth of the snowblower. The EGO cleared it. It was a little extra work and required charging the batteries but I got one lane done and the walkway on a single charge.

2-4 inches of dry snow? I laugh in your face John. I jog with the snowblower at that height and it chucks the snow 30'. It's like electric cars, everyone who doesn't have one has an opinion but they are basically ignorant. If I lived in Buffalo or had 300 ft driveway I'd get gas, for 90% of the people electric is better. and cheaper. Ditto EV cars. I get 400km for $4 for EV car.

Alrighty then! I stopped posting on this site because of asses making replies like this! You want to disagree, fine, but try being a little more respectful and a little less of an ass!

[scuro2]

I didn't even buy the high end two stage EGO model. We've got a two lane 30' driveway. I don't know about ryobi but two years ago we had 13 inches of snow to the point where the snow was higher then the mouth of the snowblower. The EGO cleared it. It was a little extra work and required charging the batteries but I got one lane done and the walkway on a single charge.

2-4 inches of dry snow? Why the EGO eats that dusting for breakfast. I jog with the snowblower at that height and it chucks the snow 30'. It's like electric cars, everyone who doesn't have one has an opinion but do people really know anything about something new until they have tried it? Nope! If I lived in Buffalo or had 300 ft driveway I'd get gas, but for 90% of the people electric is better and cheaper. Ditto EV cars. I get 400km for $4 from my EV car.

Edited October 3, 2023 by scuro2

[lew]

I was wandering around Youtube this morning and came across this video on electric blowers and figured I'd add it to this discussion. Seems like this particular machine handled the heavy snow pretty well but then the batteries ran out and he had to wait for the re-charge which I wouldn't want to do. Then he mentions the cost of replacement batteries and that blew my mind.

Personally, I clear about 600' of snow each time so electric wouldn't work for me and I use a 2 stage gas Toro but electric may work OK if you don't have too much to clear.

All comes down to a personal choice.

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by lew

[scuro2]

On 10/4/2023 at 5:47 AM, lew said:

I was wandering around Youtube this morning and came across this video on electric blowers and figured I'd add it to this discussion. Seems like this particular machine handled the heavy snow pretty well but then the batteries ran out and he had to wait for the re-charge which I wouldn't want to do. Then he mentions the cost of replacement batteries and that blew my mind.

Personally, I clear about 600' of snow each time so electric wouldn't work for me and I use a 2 stage gas Toro but electric may work OK if you don't have too much to clear.

All comes down to a personal choice.

 

So that was a ft of wet snow. He has a long tricky driveway and he "had to push the snow" down the driveway first because there is no place to put it near the house". Even so he got one side done before he had to recharge.

His judgment, "for a normal driveway, perfect" which is basically what I have been saying all along.

To that I will add zero maintenance. I put the batteries in and press start. No oil to check, and no gas to  fill, no worrying about old gas sitting in your blower for 10 months. No fumes to breath in as you clear the snow and the machine is relatively quiet. It's just a much nicer experience to clear snow.

True, as he said, you won't be clearing your neighbour's driveway. Personally, I wouldn't buy extra batteries for an extra long driveway. If your driveway is too long get a gas blower.