Snow Joe Li-Ion Snow Blower and Snowmaggedon

celblazer · 01-25-16, 12:14 AM

So I bought one of these( Amazon Link ) before the blizzard hit NJ. Short review it rocks, handled the deep snow well enough and up to 8" with ease.

Lets see. I'm disabled due to a bad neck injury so shoveling would not have worked with this much snow. I can do light stuff in shifts and suffer severely afterwards so we decided to give this a try.

Easy to put together with no tools needed, light enough my fiance and I can get it around 32lbs. Separate charger takes 2.5hrs ish from empty. Electric shute directional control(really sweet) and LED headlight. Oh and soo quiet.

Night one I went out after midnight(try that with gas) to check it out. We had a few inches by then figured lets put a dent in it. I planned it just doing mine and heading to bed, well it worked so well I did my walk and driveway and both neighbors walks. Due to the lightweight it's easy to push. LED gave plenty of light.

9am next morning and we are buried in. UGH It's designed for up to 8". The top of the front sits at about 15" and the snow was above it. Oh well lets see how it does. No it didn't chew through it but with 2 passes it did. It even handled the plowed snow well. I only did my property as it was all I was up to but the battery still has 30% charge when done and I was not in extreme pain (Huge win). Some drifts are almost 3 ft around the car at this time but with a couple of passes you could get in the door.

A few hours later another pass and it worked great and quick less then 15 min. I did one more pass before bed which again in under 15 minutes. The fiance also took it out on the deck and cleared a path for the dog. It took her no time.

Sunday morning and more snow and it's wet and heavy what left for me to do. It did struggle but did an impressive job. By noon I had dry pavement and driveway from the sun.

Overall this thing rocked. We estimate I spent an hour ish total. I would have had to pay someone to shovel and had to wait til mid day at least.

Daox · 01-25-16, 08:17 AM

Great review. I wasn't even aware they made cordless snowblowers yet. That is awesome!

MN Renovator · 01-25-16, 10:01 AM

At the beginning of this winter, I saw these for $400 at my local Menards and thought, finally a cordless electric snowblower that isn't over a grand. The price tag wasn't enticing to me and my little 2-stroke still does the job, so I figured I'd probably revisit the idea in the future.

..and then I saw this video review that made it sound terrible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFhrTNNIBPM

I realize though, through my own use of single stage rubber flapper type snowblowers that there is a certain knack to using these that they are a serious pain to use until you figure them out, once you've got it, they work wonders. With your experience, it seems that this unit might be reasonable. I thought from the video above that maybe a 40v version might be a little weak and an 80v version might be more similar to the corded version I bought for $100 that I bought as a backup in case my gasser unit decided to die. The corded version has tons of power, so I figured the lithium ion version would have plenty too. ..apparently it does, maybe the guy in the video just likes jamming the snowblower into the snow too hard rather than learning to pace himself.

Thanks for the review. Great to hear good words on these.

celblazer · 01-25-16, 11:31 AM

Yea he was really hammering both of them. If you watch him with the gas it fairs no better. And that was wet snow/ice he said and looked fairly deep. To give you an idea the top of the blower front is 15" And that snow was up there.

I won't say it didn't struggle with the deepest stuff but taking it in layers worked great and I just walked it though. The 4-6" on the last passes were cake. I walked steady and it just worked. It wasn't meant for this crap we got here but did the job and better then we expected.

It did take a bit to figure out the best way to hit the really deep stuff. I did jam the chute a couple of times but that was tackling the plowed street mess which was over 2ft.

hamsterpower · 01-25-16, 11:41 AM

I bought the 15amp corded version at the end of last winter to replace my beloved Toro that had given up on me. This weekend I finally had the chance to try it out. It worked and maybe if I had not had many good years with the Toro I might have been impressed, but I was not. There were several problems with my corded 15 amp SnowJoe. First the build quality feels like it was built by LittleTikes. Second, there is no handle behind the chute that would allow me to use it like a snow thrower as I had with the Toro. Picking up the whole unit and working it through a tall bank of snow is not possible with the SnowJoe. Third, the "safety" button on the power lever was a two handed operation which did not leave a hand free for cord management. And finally, even though the SnowJoe is rated more powerful at 15 amps to the Toro's 12 amps, it felt like it was straining more and there was a distinct oder of a hard working motor. The Toro only did that near the end.
I suppose I got my monies worth at less than half the price but when this one dies in a year or two I'll be going back to Toro.

pletby · 01-26-16, 10:03 AM

I have a Toro corded snowblower and it works great for me. We don't get many wet snowfalls here so that helps. Technique makes a difference for sure. It sure would be nice to have a battery operated snowblower and not have to manage a cord.

That video though... That snow was nearly slush by the way it looked. That'd be tough for any snowblower.

celblazer · 01-26-16, 10:59 AM

I wish I took video but I was to concerned with just getting things done. On the less then 6-8" passes it worked just like every other snow blower I have seen. The Fiance was amazed at how I just walked our area and was done in minutes.

gasstingy · 01-26-16, 12:32 PM

Last year after shoveling our driveway, I complained to my wife that shoveling snow was becoming a regular winter activity here in the south. I threatened to buy a snow blower the next time I had to shovel my driveway. A couple of weeks later, she found that same Snow Joe sitting in the front wiindow of a local thrift store, looking like new for $35.00, missing the charger.

It had a charged battery and everything worked, so I bought it. Then, I bought a new charger for almost $50.00 and I've been waiting for that snowfall since then. We had a couple inches last week, but it didn't accumulate at all on our driveway or walkway. I can hardly wait to play with it.

pinballlooking · 01-26-16, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gasstingy

Last year after shoveling our driveway, I complained to my wife that shoveling snow was becoming a regular winter activity here in the south. I threatened to buy a snow blower the next time I had to shovel my driveway. A couple of weeks later, she found that same Snow Joe sitting in the front wiindow of a local thrift store, looking like new for $35.00, missing the charger.

It had a charged battery and everything worked, so I bought it. Then, I bought a new charger for almost $50.00 and I've been waiting for that snowfall since then. We had a couple inches last week, but it didn't accumulate at all on our driveway or walkway. I can hardly wait to play with it.

Wow great deal.

About 10 years ago we were without power for almost a week I bought a generator the next week.
I think I have used it one time since then.
I am sure it will work the same for you it could be years before the next snow



gasstingy · 01-26-16, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

Wow great deal.

About 10 years ago we were without power for almost a week I bought a generator the next week.
I think I have used it one time since then.
I am sure it will work the same for you it could be years before the next snow



If that happens, I'll call it cheap shoveling insurance.

01-25-16, 12:14 AM	#1
celblazer Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Jersey Posts: 57 Thanks: 42 Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts	Snow Joe Li-Ion Snow Blower and Snowmaggedon So I bought one of these( Amazon Link ) before the blizzard hit NJ. Short review it rocks, handled the deep snow well enough and up to 8" with ease. Lets see. I'm disabled due to a bad neck injury so shoveling would not have worked with this much snow. I can do light stuff in shifts and suffer severely afterwards so we decided to give this a try. Easy to put together with no tools needed, light enough my fiance and I can get it around 32lbs. Separate charger takes 2.5hrs ish from empty. Electric shute directional control(really sweet) and LED headlight. Oh and soo quiet. Night one I went out after midnight(try that with gas) to check it out. We had a few inches by then figured lets put a dent in it. I planned it just doing mine and heading to bed, well it worked so well I did my walk and driveway and both neighbors walks. Due to the lightweight it's easy to push. LED gave plenty of light. 9am next morning and we are buried in. UGH It's designed for up to 8". The top of the front sits at about 15" and the snow was above it. Oh well lets see how it does. No it didn't chew through it but with 2 passes it did. It even handled the plowed snow well. I only did my property as it was all I was up to but the battery still has 30% charge when done and I was not in extreme pain (Huge win). Some drifts are almost 3 ft around the car at this time but with a couple of passes you could get in the door. A few hours later another pass and it worked great and quick less then 15 min. I did one more pass before bed which again in under 15 minutes. The fiance also took it out on the deck and cleared a path for the dog. It took her no time. Sunday morning and more snow and it's wet and heavy what left for me to do. It did struggle but did an impressive job. By noon I had dry pavement and driveway from the sun. Overall this thing rocked. We estimate I spent an hour ish total. I would have had to pay someone to shovel and had to wait til mid day at least. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Daox; 01-25-16 at 08:16 AM..

01-25-16, 08:17 AM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Great review. I wasn't even aware they made cordless snowblowers yet. That is awesome! __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-25-16, 11:41 AM	#5
hamsterpower Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 142 Thanks: 0 Thanked 11 Times in 11 Posts	Corded SnowJoe vs Toro I bought the 15amp corded version at the end of last winter to replace my beloved Toro that had given up on me. This weekend I finally had the chance to try it out. It worked and maybe if I had not had many good years with the Toro I might have been impressed, but I was not. There were several problems with my corded 15 amp SnowJoe. First the build quality feels like it was built by LittleTikes. Second, there is no handle behind the chute that would allow me to use it like a snow thrower as I had with the Toro. Picking up the whole unit and working it through a tall bank of snow is not possible with the SnowJoe. Third, the "safety" button on the power lever was a two handed operation which did not leave a hand free for cord management. And finally, even though the SnowJoe is rated more powerful at 15 amps to the Toro's 12 amps, it felt like it was straining more and there was a distinct oder of a hard working motor. The Toro only did that near the end. I suppose I got my monies worth at less than half the price but when this one dies in a year or two I'll be going back to Toro.

01-25-16, 11:31 AM	#4
celblazer Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Jersey Posts: 57 Thanks: 42 Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts	Yea he was really hammering both of them. If you watch him with the gas it fairs no better. And that was wet snow/ice he said and looked fairly deep. To give you an idea the top of the blower front is 15" And that snow was up there. I won't say it didn't struggle with the deepest stuff but taking it in layers worked great and I just walked it though. The 4-6" on the last passes were cake. I walked steady and it just worked. It wasn't meant for this crap we got here but did the job and better then we expected. It did take a bit to figure out the best way to hit the really deep stuff. I did jam the chute a couple of times but that was tackling the plowed street mess which was over 2ft.

01-26-16, 10:03 AM	#6
pletby Renewable Energy Nut Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Posts: 42 Thanks: 17 Thanked 20 Times in 9 Posts	I have a Toro corded snowblower and it works great for me. We don't get many wet snowfalls here so that helps. Technique makes a difference for sure. It sure would be nice to have a battery operated snowblower and not have to manage a cord. That video though... That snow was nearly slush by the way it looked. That'd be tough for any snowblower.

01-26-16, 10:59 AM	#7
celblazer Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Jersey Posts: 57 Thanks: 42 Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts	I wish I took video but I was to concerned with just getting things done. On the less then 6-8" passes it worked just like every other snow blower I have seen. The Fiance was amazed at how I just walked our area and was done in minutes.

01-26-16, 12:32 PM	#8
gasstingy Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Arab, AL Posts: 491 Thanks: 109 Thanked 49 Times in 43 Posts	Last year after shoveling our driveway, I complained to my wife that shoveling snow was becoming a regular winter activity here in the south. I threatened to buy a snow blower the next time I had to shovel my driveway. A couple of weeks later, she found that same Snow Joe sitting in the front wiindow of a local thrift store, looking like new for $35.00, missing the charger. It had a charged battery and everything worked, so I bought it. Then, I bought a new charger for almost $50.00 and I've been waiting for that snowfall since then. We had a couple inches last week, but it didn't accumulate at all on our driveway or walkway. I can hardly wait to play with it.