I have customers with them, and similar to battery mowers they are good for small driveways or for people who don't want to mess with gas engines. If you need to move a lot of snow or think you will buy one to save money, they aren't for you.
Battery powered snow blower
- Thread starter Snagglefoot
- Start date
My EGO blower just failed to work in 22 degree NY weather.
I use the blower (not a snow blower, regular 650cfm blower) to clean the hangar out. We had some snow and it tends to pile up at the edge of the hangar door. I went out to our non heated hangar in MGJ, Orange County, NY, to clean up. I fully charged the battery last month and left it in the hangar shelf, not on the charger or tool. It had 3 bars out of 5, despite being fully charged when I left it. It failed to work at all. No signs of life, blower was not going to work.
I put the 56V, 5AH battery on the charger to see if that would help. It displayed a solid red light, which indicates "over temp" according to the legend by the light. It would not charge and I was unable to clean the hangar.
I took the battery and charger and blower to the office, and let it warm up overnight. It finally accepted a charge in the AM, and the blower worked again. Unfortunately, by then I had no time to drive back out to the hangar, as we were departing at 11AM.
My point is this, EGO has some form of protection circuitry. You MUST keep the battery warm for it to function at all. If you plan on blowing snow, charge and store the batteries inside somewhere warm. Only take them out to use them.
I use the blower (not a snow blower, regular 650cfm blower) to clean the hangar out. We had some snow and it tends to pile up at the edge of the hangar door. I went out to our non heated hangar in MGJ, Orange County, NY, to clean up. I fully charged the battery last month and left it in the hangar shelf, not on the charger or tool. It had 3 bars out of 5, despite being fully charged when I left it. It failed to work at all. No signs of life, blower was not going to work.
I put the 56V, 5AH battery on the charger to see if that would help. It displayed a solid red light, which indicates "over temp" according to the legend by the light. It would not charge and I was unable to clean the hangar.
I took the battery and charger and blower to the office, and let it warm up overnight. It finally accepted a charge in the AM, and the blower worked again. Unfortunately, by then I had no time to drive back out to the hangar, as we were departing at 11AM.
My point is this, EGO has some form of protection circuitry. You MUST keep the battery warm for it to function at all. If you plan on blowing snow, charge and store the batteries inside somewhere warm. Only take them out to use them.
Good to know. So far the only people I know with them keep them in a heated garage and the battery is likely always on a charger.
Just going to leave this language from the EGO charging manual as well, as some of the earlier post is outlined in the manual:
NOTICE: This battery pack is equipped with an advanced self-maintenance function to extend the battery life. Depending on the battery charge, it will automatically perform a self-discharge operation after one month of storage. After this self-maintenance, the battery pack will enter sleep mode and maintain 30% of its charge capacity. If stored for a month or longer, fully recharge the battery before the next use.
Manual also states the battery must be between 37 and 135F in order to charge in the troubleshooting section...
With those things in mind storage long term storage in an unheated garage in cold climates will lead to charging issues.
NOTICE: This battery pack is equipped with an advanced self-maintenance function to extend the battery life. Depending on the battery charge, it will automatically perform a self-discharge operation after one month of storage. After this self-maintenance, the battery pack will enter sleep mode and maintain 30% of its charge capacity. If stored for a month or longer, fully recharge the battery before the next use.
Manual also states the battery must be between 37 and 135F in order to charge in the troubleshooting section...
With those things in mind storage long term storage in an unheated garage in cold climates will lead to charging issues.
Forcing a charge on a cold LiIon battery can cause it to explode. I don't know the specifics, but anyone using battery equipment should check this out before burning down a home or business.
I found that out the hard way. These things are more than a little fickle.
My suggestion: Purchase gas powered tools for real work in truly cold conditions. Once that battery was cold, it was not going to charge or work.
In my previous life, working, lithium batteries had to be kept in the cab of my van if they were going to work in power tools. Left in the back in real winter temperatures they were a no go when occasionally called upon. No time to warm one up either in a customer's house, got to get it done and move on to the next call.
Same with my snowmobile clubs E saws. They are great to cut up the small blown down trees on the trail when out grooming BUT batteries need to be kept in the warm cab. E saw will have the job done before you can crank up and warm up the gas saw riding outside in the bed of the Gator at zero F.
14'' Milwaukee's, bigger gas saw onboard for the big stuff.
Same with my snowmobile clubs E saws. They are great to cut up the small blown down trees on the trail when out grooming BUT batteries need to be kept in the warm cab. E saw will have the job done before you can crank up and warm up the gas saw riding outside in the bed of the Gator at zero F.
14'' Milwaukee's, bigger gas saw onboard for the big stuff.
My work has a Worx GT electric snowblower they keep inside the office building. It doesn't get ripped off, the batteries stay warm, and there aren't gas fumes in the office space.
How's it work? No idea. Its goal is to get the sidewalks; a plow gets the plow stuff.
How's it work? No idea. Its goal is to get the sidewalks; a plow gets the plow stuff.
Yeah, the note on the cold weather limit on the battery was buried in the instructions for sure!
Ditto other comments - working in a cold climate, our lithium batteries for equipment are always kept in heated indoors or heated cab of a truck, and then if a spare is on you, it goes in a pocket inside a jacket to keep warm as long as possible...
Ditto other comments - working in a cold climate, our lithium batteries for equipment are always kept in heated indoors or heated cab of a truck, and then if a spare is on you, it goes in a pocket inside a jacket to keep warm as long as possible...
Having a toro 60 V lawnmower that can’t mow a normal city lawn without having to stop and recharge the battery. I passed on any battery snowblower. Sorry but gas is king.
I have no issue with electric blowers. The no gas and quietness is nice. Plus I’m sure they don’t have the same issues as those blowers with the plastic general transmissions. I love my mid 90s Craftsman. Its extremely Basic. Has snow chains, ultra reliable and simple disc drive, snow king engine which starts first pull every year, manual crank chute. It chews through anything in 1st gear. Plus parts are cheap.
Revisiting this thread are there any small lightweight powerful 1875 watt plug in snow throwers or shovels on the market? I don’t care about the width of path only reliability, weight and speed.
Corded models that are too wide of path just plug up and break plastic parts.
My mom is too weak and imbalanced to handle a gas blower because they are all too heavy to steer and manipulate.
Heard a lot of horror stories about snow joes, not certain if anything is built to not fall apart after a couple years
Corded models that are too wide of path just plug up and break plastic parts.
My mom is too weak and imbalanced to handle a gas blower because they are all too heavy to steer and manipulate.
Heard a lot of horror stories about snow joes, not certain if anything is built to not fall apart after a couple years
I'm adding your story to my long list of reasons to avoid battery powered tools.
Battery powered mowers are one thing, but you can't compare the relative success of electric mowers to snow blowers....the power demand is night and day, which means there are many more cases where battery powered blowers will not be able to meet demand like gas. I have a 30" mower, 223cc, and a 30" 2-stage snow blower with a 357cc. There are still plenty of times where more power would be nice on the blower, despite the fact that it is already 40% larger than the engine on the "comparable" mower. I blow a 25' x 50' driveway, 100' of sidewalks, my street down the curb two houses to where the storm drain is, a 10' x20' space in my backyard and a 75' path to get there. No way an electric could do that without investing in additional batteries, or unless it was a light snow.
I am very hesitant about a battery powered snow blower, at least for my application. I live on a corner lot, and have a circular driveway that is about 10' wide x about 120' long. I also have a driveway out of the side garage that is about 25' wide x 25' long. Then I have side parking that is about 34' long x 25' wide. Lastly, I have about 110' of sidewalk to clear. That's almost 3000 ft² that has to be cleared. After the city snowplow pushes snow up on the sidewalk, even for my 13 hp Troy-bilt gets a real workout moving all the snow.
My string trimmer, leaf blower and hedger are all battery operated. There are certain things I love about them, including the instant on, instead of having to nurse a gas engine while it warms up. I don't miss the noise at all, nor do I miss mixing 2-cycle fuel. But none of these tools have the same power as the gas, and corded in the case of the hedger, tools that they replaced. I would guess that the trimmer and blower have about 80% of the 2-cycle machines they replaced.
The 8ah battery that came with the string trimmer has already crapped out, and holds less charge than my 5ah batteries. To edge and blow off my yard after mowing takes about 1 and 1/2 to 2 fully charged 5ah M18 batteries.
When my Troy-Bilt wears out, I'm not against a battery snow blower. But there is no way that I would consider it until the energy density in the batteries makes a significant improvement.
My string trimmer, leaf blower and hedger are all battery operated. There are certain things I love about them, including the instant on, instead of having to nurse a gas engine while it warms up. I don't miss the noise at all, nor do I miss mixing 2-cycle fuel. But none of these tools have the same power as the gas, and corded in the case of the hedger, tools that they replaced. I would guess that the trimmer and blower have about 80% of the 2-cycle machines they replaced.
The 8ah battery that came with the string trimmer has already crapped out, and holds less charge than my 5ah batteries. To edge and blow off my yard after mowing takes about 1 and 1/2 to 2 fully charged 5ah M18 batteries.
When my Troy-Bilt wears out, I'm not against a battery snow blower. But there is no way that I would consider it until the energy density in the batteries makes a significant improvement.
- Joined
- May 28, 2014
- Messages
- 2,596
I've been using Ego 56v 2 stage since 2020
It's plowed through 17 plus inches of snow
6 car driveway
No issues with the batteries
No regrets
It's plowed through 17 plus inches of snow
6 car driveway
No issues with the batteries
No regrets
That's a valid question, but I believe those batteries can be removed easily for indoor storage. Once in use outside, they should be OK as long as they start warm.
It's a bit like the battery-powered lawn mower argument, right? The battery-electric unit is a great match for those of us with a small lot. It's a delight to use.
A battery-powered snowblower might work well for me too, but at this point I'm still fine using a shovel.
It's like any other tool you buy,don't come here and ask "do you think I should buy a ??????.No do your homework work,study the machine at a dealer,analyze your situation, the conditions where you live.There is much to think about Hopefully you get it right
