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This Cordless Two-Stage Snow Thrower Will Keep Your Driveway Clear All Winter

12K views 30 replies 20 participants last post by  jsup 
#1 ·


The first flakes may still be a few weeks away, but it's about time to dust off the snow thrower and prep it for winter. But what if, instead of fiddling with a carb and mixing fuel, this task meant simply inspecting the blower and making sure the batteries are charged.

Snow Joe has just introduced the first such cordless two-stage tool powered by two lithium-ion batteries. The clean and silent operation make snow-clearing an almost pleasant experience.

The Snow Joe iON24SB-XR is self-propelled, and it's two-stage function collects the snow with an auger and then discharges it with an impeller fan. This makes it ideal for clearing snow from larger yards and driveways.

Snow Joe
It's available with two 40-volt 5.0 Ah batteries for 40 minutes of runtime, which can carve a swath 24 inches wide by 13 inches deep, and throw up to 1,000 pounds of snow per minute. An upgraded model features two 40-volt 6.0 Ah batteries for 50 minutes of runtime on a single charge.

Since there is no gas, this unit can be stored safely indoors and is about half the way of most gas units which make it much more maneuverable.

The iON24SB-XR is available now for $799 on Amazon.
 
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#3 ·
This is an interesting alternative for those who live in a once a year snow storm area I imagine, time will tell how worthwhile it will be. At the very least it eliminates the ethanol fuel issue so that's got to be worth something for the occasional snowblower user who isn't terribly mechanically inclined.
 
#6 ·
I think many people that buy this unit will eventually end up regretting it as soon as the battery dies before they finish plowing their snow. You better make **** sure it doesn't take you more then 40mintues to do your business....or God forbid you forget to charge it when you're done, and only realize it when you need it again.

Seriously though....is it that much of an inconvenience to have a gas powered machine, or plug in?
 
#7 ·
Paul from MovingSnow.com - Helping You Find The Best Snow Blower For You just did unboxing video...
My takes from looking at this, reading and watching paul's video:
Cons - Cheap tires, Cheap chute turn mechanism, lots of plastic, limited run time, EOD snow might be a challenge for the motor
Pros - Good for people that live in place that prohibits or have no separate storage for gas powered, good for people to say they have 2 stage machine that actually don't do any snow removal
 
#9 ·
Sorry boys, but I think you are looking at the future. It just makes too much sense. Electric motors have too much going for them. They're very efficient, don't require any maintenance, and require no gas which means no emissions and low operating costs. Currently there are obvious limitations like run time and power, however, I bet my 14 year old son will buy an electric snowblower one day that is the equivalent to my Ariens 24" Deluxe.
 
#12 ·
emissions : the emissions is coming from the electric plant not the snowblower
hopefully your son has a bunch of great electric snowblowers to choose from in the future but right now petro powered snowblowers rules
 
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#16 ·
What I don't get is the minute you hit the home page there is a red snowblower I can't even figure out the brand is it an ad or is it a plug for that brand???? I almost thought that I was on movingsnow.### if tesla can make a battery for a car that is freaky fast and gets almost 300 miles on a charge. it will eventually trickle down to other things. so that batteries of the future on snowblowers will run for 4 or more hours. JUTS tossing that 1 out here if it makes any sense or not.
 
#18 · (Edited)
You would likely need to buy a 2nd set of batteries for sure. The 40 minutes may not always be the case depending on temperatures etc. I watched a couple of videos of it in operation on YouTube and it looks pretty weak, would work for a small sidewalk and maybe a one car driveway. For $799 at HD, too costly for what you get and what it can do.
 
#19 ·
I'm guessing if it was working out then Ariens wouldn't have dropped their electric. After all the R&D and tooling costs it's a shame they let it go. Would be nice if at least one manufacturer was able to market and then continue to improve an electric alternative.

Ariens 24" AMP
 
#20 ·
Well as it turns out, I've lucked into getting my hands on one of these units. I'm really looking forward to setting it up, using it, and of course reviewing it too.

I've had the opportunity to use several different types of battery operated lawn equipment in the past, but never anything as large as a snow blower. They have all been pretty good, but nothing has ever performed like a gas powered unit. The closest is my Echo Hedge trimmer. It's a little unbalanced due to the weight of the battery, but it gets the job done pretty easily.
 
#21 ·
My experience with battery operated items in extreme cold, is that tend to fail quicker than AC or gas alternatives. It's not to say that there can be advantages to using rechargeable's, there are quite a few with temps above 50F and below 100F. Outside of those parameters and there is a diminished performance. While it may make sense as a lawn mower, maybe not as a snowblower application.

That of course said, battery chemistry could adjusted to combat the cold. But but what does that do to performance and life span?

And then we take the dalliance down the green road. Yes they are recyclable, but that takes energy to do and produces byproducts. So, albeit it may feel better to go this direction, what is the net result?

And, if you research into Tesla, they actually take all this into account, where most of us just store and ignore our machines in the garage, until we need them.
 
#26 ·
Like anything else there is a learning curve. The manufacturers are trying to come out with one that works and they get closer each time. I'd like to see one of the Ariens Amps run in the snow around here. I would think if a company could make a reliable one that would work for the consumer it would be one of the big names. Ariens dropped the Amp but I'm sure in years ahead they'll be trying again.

 
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