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Snow Joe sent the new cordless two stage snow blower.
I’ve had a chance to unbox it and get it ready for snow. Enjoy the video.
Feel free to ask any question in the comments below.
I’m in the process os comparing it to a typical 24 inch gas snow blower. I should have that video done by Novemeber 8th.
If you decide that this Snow Joe is the right snow blower for you the best price is here – on Amazon: Snow Joe iON24SB-XR 80V Max 5.0 Ah Cordless Self-Propelled Two-Stage 3-Speed + Reverse Digital Drive Snow Blower
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Ben Smith
Hi Paul,
Your site is amazing, thanks for the hard work you’ve put in over the years! I’ve been using it for unbiased information as I research which two-stage gas snow blower I am buying next (leaning Ariens 24″ Deluxe).
I just realized you did a little work with this Snow Joe iON24SB-XR. Yesterday about 10 minutes into moving some snow, my auger stopped. Being a battery powered unit, I have no clue where to look. I haven’t been able to get help from Snow Joe on the phone or through their live chat online.
The batteries are fully charged, and I tried two different sets so I am confident it isn’t a battery issue. The shear pins are in tact. And the drive motor works at all three speeds, so it isn’t a complete electrical failure. The unit is three years old, stored inside, and has been used about 5 times, so I’m disappointed to say the least.
That said, do you happen to know if there is some sort of circuit breaker inside this unit that might be tripped? Short of that, I fear I’m left with four expensive batteries. Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!
Paul
Hi Ben, there are so many safety switches on that thing it’s easy to have one in the wrong position. That said, I went through the parts manual and found nothing on circuit breakers or fuses. But.
I suggest removing the top cover, find the main drive motor, and follow the wires back to the switches in the dash. Check all the connections as you go along to make sure they are firmly seated. Check the plugs going into the switches. Most of the time with a unit like this it’s usually something mechanical – loose wire, connector, or switch in the wrong position
Here is a copy of the manual if you don’t have yours to see how to take the top off. https://files.snowjoe.com/product-manuals/iON24SB-XRMANUAL_ENG-ML.pdf
dennis carpenter
the gear plate was sitting loose on top of the discharge opening. There is nothing in the assembly book or in the video about how to secure it on top of the discharge.
Paul
Hi Dennis, Watch the video until 4:50 or so. Are there six bolts sticking up through the gear plate? I think mine has 4 with wingnuts and 2 with regular nuts. If those bolts are there I think there are black plastic clips under the plate. Go ahead and bolt the blue metal discharge chute to the gear plate. It should be right and work fine.
If those bolts are not there please contact your seller or contact Snow Joe to get the replacement parts..
ArkSnow
Love your site and your feedback!!! I had a small Toro push blower for a previous smaller driveway that just died.
I live in Glenwood, MD. My driveway is paved, slight grade, and about 650ft single car width. I like your write up on the Toro SnowMaster 724 QXE but started to wonder if it might be right size?
I also do have a John Deere x320 lawn mower and was debating this used attachment:
http://salesmanual.deere.com/sales/salesmanual/en_NA/lawn_equipment/attachments/sku23045_44_snow_blower_x3_x5.html
Any thoughts?
Paul
Hi ArkSnow, The snow blower for the X320 is overkill for your area. In addition to the snow blower you will need weight and chains to even move it around the driveway. You also have to be very careful buying used. Those snow blowers have a lot of parts that normally stay on your tractor. If the previous owner did not remove all those parts they can easily cost you 2-400 dollars for the parts. Finally a John deere snow blower is expensive to buy-even used.
Instead for your area and the amount of snow you get I suggest two items. First a snow blade, weight, chains for your tractor. Use that for most of the snows you get. Then buy the SnowMaster and use it to clean up after the blade, and handle the 10-12 inchers you may get once in a while.
ArkSnow
That makes tons of sense! Thank you Paul!
Bruce
Hi Paul,
I purchased a Toro 826 OXE model (37781) last winter and I’m noticing a serious flaw with it and wondering if you’ve run into this before or heard about it or maybe one of your readers have noticed this as well. The snow blower will startup with no issues the first time with just a single pull. However, once the snow blower has run for a little bit and “gets warmed up” and I turn it off. When I try to restart the snow blower I cannot get it to restart at all. Even when I use the electric start, the motor will just crank away. If I leave it alone maybe about 30 minutes or so… I haven’t really timed it, but once it seems to cool down the snow blower will restart again. Any ideas? have you run into this issue before with your vast experience with these machines?
Paul
Hi Bruce, Vapor lock is fairly common with all the “snow” engine – not just the Toro’s. I suggest talking to your dealer and see if they have a local fix. You can also talk to DonBoy73 here for a permanent fix. https://www.facebook.com/Donyboy73-The-Small-Engine-Doctor-on-Youtube-234040803408166/?fref=ts.
Dodd Cooper
Hi Paul. I was at Lowe’s today and saw the new Snow Joe 80V 3-Stage 5Ah snow blower. In searching the internet, since this machine is relatively new there are no reviews as of yet and I was wondering what your thoughts are if in indeed this cordless machine actually works. The only video I saw seems to be the one from the Snow Joe company itself and that tends to be somewhat propaganda because they are in business to sell machines. I am from Windsor, ON across from Detroit, MI and get usually average to below average snow in the winter. I currently have a gas powered machine (21″ 205cc) but when I saw this Snow Joe machine today it intrigued me. The interest in wanting to replace the gas power, it sometimes is a pain with starting as a result of over flooding and the machine won’t start. So I thought this cordless machine could resolve that issue. My only skepticism I have with entertaining the cordless, does it really work like the Snow Joe video says it does? My fear is it will bog down with deep & wet snow. Does it really blow 13″ deep stuff as advertised. I greatly appreciate your advise before I plunge and spend the $899.00 CDN that Lowe’s advertises for this machine.
Paul
Hi Dodd, I have one here and have put an unboxing review on youtube. You know I don’t just unbox this stuff but I go through why it may be a good choice for you. You can watch it here: Snow Joe iON24SB-XR 80V Cordless Self-Propelled 2-Stage Unboxing
How does it blow snow? How does it blow snow to a typical 24 inch 208 cc 2-stage snow blower? I hope to find out tomorrow. They are forecasting my first 6-9 inch snow so hopefully I will get enough to test the Snow Joe out.
By the way, I have sold a lot of Toro SnowMasters in your area and people love them for the wet snow you usually get. https://movingsnow.com/2016/it-snowed-2015-toro-snowmaster-snowmaster-824-qxe-test-on-pavement-gravel-and-turf/ and https://movingsnow.com/2015/2015-toro-snowmaster-724-qxe-824-qxe-picture-review/
Dodd Cooper
We all are going to get this snow storm tonight, tomorrow & early Monday morning. Please try this machine and email me a copy of the video. If it work’s for you then definitely it work for me. For now, I will use my gas powered blower to tackle this storm tomorrow. Thanks. Dodd
Paul
Hi Dodd, Here is the new video. Snow Joe iON 80V 2-stage tested in snow – Is it for you?
TheShoveler
Hi Paul, thanks for this site and the information! I live in a suburb of Philadelphia and shovel the snow off of my almost 1800 soft driveway (measurement taken when we resurfaced the driveway). The driveway is sorta 7 shaped (as opposed to L shaped) with a roughly 70ft single car entry way that has a gentle decline from the road to the “landing” in front of the garage. While I enjoy shoveling, I have learned that I cannot keep up with more than 12 inches at a time. And if the snow does not melt, I eventually end up with 3-4 ft snow walls that I can’t lift the snow over. With the area’s average snow fall at 22 inches, the EGO snow blower looks attractive, but my friend wants to borrow the snowblower for his driveway (I borrow his 42″ deck lawnmower all the time) and I’m not sure if the EGO will cover it. The Toro 724/824 QXE look like good options, but HomeDepot has a 24″ Ariens sub brand SnoTek snow blower (model # 920402) for $100 less, a massive review count (1423 now) and above 4 star rating. I don’t want to overspend, but I also don’t want to shoot myself in the foot (I bought a 21″ push mower and it takes forever to mow my half acre yard). The 24″ size looks about as big as I can manage in my garage with both cars parked.
Paul
Hi TheShoveler, If you are considering going cordless the EGO system is arguably the best because they have a full line of equipment to go with the battery. They even have a 21 inch self-propelled mower! Buy the Snow Blower / battery kit and then purchase the mower/battery kit later on and you will have enough batteries for most snow and for mowing all your yard. The EGO will charge in 40 minutes so you should be able to do you drive, charge the batteries and then let your neighbor use it. EGO 21 in. 56-Volt Lithium-Ion Single Stage Electric Snow Blower with (2) 5.0 Ah Batteries
For the amount of snow you get the Toro 724 QXE will be the fastest. It will throw snow farther than the EGO and will easily handle 14 inches compared to the EGO’s 8-10 inches. It has automatic locking differential that lets it have power to both wheels and still be easy to turn. Because you operate it more like a walk-behind mower than than snow blower it’s fast. You can usually clear a driveway 40-50% faster than a comparable 2-stage.
The EGo and the Toro 724 QXE will not work on gravel or turf.
Yes, the SnoTek is a great value economy snow blower. It’s been around for quite some time now and it works well for the amount and type of snow you get. It will work on all surfaces and will handle 24 inch drifts. It weighs the most so it will handle the end of driveway frozen snow plow pile better than the other two. Both wheels are driven all the time and it can be hard to turn for small people. For the size of your driveway (and your neighbor’s) it will last a long time.
TheShoveler
Hi Paul, Thanks for the advice. I went with the Toro 724 QXE and we had only two snowfalls where the snow blower was needed.
The first snow fall featured slushy snow that was melting. The Toro handled it quite well, but the chute jammed up when I directed the chute to the extreme right/left. This was of course was easy to fix.
The second snow fall was a bit more trying as we had snow followed by a mix of sleet and freezing rain. As a newbie, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I tried to force the blower to pick everything up. This was no good as I was trying to move 4 layers of mush where each layer down was heavier than the one above. Since the blower is not that heavy, it kept riding above the heavier layers and I kept trying to force the blower to clean everything in one go. This didn’t work well. The solution was to let the blower ride up over the lower layers and then hit the lower layers on a second pass. Given the snow density, it took me nearly two hours to finish cleaning up my driveway. The blower shuddered to a halt two or three times while hitting the end of driveway snow pack. After doing my driveway, I did my friend’s driveway. The second time was not as hard since I wasn’t trying to move everything in one pass.
Would the 824 have done better on the heavy wet stuff? The 724 made my job easier. I was not dead tired after either snow fall. I would have never cleared my driveway after the second snowfall.
Tomorrow, I’m going to drain the fuel tank. Toro’s youtube video suggests using fuel treatment while running the last tank down before putting the blower away. My fuel was already treated with Sta-Bil. Do I need to use the fuel treatment when running out the remaining fuel?
Paul
Hi theshoveler, There is not one snow blower that will throw all types of snow and you just ran into the one type the Snowmaster doesn’t like on your first outing. Don’t be concerned.
There is no snowblower that won’t plug on the wet stuff. The Snowmaster is actually the best and it very rarely clogs.
The only reason why I won’t give the Snowmaster the #1 rating like sweethome.com did is because it is lightweight. That makes it really easy to use until you get that “one snow” that’s really wet and heavy. Then it doesn’t have the traction to push through the deep stuff. One you make one pass though you can then take 1/2 or 1/4 passes and it will do fine. The 824 throws more snow farther but it still weighs the same so it has the same issues on the wet, heavy stuff.
Since the Snowmaster does not have a fuel shutoff draining the tank is the best option. Yes, use the fuel with the fuel stabilizer in it. The stabilizer coats the inside of the carb keeping it from oxidizing.
Mike M
Hi Paul,
First off your site is great I just subscribed! I live in West Chester, PA and am looking to buy one this year. Growing up in the same town I was accustomed to the Craftsman models, the latest being a 5+ yr old 2 stage professional 28″ which was ok but I am looking for a more refined machine.
I am leaning towards either the Toro 928HD or Ariens 28SHO. I noticed on the Toro site under the commercial tab that they also make a 926HD but its not for sale. My guess is that its no longer available. I am a bit hesitant on going down to a 24″ model and am concerned that the 826HD won’t suffice with the lower cc engine.
Note: I tend to buy equipment that is more than capable to do the job. I prefer to spend a little more up front for piece of mind. That being said my budget is around $1500.
My driveway is a single that opens to a double garage. it’s approximately 75ft. long. Any help would be appreciated. I am short 5′ 4″ but had no difficulty handling the older Craftsman.
Thanks,
Mike
Paul
Hi Mike, I have no problems suggesting the Toro Power Max HD 826 OXE Model 38805 (link to ACME). With Toro’s anti-clog system they don’t need as much HP to do the same job as the other designs. I get about twice as much snow as you and I would select that one for my 2 car, 80 foot drive.
It has all the features and capacity of the 928 except heated hand grips.
Mike M
Thanks Paul. I have never ordered from Acme. Are they reputable? Disregard, I just made the purchase
Paul
Hi Mike, Acme Tools, Northern Tool, Tractor Supply, Farm & Fleet, Mill’s Fleet Farm all started about the same decade. Acme in particular is a family owned business that has a wonderful reputation for taking care of you over the last 50 years. You may not know them but I’ve done business with them for at least 40 years.
Mike M
ok, thank you.
Colin
I have a question about Toro’s lack of shear pins. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? If a piece of gravel from my gravel drive gets in there, what will happen? Thanks, Colin
Paul
Hi Colin, The Toro design doesn’t use shear pins and it doesn’t need them. Everything is tough enough to handle a frozen newspaper or large rock. If you do find something large enough to stop the auger/impeller the belt just slips. It’s a great design.
Patty
Hi Paul,
I’m in Worcester MA. I have about a 3 car driveway (wider near the house, then narrows near the street). Driveway is paved and flat. I’m a woman, 57, 5’6 and 120 lbs. I’ve always shoveled out myself, but looking for a little help this year. I’m looking at electric models, for ease of maintenance and because storage is an issue. I plan to keep it in a corner of my kitchen, so gas isn’t an option. I’m looking at the Snow Joe and EGO models and wonder what you would recommend – I’m assuming the EGO since it’s on your top 20? Price isn’t a big issue; just want something I can handle pretty easily. And if you recommend the EGO, is the model with the (2) 5.0 batteries adequate, or should I go with the higher 7.5? I do get plow pile at the end of the drive, and I’m assuming with electric that I’ll still need to do some of that by hand. Thanks for any recommendations you can provide. Thank you and love this site!
Paul
Hi Patty, You actually get twice the snow than the average person in the U.S. gets so I would never suggest just a single stage snow blower for your area. But, I also have to say the EGO electric is a lot better than shoveling by hand. Just so you know, a 2-stage machine can be left outside. Just cover it with an old blanket or cheap tarp and they start right up. That said,
You didn’t state how long your driveway was so I can’t say which size batteries you need. I know the 7.5 AH appear very expensive. So, I suggest buying the machine with the 5 AH. Then think about buying an extra set of 5 AH. (total four) That way you can be using a set and when you drain them, put in the new set and put the first set right on the charger. That way, If you do have a lot to do you can basically go 2 1/2 sets of batteries befor