Ad Blocker Detected
Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker for Movingsnow.com.
Cordless Electric Snowblower for 2-car driveways 40-70 feet long.
Battery and brushless motor technology have progressed to the point where there are now a couple of cordless electric snowblowers that are as good as a gas-powered single-stage snow thrower. They have enough battery capacity to clear up to an 18-car driveway on a single charge. The two new cordless electric snow throwers this year are similar in size and capacity to the gas-powered single-stage machines. The two I recommend can handle 8 inches of snow and drifts up to 12 inches.
I am NOT recommending any other electric snow throwers for clearing your typical suburban driveway. Why?
- The Toro FlexForce and Snow Joe 100-Volt Max are the ONLY cordless snow blowers on the market this year that have auger assist. If the snow is deeper than two inches this allows them to pull themselves through the snow. ALL the other electric snowthrowers don’t have this feature which means you have to PUSH the snowthrower. Yes, that may be fine if you only have two inches but if the snow is deeper, if the snow is frozen, or the driveway you are clearing is sloped pushing the snowthrower into the snow is a major workout. It’s also a safety issue if you are trying to push one up your driveway.
- With the exception of the Toro FlexForce and Snow Joe 100-Volt Max there are very few cordless snowthrowers that can clear more than 4 inches of snow. Most, only handle 4 inches or so and don’t throw the snow very far.
- Many other snowthrowers use their own unique battery. The Toro FlexForce and Snow Joe 100-Volt Max use the same battery in the snow thrower that’s used in their other lawn and garden tools. For example, The cordless Toro Recycler mower is one of the best rated self-propelled mowers and the SAME battery works in both the mower and this snow thrower.
- Even though the Toro FlexForce and Snow Joe 100-Volt Max are powerful enough to clear your driveway they are also light enough to clean off your deck. Just pull the battery out of the unit and they only weigh about 50lbs. You can easily pull them up steps to clear your deck.
If a cordless snow thrower is not the right choice for you please go here to check out my recommended snow blowers list: The Best Snow Blowers For You! Fall 2019
First. Recommended: Toro FlexForce: 21″ Power Clear® e21 60V* 7.5 AH (405 AH) Battery Snow Blower (39901) Buy Here at The Home Depot.
Check out my video on YouTube. This cordless electric snowblower features Toro’s patented Power Clear – auger assist system that pulls you through the snow and throws it up to 40 feet. This snow thrower will clear up to a 12 car driveway on one charge. When you take the battery out this snowblower only weighs 40 lbs so it will be great for areas where you have to lift it up steps or put it in your car. Personally, I like this snow blower a lot and it will be my go-to machine for clearing my 16X70 feet driveway and patio this winter. This snow thrower is part of Toro FlexForce line of 60-volt cordless tools which includes one of the best 22-inch self-propelled mowers on the market. The line currently includes 21-inch snow thrower, 22 inch Toro Recycler Personal Pace Mower, 16 inch String Trimmer, and 600cfm Blower. View the entire line here: View the Toro 60V Flex-Force Power System Collection
Second. Recommended but expensive: Snow Joe 21 in. 100-Volt Max 5 Ah Brushless Cordless Electric Snow Blower Model# ION100V-21SB. Buy Here at The Home Depot.
Check out my video on YouTube. Snow Joe cordless electric snowblower has redesigned their cordless single stage once again and this model now features auger assist and a 30 minute run time on the supplied 5.0 AH (425 WH) battery. It’s the best Snow Joe to date. This snow thrower is part of the Snow Joe/Sun Joe line of 100-volt cordless tools. The line currently includes a 21 inch Self Propelled Lawn Mower, 21-inch snow thrower, 500cfm blower, 16-inch string trimmer, 10-inch pole saw, 18-inch chain saw and 24-inch hedge trimmer. View the entire line here: Sun Joe 100-Volt | Snow Joe 100-Volt
Maybe. Popular but I don’t recommend: EGO 21 in. Single-Stage 56-Volt Lithium-Ion 7.5 AH (405 AH) Cordless Electric Snow Blower. Buy Here at The Home Depot.
This cordless electric snowblower needs two batteries for operation (supplied) and does not have auger assist. I ONLY recommend it if you already have EGO tools and you only get a few inches of snow at a time. If you get snow depths over six inches this machine gets very hard to use because you have to PUSH it through the snow. Here is a typical end-of-year review of the EGO Snow Thrower: “I too love cordless-the only gas equipment. All I have left is my lawnmower and snow-blower so I was eager to try this. However, the auger not touching the ground is a big problem for me. My single stage 208cc gas does and it helps to pull it along. I have a 75 ft single driveway and 200 ft of sidewalk (a double lot on a corner). It had enough juice to do it, but constantly having to push, push, push to get through the snow-it was a major workout. It throws the snow fine-no problem there. But wow-it was a major pain pushing this thing. We’ve had over 100 inches of snow this winter (so far), so I’m glad I returned it.”
This snow thrower is part of EGO line of 56-volt cordless tools. View the entire line here: EGO 56 Volt Tools
Get more stuff like this
Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.
Brian
Hi Paul. I have an Ariens Deluxe 30 EFI (which I am partially satisfied with; the EFI is spectacular – I won’t go back to carbuerators – but it’s underpowered for the intake volume) and, like Scott, I’m looking for a single stage snowthrower to “polish the pavement” once the bulk is done, and I’d like an electric one. I’d appreciate some clarification about this, looking at your two recommended units, the Snow Joe and the Toro. You commented that the Toro can clean to the pavement, but it sounds like the tour on the snow Joe accomplish this differently. Does one rely on a scraper bar and the other rely on the plastic paddles scrubbing the driveway? Could a metal auger damage the driveway if it’s spins against it? Although I live in New England, I rely on my Ariens 2-stage to move the dump, so I don’t care at all about an electric thrower‘s ability to move deep snow. It could be “wimpy but tidy.” Would this affect your recommendation. Wide enough would be a plus, although not critical, since our 3-car garage leads to a 450-foot driveway with a little bit of slope at the bottom. It would just need to clean up the leftovers and perhaps some tire crush. Also, I do have three Ego summer tools that I am very happy with (with no plans for an electric mower) so I do have a couple of Ego batteries. Nonetheless, I would stay away from the Ego unit if there were an Issue with it being able to “polish the pavement,” plus I read that its augur doesn’t help pull it along, so it can be a struggle even on a mild slope.
I don’t want to hijack an electric thrower thread, so I’ll post my question about the Ariens in a separate comment. Thanks
Paul
Hi Brian, The SnowJoe uses a rubber paddle – just like a gas-powered single stage so it will grind off driven on snow. It works better than the Toro or EGO for cleaning up snow that’s frozen the next day.
The Toro and EGO use a plastic scraper to clean down to the pavement but the Toro works a lot better because the high-speed metal auger throws the snow farther, handles wet slop better, and “sort of” assists to pull the snowthrower along.
I actually don’t recommend the EGO at all. It’s just a cheap, plastic paddle snowthrower that uses EGO batteries. (AND you have to have two batteries installed for it to work as advertised)
Corey
Paul,
How do these single stage machines handle wet snow? I’m in the Philadelphia area where we get less total snow but more wintry mix/slushy snow. Would I be better off with the snow joe 2 stage snowblower ? Thanks!
Paul
Hi Corey, I normally recommend a 2-stage gas for the Philly area because most homeowners tell me they get drifts deeper than 10 inches. But if you live in the city and the snowplows don’t leave piles in front of your driveway a single stage could work. Since you want a single stage I’ll give you three choices.
1. My first choice is the Toro Power Clear 721 E 21 in. 212 cc Single-Stage Self Propelled Electric Start Gas Snow Blower. It doesn’t clog on heavy/ slushy snow and it throws the snow farther than the cordless electrics. It will clean driven on snow down to the pavement and it can chew through the frozen snow.
2. The Toro Power Clear 21 in. 60-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Electric Snow Blower with 7.5 Ah Battery/Charger Included will handle wet slushy snow but it won’t clear down to the pavement.
3. The Snow Joe 21 in. 100-Volt Brushless Lithium-iON Single-Stage Cordless Electric Snow Blower Kit with 5.0 Ah Battery + Charger is as close to a gas powered single stage as you can get right now. It will clear down to the pavement and chew through the frozen snow. It has a run time of about 30 minutes per charge so you might consider two batteries if you have a larger area to clear.
I don’t recommend the Snow Joe 24 in. 80-Volt 5.0 Ah Cordless 2-Stage Electric Snow Blower unless you have a very small area to clear and you don’t care how long it takes you to do it. It is agonizingly slow. It has less run time than the Toro or Snow Joe single stage above, and it won’t handle wet/slushy snow very well at all.
Edward Sargisson
Hi Paul,
Love the site and your expertise.
How does the Toro work for < 2" of snow?
I note your comment above that the SnowJoe might be better.
We're in an area of Canada where we often get frequent dumps fo 0-3". Only occasionally do we get more.
My complex is mostly walkways and footpaths (including 1 slope), a short driveway to our parkade and a 2 car parking pad.
The Toro brand uniformly gets great reviews but I'm worried that it won't work well for the small amounts of snow we get.
Paul
Hi Edward, The Toro has a scraper underneath so it cleans snow right down to the pavement. The scraper is easily replaceable if it wears out.
Scott
Hi Paul,
I already a own a Toro 2 stage snow blower which works wonderfully. I was looking to add a cordless one stage snowblower to 1)help clear off the thin layer of snow left behind by the 2 stage 2) help clear any packed down snow from people driving over it before I snow blow and 3) for those times we receive just and inch or two of the powdery stuff. Would any the cheaper models you don’t recommend be suitable or should I just shell out the money for the Toro or SnowJoe you do recommend?
Paul
Hi Scott, I’m a little partial to the Toro because the battery also fits the best self-propelled cordless mower on the market and a bunch of other yard tools Toro is coming out with next spring. I haven’t had the chance to try out the SunJoe/SnowJoe mower yet to see if that’s also a good second reason to buy the Snow Joe.
I just purchased the Ryobi 21 in. 40-Volt Brushless Cordless Electric Snow Blower with Two 5.0 Ah Batteries and Charger Included to compare a “less expensive” cordless to the Toro and Snow Joe. With the two 5AH, 40 volt batteries I can tell I’m going to get about 40 minutes total run time and then it will take 5 hours to charge. It won’t clean driven on snow and it won’t throw snow very far.
The Toro will clear snow down to the pavement and throw it a long way but since the paddles won’t touch the ground it won’t scrape off driven on snow. I have a square point shovel that I use if I really want that packed down snow cleaned off.
So if you don’t want to do the shovel work I have to suggest the Snow Joe for you. It has the rubber paddles and you can lift up on the handles to “grind” that driven on snow off the pavement like a gas-powered single stage.
Bryan
Hey Paul, you should probably do a correction on the EGO Snow Blower. It doesn’t require two batteries and can run on either one or two batteries. I usually run mine on two 5.0 Ah and if they run out of juice (rare)…then I’ll put in my single 7.5 Ah that came with my mower. Personally, I haven’t had any problems with the EGO 6-10 inches of snow but did have an issue with a mix of ice/snow (as most single-stage would have). Ease of use is matter of opinion…but at under 5 1/2 feet…if I don’t have a problem pushing it I don’t think most people would have one either.
Paul
Hi Byran, Thank you for commenting. I’m glad you like the EGO. I spent some time last week with the EGO engineer in charge of the snowblower. He stated that yes, you don’t HAVE to use two batteries but the snowblower was designed for two batteries and works best if you have two batteries in it. Why? When you are ramming the snowblower into that snowplow drift or other heavy snow one battery does not provide enough current for the motor to run at it’s peak power. The two batteries, wired in parallel, give the motor the power it needs. Running one battery may also cause the battery to overheat and shut down because of thermal overload.
Right now there are more YouTube videos from owners complaining about how hard it is to use on a sloped driveway, snowplow drifts and sidewalks with packed down snow than there are videos of how great it is. I’ll get a chance to use it side-by-side with the other two models listed in this article this winter and I’ll gladly revise the article if the snowblower works better than what I’ve seen from other users so far.
Paul
Hi Paul, asides from the cost and the 3 inches wider and 10 feet further snow throwing, how does the toro compare to the toro 1800 corded model? Is it a stronger machine overall? Or just a slightly bigger cordless version? I’m in Minneapolis on a small lot with a 20×20 driveway and would love to go electric but have to throw snow multiple times or over fences to avoid having big piles. Thinking of just getting a 2 stager but with my short driveway seems overkill.
Paul
Hi Paul, The 1800 Corded is a toy. It will only throw snow a few feet and even less than that if the snow is wet. Toro claims the 60 volt cordless will throw snow as far as their single-stage gas snow throwers (up to 35 feet) but I won’t be able to test it until we get snow. I’m pretty positive about the cordless though because the auger spins really, really fast.
If you want to go with a 2-stage don’t buy a cheap one. They won’t throw snow any better than the Toro 60 volt cordless. I suggest the Toro 824. (Home Depot Link). It’s a good snow blower and will throw your snow were you want it. It’s built to last you a very long time.
penny
Thanks so much for the feedback Paul, I think with the 2nd battery cost thrown in it tips the scales in favour of the Toro.
penny
Hi Paul, great site. We live in snowmaggedon land Midland, ON. We have a great 2 stage snowblower but want to add a single stage electric to the arsenal. Up here the Snow Joe iON 100V-21sb is the same price as the Toro Power Clear 60V, your 2 recommendations. Which would you recommend given they are the same price up here? Thanks so much.
Paul
Hi Penny, I like both machines a lot.
1. The Toro will throw snow farther than the Snow Joe and it appears the battery will last longer. BUT – The with the Snow Joe you can lift up on the handles, the rubber paddles then touch the ground and you can clean driven on snow off your pavement.
2. I really like the lights on the Toro.
3. If you go to Snowjoe.com and sign up for the newsletter. They have sales regularly. For example, I just purchased an additional battery for 50% off! With 2 batteries the Snow Joe will work well and give the snowthrower up to an hour of runtime.
4. If you want to use the battery all year long Toro has the best lawnmower. The Toro 60V SMARTSTOW® Personal Pace® High Wheel Mower is one of the best mowers on the market. It beats most gas models for cut and performance. The Toro string trimmer and blower that are part of the 60-volt system is also better than the Sun Joe/Snow Joe line.
5. I have not used or even seen the Sun Joe self-propelled mower yet. I’m hoping to see it next week. They also have a chain saw as part of the 100-volt line. Toro doesn’t have a chain saw yet – I’ll get to ask them if they are adding one next week.
Have you watched my videos on the Toro and Snow Joe? Check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/paulsikkema