2024 the best snow thrower review


Price: $164.99 - $159.99
(as of Dec 10, 2024 14:34:21 UTC - Details)

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DON’T BLOW IT - THROW IT! Responding to the need for an easy-to-use machine that could tackle heavier snowfall on mid-sized driveways and walkways, Snow Joe developed the Snow Joe Ultra SJ618E, a larger electric snow thrower that delivers the power of a gas machine with the convenience of an electric unit. Driven by a powerful 13-amp motor, the Snow Joe Ultra moves up to 550 lbs of snow per minute. Its durable, 2-blade cold-and-abrasion-resistant rotor cuts a swath 18 inches wide by 8 inches deep with each pass. In addition to its hard-working plowing capacity, the Snow Joe Ultra features an adjustable discharge chute that rotates a complete 180º to provide full control over the direction of the snow stream. The chute deflector can also be adjusted to control the height of the snow stream. Easy-glide all-terrain wheels make the Snow Joe Ultra easy to turn and maneuver with each pass. The scraper blade at the base of the unit efficiently scrapes the snow clear to the ground without damaging your deck or pavement. Powered electrically, the Snow Joe Ultra SJ618E is effortless to start and maintain. No gas, oil, or tune-ups are necessary. The unit is ETL-approved and carries a full two year warranty. For heavier snowfall on mid-sized driveways and walkways, the Snow Joe Ultra SJ618E is your snow solution this winter. Plowing Capacity (lbs/min)- 550
Electric Snow Thrower: Tackle snow-covered driveways and walkways with ease using this 18-inch electric snow blower, designed for efficient snow management
Powerful Snow Removal: Equipped with a 13-amp motor that clears up to 580 pounds of snow per minute, offering gas-like performance without the hassle of fuel or maintenance
Adjustable Chute Control: The 180-degree adjustable chute allows full control over snow direction, while the chute deflector adjusts the snow throw height up to 20 feet
Durable and Efficient: The 2-blade cold-resistant rotor cuts an 18-inch wide by 8-inch deep path, clearing snow quickly without damaging surfaces like decks or pavements
Effortless Maneuverability: Compact all-terrain wheels ensure easy movement and control, allowing you to navigate mid-sized areas smoothly and efficiently
Reviewer: Guy Schmidt
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent Condo Blower
Review: I live in a condominium which is supposed to take care of snow removal, but they suck at the task. There are so many units spread around the area that it often takes forever to get to our end of the road. I wanted something that would be affordable, lightweight, effective and easy to store in my very limited space.This snowblower is great for the 2 car drive and 100 feet of walkway which surrounds my unit. I can finish the job of removing 3 to 6 inches of snow in about an hour, which I couldn't have done so quickly the old fashioned way. I should mention that I'm 67 years old and rapidly reaching the "you shouldn't be shoveling" stage. This blower is so light and easy to maneuver that it makes the task much, much easier on these old bones.As I said, this blower is very lightweight and highly maneuverable, though it takes a little practice to learn how to deal with the trailing cord. I could have gone with the battery model, but that would greatly increase the price. Once you develop a pattern for dealing with the cord, the work goes quite smoothly and you're done in no time at all. The unit is light, but it clears the snow cleanly all the way to the ground (with only one pass) and will throw it a good distance away. The trick is to get out there and get it before it gets too deep. This model seems strong enough to plow through fairly deep snow, but I'd rather not spend time fighting my way through deeper and/or heavier drifts, so "smarter not harder" is the best way for me to go.Assembly out of the box is really quite simple, and for the most part, self-explanatory. I strongly suggest you give yourself enough time and room to lay all the parts out and familiarize yourself with everything (and the included instructions) before attempting to put anything together, no matter how tempting that might be. You'll need very few tools and almost no mechanical abilities whatsoever. SnoJoe has done an excellent job of making this unit extremely user-friendly and anyone who has difficulty in assembly has probably ignored step one.There is really only one "design flaw" that I have found, and other users have mentioned it as well. The snow discharge chute is held in place by only one screw and a few "locking tabs" which are really too short and too thin to effectively hold the discharge assembly in place. The chute is designed to blow the snow either straight up (zero degrees), straight out (forty-five degrees) or any angle you choose in between. I've found that what happens when you attempt to blow the snow out at the forty-five degree angle, the snow hitting the chute will pull the discharge assembly apart rather quickly. It's easy to see that the "factory fix" to this problem would be to add an additional screw (or two) to the discharge assembly, or make the locking tabs longer and/or thicker. Short of that, what I have found through trial and error is that keeping the discharge chute set at, or near, twenty-eight degrees keeps the chute in place and the operation running smoothly from beginning to end.The last thing I want to mention is that this is NOT an industrial grade unit. It is a "homeowner" grade device which will (in all probability) not stand up to heavy or careless abuse. It is made in great part of plastic and lightweight metals, much the same quality and dependability as Home Depot's Ryobi homeowner line. I find either one of them to be affordable, dependable and cost-effective at my level of use.Bottom line, I believe that the SnoJoe I've reviewed was a very good choice. I'm actually beginning to look seriously at their line of SunJoe products for gardening as the season begins to change.Watch out Home Depot....

Reviewer: Richard
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Works well so far - but has a flaw.
Review: We bought this in March 2022 but didn't actually need to use it until Jan 2024.We're in upstate NY and so often wake up to several inches of snow that needs to be cleared before we can go out to work. This is the first snow thrower we've owned and we bought it because it was on sale for very cheap on Amazon.at the time.We have a mid sized driveway and I've used this to clear snow of between 2" to 6" in depth so far. It's worked well and means I can have the driveway clear in 10 mins, less than half the time it takes two of us to shovel it - and much less physically demanding.The snowjoe itself was pretty easy to assemble. It's a pretty compact unit and doesn't take up too much space in our garage. It's very lightweight so it's easy to manoever. It's corded so I bought an outdoor rated extension lead that runs out of the garage power outlet and reaches the end of the driveway. Plug it in and you're good to go, no messing with a gas engine. It took a bit of getting used to to move around with the cord but it's a minor inconvenience.It has performed well so far. It shifts a lot of snow for a thrower of its size and weight. I haven't used it for more than 6 inches of fresh show yet though. I think it we had a heavy snowfall of 12 inches or so we would still need to use shovels to clear at least some of it. But I'm still happy to have this SnowJoe around to use for the more common amounts of snowfall.There is a flaw though as has been mentioned on some other reviews. The outlet chute nozzle assembly popped off the unit the first time I used it, approx 5 minutes into use. It meant that the snow was thrown straight upwards instead of to the side. Annoying, and down to a poor design of the part. The chute is held in place by plastic slots but only secured with one screw. Once the snow hit the chute it popped out of the slots.I've fixed the issue so far by duct taping all around the outside of the chute base (when the unit was dry). It's not pretty but it has held for the time being. I've heard that other users have added extra screws around the base or used adhesive around the base joint - I may do this if necessary in the future.Overall, despite the flaw I'm glad I bought this. Especially for what we paid for it on sale. I can clear the snow much faster and easier with this and it is a lot less physically demanding than shovelling.

Reviewer: Bob Elliott
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Used it only a couple of times on very light snowfall. Like the way it cleans right down to the pavement/wood.Dislike messing with the extension cord and wish that SnowJoe used a 3 prong wire (safer) over the 2 prong wire.

Reviewer: Peter Hanson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I purchased this product through Amazon Prime and fulfillment and delivery was spot on time. The product arrived packaged in a sturdy and attractive cardboard box. Inside the unit was secure and well wrapped in protective plastic. There were no missing pieces or parts. My only disappointment was a broken extension cord restraint hook which I arranged to have replaced through SJ customer service. Assembly was a breeze as the product is mostly pre-assembled and only involves: 1) extending and securing the handle-bar and frame assembly, 2) Securing the crank rod assembly, 3) Loosening and locking the discharge shoot deflector securely onto the discharge hood. When assembled the product has a solid look and feel of quality. The manual is concise and well written and contains everything you need to know about safely assembling, operating and maintaining your Snow Joe. Take a minute to register your unit with SJ to activate your 2-year standard product warranty and to also receive a bonus 90 days of extra protection.FIRST RUN: The first run of my SJ went smoothly without incident. It was a light job of moving only 1 and half to 3 inches of light dry snow. Still, I am glad I got the 15 Amp version especially for clearing the bottom of my driveway for after the snow plow has gone through. Looking forward to tackling bigger and heavier jobs. I think and hope that my snow shoveling chores just got a whole lot easier. The biggest challenge was learning how to manage the cord while operating to avoid any accidents. Will post updates in the future to share the experience.I am giving this product an initial overall 4-star rating pending further review after I have used it over a more extended period. So far it has met all my expectations and made a strong positive impression. I hope and expect to upgrade it to 5 stars all around.UPDATE#1: My second outing with my new SJ was at night on 3 to 6 inches of moist snow. Again the SJ handled the job with no difficulty. I was being careful not to overload the unit going through the thicker patches. The 20 watt LED headlamp proved useful in illuminating the path directly in front of the unit. I look forward to testing the unit under heavier and wetter snow conditions. So far, so good.UPDATE#2: The day of the first big test arrived when 10 to 12 inches of heavy wet snow fell overnight. As I surveyed my 12 by 40 foot driveway and 32 feet of sidewalk, I could already feel the pain in my arms, shoulders and back if I had to do this job by hand. Fortunately, my SJ was ready to go. I first cleared a swath down the center of my drive, taking it slowly in small bites so as not to overload the machine. After this I was able to go up and down my driveway shaving off 12 inch swaths and blowing the snow to the sides. By being careful not to overload the machine, my SJ easily cleared the heavy wet snow. I was impressed by how well the steel blades cleared the snow right down to the pavement. The chute clean-out tool came in handy for clearing the discharge chute of wet snow blockages. Although it took a couple of hours to clear most of the snow, I was grateful for the pain and suffering my SJ helped me avoid. The ultimate challenge lay ahead in clearing out the 2 and half foot drift of heavy, compacted slushy snow left across the bottom of my drive by the snow plow.UPDATE#3: From the start I knew that clearing the drift left by the snow plow was too big a job for my SJ to handle alone. So my strategy was to use a shovel to break up the drift into bite-size chunks and create a 6 inch high swath for my SJ to clear. This strategy worked well and again my SJ had no problem in clearing wet snow including the heavy slush. Again I was grateful for the pain and suffering avoided if I would have had to lift and shovel all that heavy wet snow by hand. Three cheers for my small but mighty Snow Joe!FINAL VERDICT: After having tested my SJ under a variety of conditions from mild, medium to extreme, the SJ has met and even exceeded my expectations. It is definitely up to the task of handling the full range of all my snow removal challenges, using a measure of common sense in heavier conditions. Therefore I am upgrading its overall rating to 5 stars. This upgraded package with the 15 Amp motor, head light and chute clean-out tool is well worth it and should more than satisfy the needs of home owners with small to medium size snow removal challenges.P.S. I have attached a photo of my SJ hanging on a metal bracket inside my garage next to the main door and the electrical power outlet where it is always ready to go on a moment’s notice. As space is extremely limited for storage inside my garage, I really appreciate this space-saving aspect of the SJ due to its small light-weight design.

Reviewer: BF Goodrich Smoke Signals
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I live on Southern part of Vancouver Island Canada where we may see snow every 2nd year, but sometimes a few days at the time. A Gas operated snow blower would just sit around requiring maintenance until needed, and more likely in the way when not needed than useful when needed, so no gas operated. Rechargeble is same situation; dead battery when needed, and more likely a new battery required after a couple of years. Plug in electric is my way to go for a 40" by 18" driveway. This Snow blower can be hung on the garage wall, as it is fairly light. So out of the way until needed and is guaranteed to function when needed. If there is less than 2 " of snow, it does not appear to throw far enough, but a week after ordering this snow Blower, we received about a foot and I measured up to 18" in some location of my driveway and this machine pushed through and blew far enough for me. I performed better with more snow than less. The following day of the first usage, the plow had left chunks of ice and tapped snow bank at the bottom of my driveway and though for sure that the impeller would break, but did not and required more push from me and at time easing on the "attack speed". So far so good and well worth the price. That same day, I did plow my side yard pathway and the snow blower picked up a heavy duty plastic rat trap, and totally chewed it up and spat it out like snow.

Reviewer: R J
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A friend had one, he came over did my driveway and sidewalk. It doesn't weigh much, very easy to move around. Very easy to put together. After I saw how easy it was to do and good a job it does, it doesn't bother me now if it snows a lot. Well worth the money. Very happy.

Reviewer: Brian L
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Bought in the late fall of 2021 so this is a full winter review. Bought this along with Coleman 12/ 3 extension cord based on other recommendations for a 15 amp motor. Not sure it it actually made a difference but did not have ANY electrically related problems at all so I am glad I did buy it. This review is on the snow joe only. Great little machine. It moves manually so you have to maneuver it by push it yourself but it is light. The scraper bar does a good job of getting down to the driveway but did not actually scrape it. Quiet enough to use at 2:00 am without waking neighbours. The auger work on heavy and light snow but not the best on snow plowed onto the driveway that turns to ice. It was still much better than using a shovel but not as good as gas. Still, threw the snow well out of the way. My driveway, with 5-8 cm of snow would take app 25 minutes to shovel. This little snow joe did it in 10. One night received almost 18 cm of snow. There were also drifts that were almost 30 cm right at the garage door. Used about 3/4 of the width of the intake (to prevent the chance of clogging, which it never did) and cut though the drift and the rest of the driveway without issue in about 20 minutes. By hand would easily be a tiring hour. It is not self propelled and does not have the full power of gas, but if you want a light weight, easy to use (no gas or maintenance) light to medium duty snow thrower, you cannot go wrong with the SJ627E

Customers say

Customers like the snow blower for its ease of use and value for money. They mention it works well for up to 6 inches, is easy to get up and running, and is a great investment. Some also like the lightweight design and maneuverability. However, some customers have reported that the durability is flimsy and the plastic hinges for handles cracked. They also have issues with cord pain and have different opinions on the snow throw.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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