Snow Joe 21in 15-Amp Electric Snow Thrower

My husband always used our big manly gasoline-powered snowblower to clear our long, double-wide driveway. Alas, he is no longer here to do that and getting a snowplow truck in this driveway is not a good option. Now, I am actually a little afraid of that gasoline-powered snowblower, never having done it before, not liking the gasoline part, and not being able to maneuver it due to its weight. All my guy friends told me it would be no problem to learn, but I am just not into it. So when I read about the electric Snow Joe, I was rather excited. Reading the other reviews convinced me that I would be able to do this. All my guy friends sneered and jeered, "That thing is a toy! What are you going to do with that!" "Electric?? You'll run over the cord." Ha,ha! I have had the last laugh. We got the first real snowfall of the year with about 8" of sudden wet snow. With mild trepidation, having been slightly scared by all the Tim Taylors around me, I ventured out to use it for the first time. Well, it was sort of like vacuuming a carpet, but different. After I read the instructions (yes, girls DO read the instruction book, a major advantage) I pushed the safety button, held down the handle and off I went. Honestly, this had to be the biggest test I could have given it. The snow was really heavy and so I had to "chew" at it in layers. It worked great! My biggest challenge is that I did not get a long enough power cord to begin with, but I improvised and made it down the 100' driveway much faster than I thought. After I get an additional length, all will be good in the kingdom. Nothing was difficult for my Snow Joe and it took the snow down to pavement. My husband's big old two stage never did that well. I like that it is light-weight and is not hard at all to navigate. And as far as running over the cord? That was never even close to being a problem. I got an cold weather extension cord that remained pliable in the frigid temperatures and I never had to fight with it. My friends had me convinced that I had made a mistake in purchasing this before I tried it. This has taught me that people don't know what they don't know. Trusting the reviews on Amazon helps me to make good decisions. This was one of them.

For the money, this snow thrower is worth it. Best for paved surfaces, like any snow blower, but can make it work on packed gravel which is where I use mine. First used it on a light snow of about 3 inches, it moved it decently but I felt it should throw it further. Second snow was 7 inches, and it performed amazing. In a some spots it was closer to 9 inches and I could tell it was a lot for the motor so I'd go forward and back up to allow it to spin back up and them go back in. All in all, it did the job. I removed the scraper bar for a little more clearance of rocks, it gives you a little more but not much. Still worked fine, only chucking a few stones. BE VERY CAREFUL when using on gravel, throw the snow away from vehicles, people and windows, the stones go MUCH farther than the snow. Theres a reason why we moved to wireless devices, cords suck. I have two 12 gauge cords totaling 150 ft, and I spend a decent amount of time moving them around. You'd be surprised how much resistance snow gives when trying to pull a cord through it. The LED light is nice, but havent had to use it yet. The handle seems a little flimsy, wish it felt a bit stronger, but its holding up so far. Probably that way because it folds down to be smaller. It is very lightweight, but still it was a workout pushing up the grade of my drive, which isnt much. Great on the level, easy to maneuver, but if you have hills, self propelled would be nice. For the money, it's a good deal. Even with spending another $150 in extension cords, I've spent less than a battery operated machine. Plus, I can use it as long as it takes, and not have to worry about battery dying. Or needing to drop another bill in a few years on a replacement battery...

I have a 2 stage honda gas blower at home, but I use it rarely because it's smelly and heavy. I wanted a lighter weight blower I would use and of course electric is a plus for the planet. Today was first use. - 7 inches of semi wet Minnesota snow. It handled it well. Works like a typical single stage where it doesn't throw the snow all that far, and sort of propels itself by scraping the ground when the snow is lighter. Power: Adequate - for the most part was using the whole width and it was keeping up. When the snow is particularly packed it slows down and you have to push it more. Noise: Sounds like a shop vac. I thought it would be quieter. The constant pitch change when not under load to under load was a bit annoying, but quieter than gas. Gas one had a more consistent sound though, so may still wake the neighbors. Corded vs Cordless: Cord was a minor annoyance and not a show stopper. I already had a 100 foot cord and that gets to where I need it to. I built a little reel for the wall so winding it up is a cinch. You just need to plan your route so you aren't constantly running it over. Weight/ergonomics: it's light, and the handle is low. I am tall and would have preferred it to be higher. The crank to turn the blow direction was super low to the ground, which was a little annoying, but not a show stopper either for this price. Verdict: Seems like a keeper. I'm not getting rid of the gas one for huge snowfalls, but this is a good in between tool. UPDATE: Had some really wet snow, and noticed it clogs up at the chute due to a poor design. If the snow is light and fluffy, it works great. But if it's heavy and wet, the chute sort of concentrates it, and because it's shaped like a cone - narrower at the exit - it just creates a big plug that you have to stop and pound out. For the heavy and wet snows - you really need a two stage to chop it up first. This thing just isn't built for that. It's still useful - just not a replacement for the big hog.

Today was my new blower's maiden voyage. We got about 6 inches of snow. A bit wet/heavy, not the worst I've ever seen and not the best, either. Living in Erie, PA, we routinely get 1-2 feet at a time, so this was a good test run. The auger itself works perfectly. The chute leaves a bit to be desired... the snow clogged it every now and then, meaning I had to stop, turn it off and unplug it (safety first!) just to unclog the chute. Not a dealbreaker, just a minor inconvenience. Now, what IS a dealbreaker... I'm motoring through the snow on my concrete driveway. It's not uneven, cracked, broken, anything. Fresh snow, not compacted, not anything. I'm backing off if the blower seems a little overwhelmed, going slow, and overlapping my paths to prevent overloading it. My point is, I was not abusing this thing in the slightest. Very, very average use. Only to find out that the middle of the handle is PLASTIC. And not even thick plastic, it's maybe 1/4 inch thick. I found this out because the handle SNAPPED OFF of the blower mid pass. I wasn't forcing it. I don't know if I perhaps put the slightest wrong angle of leverage on it to stress the plastic in some way. But my point is, WHY IS THE MIDDLE OF THE HANDLE PLASTIC? It makes no sense to have the handle be made 90% of metal (two separate bars) and then joined together by plastic, because well you know the old phrase that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. I now have a fantastic hunk of garbage, because I'd have to be 3 feet tall to comfortably push it around at this point. I am SORELY disappointed and won't be buying this brand again. For spending north of $200, I'd expect it to be a bit more resilient and not have a key part be made of plastic. Unfortunately for me, my return window has passed. Not that I would want to deal with boxing this beast up and returning it, anyways. So overall, the machine gets 4.5 out of 5 starts on how well it worked and handled the snow when it was functional. If I could give negative stars for durability and design, I would. I'd advise anyone looking at this model to choose a different brand that is built better. Do better, Snow Joe.

A few weeks ago we had our first minor snowfall at roughly 4-6 inches, which I felt was a great time for a first test run. I have a 3 x 3 car driveway. Snowfall wasn't too heavy and as I was getting the blower prepared, it was starting to change over to light rain. Having used nothing but gas in the past, I didn't know what to expect once this started up. Other than the whole getting used to the cord (which is a science, quite annoying if I may add), this beat my expectations. It's only as loud as a vacuum which is easy on the neighbors and is easy to push due to its lightweight. It obviously does not throw as far a gas but for an electric, it's impressive. It handled up to 6-8" wet and dry considerably well but for taller heights, it's good to go over it a few times rather than trying to tackle it in one push. I attempted to plow through some 8-15" piles and did eventually jam the shooter. Since this is a push unit, the amount of force you push will increase the throw so I didn't see any issues with throw so long as I kept the pace going. It's good to note that this only works as good as the conditions you're using it for. I wouldn't expect this to break ice or chop through boulders but on fresh snow, I think this will get the job done. For my use, which is just a rectangular driveway and a walkway (no sidewalk), this was practical enough for me. I don't know how it will stand the test of time but I'm very pleased so far with it's functionality and certainly at less than half the cost for a low-end gas model. I would certainly recommend it. *UPDATE* - 1/7/17, we just had 8-14" of snowfall. It was windy so there were areas that were lower-higher in level. Took the thrower out and it started right away. Although it took some time, the thrower performed well. I had to go over a few areas more than once because of the height but it was expected. One thing I have to bring up is the cord. I'm not sure what others experiences have been but it's been somewhat aggravating maneuvering with a 12 gauge cord. It gets caught on tires maneuvering around the cars, tangled up, unplugs on a few occasions, etc. Not to take anything away from the unit, just some beginners notes about being new to corded.

Alright, let's talk about the Snow Joe SJ625E Electric Snow Blower, because while it's got some serious power to clear away snow, that cord can be a bit of a hassle during the job. First off, when it comes to clearing snow, this machine does its job admirably. The 21-inch clearing width is fantastic for handling moderate snowfall, and the motor's strength is impressive, blasting through snowbanks without much trouble. Now, here's the thing: that cord. Snow blowing is a hands-on job, and having to constantly manage and maneuver around the cord can be a real pain. It limits your mobility and, honestly, it's easy to accidentally run over the cord while you're focused on clearing snow, which can disrupt your flow and even cause safety concerns. I wish the Snow Joe SJ625E was cordless or had a better cord management system to make things smoother. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's definitely something to consider, especially if you have a larger area to clear or if you're easily frustrated by cords. Putting the cord issue aside, this snow blower is relatively easy to handle and doesn't require much maintenance. It's also quieter than gas-powered alternatives, which is a plus if you're trying not to disturb your neighbors during early morning snow removal. Overall, the Snow Joe SJ625E Electric Snow Blower gets the job done efficiently. However, the cord situation might be a bit of a nuisance for some users. If you can handle the cord or have a smaller area to clear, this snow blower is a solid choice. But if cord management is a significant concern for you, you might want to explore cordless or alternative options for a more hassle-free experience.

INTRO-1: I live up in the Pacific North West, and we are plagued by horrible winter storms. Most of the time we get very little snow, but on occasion, we really get the snow. I chose not to go with a gas blower for 3 reasons. (1) Gas blowers are very expensive! (2) Gas blowers require lots of maintenance, they have an engine afterall! (3) We rarely get enough snow to warrant the power of a gas blower. However, when you look at my pictures, you can tell I could have used a gas blower for the drift alone, but thats what a shovel is for lol. Like I said, most of the time we don't get this much snow, if we get any at all, so it made sense to save money, and go electric. INTRO-2: When choosing a snow blower, you have to think about the job at hand. How much snow do you get? Are you within 100-feet of an electrical outlet? Perhaps you want to skip corded electric and gas all together and go with a cordless electric? I watched video's online of cordless blowers, and to be honest, I am not really impressed. For one thing, they cost as much as a single stage gas blower, and they perform worse then a corded electric. So for me the choice was simple. I chose the 21" 15-AMP electric snow blower form Snow Joe. ASSEMBLY: Assembling this blower is very easy, all you have to do is attach the handles, wheels, chute control arm, and chute top, everything else comes already assembled. If your not sure, just follow the directions in the manual. Assembly can be completed within 30-minutes if you are slow at assembling things, or within 10-minutes if your quick. CORD: Because not everybody knows this, I feel the need to quickly mention that you must match the cord to the draw of the machine. This machine requires a minimum of a 12 gauge 3 conductor electrical cord. I highly recommend you purchase a US & WIRE Extreme cable sold on Amazon, as they remain flexible and easy to manage in freezing and sub freezing temperatures. Also make sure to get the proper length you need. Tiny driveways you can probably get away with a 50 footer. For average size driveways, you want a 100 footer. And don't get anything over 100 feet unless you step up to a 10 gauge 3 conductor cord. MOTOR: This snow blower uses a 15-AMP motor, which averages around 1500-watts of draw. A standard garage circuit or household circuit, has a 20-AMP max breaker capacity. This motor will draw 1800-watts peak power during motor startup only. Because of this, please make sure there is nothing else running on the circuit, otherwise you might risk tripping your breaker. This motor has lots of power for what it was designed to do, and it sure didn't disappoint me! BLOWER: The blower has a 12-inches tall opening by 21-inches wide. It is designed to take on no more then 1 foot at a time, however its pretty slow doing that even with fluffy snow. The blower seems to excel at tackling 6-inches to 8-inches at a respectful pace. Like I said, it will handle a foot of snow at a time, but it will be slow going. If the snow is over a foot tall, you will have to tilt the blower up to take off the top layer first, then come back again to take off the bottom layer. If your drifts are between 2-feet to 3-feet you can forget it, you will never tilt it high enough, and be able to push it through the drift. Your just going to have to grab a shovel if your in that situation and remove the top layer of the drift with a snow shovel first, then come back with the blower after that. I took a picture of the snow blower next to a drift that is too tall for the capacity of the machine. I just needed to shovel that top layer off there, then I could come back with the blower and finish it up. DRIVE: I want to remind everyone, that this blower is not self propelled. Your not going to find self propelled at this price point. This is a blower that you have to push. If you are a senior citizen, or someone with a disability, you might find pushing this thing difficult. However, if you are healthy, you can push this blower no problem, as long as you are not pushing it beyond its recommended limits. AUGER: This is a single stage snow blower, hence it has an auger, but no impeller. The auger spins at a blindingly fast rate, which grabs the snow via the rubber paddles, and throws it through the chute. The rubber paddles are replaceable, but I haven't seen any wear after a single use! On the left side of the blower is a panel that you can remove, to give you access to the sealed belt and pulley's, that link the motor to the auger. This was a good design to help keep snow away from the belt! The belt and pully's are also replaceable if they should wear out on you. CONTROLS: The controls at the operator position are very simple. You have the safety start button, the start bar, the LED headlight, and the chute direction control. In order to start the blower, you have to press and hold the safety button, and then pull back the start bar against the handle, easy! The direction of the chute can be operated remotely via the directional control arm, but the vertical up/down movement has to be done manually at the chute itself. The LED headlight has a on/off switch on top of it, so you can choose weather to run it or not, and the light position is adjustable. WHEELS: The wheels on this blower are not the greatest in the world, however, they are not the worst either. While I would have preferred pneumatic wheels, you won't find those in this price range. At least this blower didn't come with those cheap noisy plastic wheels found on kids big wheels. The wheels move over the driveway pretty well, so I am not going to fault them too much. But the reason I would have preferred pneumatic wheels, is because they are superior at moving over terrain. HANDLE: The handle itself provides a nice foam grip for your hands. It would have been nice if it were heated but again, not found in this price range. If you just wear a thick pair of winter gloves you will be fine. The handle doesn't seem to flex much at all, which really is a surprise considering the cost of the machine. I've actually been quite pleased with the handle, and I can even hang it up on the wall via the handle, so multi-purpose abilities are the way to go here. CLEANING: Cleaning up the blower is very simple, all you need is a small broom, and you just sweep the snow off of it, thats really the only maintenance you need to do on it! If it were a gas machine, you would have to worry about draining the carburetor of gas, and changing the oil for the next season. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this is a very nice snow blower. It tackles everything I need it to do, except for the drifts. It has plenty of power for what it was designed to do, and it gets the job done. I'm actually happy that I didn't go with a lesser 13-AMP 18" model, as that would have been a pain to use in this situation. This 15-AMP 21" model was surprisingly easy to use. And if your concerned with the noise factor, well, this electric machine can be run without hearing protection on, so it won't annoy your neighbors early in the morning either. If your looking for an electric model, I recommend this one!

Bought back in January after a huge storm. Read a TON of reviews and watched a bunch of videos of it in action. Finally had a chance to use it and see what it's capable of. Currently sitting here in the middle of a blizzard, and we just cleared about 10 inches without issue, some spots up to a foot (you can see in the attached photo it was almost as deep as the entire unit, which is 13.5 inches). Though I can see running into some issues with heavier/wetter snow (but still WAY better than a shovel.) OF COURSE this is not a replacement for a 3-stage gas blower. This is not a $1,000 unit. For the price, it was FANTASTIC. My fiance hates shoveling and gets incredibly cranky, snappy, and just generally not great company whenever he has to shovel. I can't even count how many times he thanked me and praised this unit. It was actually laughable. In fact, he named it "Ernesto" after a guy he works with because, in his words, "he's a tiny, quiet, super hard-working powerhouse", and this definitely lived up to his name. =) Initially bought because he has sciatica and I just couldn't bear worrying about him shoveling our New England snow, and I'm near useless with a shovel (I have lupus and fibromyalgia). Really needed something with some power in this house. Even I can work this unit, and that's a HUGE plus. We cleared the walkways and driveway and he's still in a good mood and good health -- to me that's well worth the incredibly small investment ;) Notes: -Cord management was a lot easier than we thought it would be -Assembly took less than 10 minutes -Good throw for a small unit (easily 10+ feet) -Quiet, sounds just like a vacuum -Requires little to no maintenance, unlike a gas blower, and that was HUGE for us (our mowers are always breaking down) -Can break down again easily for compact storage (my friend's massive 3-stage has it's own parking spot in the garage) -Be sure to get an outdoor cord that can handle the electrical load and is long enough for your needs. I can see issues if the unit is not properly powered. We grabbed the 100 ft Southwire 02589SW Outdoor Extension Cord- 12/3 American Made SJTW Heavy Duty 3 Prong Extension Cord- Great for Commercial Use, Gardening, and Major Appliances ( 100 Foot- Yellow). Works perfectly. Cold weather cord would be even better I imagine, but I just couldn't afford one this time. -May run into issues with heavier/wetter snow and huge drifts (like the end of the driveway where the plows come through), but you can work through it. -I've seen this unit get down to the pavement in some videos, our pavement isn't very smooth and has breaks in spots so he snowblowed with a slight tilt up/back with the unit. YMMV. -Might be a good unit for someone who's petite, or maybe fragile or ill in some fashion. I had no issues with this, but my friend's self-propelled 3-stage was STILL exhausting to use (you would think the opposite, right?!) -Took about 30 minutes to clear a 100 foot driveway and walkway of the same length. Tip: If you do this in spurts through the storm, it makes the job a lot easier and this will be your new best friend. Just cleared 8-10, will be doing it once more to clear the remaining 5 or so.

This is our 3rd electric snowblower in the last 15 years. Out of all of them, this model is the best of these kinds of electric snowblowers. History: Our first, the Toro Powercurve 1800, finally died this year after 14 years of service. The huge ice chunks plowed in from the town broke its blade. Side by side with the Snow Joe, the Toro looks puny. But, the Toro gave us many years of trouble-free service. Because parts are still readily available, we'll repair it and use it to clear porches and steps. It's lightweight and small enough to replace a manual shovel. The Toro is a champ and we expect many more years of service out of the Toro after our repairs. Our second electric snowblower was a Greenworks model. It was inexpensive and worked OK as a fill-in. BUT, it's cheaply made and poorly designed. Bolts flew off during service. The turning chute wasn't designed for snow because all it did was collect snow in the collar and ice up. In order to use it we had to use a hair dryer to de-ice it so that the chute would turn. It's completely zip-tied together at this point and we'll be glad so see the back of it. We're sending it to the dump and won't buy this manufacturer's products again. None of these problems occurred with either the Toro or the Snow Joe. Now we come to this Snow Joe. We bought this older, soon to be no longer available model because we like several features not available on the new and 'improved' versions of this snowblower. The first is the handlebar across the top for the power and the second is the stability bar across the handles for the chute turning control. For power control, all of the newer Snow Joe models have the flip out plastic lever on one side and they're a pain (same as the Greenworks) to use because they're only for one hand. If you have a lot of snow to blow, that hand gets tired fast. The top bar on this particular model means that it can be powered with either or both hands, it reduces fatigue and makes it easier to run. The removal of this bar in the newer designs isn't an improvement (Snow Joe, take note). For stability, the removal of the stability crossbar for the chute control is also not an improvement. When the snow gets deep, this bar serves multiple functions. It makes the control of the chute direction easier, it stabilizes the chute control and stabilizes the machine's entire handle structure in heavy work. Snow Joe, please bring back both of these features in your next versions. Lastly, it has POWER!. We love the big back wheels for movement and stability. Its 21 inch chute width makes the job about 2x faster than its predecessors (in our lives). The machine's blade is hardened rubber attached to a steel auger. This is a huge improvement over all other manufacturers who still use plastic blades. This rubberized blade won't crack or chip in cold weather and the steel auger is strong. The rubber parts of the blades will be easy to replace once they get dog-eared by removing a couple of bolts. The chute's turning mechanism is smooth and neither sticks nor has a mind of its own during operation. It stays where it's set until the operator moves it. In wet snow the chute doesn't direct the snow as well is it might. For some reason the snow sputters around the exit instead of shooting out. But, it still throws deeper snow about 15' - 20' and clears right down to the pavement. It's good in both powder and wet snow. Lastly, it's good for snow depths that are deeper than its 12 inch; rating. To use the Snow Joe in deep snow means smaller bites (not the full 21 inch; width) and a slower walk. But, hey, for snow anything's better than manual shoveling. We've cleared snow as deep as 18 inches; in a single pass. We don't recommend this and normally will remove snow 2-3x over the course of a storm instead of trying to do it all at once. But, it does snow overnight...lol. In places like Tahoe where it's 3-5' feet of snow over a couple of days, the only thing that removes this amount of snow is a full-on plow. So, no, the Snow Joe won't tackle 2-3' of snow in a single pass. There's the nifty LED light up on the handle. In the newer models the light is now in front of the discharge chute. In deep snow that light placement is useless, so we're glad to have the light high up on the handle. With big storms, we sometimes have to make a pass at night or face a wall of snow in the AM. The light helps a lot. Out of the box, set-up was a breeze. All that was required was the connection of 4 super large, easy to handle knobs, install the chute control, snap the power lines into their clips and you're ready to go. Our only nit is cord control. With an electric snowblower, one of our major gripes with all manufacturers is that it doesn't seem as if anyone in design & development has actually used one of these snowblowers. We need to be able to move the electric cord from one side to the other easily to keep it out of the snow and far from the blades. Once the first couple of paths are cleared, the electric cord is put in the cleared area so that we can see it, not slip on it and plow the rest of the snow quickly. Maybe a slider bar on the back of the handle to easily move the cord from side to side? To address this cord management problem, we installed a second stabilizer bar across the handles that allows us to tie the cord around it and then connect it to the machine's plug. This also stops the cord from unexpectedly coming unplugged. This way, we can easily slide the the cord from one side of the snowblower to the other without wasting time fiddling with it or the need to have it in hand while operating the machine (take another note, Snow Joe). All in all, we like this machine so much and Amazon's current amazing price that we ordered a 2nd one as a back-up until we decide that we want a small Kubota or Husqvarna tractor for all of our landscaping and maintenance needs.

I finally broke down and purchased a snow thrower after the last 24" storm we had. Got to try it out on the latest 3-4" snowfall, and it beats the heck out of shoveling. We have a north-facing 3-car driveway, and I normally shovel snow from in front of the 2-car garage into the 3rd space, but it was really nice to be able to remove the snow from the driveway entirely and just throw it into the sunny portion of the yard without breaking my back. At max efficiency, the snow is thrown maybe 15-20 feet depending on the angle and aim of the chute. The arm makes it easy to change the direction of the snow. You have to adjust the vertical angle of the chute's aim using two large plastic nuts, but a 45 degree angle seemed to work fine. If they are not fully tightened, you can easily adjust by just moving the end of the chute up or down. The snow after this storm was relatively dry, but it seems to do really well in deep snow, so I think shallow but wetter snow might be ok. It's corded, so you need to manage the cord a bit, but it's not really that big of an issue if you use the right back-and-forth pattern. The cold affects the pliability of the extension cord, so it's a little less forgiving than during summer. 3" or more of snow piled up seems to result in the highest velocity throw, and anything less sometimes spills over the chute, as well as when you have the chute angled 90 degrees to the front either way. A bit of snow did pile up on the machine and when the wind shifted, it did cover the built-in light. You'd probably be better off with a headlamp when its dark than relying on the attached light. Setup was pretty easy. There are only a few pieces to assemble, and everything came together without much effort. The cotter pin for the arm was a little hard to attach, so just have some pliers handy. It took me all of 10 minutes. The box was beat to hell when shipped, but nothing was damaged. The arm connecting to the chute is separated in the box, and it had punctured through the box during shipping, but it's pretty sturdy and was not damaged.