khunjeff wrote:I would be in for one if Woot would send this to an APO address! Right now I use an electric leaf blower to clear powdery snow off my walk in Korea, or a shovel if the snow is too wet...both are slow and somewhat difficult. Would love to buy this puppy

ME TOO! Come on woot... Pleeeease!! It's been snowing for the past month here in Ramstein and this would be perfect for my big kid husband. Would be perfect post valentines day present. *sniff*

kuma99 wrote:electricity + wet = yikes.

This bad-boy pulls 15 amps. That means you ned a real outlet. 3-prong and preferably gfci.

Longer cord ups the amperage requirement

50 foot needs 12 ga cord.

100 feet needs 10 ga cord.

150 feet needs gas blower.

longer the cord, more it draws. Same with wetter snow- it will pull a higher amperage.

Be safe.

I would need a 50 foot cord just to reach the sidewalk from the plug.

hushpuppy20 wrote:I'm 32 but I have asthma so this little thrower helps out a lot!

I had the problem with the cord coming unplugged on me, getting wet in the snow, and then I'd be afraid to plug it back in. It might not be the safest thing to do but I've started duct taping the cord to the connector.

With these types of throwers the cord is the most annoying part. Just keep it to your left or right, make sure it unwinds right and get a good color like red that will be visible above the snow.

With a little practice you'll be fine. Don't try it out for the first time with all your neighbors out shoveling and watching/judging you if possible!

No Problem... Just lick the snow off the plug!

It would take exactly 12.4 seconds for me to run over the power cord. I would then either electrocute myself or the auger would dislodge, fly through the air and sever my jugular. Pass.

Johnny number 5 told me my mama was a snow blower. I agreed, and I am in for 3 to reunite my family.

This little cutie will clean snow down to the pavement under many conditions, leaving a modest, clear path. For deeper, heavier snow, SLOW DOWN and, if you are confident in your skills, lift her up to trim the top layer(s) off first -- she's light enough! I use a bright orange outdoor rated cord on a modified hose reel (be sure the male plug-in end can spin freely) that rolls in the summer and gets hooked under my arm in the winter. I went gas-combustion-engine free a few years back (I'm a female who doesn't like smelling like a grease monkey), starting with a mower. I bought this same model (for same $!) two years ago, and was startled, at first, at what looked like a plastic auger. It has to be more like hard rubber because it has chewed thru 1" branches buried in the drifts. She's not macho (neither is my quiet, battery-powered mower), but for MN winter, she has done well for me.

GURABoy wrote:I've seen a lot of snow blowers over the years, but always gas-powered. Anyone have any experience with electric? Decent price, but I have to say I'm skeptical, like I am of electric chainsaws...

As I wrote above, I live in MN and like this model. Just take it easy, buy the appropriate cord, and pay attention to what is in your path to avoid said cord.

dviglino wrote:...anywhere that is not on the walkways or driveway.

I saw this and thought: YES! Finally! But then saw it was electric. Guess it could work right outside the garage, but I'd need a LONG extension cord for the driveway... and then I'm worried about electric outages.

Still. Pretty good price...

I wonder if this would clear a cruise ship deck?

GURABoy wrote:I've seen a lot of snow blowers over the years, but always gas-powered. Anyone have any experience with electric? Decent price, but I have to say I'm skeptical, like I am of electric chainsaws...

This thing might be fine if you live in an area where you get light snow. I would not count on this if you are in an area that gets deep snow or where it snows often. I have a gas powered two stage and it works great but I have always kicked myself for not buying a larger one and it is much larger than this.

Trying to decide if I'm lazy enough to buy this for use on my front deck.

I have one of these which I got at a thrift store for $25. It is great for ANY snow depth. If the snow is too deep I simply pick it up and swing it over the snow taking off a few inches at a time. Try that with a gas powered blower! A few years back we had over 30 inches of snow and it handled that and the plow-packed snow which was pushed up against the cars. If I didn't have an extension cord long enough I would use it with my generator.

My landlord has the older model of this snow blower. Its junk... Unless you want to spend 4+ hours extra outside get this... Self propelled gas powered snow blowers are great. This does not get down to pavement it does not have real blades on it or power... Im orginally from Buffalo Ny and had to deal with the storm last week in Connecticut. I rather shovel than using this pos.

Very tempted to order one of these. I have a 26" 10 HP gas snow blower to do the big stuff but I have a 12' x 16' deck which is 7' above the ground that I have to shovel.This should be perfect for that job.What to do,what to do,I'm thinking this will sell out today so I need to make up my mind soon.

I have an electric snowblower - not this one, but a SnowJoe brand one.

Mine is surprisingly powerful and works very well, even in a Wisconsin winter.

I've had it four or five winters now and I've used it in several quite large snows - I just try not to let the snow get a lot higher than the front scoop and it will handle it. It will even do the snowplow mountain at the bottom of the driveway pretty well if the pile of snow is not all frozen together

Gas two stage is obviously more powerful (and works better on the snowplow mountain at the bottom of driveways), but my little SnowJoe can do almost anything and is lightweight and doesn't take up much space in the garage. And if it has a problem, I can easily carry it into the house and let it warm up and snow melt off and then I can easily examine it/fix it in comfort.

The biggest downside is probably that it is less wide and takes more passes to clear the same space. Also is not self propelled (but the light weight makes it pretty easy to push). You have to have a sufficient extension cord, and that can be a little bit of a hassle to manipulate.

Tough little snow blower. It's pretty much made out of all durable plastic. I live in the Philly area and used one for about 5 seasons. If you are adverse to gas powered blowers, this is a good solution. It's really for someone who's good with routines and who pays attention to detail because you need several good winter electric cords, have to keep the cords away from the snow feeder at all times, and it will jam occasionally. In heavy snow, you can get a bit creative by lifting it to the top of the snow and blowing layers of snow until it's all gone in on area. You can do this because it is so light weight. Also, excels at clearing the end of the drive way. What did mine in was I rushed one day and it ate the electric cord. Good for an area the only gets 1 or 2 big storms a year. It will really save your back. Think of the gas powered blowers as being the Enterprise. Well, this is the Defiant, a scrappy one, not to be underestimated.

I have had a Toro 1800 since 1995 and it is still running strong in Massachusetts. Have only replaced the metal skids once.

I also have a 11hp Ariens snow blower - each has its purpose. But before I had the Ariens the Toro was used for a one car wide driveway about 60 feet long. It worked fine except for the very hard packed snow left by the plows at the end of the driveway. It is great for clearing decks.

gooseygoose wrote:Its crazy there is actually places that get enough snow to blow around. Tell me oh people who actually get a winter, where do you blow the snow to?

Your neighbor's driveway. Just be sure to get up RED STAPLER!

I wrote "just be sure to get up first" and it changed it to "red stapler". I don't understand....

I'm a female senior citizen living in the Poconos and I've owned this model for several years. It's great for snowfalls up to 6 or 8 inches - though after that I call the plow guy. My driveway is 100 feet long - so I had to use a couple of extension cords and learn how to best navigate without getting all tangled up - but it's well worth the price. I paid much more.

So could I put a bag on it and use it for mulching leaves? Since I never see any real snow in my part of Texas I'm thinking there has to be some other uses for it. Maybe a giant bubble blower??

The advantage of electric is maintenance and starting. Your wife could use this (you cad!). No storage of gas that goes bad, no tune-ups or oil changes. No pull start. That being said, I think there is a limit of how much you can realistically do with this. My ex brother-in-law had the gas version of this which used flexible rubber blades that actually got down to the sidewalk. It worked pretty well I thought and was less complicated than the two-stage blowers.

bluetide wrote:I am looking for a snow blower for quite a while now, gas-powered ones, but they are three times this price. Any suggestions why someone would opt for electric for gas beside the price point? Is it better to spend some more money now to get convenience of having a gas-powered one for the years to come? Any suggestions/comments? Thanks.

edit: one more point, I live in the Midwest/Chicago

I bought this at Home Depot about two months ago for $321, and thought it was a little expensive but still worth it.

We've had consistent snowfall here in Minneapolis and this thing has saved my butt. No problems with anything I've shoved down it's throat, just avoid the ice dam from the plow.

I have a 75' drive, a patio, two walkways, and I also do my elderly neighbor's drive. Before, when I had a two-stage gas, it took 15 minutes just to warm up the machine, stink up the neighborhood, handle fuel and oil, find my hearing protection...what a mess. That thing eventually blew a gasket and bled oil all over my garage, and left a rusty footprint I may never be able to get rid of. This is so much better. Killer deal at $134.

And cord management, if you just plan ahead and know how to coil, is not an issue. Let it run down the path you just plowed, and work next to where it lays on the next path. I mean, this is like a vacuum cleaner, really, and nobody complains about them being electric.

Being from "the north" I would never buy an electric snow blower.

I purchased a Toro machine that looked similar to this about 5 years ago. In all fairness it could have been a different model or they could have improved it since then. But the one I had was a piece of crap. The first time I used it, it worked fine. The second time I used it, I hit a chunk of ice in the pile of snow the plows leave by the curb. That was enough to dislodge a belt or grind a gear or something, because the blades would no longer turn after that. Back to Home Depot it went for a refund. I no longer have the documents for the machine as it was returned, so maybe I had a different model, or maybe Toro got their act together to make a machine that can be used more than a few times. Just sayin'.

How many HDMI ports does it have? Oh wait, this isn't a refurbished TV.

GURABoy wrote:I've seen a lot of snow blowers over the years, but always gas-powered. Anyone have any experience with electric? Decent price, but I have to say I'm skeptical, like I am of electric chainsaws...

I have one and love it. It is great for clearing 2" - 6". Starts working hard when it is wet and heavy snow but never failed me yet. Will not replace a gas model. I would not try to dig out my cabin with this. I use it for my driveway which is about 3,000 sf and I can clear it in about 5 - 10 min. I use a 100' extension cord and once you get a system of how not to run over the cord it is great. I sucked the cord up once and had to cut it out. Way easier than a gas model if you have an outlet or 2 nearby. Super light so it hangs on the wall. I have a 60" plow on my 4 wheeler and this is faster for small areas.

Just remember this thing has a 15 amp motor, so your standard orange extension cord WILL NOT WORK. You will either burn up the cord or destroy the motor in your snowblower.

Considering also that it will be freezing, you need a cord that is still flexible in cold temperatures. I suggest http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable-Low-Temp-Outdoor-Extension/dp/B00004SQFA/ref=pd_sim_hi_8

Keep in mind if you need a 100 foot cord, you're going to need a 12 gauge cord, as at 100 feet the 14 gauge cord only provides 13 amps and will create a fire hazard.

http://www.amazon.com/US-Wire-99100-100-Foot-Extension/dp/B001KY03FC/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1360934159&sr=1-6&keywords=12+gauge+extension+cord This one should work well.

maxdamage wrote:Being from "the north" I would never buy an electric snow blower.

Living in "the north" I own an electric snow blower and have no issues.

bluetide wrote:I am looking for a snow blower for quite a while now, gas-powered ones, but they are three times this price. Any suggestions why someone would opt for electric for gas beside the price point? Is it better to spend some more money now to get convenience of having a gas-powered one for the years to come? Any suggestions/comments? Thanks.

edit: one more point, I live in the Midwest/Chicago

My reasoning was that maintenance and initial up front cost of gas was higher, in my experience living in Michigan the one time our power DID go out with a storm I didn't have to go into work anyway because there was 2 - 3 feet of snow on the roads.

And as others have said, if there is a lot of snow, this can handle it. If it's higher than the body of the blower, you can run this on top of the snow and do it in layers - something you cannot do with a gas powered blower.

The additional bonus of this little blower is that its quiet - you can run it at 3am if you need to and not wake up your neighbors.

I should also add that the people complaining about it not getting down to the concrete are using it incorrectly. The picture of the guy using it on his driveway is wrong. If the back wheels are on the ground, the blade is not being used. The key is to lift the back of the blower up about 1-2" so that the blade is sliding along the ground, not the wheels. This ensures you are cutting down into the snow so you pick up everything.

bluetide wrote:I am looking for a snow blower for quite a while now, gas-powered ones, but they are three times this price. Any suggestions why someone would opt for electric for gas beside the price point? Is it better to spend some more money now to get convenience of having a gas-powered one for the years to come? Any suggestions/comments? Thanks.

edit: one more point, I live in the Midwest/Chicago

I live where you live. I can't speak directly to your question, because I own neither. But what I can talk about is electric weed trimmer vs. gas. I thought buying anything electric over gas was a major advantage because of how much $ the small engine repair guys want to fix something these days. So I drag almost 200 feet of cord out every time I need to trim and remind myself that I'm saving lots o' dough on gas trimmer repairs. I'm over it. Dragging a cord everywhere sucks. Hope I didn't waste your time, but wanted to fast-forward you to a perspective that you might share in a few years of dragging extension cords around in the snow.

"That's no knife, THIS is a knife" - Crocodile Dundee


"That's no snow blower, THIS is a snow blower!"

jmackinac wrote:I live where you live. I can't speak directly to your question, because I own neither. But what I can talk about is electric weed trimmer vs. gas. I thought buying anything electric over gas was a major advantage because of how much $ the small engine repair guys want to fix something these days. So I drag almost 200 feet of cord out every time I need to trim and remind myself that I'm saving lots o' dough on gas trimmer repairs. I'm over it. Dragging a cord everywhere sucks. Hope I didn't waste your time, but wanted to fast-forward you to a perspective that you might share in a few years of dragging extension cords around in the snow.

This seems to be the biggest complaint with electric snowblowers, but it all depends on where your plugs are. Mine are in my garage - so I can pull the cord out behind me as I go down the driveway, keep it in the path I just cleared and go beside it, back and forth. The cord never gets in the way. If you have to cross the cord to complete your driveway, then perhaps an electric is not for you. And given the amperage of this motor, a 200' cord would be absolutely impossible to manage.

This device requires at most a 100' distance between your plug and the end of your plowing run. Longer than that and you won't be able to get the thing to run.

Get the gas one. Get at least a 8hp and 24" auger. Electric ones are a pain in the butt. Dealing with extention cords all the time.... why go through all the trouble?

GURABoy wrote:I've seen a lot of snow blowers over the years, but always gas-powered. Anyone have any experience with electric? Decent price, but I have to say I'm skeptical, like I am of electric chainsaws...

Growing up in Buffalo, I can say that I know snow. But, I no longer live where it snows 6 feet overnight. I still get snow, not as much but I have a 150 foot long driveway! I bought one of these a few years ago from home depot because I have given up on gas-powdered outdoor equipment. (that is another story) I was pleasantly surprised at how well this works in light or heavy snows. Like any snow-blower the method of removing snow is a learned skill and many times failure with equipment is because the method is wrong. For a deep snow you can only "slice off" only half the size of your equipment blade. Use of a spray to help the snow slide off also is a common tip. I highly recommend this equipment. It has served me well with no problems, except my neighbors who were complaining when the wind picked up the snow I was blowing and put it in their driveway.... haha

Just read the posts about cord problems, Not true!!!! any Milton can buy long enough cords and shift them away from whatever side you are working on. Would you rather be positioning a cord or standing in a cold shed tuning-up a gas motor that didn't work.....

I have one. It works really well on light snow. I've only used it a few times with snow drifting about a foot high. It handled that fine. I don't think it would dig right into a 4 foot snow plow pile. You could easily, however, break the snow out with a shovel then throw it with this.

The ONLY problem I had was the extension cord. It got stiff in the cold weather. That, however, is a small price for the convenience.

The device is very light. One hand carry. It was easy to use it as an electric shovel to get porch steps. You can hang it on the garage wall to get it out of the way.

As for electric, anything I only use occasionally is electric. No messing about with fuel preservative etc.

This is a lightweight machine. Don't buy it if you live in Syracuse. Here in the midwest (near St. Louis), it's just perfect.

I'll bet if Woot changed their shipping policy, Hawaii would be snapping these things right up. . .

hushpuppy20 wrote:I had the problem with the cord coming unplugged on me, getting wet in the snow, and then I'd be afraid to plug it back in. It might not be the safest thing to do but I've started duct taping the cord to the connector.

You might be able to just replace your plug - a 3 prong plug should fit snugly and not fall out. Replace your receptacle ($5) and this problem should be solved

Hmm.....
I live in Florida, what else can it ####?
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