I've been an owner of three different gas snowblowers. Each worked in its own way, from the MTD two-stage to my personal favorite, the Craftsman one-stage.
Many people see one-stage snow throwers as junk, and I'll agree they have their limitations in heavy or wet snow. But if you get out there right when the snow falls and clear it before it hits ten inches, you'll have a fine time with this little wonder.
It does as good a job at snow removal as my Craftsman single did--the two-stage may be a bit more versatile but it's like handling a rototiller and you have to have a place to store it. This baby hangs on a pair of wall hooks in the garage, with the cord hanging next to it.
I was amazed at how well this little "off brand" thrower does its work. I got it to test the proposition that 99% of snow removal can be done with a little tool like this. But it bore me out last year. Neighbor has an Ariens that cost him almost $1400. When he saw my little blower he offered to clear my driveway for me.
After clearing my (two-car with turnout space) driveway and hanging up the machine and cord back in the garage, I looked next door. He was still trying to get the beast started.
UPDATE MARCH 2010:
Well, I had almost three seasons with Snow Joe, but he couldn't handle the double whammy snowstorms of February--gave up the ghost. So I bought the Toro version of the same thing. It handles very similarly to the Snow Joe, but the impeller and chute design is better. I wish the chute crank were easier to reach (liked that about the SJ) but the Toro gets more snow faster than the SJ.
I was very close to buying one of Toro's gas Power Curve models, but went with another electric. When the second snowstorm hit, this Toro went through it like butter. I made sure to get out there and clear the first batch before it hit ten inches. Second batch was actually deeper at probably about ten inches, and it was just as easy. The Toro took full-width bites out of the first pass. The deeper pass required me to bump it out 4 inches or so to account for the higher snow volume.
But it chewed through it like a champ. I continue to recommend electric snowblowers to homeowners who don't face a huge amount of snow in the winter and don't have more than a hundred feet between their outlet and the street. My 100-foot cord hits the end just as I get to the street. If my driveway were a foot longer I'd have to go with a longer cord.
But I am switching my recommendation from Snow Joe to Toro. The Toro throws better, stays clearer, is better put together, and is quieter than the Snow Joe, especially under load.
Spend the extra and get the Toro. You won't be sorry. Snow Joe Ultra 622U1 19-Inch 13-Amp Electric Snow Thrower
We bought the Snow Joe in December 2007 from Polsteins Home Goods and More (there is at least one other reviewer that had problems with Polsteins) - the very first snowstorm was about 4-5 inches. The snowthrower worked about 3/4 of the way down the driveway and then stopped working (no signs of a problem). We tried the fuse, a different plug, and calling Snow Joe. The service center recommended that we spray WD-40 into the starter switch housing, wait 20 mins and try again, or try holding the switch in while squeezing the bar. Neither worked. They have now authorized a return to their service center and they will repair or replace it free of charge. For the 20 minutes or so when it worked, we were impressed with how it worked. Now we have to hope it doesn't snow again before it is fixed.
Update - Snow Joe has now told me 4 times that they are sending me an email to have the snow blower returned. I the 2 and a half weeks since I first spoke to them, the email still has not come, and the toll free number they provide is an endless loop of nothing that never gets to a customer service rep, and the automatic return call feature to keep your place in line does not work (I have also tried several times over the last 2 weeks and they still have called, so it must be a very long line).
I have been moving snow for 30 years in Northern Wisconsin, using everything from large gas 2-stage snowthrowers, Garden tractors on down to small electric snowthrowers. My girlfriend needed a small snowblower for her side walks and double wide concrete drive, because of the hassles of starting and maintaining a gas snowblower (and her limited mechanical knowledge) we decided on an electric snowblower. (She handles a vacuum cleaner with a long cord....this seemed no different). We read the reviews on the Toro and Snow Joe and decided on the Snow Joe because of the better quality wheels, easier to reach chute handle and bigger motor (plus it was cheaper). She put it together herself (except for the difficult to tighten small screws on the chute handle). I had to play for awhile to figure out how to start it?...you need to hold in the side start button while you pull back on the handle to start the machine. (not real clear in the directions).....The first night we had 4" of fresh snow and it moved all the snow as easy as vacuuming, right down to the concrete...(it really only throws average snow 5'-10'). There was some old snow that was hard packed along the driveway and the drive belt kept squealing each time I plowed into the old snow.....we salted the remaining hard snow on the driveway (packed from driving on it) and tried clearing the wet snow the next night....and this machine did not like it at all! The drive belt squealed ALOT!.....(also note that NO snowblower of any size likes wet snow....no small gas powered snowblower I have ever used likes wet snow either)...so we had to hand shovel that stuff.....Lesson learned is: GET AT THE SNOW WHILE ITS SNOWING..don't wait to try to clear it after it has hardened or becomes slushy... and make sure you move the snow that the snowplow pushes in at the end of the driveway RIGHT AWAY...this machine does not like HARD PACK...(that snow left from the snowplow that has salt and sand in it). But in my experience this is a very well built and easy to use snowblower for handling fresh dry snow. In 15 minutes I did what used to take 2 hours hand shoveling.
UPDATE: 01/01/2008 (Try spraying the plastic behind the Blades and the inside of the chute with a vinyl/plastic protectant such as "Armor All"..this slick spray keeps the snow from sticking and helps the snow throw farther, plus it keeps the unit looking shiny and new). A winding garden hose real made winding up the cord much easier each time. - Snow Blower - Snow Joe - Snow Throwers - Snow Thrower'
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