I was really mad I didn't get the snow thrower for the Dec 2010 end snowstorm which dumped 28" snow in my area in New Jersey.
About 6 hours later and with help from my wife, I had finished shovelling all that I could of the driveway, sidewalk, deck and areas near house.
So, I looked for a good snow blower/thrower on Amazon - my favorite resource. A trip to Home Depot had gas ones with good ones starting at around $700 min. Add in fuel costs, maintenance, pull to start etc. and it was not my thing. I think we need to think about protecting our planet and reducing carbon emissions. Hence I preferred the electric one. Looking on Amazon, this product had like 7 reviews at the time and all were 5 stars. Needless to say, I immediately ordered it Dec 30. It arrived with free shipping on Jan 04. Not bad at all. Since I had no snow till last night, I held off on the review. Meanwhile, this product continued to get 5 star reviews (with a strange 1 star and 2 star in the past 2-3 days ).
With about 6"-7" to clear off now, I was ready to unit test this baby and put out my review. so here goes -
1. Cost
Given that good gas ones start at about $700, this one blows it out of the water. $200 for almost equivalent performance means this is a no brainer. Even if this lasts you 4 years (warranty period), for cost of 1 good gas blower, you can go through 3.5 cycles of this ( which means 13.5 years ) to get equal value from this unit as compared to the gas one. This means, this is a phenomenal value.
2. Packaging and assembly
This unit arrived packed very well. It really surprised me how well it was packed. The carton was sturdy with thick thermacol protecting the unit inside. Almost all the handles/rest were packed in plastic. Actually, it looks like they assembled the unit with the plastic going right through the unit bolts. I couldn't get all the plastic out, but it didn't bother me. Its not really a big deal. Assembly instructions were good and it took me about 10-12mins to assemble this unit. Being environmentally conscious, I wouldn't want lots of plastic (which'll likely end up in the Great Pacific or Great Atlantic garbage) to be involved.
This unit looks nice and green enforcing its eco friendly concepts.
3. Shipping/Delivery
Amazon as usual is fantastic offering free shipping and fast delivery. Previously, with free shipping they were shipping it in under 2 days. Nowadays, though, they've become wiser and don't even start shipping for about 3-4 days. No problems because really you're getting free shipping.
4. Manual/accessories
I liked that the manual was printed on recycled paper and looks very thorough. (except a typo about the chute rotation angle - listed as 810 degrees instead of 180 degrees ). Extension cord sizes/gauges are listed explicitly. I bought a 50' 16 gauge extension cord (Workforce from Home Depot for $10 ) and a 50' 14 gauge ( Husky from Home Depot for $19 ) and they are to spec as per manual. It has one accessory - the little ladle/spoon like shovel. This is good for getting snow out from the corners but I think its really useless. Also there's no attachment to put this on the unit. I fashioned one myself using velcro and it works well. But really, I'll just store this shovel inside and forget about it. Better to use my proper 18" shovel to finish up.
5. Performance
Now this is where the unit really shone. Even with like 2"-3" snow, it would take me almost 1.5-2 hours to clear it in the cold with lots of strain on the back, shoulders and wrists. With the ~7" snow we got in New Jersey, I completed the task in about 15 mins which was AWESOME ! No more bending/scooping/lifting etc. Just plowed right through the thick snow. In some places it was even more - since it nearly hit the top of the unit which is about 10" high. One pass and it was done to almost the blacktop. However, due to doing it again and again, I managed to spray a thin layer back onto the driveway. If I was more careful and slower, I could've avoided it, but eh! I was having fun lifting and throwing snow almost 20' to either side. On the front - not so much. It looks like in the front it travels only about 6-8' which is still not bad, but for some reason the design is such that it travels much farther to the sides. This isn't a major drawback at all.
The unit chowed through the thick and thin powdery snow very easily. In a couple of places and especially at end of driveway where the village idiot (i.e. the town guy who snow plows the road and piles it up thick blocking my driveway every single snow), it needed multiple passes because the guy pack piles it to about 2-3 feet. With this unit, you need to break this down from the bottom, let the snow fall down to manageable level and then plow right through.
Its not optimally designed to go under the cars, so you can't get to the areas around the cars easily. Side of cars are ok, front and back - not so much.
The wheels are pretty large and really help in pushing this unit through the snow. Its not self propelled which would've probably been even better. A couple of times I had to really push through the snow till the blades kinda sucked in the snow causing the unit to get inturn sucked into the snow like a spiral effect of sorts. But it can take some effort on hard snow.
Performance on powder snow and packed snow is not that much different. As expected, much easier on dry powdery snow than packed snow. With powdery snow, it can really expose the blacktop, with packed snow - not really. Slushy snow - still easy.
6. Misc. notes about the unit
As compared to Toro, this unit has metal blades which spin which IMO makes is better. There are lots of little touches like nice directional chute, foldable handle for storage by loosening the side bolts, little catch to loop and hold the extension cord make this unit even more attractive.
The unit is not that noisy - it makes as much noise as a fast motor like a vacuum cleaner. Not as much as gas ones or leaf blowers.
The unit has nice locked away start/stop mechanism which involves pulling out a level to start it and level retracts back into its caged slot when off. This prevents accidental starts and its not as bad as Toro where you've to hold some other button which can be painful.
The handle height can be adjusted and default one is very comfortable for most people. People very tall like over 6'2" etc. will have to bend.
The unit doesn't vibrate a lot so its easy on the arms.
Extension cords are a major pain and you need to constantly maneuver around it or do cord management. I'm thinking of buying some kind of cord management device.
The 20" width is really excellent as it cuts down on number of passes. However, best way to do it is have about 16" of new snow and 4" of overlay on area already done instead of trying to attack new section of 20" snow. This causes you to keep blacktop exposed instead of spraying thin snow back onto areas already done. You also need to take time and plan the chute direction before hand and consider any wind blowing to ensure you don't keep blowing snow back onto the areas already done. This can be a pain and take time.
I was using a $99 Toro power shovel before and this blows it out of the water in terms of ease of use, performance, price/performance ratio etc. That power shovel is only for mild snow (<2") now. This is my goto guy for everything else.
A gas one needs regular maintenance, proper oil/gas mixes, spark plugs check/replace, spews carbon based emissions which're harmful to the environment and all this for lot more than electric one. This is 21st century - we need to seriously start reducing our impact on the environment and this unit fits the bill perfectly.
7. Warranty
They say 4 year and this is double industry standard so its good.
Final Verdict = 5/5 stars.
Definitely a must buy. I even convinced my neighbor today to consider buying this unit :)
Product information
| Brand | Greenworks |
|---|---|
| Power Source | Corded Electric |
| Item Weight | 32 Pounds |
| Color | Green |
| Engine Type | Electric |
| Engine Displacement | 180 Cubic Centimeters |
| Maximum Throw Distance | 20 Feet |
| Wheel Size | 6 Inches |
| Voltage | 120 Volts |
| UPC | 841821003081 |
| Package Dimensions | 23.1 x 23.1 x 21.3 inches |
| Item Weight | 32 pounds |
| Manufacturer | GreenWorks |
| ASIN | B0030BG1L8 |
| Item model number | 26032 |
| Customer Reviews |
4.0 out of 5 stars |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Warranty & Support
Product Warranty: For warranty information about this product, please click here [PDF ]
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Worked even on wet mushy snow!
Updated 5/9/14: I received the snowblower before I received my extension cord, so I'll begin with the assembly. The box arrived in good shape, and the blower was easy to unpack from its box. There are two handle pieces and the chute deflector packed on top of the snowblower itself. Everything was in good condition, but when I was unpacking it I discovered a washer and a nut in the bottom of the box. This went to the O-ring for the chute deflector handle. I also found a machine screw in the box, and was unable to locate where it had been removed from. So make sure to CHECK YOUR BOX FOR LOOSE NUTS AND BOLTS! The handle was easy to assemble, and based on other people's worries about vibrations causing things to come loose, I applied some lok-tite onto the threads for the chute deflector handle and the bottom handle assembly. Everything fit together perfectly, and the reviews about the handle being covered in plastic before assembly was not the case with the blower I received. I could unwrap everything before assembling. You may want to apply lock-tite to some of the nuts and bolts, otherwise you may lose them with the vibrations of the machine in operation. Greenworks is great about providing replacements, but better safe than sorry. The extension cord arrived, and though we don't have any really fresh snow, it did snow 2 days ago. Good time to test it out on wet mucky snow and see how it works. There was still a bank of snow at the bottom of our driveway, and the snowblower handled it well! Since it was solid and wet, it took some effort to push it into the bank, but it chewed through it with little other problems. Even though the snow was wet, it tossed it a very good distance (about 15 feet). Though if you're not feeding it enough snow (under 3 inches) it just sort of bubbles up and lands on top of the blower itself. I had no issues operating the handle switch, though it does feel a little bit flimsy. There is a conveniently located loop on the back of the switch so that you can make a slack knot to ensure that your extension cord does not get pulled out of the plug on accident. It sounds more like a vacuum cleaner than a snow blower, a high whine, and it squeaks VERY LOUDLY when it stops. That's most likely due to the belt, so don't be alarmed if yours makes that noise as well. After 3 years of operation, this has pretty much stopped. A very important thing is that it is light and easy to maneuver. Our driveway is at a 10-15 degree incline, so this will work wonders when we're clearing with it, as it won't take us running down the hill after it. All in all, so far it has performed well and I am confident that if we get a blizzard before winter is over, I'll now be able to handle it without breaking my back. UPDATE 1/25/12: Winter finally arrived in Michigan - we've had several snows leaving anywhere from 4 to 8 inches and even up to 11-12 inches in drifts on our driveway. This snow-blower has handled them all. I would HIGHLY SUGGEST to avoid the ice lockup of the chute that you spray WD-40 in there and move it back and forth before you start blowing - every time. This will prevent the ice from building up in there until you are done. The only complaint I have about this machine is how it handles smaller amounts of snow. If you try to blow anything under about 3" it will just bubble out the top onto the snow blower and maybe a few feet away. Makes a mess until you get into deeper piles. However it still throws a good 2-3 feet at that point. When you get into deeper drifts, this thing really flings the snow! I've discovered you can counteract the small snow performance by moving faster through the snow so it has more to throw. Overall I am very happy with my purchase and hope that it continues to operate well through the years! UPDATE 1/22/13: Snowblower is still working fine. I may need to replace the blade on the bottom after this season - it doesn't seem like it's getting down to the pavement as well as it used to. Otherwise, it still throws and clears the snow just great! UPDATE 2/20/13: At some point during this season I failed to check the bolts on the thrower chute and they rattled loose and I lost them, so one side of the chute no longer is attached properly. As you can imagine this makes snowblowing kind of difficult. However, I called the company and they have sent replacement bolts to me free of charge! Awesome service from Greenworks and I can still use my snowblower! UPDATE 4/19/13: I wanted to remark again how awesome their customer service has been. I needed to replace the blade (which is plastic, and had worn down from continued use) so I simply called them up, gave them a model number and one was sent to me. It cost $20. It was easy to replace - pop off the old one pop on the new one. Other than that, it still works like a charm. Looking forward to many seasons with this blower. UPDATE 2/3/14: So I was very sad that this machine may have finally bitten the dust. We've had a hell of winter so far here in Michigan - 10 - 12" of snow in waves and this machine handled it all like a champ, even when the drifts were 3 times higher than the machine itself. That is, until I hit a block of ice hidden in the snowbank. The machine locked up, and once restarted now has an alarming wiggle and no longer throws the snow like it should. I have diagnosed it to the point that the impeller blade is bent and I was dreading the replacement cost. I just called Greenworks and the part is 37 DOLLARS. Only 37 dollars!! That's insanely cheap! I don't have to buy a new snowblower! Again, their customer service and warranty is REMARKABLE!! 5/9/14: Replacing the impellor blade was much harder than I initially thought; in fact it's almost impossible to the point that I was minutes from taking it to a shop or throwing this away. First, the instructions in the manual omit the fact that there's a bolt on both sides of the impellor. Second, the bolt requires an 8 sided socket, which I couldn't find locally. In the end I had to take my dremel tool to it to make it a size I could manage. Even then it was covered in red lok-tite and took a breaker bar to eventually get moving. Yeesh!! At least now I know that the belt and pulleys are in good shape because I had to tear down the whole drive mechanism to get this part replaced. I am happy, however, that I fixed it and it's ready for another season.
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2011
