Snow Blower Driveway test | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Snow Blower Driveway test

Expect to pull out my 22hp new holland soon see how it does with its new Kawasaki engine.

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Malks said:
I picked up a corded snowblower at HD on clearance in Jan 2019 for $99. Best money I ever spent.

I have a single wide drive that is just long enough for one car. My problem is there is no place to put snow on either side of the driveway because of my walkway / front stairs on one side, and the walkway / stairs to the neighbour on the other side. My front lawn is basically 4' x 4' so can't pile much there. So I blow the snow down the driveway, across the narrow private road of our townhouse complex and up onto a short retaining wall on the other side. I have a 100' extension cord left over from our last house so it reaches no problem. This little snowblower is able to do what I need and works like a charm. If it ever dies I might consider the battery powered versions because the cord can be a pain at some times.
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No question, cordless is very convenient. The problem is battery platforms. I would have been happy with the Ryobi if it wasn't for the switch and handle issues because it would have shared the platform with the leaf blower and our Ryobi lawn mower.

We could have gone to any of several other brands but that would have meant another battery system.

My concern was that a battery that sits for nine months could suffer premature aging issues. Also at $240 each or more, it's nice to share that cost over several tools. I have at least a half dozen Ryobi 18 volt batteries and if one died there are spares and they get rotated.

One thing I liked about Ryobi 18 volt is that the old tools can run on the new batteries. Milwaukee changed their battery design a few years back and the new batteries don't fit the old tools. If you were heavily invested in Milwaukee 18 volt tools they all had to be replaced.

I've borrowed my buddy's Milwaukee 18 volt table saw for a test. It is scary good thanks to a $350 12AH battery. My old cast iron workhorse is still going strong after 40+ years but at about 350 pounds it doesn't leave the shop. The Milwaukee weighs about 40 pounds so moving it to a convenient spot is a no brainer. I have other Milwaukee 18 volt tools so a shared system.
 
nobbie48 said:
No question, cordless is very convenient. The problem is battery platforms. I would have been happy with the Ryobi if it wasn't for the switch and handle issues because it would have shared the platform with the leaf blower and our Ryobi lawn mower.

We could have gone to any of several other brands but that would have meant another battery system.

My concern was that a battery that sits for nine months could suffer premature aging issues. Also at $240 each or more, it's nice to share that cost over several tools. I have at least a half dozen Ryobi 18 volt batteries and if one died there are spares and they get rotated.

One thing I liked about Ryobi 18 volt is that the old tools can run on the new batteries. Milwaukee changed their battery design a few years back and the new batteries don't fit the old tools. If you were heavily invested in Milwaukee 18 volt tools they all had to be replaced.

I've borrowed my buddy's Milwaukee 18 volt table saw for a test. It is scary good thanks to a $350 12AH battery. My old cast iron workhorse is still going strong after 40+ years but at about 350 pounds it doesn't leave the shop. The Milwaukee weighs about 40 pounds so moving it to a convenient spot is a no brainer. I have other Milwaukee 18 volt tools so a shared system.
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What!? There’s a battery powered table saw? Never even heard of that.
 
nobbie48 said:
No question, cordless is very convenient. The problem is battery platforms. I would have been happy with the Ryobi if it wasn't for the switch and handle issues because it would have shared the platform with the leaf blower and our Ryobi lawn mower.

We could have gone to any of several other brands but that would have meant another battery system.

My concern was that a battery that sits for nine months could suffer premature aging issues. Also at $240 each or more, it's nice to share that cost over several tools. I have at least a half dozen Ryobi 18 volt batteries and if one died there are spares and they get rotated.

One thing I liked about Ryobi 18 volt is that the old tools can run on the new batteries. Milwaukee changed their battery design a few years back and the new batteries don't fit the old tools. If you were heavily invested in Milwaukee 18 volt tools they all had to be replaced.

I've borrowed my buddy's Milwaukee 18 volt table saw for a test. It is scary good thanks to a $350 12AH battery. My old cast iron workhorse is still going strong after 40+ years but at about 350 pounds it doesn't leave the shop. The Milwaukee weighs about 40 pounds so moving it to a convenient spot is a no brainer. I have other Milwaukee 18 volt tools so a shared system.
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Milwaukee changed from V to M about 15 years ago. Since then the platform has stayed compatible with incremental improvements (eg compact battery went from 1.5 to 2 Ah). Great northern battery in hamilton will repack any power tool battery with new cells. That may be worthwhile if you have an expensive tool like a v28 core drill. For most normal 18 volt stuff, if a platform change occurs, I would keep using them until all the batteries die and then re-invest in a modern platform. I have 18V ni cad dealt that still works but almost never gets used as the lithium platform is so much better at everything. I do a few projects a year with that just to keep the batteries alive.
 
SVeezy said:
Yep, there’s an 18v 5ah mitre saw sitting in my house right now as we are doing renovations. They are very convenient


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I always thought batteries were the way to go for mitre saws as you typically spend a very small time cutting compared to measuring and fitting. I didn't think the table saw would work as well but when my buddy was having a large addition put on his house he was using it and the contractors started using it as well instead of their plug in.
 
GreyGhost said:
Milwaukee changed from V to M about 15 years ago. Since then the platform has stayed compatible with incremental improvements (eg compact battery went from 1.5 to 2 Ah). Great northern battery in hamilton will repack any power tool battery with new cells. That may be worthwhile if you have an expensive tool like a v28 core drill. For most normal 18 volt stuff, if a platform change occurs, I would keep using them until all the batteries die and then re-invest in a modern platform. I have 18V ni cad dealt that still works but almost never gets used as the lithium platform is so much better at everything. I do a few projects a year with that just to keep the batteries alive.
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I recall seeing adapters that will match a Milwaukee battery to a DeWalt tool and other combinations. About $30-$40 IIRC. They will add bulk to the tool and may affect performance.

I spoke to a Milwaukee rep about their battery technology and they are more than a bunch of cells wired together. All kinds of sensors and circuit chips so I'm told.
 
nobbie48 said:
I always thought batteries were the way to go for mitre saws as you typically spend a very small time cutting compared to measuring and fitting. I didn't think the table saw would work as well but when my buddy was having a large addition put on his house he was using it and the contractors started using it as well instead of their plug in.
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There are definitely some jobs that benefit from a plug (like long deep rips) but battery powered things have gotten awesome. I havent used a corded circular saw in years. It seems silly to have four in the garage. To be fair, one never got much use as it isnt great but it was made in canada so it was kept mainly for nostalgia (and potentially to cut asphalt so I dont ruin a saw I care about).
 
Some good posts here about battery systems and not having batteries sit too long etc.

One thing about our Greenworks 80V system is that the lawnmower will get use in the summer and the snowblower gets use in the summer.

I cleared everything on Christmas eve and my wife decided to give it a quick clear on Christmas morning before I got up. The lighter weight of the battery stuff and the simplicity of use means that my wife is not afraid to use them and they do not exacerbate her M.S.

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GreyGhost said:
There are definitely some jobs that benefit from a plug (like long deep rips) but battery powered things have gotten awesome. I havent used a corded circular saw in years. It seems silly to have four in the garage. To be fair, one never got much use as it isnt great but it was made in canada so it was kept mainly for nostalgia (and potentially to cut asphalt so I dont ruin a saw I care about).
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The cheap corded ones make good loaners too.
 
GreyGhost said:
There are definitely some jobs that benefit from a plug (like long deep rips) but battery powered things have gotten awesome. I havent used a corded circular saw in years. It seems silly to have four in the garage. To be fair, one never got much use as it isnt great but it was made in canada so it was kept mainly for nostalgia (and potentially to cut asphalt so I dont ruin a saw I care about).
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I have several as well including one with a diamond blade for concrete. Another has no end play, runs a fine tooth blade and is used with a straight edge for finish cuts on sheets of plywood. A decent 8" for general work and another just because. Also the Ryobi 18 volt but it needs a new blade. I may go Milwaukee on that if I get a tool only deal.
 
You would think they could make a siimple drive cable last longer.It was only 25 years!
JymEmOp.jpg
 
GreyGhost said:
A control cable or it is actually sending power through a cable?
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The cable pulls the friction wheel into the drive plate against a spring. It's a really simple and reliable design. Six forward speeds and two reverse speeds from a rubber wheel and a flat plate.
 
Wingboy said:
The cable pulls the friction wheel into the drive plate against a spring. It's a really simple and reliable design. Six forward speeds and two reverse speeds from a rubber wheel and a flat plate.
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Got it. I like that drive mechanism but wasn't sure if 25 years ago they were actually using a cable to transmit the power instead of the disc and wheel.
 
I went all electric when I bought my house. I like the Ego line of products that you can get from Home Depot. I have the lawnmower, whipper snipper, snow blower and a leaf blower that came free with one of other things. Batteries are all interchangeable and work great. The snowblower is small and light, definitely not an industrial design as it is all plastic, but for my long narrow driveway it is perfect and the batteries easily let me do my driveway, front walkway and sidewalk. I love the simplicity of it all and never needing gas or oil, just slip the batteries in and away I go!
 
never considered battery powered for yard maintenance or snow blowing. My 10+ year old MTD broke a shear bolt and for the life of me I can't get it out so I am working with 3/4 of the augers. I will have to pull the whole thing apart to disassemble the drive to get the shear bolt out and while I am that far, replace all the other bolts, belts and bearings. Seems to be to be too much effort. Maybe it's time to invest in a battery powered replacement.
 
JZ67 said:
never considered battery powered for yard maintenance or snow blowing. My 10+ year old MTD broke a shear bolt and for the life of me I can't get it out so I am working with 3/4 of the augers. I will have to pull the whole thing apart to disassemble the drive to get the shear bolt out and while I am that far, replace all the other bolts, belts and bearings. Seems to be to be too much effort. Maybe it's time to invest in a battery powered replacement.
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I did my driveway this AM with a 120 volt 20". The cord is becoming less of a nuisance as I develop tricks to make it behave, I use a 50' cord but fold it in half so it acts more like a 25 footer. I need to replace it with a cold weather grade one as well.
 
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