Battery Snow Blowers

Cordless snow blowers run on the same battery platform as the rest of your yard tools, which is why they have taken over Canadian driveways over the last few winters. There is no fuel to stabilise in October, no carburettor to gum up over a January thaw, and no pull cord to fight at six in the morning at minus twenty. You press a button and it goes.

The trade is runtime. A 60V machine on a single 4Ah battery clears roughly a two car driveway of ten centimetres of fresh snow. Deep, wet, end of storm snow costs far more, and the ridge a plough leaves across the apron costs more again. Every cordless machine below lists its voltage and the amp hours it ships with, so plan on a second battery on the charger if your driveway runs longer than about twelve metres or if you are clearing a walk as well.

Cold is the factor most listings skip. Lithium cells lose usable capacity below freezing, so keep batteries indoors and carry them out when you are ready to clear. A pack left in an unheated garage overnight will read full and quit early.

Cordless suits single-stage clearing on paved surfaces: driveways, walks, decks and steps. For gravel, for snow past about thirty centimetres, or for compacted plough ridge, look at two-stage snow blowers or gas snow blowers instead. Compare voltages, clearing widths and throw distances across the range below, or read the snow blower buying guides for how those numbers translate into time spent outside. Environment and Climate Change Canada publishes historical snowfall by station, which is the honest way to size a machine for where you actually live.