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Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
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Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
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A quality, lightweight, corded electric snow shovel that can clear easily down the pavement, even if it struggles a bit in deeper snow. Read More
Rugged construction and good battery life make this a solid, cordless option Read More
Light and easy to store but short on battery life, and it doesn't feel sturdy. Read More
A small, underpowered shovel that does OK for its size and price, but struggles in heavy or deep snow. Read More
A small, underpowered corded snow shovel that struggles with clearing down to the pavement or clearing heavy snow. Read More
Winter is a magical time, filled with sledding, ice skating, and snowball fights. It’s also filled with shoveling, which can be strenuous, time-consuming, and frequently ends in a sore back.
When a manual shovel is too difficult, an electric snow shovel may help after the next nor'easter rolls through. Electric snow shovels, also called power shovels or handheld snowblowers, combine the maneuverability of a traditional snow shovel with the throwing mechanics of a snowblower.
While they aren’t perfect and are still a good amount of work to use, they are usually easier on your body than traditional shoveling (and you'll be glad you had one ahead of the next freeze warning or winter storm warning).
After rounds of testing, we’re confident the best electric snow shovel is the Greenworks 2600802 (available at Amazon for $65.24) . It’s a quality, well-balanced machine that eats away at the slush at the end of the driveway during winter weather conditions and clears down the pavement, all for a good price.
For the best battery-powered, cordless snow shovel, the Greenworks Pro 2600602 (available at Amazon) is our pick because it can chew through both deep and heavy snow, with a battery that will last. However, there are plenty of great electric snow shovels in our guide to choose from.
The Greenworks Corded Snow Shovel is our pick for the best electric snow shovel.
This cordless electric snow shovel has all the power you'll need.
Light weight
Easy storage
Limited battery life
Low build quality
Lightweight
Underpowered for heavy or deep snow
Takes effort to clear to pavement
Lightweight
Works OK in fluffy snow
Doesn't clear down to pavement
Doesn't clear heavy or packed snow well
We tested electric snow shovels after two storms, which included six inches of heavy, wet snow, and 16 inches of light, powdery snow.
Hi, I’m Jean Levasseur. I’m a former conveyor mechanic, current property manager, hobbyist woodworker, and writing instructor at a local university. I come from a family of tool-users—my grandfather was a carpenter, my father owned an excavation company, and my mother was a mechanic. Between growing up working for my family’s businesses and then moving onto my own projects, I’ve used most tools you’ve heard of and quite a few that you haven’t. Dave Ellerby, our Chief Scientist, also tested snow shovels at the Reviewed lab.
As with our regular snow shovel tests, we wanted to come as close to real-world conditions as we could. Fortunately, winter cooperated and we were able to test most of the electric snow shovels through two storms.
The first was about six inches of heavy, wet snow. The second was around 16 inches of light, powdery snow. This gave us a good sense of how each shovel handles different snow conditions.
We were able to test most of the shovels in three main areas * An asphalt driveway * Walkways with brick pavers, stone and grass. * A deck, porch and stairs.
These gave a good sense of performance on different surfaces, the ease of lifting up stairs, and the challenges clearing a space while only throwing snow forwards.
For some products, we used an artificial snow mix for testing. This uses a super absorbent polymer that picks up close to a thousand times its weight in water, forming dense, wet pellets. The high water content makes this an excellent substitute for heavy, wet snow when the real thing isn’t available. Wet snow is the worst case scenario for electric snow shovels, so the artificial snow is a tough test.
Yes, electric snow shovels will save you the work of throwing snow, but they’re not a perfect solution.
They’re heavier than manual shovels, not ideal for deep snow, and forward snow throwing can limit their use in some spaces.
Before you buy, think carefully about your own abilities to wield these sometimes awkward machines, your typical snow conditions, and where you’ll be clearing snow.
Electric snow shovels avoid the need to lift shovel loads of snow but come with their own physical challenges: * They’re pretty heavy, those we tested weighed in at 13 to 26 pounds compared to only 4 pounds for our best regular snow shovel. * They don’t have wheels and rest on the ground. You’ll need to push them through the snow, and they work best on smooth ground. * To keep them running, you hold down a trigger grip and a second safety switch, so you’ll need good grip strength.
If you’re up to some light shoveling, and not usually faced with heavy snow, a traditional snow shovel may still be a better solution, particularly if it has an ergonomic design to reduce bending.
A snow blower or thrower avoids the need for lifting. The lighter-weight models come in at around 30 pounds and rest on wheels. You won’t have to carry their weight, but the lighter models aren’t self propelled, so you’ll need to push them along. They may have adjustable handles to make this easier.
Self propelled snow blowers take the work out of pushing, but the extra motor means they can weigh in at over 150 pounds. To use these with the minimum of effort, you’ll need a storage space that’s easy to access.
The take-home message is that snow removal is hard work. Different products can alleviate the effort involved, but each type has limitations you’ll need to consider.
The first decision that you’ll have to make when buying an electric snow shovel is whether to get a battery-powered snow shovel or a corded snow shovel.
Corded electric snow shovels require an extension cord. Depending on your yard and driveway, this can be a significant hassle. You have to have an easily accessible exterior outlet, no obstructions to get caught on, and you have to manage a cord in the snow.
You also have to keep track of where the cord is and not run it over with the shovel, which I almost did several times. And when calculating cost, you need to consider the price of an extension cord long enough to meet your needs if you don’t already own one.
With a corded model you don’t have to worry about how long clearing snow takes you, the power level of the corded shovels was more consistent than with a battery and the good corded models are also more consistent when dealing with heavy slush.
Battery-powered snow shovels are heavier than the corded ones, which makes them harder and more tiring to maneuver. They also experience a bit of a power drop when they encounter heavier snow.
You also have to remember to charge the shovel’s battery before a storm, and consider that it may run out of power before you finish. Finally, the battery-powered models are more expensive than their corded counterparts.
The biggest pro to battery-powered shovels: They can go wherever you need them. You’re not tethered to the house, and you don’t have to climb through the snow to get to your outlet, nor do you have to worry about running over your cord. Those we tested also seemed to do better in the deeper, fluffier snow.
I use a lot of tools for a lot of different tasks at my home, and this situation is actually one of the few where I recommend the corded version over battery for outside. The lighter weight, improved power, and significantly lower cost seem well-worth the inconvenience of having to manage an extension cord.
Electric snow shovels can be powered by a battery (left) or use cords that plug into electric outlets (right).
Electric shovels are at their best with a few to six inches of snow on the ground and a wide open, large area to throw the snow. It’s easy to push them along the ground to clear the snow. Because the shovels can only throw straight, you have to plan out your shoveling paths, but as long as you have areas for the snow to go, they can be helpful in clearing small driveways, decks, and walkways.
They also make clearing the plow slush at the end of the driveway much easier. While they don’t all do a great job with this, the top performers chewed through it and saved me a lot of backache.
The number one drawback of the electric snow shovel is that the throwing direction, height, and distance is not adjustable. The electric shovel throws perfectly straight, however far it throws. This lack of control can be managed with some planning and awkward angles, but only if you have enough room.
If you’re in the city or only have a couple of feet right next to the driveway to put the snow, an electric shovel simply won’t work. You’ll be throwing snow into your neighbor’s driveway. This lack of direction control also makes clearing the snow from decks and stairs challenging.
The second drawback is that electric snow shovels are not great in deep snow. Once the snow gets deeper than the opening of the electric shovelit can no longer throw the snow. So, you have to pick it up to do layers at a time.
Electric snow shovels can be less physically taxing than regular shovels. But not by as much as you’d think, and they didn’t seem to be significantly faster either.
What’s more, if precision in where you put the snow is important, then an electric snow shovel is probably going to be more of a hassle than it’s worth.
For most homeowners, if a snowblower is in your budget, even a small electric one, get one of those. They’re easier to use, require little-to-no lifting, and you have better control over where the snow goes.
Jean Levasseur
Contributor
Jean Levasseur became a professional writer over a decade-long career in marketing, public relations, and technical writing. After leaving that career to stay home to care for his twin boys, Jean has continued to write in a variety of freelance roles, as well as teaching academic writing at a local university. When he's not reviewing tools or chasing toddlers around the house, he's also an avid fiction writer and a growing woodworker.
Dr. Dave Ellerby
Chief Scientist
Dave Ellerby has a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds and a B.Sc. from the University of Manchester. He has 25+ years of experience designing tests and analyzing data.
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