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I measured about a foot and a half in my yard. It is sticky stuff I started out clearing off the car with the snow brush but ended up doing most of it by hand just moving the snow off in huge blocks.
Originally Posted by zeroptzero
I am looking for a battery powered snow blower for our next home. I've avoided a blower in the last while as I dislike dealing with the fuel and fumes, a battery powered blower is likely up my alley. Looking for after-season sales on these. We don't have a large driveway and moving a bit further south may mean less snow compared to where I currently live.
If you can get one that is powerful enough to move the snow electric is a lot easier than gas with something that will be sitting for 6 months at a time or more. I like the smell of 2 stroke in the morning but don’t like dealing with carburetor’s plugs etc. How do they rate the electric ones power wise?
We are part owners of a cabin in Soda Springs CA. The lakes that look like a dumbbell are called Serene Lakes. Google calls it Norden. Old community just down from Donner Summit. Ground zero for snow.
First four pics are our cabin, the rest are in Soda Springs around the cabin. Sorry the first is so small. That is the top of the A frame. The driveway was plowed between snowfall so you can see how deep the surrounding snow is. The driveway snowplow outfit gave up plowing the neighborhood as there is no place to direct the blown snow. The level of the snow in the driveway would be the top of a car parked on bare asphalt. The front porch is up on stairs.
Finding somewhere to put it all is a big problem, Another issue is if there is a sudden warm spell and it all melts at once you have problems. A condo association I used to work at switched snow removal companies and the new contractor pushed all the snow in one of the parking lots lengthwise to the end. That cluster of condos was set down about 15 feet lower than the parking lot, we had a warm up and the snow melted and flooded out the end condo both the middle and bottom floors.
If you can get one that is powerful enough to move the snow electric is a lot easier than gas with something that will be sitting for 6 months at a time or more. I like the smell of 2 stroke in the morning but don’t like dealing with carburetor’s plugs etc. How do they rate the electric ones power wise?
Hey Rob, well I got one of the more powerful ones, they are much less rugged than your typical large gas powered blowers. These are good for an 80 foot driveway expecting to remove 10 inches of snow, that is a good way to look at the ratings. The Ego one I got is 56volts with two 4 ah batteries, so good enough for a typical residential home. Run time is about 50 minutes, pretty big batteries on this sucker, but charges fast. Some are 80 volts and with 7.5 ah batteries, so lots of variation, you pay more for bigger and better models obviously, so this is a good basic level of coverage for me. It blows snow about 30-40 feet, so good enough. They say mine is as strong a gas powered but I don't believe it 100%. Mine has a rubber and metal auger blade, some of the bigger ones have full metal. I hope to test it out soon, more snow on the way.
Hey Rob, well I got one of the more powerful ones, they are much less rugged than your typical large gas powered blowers. These are good for an 80 foot driveway expecting to remove 10 inches of snow, that is a good way to look at the ratings. The Ego one I got is 56volts with two 4 ah batteries, so good enough for a typical residential home. Run time is about 50 minutes, pretty big batteries on this sucker, but charges fast. Some are 80 volts and with 7.5 ah batteries, so lots of variation, you pay more for bigger and better models obviously, so this is a good basic level of coverage for me. It blows snow about 30-40 feet, so good enough. They say mine is as strong a gas powered but I don't believe it 100%. Mine has a rubber and metal auger blade, some of the bigger ones have full metal. I hope to test it out soon, more snow on the way.
Nice, I wonder if it cuts down on power as the battery loses charge?
Since I got it we have not had enough snow to use it!! I think I might buy another one next year.
David I took your much respected advice and got the EGO snowblower. I was leaning towards a 21 inch Kobalt machine because it was on sale which had 40 volts 4 ah x 2 batteries, but I changed my mind after reading your testimonial .
I just used it for the first run, having to remove super heavy , wet , and icy sloppy snow that has been run over by vehicles a few times. It probably throws that stuff about 15 fee, not quite 35 as it reports but this stuff was crazy heavy. I did the entire driveway in about 15 minutes and not exhausted in any kind of way. I would have been near death trying to shovel it, lol. I am happy. During a normal snow storm with white fluffy stuff this will make short work of it and likely toss it further. So far so good.
I got the 56v EGO 21-inch, with two 4 ah batteries, it should be plenty good for my driveway. Thanks David.
Last edited by zeroptzero; 03-05-2023 at 09:03 AM.
^ good lord Jim, that is something I would consider as being a nightmare, even as a Canadian. wow. Was this just a freak snowfall event or does the area get regular snow ? I could not imagine that much snow, I complain about now drifts on my driveway being 1-2 feet but that is crazy drifting snow in those pictures. yikes. Good thing you made it up there and got inside. Good work.
This area/community of Soda Springs is, as I mentioned just below the Donner Summit. It is the last "Hurrah" for Mother Nature to give up as much precipitation as she can before heading to Nevada. It is ground zero for snow fall and is frequently used by news outlets for the wow factor. A famous (one of many in reality) snow measurement location is nearby: Philips Station (An old "station" for horsemen crossing the Sierras).
The snow does not melt quickly and it is common to see a little snow in the shadows of trees in July. Much of the snow melts into the ground and 50-100 years later shows up underground in wells and vernal springs in the foothills, my property included.
Guests frequently mention how wonderful our water is. Great for brewing homemade beer!
Usually fun for the family and dogs! A few pics from when the snow is a bit more manageable. The last picture is Donner Lake, the camping spot for the unfortunate Donner Party is nearby.
Last edited by cosmomiller; 03-05-2023 at 09:31 AM.
This is off of the Lake Tahoe snow report for Soda Springs as of March 1st
last 7 days 87"
last 30 days 171"
total for the winter 507"
I think this winter is 2nd or 3rd wettest and we still have more storms to come.
We have a good chance of beating the record if we get one or two more big storms.
But as much as the storms have hit all of Calif. once the weather pattern shifts, the storms can stop hitting CA overnight.
I went up one winter with the S after my neighbor's wife told me the roads around the cabin "were clear". Well, they were not clear of snow. Her definition of clear and mine are not the same. I barely got around on the packed snow with the Super Sport summer tires! I found I could literally push the car sideways!
Last edited by cosmomiller; 03-05-2023 at 12:04 PM.
03-05-2023, 05:01 AM
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