Greenworks 80V 24'' Two Stage Snow Thrower - $1,599 (After $400 Savings)

ShadowVlican wrote: ↑ Operating duration depends heavily on snowfall, so it varies between 1 to 2 batteries to complete my driveway (3 cars plus sidewalk)

Still using the original batteries, but I have 3 of them that I rotate through.

Like I said though, I do wish I had a 2 stage that hopefully takes care of snow banks. The 80v single stage I use cannot handle snow banks like yesterday's.

The Greenworks 2 stage is pretty solid for that at least so far.

I still wish someone would make a direct comparison article or video between the Greenworks and the EGO.

I became sick and tired of waiting around to test with a heavy snowfall, so I created a 30 inch bank on the side of the entrance of my driveway yesterday with additional snow from my yard. When I woke up today, most of the bank was icy (and heavy), and more snow had accumulated (so over 30 inches deep). I needed three passes, because the tires kept going over the ice, but the Greenworks two stage snow thrower did clear the bank. The top part of the fresh snow was easily cleared, but getting into the ice underneath was trickier.

The steel auger didn't break (of course), no shear pin snapped, and the motor didn't die. Nothing was dented.

It's unlikely that I'm ever going to get over 30 inches of snowfall in one day where I am, much less have 30 inches of ice/hail, so I'm satisfied that this thrower can do what I want.

Regular 80V 4Ah Greenworks battery pricing is $249.99 without a sale (maybe $200 during a sale): https://www.costco.ca/greenworks-pro-80 ... 04787.html

Dual charger is likely over $100 (I see it for $149.99 USD, but not on the Greenworks' site or Costco's): https://www.woodcraft.com/products/80v- ... greenworks.

I would estimate the batteries and charger alone are worth $700, if you can find them for that price. Costco has an 8 year battery warranty on this thrower.

Another reasonably satisfied GW 80V two-stage adopter here...

This replaced a semi-venerable 27" 305 CC Craftsman gasoline 2-stager.

The user experience (interface, clearing strategy) is quite similar. I appreciate the no-gas; no-oil convenience though there's the analog of e-car "range anxiety" about whether one can clear the whole driveway on a single charge. Charging is pretty quick (like 30-45 mins for two batteries in the dual port charger). And the blower reportedly runs on only two batteries so don't need to wait for the 3rd to charge to do a 2nd pass if in a hurry.

The GW is much lighter and more maneuverable than the Craftsman (due to the latter's engine weight and overall bigger size). The Craftsman was actually on its 2nd engine -- Tribological Tribulations ensued after a poorly visible oil plug worked its way loose. I only had seconds to wonder about the glossy sheen on the garage door before the engine seized dead. I found a small yellow threaded plug in the lawn the next summer.

The Craftsman was definitely more powerful and could throw snow farther, but unless I engage in a feud with neighbours a few doors down this is unlikely to have practical implications.

On the GW, it's mildly irritating to have to repeatedly push the power button before every operation -- one would think it could stand by for a few minutes and power up again on activation of the auger or drive controls.

Aside from the instant-off, there is no extra safety feature like the lock-out key on the GW lawn mower.

Someone in one of these threads lamented the lack of on-board charging. Moving 3x batteries around for charging is awkward and I could see dropping them. Removable batteries are still important to allow rapid cycling in of a 2nd set, outdoor storage of the blower (battery low storage temperature limit is freezing), and also to amortize across multiple tools.

Another observation -- the blower came with 3x BAB723 4Ah batteries. The mower (from GW direct) had 1x BAB727 that's also rated at 4Ah but is a couple of inches taller and about 50% heavier. GW just said the BAB727 was an updated model. FWIW, the extra batteries on the Costco site look more like the BAB727. The taller battery does fit in the SB. I'll see if curiosity extends to assessing run-time and capacity.

jaydee63 wrote: ↑ The GW is much lighter and more maneuverable than the Craftsman (due to the latter's engine weight and overall bigger size). The Craftsman was actually on its 2nd engine -- Tribological Tribulations ensued after a poorly visible oil plug worked its way loose. I only had seconds to wonder about the glossy sheen on the garage door before the engine seized dead. I found a small yellow threaded plug in the lawn the next summer.

That reads like a sad poem.
10/10

How about:
Mighty Craftsman blows
Oily sheen then seized death
Yellow plug in grass

bennyboy84 wrote: ↑ Was looking at the EGO equivalent after getting great feedback from friends who bought it... but at this price and warranty through Costco, VERY tempting to get this instead.

My only fear is that like other battery powered tools I've bought in the past (WORX lawn mower and blower for instance), if the company disappears or this particular model or battery model (80v/4aH) doesn't exist anymore, you're stuck trying to find batteries from other companies that would "fit".

Anyone knows if Greenworks is a solid company for products like this?

I am Chinese.
Greenwork starts in China as a tiny company and failed really badly due to high price and low quality locally in China (There are tons of excellent + low price Chinese products but most of them only available inside China due to copyright). Then they switched to Amazon on overseas markets which it’s much cheaper than American brands like Toro, Ariens and get here today. Honestly. I will treat greenwork as a one time disposable brand that may disappear anytime. It’s sure not going to be like Ariens that last 90+ years old. It’s just how China business model is.

I'm sure they did start as small but there doing pretty well and from what I can see, all the other cordless equipment brands like Ryobi, Kobalt, sun/snowjoe are MIC too. Can't speak for Toro and Ego but then they're priced higher.

FWIW, I've had my 40V GW mower for 4 seasons now and no issues thus far. If I decide to move to the 60 or 80V platform, I can sell my mower and trimmer (compatible Cdn Tire yardworks brand) and recoup some of the cost.

Btw, GW also seems to supply Kobalt, Cub Cadet for their garden equipment but key the battery differently.

Key is to get GW when on sale because as you mentioned they're paying a pittance for their labour costs.

snarky123 wrote: ↑ I am Chinese.
Greenwork starts in China as a tiny company and failed really badly due to high price and low quality locally in China (There are tons of excellent + low price Chinese products but most of them only available inside China due to copyright). Then they switched to Amazon on overseas markets which it’s much cheaper than American brands like Toro, Ariens and get here today. Honestly. I will treat greenwork as a one time disposable brand that may disappear anytime. It’s sure not going to be like Ariens that last 90+ years old. It’s just how China business model is.

snarky123 wrote: ↑ I am Chinese.
Greenwork starts in China as a tiny company and failed really badly due to high price and low quality locally in China (There are tons of excellent + low price Chinese products but most of them only available inside China due to copyright). Then they switched to Amazon on overseas markets which it’s much cheaper than American brands like Toro, Ariens and get here today. Honestly. I will treat greenwork as a one time disposable brand that may disappear anytime. It’s sure not going to be like Ariens that last 90+ years old. It’s just how China business model is.

Their batteries appear to be pretty well established now and if you're crafty usually you can find or make replacements. But definitely I agree that it's unlikely that these things will last for decades like the quality gas snowblower brands.

^^ 8 Years battery warranty seems pretty good. Usual warranty on other GW thrower is 4 years. Plan to get into the 80v gw ecosystem with the summer, savings with bare tools. Gw 80v Mower without battery is my next big buy.

snarky123 wrote: ↑ I am Chinese.
Greenwork starts in China as a tiny company and failed really badly due to high price and low quality locally in China (There are tons of excellent + low price Chinese products but most of them only available inside China due to copyright). Then they switched to Amazon on overseas markets which it’s much cheaper than American brands like Toro, Ariens and get here today. Honestly. I will treat greenwork as a one time disposable brand that may disappear anytime. It’s sure not going to be like Ariens that last 90+ years old. It’s just how China business model is.

I looked up Greenworks ownership and found this : The Stihl Group has acquired a substantial minority share of the Globe Tools Group, manufacturer of the Greenworks brand of corded and cordless outdoor power tools.

Pretty sure Stihl wouldn't invest into a fly by night company that will shut down.

Just received mine yesterday. Used it so far to clear a wider path to my shed in the backyard and a little bit in the driveway. So far seems a pretty good upgrade. I had their 22 inch single stage model before and now regretting to not have bought this one the first place. It's obviously a lot bulkier and takes more space in the garage, but I think won't struggle with the snow from the city snow plow anymore!

Initially I was supposed to get it on Wednesday, but purolator came to my house, made me sign the papers and then realized the snow blower was not in truck...

So, after finally receiving a lot of heavy, wet snow, I can finally understand the complaints about the batteries.

This snow thrower works really well, even on wet snow that’s higher than the auger housing, BUT . . .

Batteries die quickly because the throttle needs to be increased significantly in order to move tires through the high, wet snow. I didn't need to change speed on the auger much, but there's no way to push through this kind of snow at the slowest throttle speed.

This time all three batteries were empty after half of my driveway was finished. I had the throttle on max in order to push through one section.

I’ll need to buy some more batteries.

ArrowFlynn wrote: ↑ So, after finally receiving a lot of heavy, wet snow, I can finally understand the complaints about the batteries.

This snow thrower works really well, even on wet snow that’s higher than the auger housing, BUT . . .

Batteries die quickly because the throttle needs to be increased significantly in order to move tires through the high, wet snow. I didn't need to change speed on the auger much, but there's no way to push through this kind of snow at the slowest throttle speed.

This time all three batteries were empty after half of my driveway was finished. I had the throttle on max in order to push through one section.

I’ll need to buy some more batteries.

Not the ideal user experience, that's for sure. I haven't yet experienced that but I'm sure it'll come sooner or later. I'm still sad we don't yet have any good info about EGO vs Greenworks.

Unfortunately for me, the batteries are too expensive to just buy a second set that'll need to be replaced at the same time as the first. I can't imagine having to buy 6 batteries for what, $1500 in however many years?

So I'll probably just take a break while they recharge if it ever comes to that. They fill up pretty quickly. But yep, not ideal.

djzapz wrote: ↑ Not the ideal user experience, that's for sure. I haven't yet experienced that but I'm sure it'll come sooner or later.

This is probably the 5th time I used this thrower, and I always had a significant amount of battery life left.

Not today

Oh wonderful, a city plow just came by and stuck a 32 inch bank at the end of my driveway.

ArrowFlynn wrote: ↑ This is probably the 5th time I used this thrower, and I always had a significant amount of battery life left.

Not today

Oh wonderful, a city plow just came by and stuck a 32 inch bank at the end of my driveway.

Just managed to get it done today with 25% of the battery left despite the gross heavy snow here in Gatineau.

32-inch bank sucks though... ouch. Good luck

So far here in Quebec it manages to clean my double garage on a single charge. Going to try to mod my kobalt 80v charger so that i can charge all 3 batteries in one shot.

Thanks for confirming battery issue in wet snow. I have decided to keep my gas two stage blower for exactly this reason. The small tank of gas lasted more than one hour with the wet snow in full power. I think battery powered snowblowers are good for fresh powder snow, but not the wet one. My dad has the Ego 21" with 2 batteries, he cannot even finish one driveway in one full charge.