The Best 3 Power Snow Shovels You Can Buy, According To Consumer Reports
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When you have to deal with snow removal, using machines can make the job a lot easier. If you live in an area that occasionally receives a few inches of the white stuff at a time, a power snow shovel can be a helpful machine. Also called an electric snow shovel, it's a winter tool that's more affordable than a snow blower for handling smaller jobs. Power snow shovels run from an electrical cord or a battery. They can remove materials from sidewalks, patios, driveways, and similar areas. They're easier to use than a manual shovel, reducing the amount of physical work you have to do. They always eject the snow forward because they don't have an adjustable chute that throws it to the side like a larger snow blower has.
Consumer Reports recently ranked the best power snow shovels, giving the Greenworks 2600602, Toro 39909, and Skil PSS1200C-10 spots near the top of the list. None of these products ranks as the best electric snow shovels that cost less than $200, so they might not fit in your budget. However, they should give you reliable performance, based on Consumer Reports' ranking system. When ranking the best of these products, Consumer Reports focused on areas like speed of removal, throwing distance, thoroughness of the removal, maneuverability, and noise generation.
Why CR recommends the Greenworks power snow shovel
According to the Consumer Reports research, the top-rated power snow shovel is the Greenworks 2600602 ($299.99 with the 80V battery and charger included). It receives a "CR Recommended" designation for all-around performance. If you already own a Greenworks lawn mower model that's known for its long-lasting battery life, it also uses an 80V battery. You can share the battery between these two Greenworks tools.
According to the Consumer Reports rating system, the Greenworks 2600602 receives high marks in areas of removal speed, surface cleaning efficiency, handling, and control options. It also has an above-average rating for snow throwing distance and noise generation. This power snow shovel can clear a snow width of up to 12 inches per pass and a depth up to 6 inches.
The battery slides into the machine at the top of the handle. One customer reviewer on the Greenworks website says the battery placement makes the machine feel heavy, but the included shoulder strap helps to distribute the weight. Because it is a battery-powered unit, it doesn't require the same level of off-season maintenance as a larger gas-powered snow blower needs. "The noise level is very quiet," one Amazon customer reviewer says. "It can get clogged, but it [is] very easy to clear the clog. Overall, it has been a great investment for us."
Toro and Skil power snow shovels get good marks from CR
The Skil PSS1200C-10 Snow Shovel ($309 with a battery and charger included) received the highest marks from Consumer Reports in the categories of removing larger piles of snow, surface cleaning, handling, and control options. Its performance in the removal speed, throwing distance, and noisy operation categories were rated lower. It uses Skil's 40V battery and power system, meaning if you own a Skil-branded leaf blower, chainsaw, or push mower that uses a 40V battery, you can share the battery among all these tools. One Amazon customer reviewer who lives in a heavy-snow area of Michigan says this Skil power shovel is ideal for cleaning up smaller and awkward areas as a complement to using the main snow blower. The "throwing distance is on point, and [the] blades go through tough chunks of ice, [but] not blocks of ice," they say.
Toro may be best-known for its quality lawn mowers, but its battery-powered Toro 39909 60V Snow Shovel ($299 with a 60V battery and charger included) receives good marks from Consumer Reports. Its strongest features are found in categories of snow throwing distance, thoroughness of surface cleaning, handling, and control options. However, the Consumer Reports reviewers gave it lower marks for removal speed, management of deeper piles of snow, and noisy operation. One Ace Hardware customer reviewer says this machine's best feature is its ease of use. They say, "battery seems to have good life, and [it] goes through the snow quite well." Both the Skil and Toro models have a 12-inch clearing width.