Electric Vs Gas Snow Blowers. EGO and TORO sent their best. Here's what happened. 

I'm really confused. At the end, the entire narrative and final decision is focused on the Eco needing to do 2 sweeps of the driveway vs 3 sweeps for the Toro. Sounds like a 50% difference, but its not. Pay close attention to the start of the video. The Toro is 28 inches wide and the Ego is 24 inches wide.... this is only a marginal difference (17%)..... not the play on number this guys uses of 3:2 for his entire weighting of his decision. These kinds of things makes me loose confidence in videos from this guy. Honestly, it's disappointing, just focus on the numbers and please don't spin to your bias.

Just about anything will go through 2" of snow easily. Which one does better with over a foot of heavy snow?

5 storms, the last being 8" of heavy wet stuff here in Maine with my Ego, 2 stage and so far, it seems like one of the best choices I've ever made. I'm clearing a 250' gravel driveway up a hill in the woods. Can do it with one charge of the 7.5ah batteries with powder. It took 3 charges with the heavy, wet stuff. A charge takes a little under 2 hours. It takes me longer than that to recover, so it works out just fine for me, a 70 year old guy with an arthritic back. Easy to operate. No oil changes. No gasoline. No noise. I'd spend the money again over a gasoline snow blower for sure.

Last January we got over 2 feet of wet heavy snow in Upstate NY. My neighbor two doors down the road used his new Ego snow thrower... Ended up borrowing my Ariens Deluxe!

Nice review, thanks! Just kills me to see someone throwing snow in the direction they’ve already cleaned 🙄….just me tho 🤣

I moved snow professionally for 25 years in Minnesota. I've found anybody can make a snowblower look like a toro. But nobody can make one that runs like one. I relied heavily on the toro CCR2000 and the CCR3650. unstoppable snow eating machines.

My 8 HP Snow King Tecumseh powered 826 John Deere is 32 years old and I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where over 200 inches of snow is a normal year. That machine has pumped a lot of snow during that time, reliably and effortlessly. I hope it runs for another 32 years.

My dad has had an MTD my whole life, and the thing that really makes it stand out: track drive. The thing is like a tank, it never gets stuck. We had gotten one of the wheel type ones from our neighbor, and the wheels kept spinning every now and again. The tracks on the other hand helped me dig out the wheeled one... In the end, all I really have to say, is we need more track drive snowblowers.

I bought my 13 HP snowblower on a 90 degree day in August many years ago for $799. LOL Great review, thank you.

Those are overkill for that amount of small snow. Should have at least piled up a snow mountain and see which could work better

I bought a Craftsman Professional series 30" snowblower in 2009. Starts on the first pull every time. I have doubts the Ego can throw 2ft of snow consistently, or that their batteries can last 13 yrs. All I've done is change the oil. The belts and spark plugs are still original, low maintenance enough for me! My driveway is 300', my neighbor's is 200', and just cleared 2ft of snow from both without refilling... meanwhile, I highly doubt Ego could finish one of our driveways with that much snow. Those Egos are better for people in the city.

I live in Minnesota and anything will handle two inches of light fluffy snow. Our last storm here was 15” of wet snow and my gas powered snowblower ate through it. My neighbor on the other hand with the battery powered snowblower asked me to clear their snow. I use EGO for my leaf blower and weed eater but I still wouldn’t part with my gas powered snowblower with the amount of snow we get here in Minnesota.

Up here in Winnipeg, I’m into my 3rd season with our EGO. Love it! I gave away our old gas blower to a newcomer. For us, never going back.

I bought the ego single stage before the dual stage was even a thing after our toro’s engine locked up. Our toro lasted us 4 years and was great, however not being able to safely store it in our basement because gas in the basement is not a good idea it was short lived living under the deck covered up. The ego being light and no gas we are able to pick it up put it in the basement and keep it away from the elements. The ego came with 2 7.5batteries and it’s a monster, our driveway fits 4 cars deep and at the end it has space for two cars so 5 cars total. One charge is enough to do the whole driveway, I went out every 6” to clear it and it did great. I can only imagine this dual stage doing even better. The benefit of the Ego is my sister, mom, and dad who never used a snowblower in their life were able to pick it up, bring it outside and with a short tutorial from EGO on RU-vid they were able to clear their driveway when I was working. Overall great experience and am very impressed with ego.

I bought the Toro 725 qxe and I love the way a 1 stage acts like a 2 stage thick price of wet ice snow that the city plow trucks leave in front of driveway on emergency snow removal days #1 Toro

I’m never getting rid of my Toro ever absolutely love it! Also have never did one bit of maintenance on it in three years, and I guarantee it will start right away

my former neighbor was a tree hugger and owned all battery powered equipment, he hated fossil fuel. One blizzard later, he was beggin me to clean him out with my fossil fueled tractor.

Great and fair review. What you want and what you need may not be the same thing.

You call that snow that you were blowing ? I want to see that thing blow 8 to 12 inches…then I’d like to see it blow the crap the plough will leave at the end of the driveway after you received 8 to 12 inches

Had a Toro for 22 years. Not changing any time soon

We recently bought a second hand Honda HSS1332. The slope on our driveway requires tracks, especially when we typically get 10-14” of snow per dump. It’s so much quieter than a the previous snowblower with a Briggs & Stratton / Tecumseh engine, and more fuel efficient. It will provide reliable service until a comparable battery unit arrives to market. And doing the long section of a driveway in two passes vs three sure is nice in well below zero weather.

nice test, that 2 inches of snow really puts the blowers to the test

14" of snow in Minnesota, with ice at the end of the driveway, and an Ego single stage clears my 3 car garage suburban driveway with one run with battery life to spare. I should have gotten the self-propelled 2-stage version, but nothing wrong with a little workout pushing the single stage around - beats lift and throw shoveling.

I live in Colorado and at a high elevation with a ton of snow. Neighbor has an electric and vs my gas powered.... no match. I have helped him finish his drive more than once this season.

Very nicely said. I totally agree with you. I have a Husqvarna with a B&S engine that works great by the way. Since we have wet heavy snow, I added a rubber coating to the impeller and now it also cleans wet heavy snow.

Word of caution. I have thrown snow for 50 years. Don’t let kids play under your throw. Looks fun but one ice chunk or rock will make you regret it. Kids stay away. Nice comparison, i am in a warmer climate now but wonder how electric would stand up to a Northern WI winter.

Nearly 30 years in Iowa. Picked up an ego. Best blower I've ever used. No oil changes. No gas. No worries about bad gas. No worries about starting. Very powerful. Quiet-er.

I have the EGO POWER+ Peak Power 56-volt 21-in Single-stage Cordless Electric Snow Blower with two 5-Ah for over two years now. We just had a snow storm that closed all the schools and my EGO cleared the snow without a problem. I can feel it was blogging down a little when I push it through the 2 feet of snow, but it still gets the job done. I will never go back to gas for sure.

Great video man hope to see a 2023 update

It would be interesting to see a head to head contest with 200' laneway in snow country with 24" drifts. My 26" gas blower is 15 years old, have not even had to put a new sparkplug in it yet and handles 24" snow like a work horse. In town with a small lane, the electric might be a better choice especially if the lady of the house intends on using it.

Thank you for your review, I was looking at these two models and this review helped me decide on the Ego, Thank you again!

I had the Toro and it was great! I have a very large yard so I upgraded to a John Deere lawn tractor and the snowblower attachment. It could move more snow than I could ever know, but it is huge and cumbersome. I have to admit that I miss my Toro. It was large at the time but seems so such smaller and easier now. However, in hindsight, I could still have bought that lawn tractor without the snowblower attachment and then bought the EGO snowblower, but the electric lawn equipment was not that good just a few years ago. Thanks for the video!

As a teenager I could EASILY handle a large Ariens GAS-POWERED snow blower, this was a 1977 model when they were HEAVY. Please don't skew the review to favor electric, if the power goes out, you can't recharge. If you run out of gas, you can always get some from your car (though not recommended to siphon it). As for cost, both are about the same, but extra batteries can cost as much as $500 for a single 10 Amp/hr battery.

I would be interested in trying an electric one sometime to see how they hold up. My work horse is a 50 year old Ariens and I am skeptical anything will ever replace it. Still has the original 6hp motor. It is simple, built like and reliable as a locomotive, very solidly built and simply unstoppable.

The Toro also has a shear bolt in the front auger (as most all do) and the head of it can be clearly seen in your head-on side-by-side shots (like at 5:08) . The Toro just didn't snap it, thus bringing it to your attention because it was built for more.

The old school tecumseh snowblowers are my favourite, tecumseh engines are the best winter engines ever made :)

I purchased the Toro 26 inch battery operated snow blower. It should serve me well in Connecticut.

Awesome video! But watching you throw snow over the areas that you already cleared was killing me 😄

Interesting vid. I can tell you what kind of snowblower never to buy: never buy a snow-joe snowblower. They are pure junk I used it for the season, but i will get rid of it. I won’t sell it...it’s to right to sell such a piece of junk. So I will probably take parts out of it to make something, or destroy it and recycle it. I’ve used Toros in the past....they make a great snowblower :). Live confidently and peacefully

My only snowblower has been a Craftsman 4HP 21” single stage blower. I bought it in 1994. I live just southwest of Kansas City and most years we have had very little snow. Now that it is 27 years old it is just about on it’s last leg. The engine runs fine, and the auger works fine, but the auger housing is shot! The problem is this part of the blower is all plastic. The bottom of the sides of the auger housing has worn down (there are no metal skid plates on it to keep it from wearing away), and the top of the auger housing (where the cute attaches) is all cracked and broken. When the sides of the housing are worn away, it causes the plastic scraper bar to wear away rapidly and also the rubber auger paddles wear rapidly. Had I known this would be a problem, i would have added some kind of metal skid plates on the sides of the auger housing. Right now I have added a couple fender washers mounted on the sides if the auger housing to keep the bottom edge from wearing anymore. I have to see how they work. Also I am going to try adding a metal edge to the new plastic scraper bar which I just bought. The plastic ones wear down very fast as they rub along concrete driveway and sidewalk where I use my snowblower. I think I can buy another auger housing for this model, but it would cost around $100.

I have to say I have a gas one but tried my buddy's electric one and I was very very impressed with it.

Good and fair review. Your use case called for gas, but you gave the Ego a fair shake. Well done and said. For most of us, even up north - relieving the necessity for gas, oil, starter fluid, plugs, and all the trouble that goes with that - makes these Ego blowers a very attractive option. Use a single-stage Ego in Maine and in all but the worst storms of the season, it bangs it out with no issues. Horses for courses

One thing that is always missed in a snowblower review is the available repair stations. Almost always with Toro where you buy the machine you can get it repaired. With EGO forget it. The machine will be shipped off somewhere, and most likely you will not see it the rest of the season. I have had both, and that is fact unless it has changed in the last year.

Thanks for the review 👍

Living in a windy town in Alaska snow removal is something I'm quite accustomed to. last year however we had the worst scenario I've seen. After dumping over 2 feet of snow it decided to warm up enough to rain. This rendered snow plows essentially useless as there was so much wet heavy snow with 3 inches of ice on top that was too hard to break through. It was the first year that I've had to opt for a snow blower instead of a plow. it didn't help that the rain caused the snow to slide off my roof dumping 4+ feet of wet snow in front of my garage trapping me at my house for a few days until a skid steer with a snow blower attachment could come rescue me. After that I hit the marketplace and picked up a Tecumseh 2 stage 24 inch for $50. Snow blowers are the way to go. Not only are they able to break through snow, they also throw it into the woods, while a plow can only push it up against the trees gradually shrinking your driveway as the winter progresses. This year I am going to pick up a Toro or Ariens to keep my drive clear. If Milwuakee had an mx fuel snow blower with a runtime over 30 minutes I would definitely consider that, but for now a gasser it is until batteries can equal or surpass the ability of gas.

In Vermont, where a foot of snow is considered a dusting, and where the town plows can leave a 3' high and 5' wide mountain at the end of the driveway, my 17-year-old Honda 1132 is like using a bulldozer to push air. And when it finally decieds to retire, there'll be a new 1332 ready to take its place.

I can certainly see the benefits of a battery powered electric snowblower but I just can't bring myself to give up on my gas snowblowers and lawn mowers. Run out of battery power and you're done. With gas, just fill it up and you're back up and running. Don't have to worry about conserving power to get the job done either. I'll stick with gas. On the flip side, if I just had a small driveway or a deck to clear I may consider battery powered. But I tend to clear my side of the block as well as the alley. So, not only do I need a lot of power from time to time but I also need good run time.

EGO has more plastic parts, hince the lite weight. I have a ariens that will clear 20 inches of snow no problem here in NH. For snow removal I will stick with gas. Nice video!

Whoa, just love that tiny fact about Sarah! Yeah i don't hate the smell as well 🤗

WHAT! I THOUGHT YOU HAD AT LEAST A MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!

I have the Toro and the heated grip option is 🤩 amazing

I've had the Toro Powermax 826 OXE for a few years now and that thing runs like a champ. I think that's one notch down from the one you are using. I just did my driveway, sidewalk and 4 other neighbors yesterday. I was on a roll.

Going to pick up the EGO this week!

I do love my battery-powered outdoor equipment (string trimmer and leaf blower), however I just can’t part with my gas-powered lawn mower and snowblower. And yeah, I agree with others. Would love to see how the EGO does with the ice fortress the snowplow leaves at the end of the driveway. My 24” Ariens chews through it with no problem.

In a few more years when better battery tech comes around, it will be a hands down win for electrics. For now they seem well suited for smaller driveways but not quite for larger ones.

Electric snow blower is next. I love my electric lawn mower. Technology is finally ready for the upgrade. Ty

I love how you throw snow over the path that you’ve already cleared. 3:19 😂 But hey, you do you! 👍🏻

Thats what I tell everyone in the video I made for mine. Keep it on low and you'll get good time out of it!

You should of actually tested them with over a foot of snow that would tell the real tale and I will take the Toro

Great review. Helpful.

Before i watch further. Judging by the size of the small auger on the electric, i'll say Toro is the winner.

Ego. Hands down. Best I’ve ever used.

That Toro will last you at least 20 years with proper maintenance. The EGO will be in the landfill long before that. I love my cordless tools but snowblowers are not there yet.

Great video! Thank you for this!

Great info! Thanks!

I have fond memories of clearing my uncles driveway with a 48” snowblower on a john deere garden tractor. You’d throttle up and just let the thing eat. Didn’t care how heavy that Massachusetts snow was, it’d throw it 50+ft all day.

I have an old Ariens that works great, but I think I'll upgrade to the ego in the future. Being able to blow snow before I leave for work without waking up my neighbors and not having to go through the whole ritual of plugging in the snowblower and choking it and letting it warm up a little bit would make it worth it.

IDK why so many people are concerned with how long the battery lasts. You can pretty easily get a second battery, and this is especially true if you also have a mower, leaf blower, string trimmer, etc. in that you will have more batteries on standby. Battery low? Pull the next one off the charger and swap them out. Seems pretty straight forward. They are kind of expensive (I see the 7.5 aH ones are about $170), but if you add up maintenance and fuel costs on your gas blower, not all that crazy. Factoring in oil changes, spark plugs, fuel, and fuel stabilizer, I probably spend about $40-50 a year just on keeping the snowblower running. I am not going to run out and replace a perfectly functioning blower with an electric one, but then I don't really think that's the point being made here. When it IS time to replace the blower, and that may be 10+ years down the road, you can bet electric will be on my list of considerations.

Great review, but you need a plow on the front of a UTV or a quad! It makes snow removal so much more fun and for our driveway you'd be done much faster! Trust me as I went from snow blower to lawn tractor with snow blower to a Polaris RZR XP1000 with a plow on the front and well the plow just crushes it and made me smile while removing the snow.

The carbon foot print to build and run electric mowers and snow blowers is about the same. Here's what they don't talk about: where do the batteries end up and what pollutants do they put in the ground and eventually our water supplies!

I have the EGO and love it. Tip: Before each use, liberally spray the inside of the intake housing, arbor, and inside of the chute with silicone spray lube, and they'll be much less clogging.

for your property Rob use the blade attached to your truck and drive it off personally i would stick to ego cuz gas is pain in the butt, oil change, clean the carburetor. caused me some much pain on my Honda blower in the pass

My ariens Hydro-Pro 420cc can easily do twice the depth of very deep, heavy wet snow. I've used in with 36" of snow from the storm of the century blizzard!

How did I know this was your first time using a snowblower? Because you blew snow back over a part of the drive you had already done. Beginner’s tip: start in the middle, always blow snow to the right, work your way from the middle to the sides, alternating which side you work on with each pass. This way you won’t blow snow back over a part you’ve already done and you’ll end up with a cleaner driveway without having to go back over it.

So if I use the Ego my wife doesn't realize I'm working...

I live in a Townhouse community so I went with the EGO. I just got so I can’t wait to see what it can do.

Great review I'm in northern Wisconsin and plan on getting the 28in ego this fall.

I agree with the battery vs gas comparison. The EGO is great for the city, burbs and small properties, but large properties need big power therefore, gas. Same goes for chainsaws. There is something to consider and it’s almost never discussed or at least given serious consideration when it comes to battery driven tools and electric vehicles... There is something to be said about eliminating a large chunk of the maintenance.

Now that Toro makes an electric one, you have to do a comparison video between the two battery machines. People are going to really want that information. Thanks.

So helpful. Thank you

I'm sold on Ego, but own the Toro 826OXE, also in Northeast Ohio. LOVE the Toro. The plastic Ego just doesn't seem as durable... Big surprise, I know. I have managed to shear every pin in the Toro, including the impeller, despite their claim to not need them. Swallow a small limb or two, and you'll see what I mean. They are Grade 8 Steel, 1/4"-20 Thread, 1-3/4" Long, Partially Threaded bolts, McMaster #91257A548, 50 for $15.45, with 1/4"-20 Steel Nylon-Insert Locknut, McMaster #90640A129, 100 for $5.34.

I started building my eGo collection about 3 years ago after researching all the systems at the time. I had various battery powered tools with different batteries and was tired of making sure they were all charged when I needed them. With the eGo, all the batteries work with all the tools and swapping is very convenient. Was not interested in the Ego single stage as I will be replacing a 2-stage Airens snowblower and need a model that will at least match the Airens in power. This new 2-stage eGo is getting many good reviews, but; like any first model, there are some bugs. I will be very interested in an updated (version 2) eGo 2-stage in the future.

I'd appreciate it if someone could address the Ego's plastic material and lithium batteries in subzero weather like we have in North Dakota. I had an electric Greenwork's snowblower that housing shattered at -15 F (not uncommon for us). I'm also concerned that Lithium batteries just can't handle the extreme cold.

Seems like many are soooooooooo excited about things that run on batteries. I certainly like the new brushless drills and drivers, very powerful. I also like my cordless circular saw, very handy. But battery powered snow blower. Now that is a big if. For small driveways and sidewalks, yea OK. But if you live in northern Michigan, etc, and get a 10 inch snowfall and your driveway is larger than 2500 square feet, you're going to have a tough time. Depending on how cold it is will a be a huge factor on how long that battery pack lasts. Second, how far does it throw the snow. In my case, my blower throws it 50 feet. That is a huge advantage and cuts down on the time and effort. It always becomes a problem when you throw snow onto snow especially if the snow is somewhat heavy. The powdered stuff is never an issue. So the question is, what will that battery powered one handle those issues. I hear this talk, well you do not have to hassle with starting a gas engine. All walk behind 2 /3 stage blowers have electric start. If you do the maintenance, it starts on the first pull regardless. So I guess if you're one of those ying yangs that are too damn lazy to take care of your equipment, and you have the typical driveway, go get your DC powered unit. Otherwise, I'm sticking with my 30 inch 13.5 hp 2 stage that throws it 50 feet, thank you very much.

Great video as always. And the packout drawers? Still waiting 😕

Trying to think what I can use this for down here in Florida, any ideas?

A gas snowblower (or lawnmower) can last for decades if you take care of it. Do we know yet about the longevity of the electric equivalents? That's my biggest concern with electrics.

Be sticking with my old Gravely 12HP with a snow cannon attachment for now. Throw chains on, and it eats everything...

I have a 1967ish Ariens 624 2 stage, and a mid 1980' Snapper 422 2 stage. I like using the Ariens most of the time, but it can be cumbersome to operate at times since it's a larger machine with heavy steel. The Snapper is more enjoyable to operate because it is smaller. For the prices of battery operated machines I will keep using my gas stuff.

I would love to have the EGO, it'd be great for my driveway.

Stick with any gas powered or plug in snowblower. The batteries cost for these will far outweigh proper maintenance on the gas or plug in electric when it comes time to replace it. Which is usually much sooner than later.

I agree with other comments . Both snow blowers need to be put against the entire auger which means 2 plus feet snow . I guarantee the battery will fail on 2feet plus snow . The gas will always be stronger 💪 and last longer !

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, winters get 100” to 200” a year. I would welcome the battery powered blower as my normal snowblowing can take well over an hour with my 28” Ariens snow blower. Gas is probably the way to go in northern climates where winter is a way of life. I would love to give EGO a try, but I think it might not handle what I have to do.

Agreed 1000% about the 'best kept secret' on the Ego. When i first got it, i was running the auger at full throttle and got terrible battery life. I realized i could run it much, much slower and still have a decent clearing distance and i could easily get an hour out of it in deep, wet, heavy snow. They really, really should put this in big bold letters in the box

Electronic reliability and battery cost are huge factors. I've had an MTD gas blower for about 15 years. Each season I put oil and gas in it. That's it. I have to question how many $250 batteries the Ego would go through in 15years. Assuming the blower lasts 15 years. *I have an Ego lawnmower and think it's great. Summer is a bit more forgiving than winter though I still wonder about the battery life.

I've been using a Craftsman two stage snow blower for about the last fifteen years. It has done the job but it is hard to turn. Even though my Craftsman is still going strong and there's nothing wrong with it I think I will be getting the EGO 24" this next winter.

a neighbor has a 2stage ego and it's power is up to the task of snow blower duty as it kept up with my dad's gas blower. granted runtime endurance is still the Achilles heel of electric tools.

EGO IS THE WAY TO GO. Rob it even saves on gym. Gives you a chance to walk one extra pass and stay heathier. Besides, EGO GIVES YOU A PASS TO THE 21 ST CENTURY.

Doing the math on the width; your reference to 2 trips vs 3 is: 28" X 4 = 112" = 9'-4" 24" X 6 = 144" = 12' So, not quite the same cleared width. Another aspect of ownership is oil changes and tuneups - required by the Toro, and not needed for the electric. And small gasoline engines are very polluting, and they use a lot more energy. And they get harder to start over time. The 10Ah batteries are each equivalent to about 1/60th of a gallon of gas. (33.7kWh = 1 gallon and 10Ah X 56V = 560Wh, so 33,700 / 560 = ~60.2) So, the two 10Ah batteries will cost about 0.5-1¢ depending on what you pay for electricity. Today's average gasoline price is $3.30 so if the gas tank holds 2 quarts, and you use 1/4 of it, that will still cost you over 40¢. And you have to drive to the gas station to get it, and buy a gas can.

TORO all the way. I've had a gas toro since 1996 still works like new. Plastic battery junk will fall apart long before that.