What length driveway will this electric snow blower clear? Toro PowerMax e26 HA 60-volt

Can an electric snow blower clear a long driveway? 300'? 400'? 1/4 mile? We test the Toro PowerMax e26 HA with the Flex-Force power system, with two 60-volt batteries (7.5 amp hours, 405 watt hours). And what happens when the batteries go dead? Let's find out!
The primary test was to see if this electric snow blower can clear the 300-foot section of our driveway that is tar and chipped, including the end of the driveway where the plow truck stacks up the snow from the roadway and where our mailbox is. This test was with about 7-10 inches of fluffy fresh snow. The temperatures were below 0 degrees Fahrenheit and we wanted to see if that would influence the battery life. I also used the hand warmer the entire time, and did NOT use ECO mode. #snow #snowblower #toropowermax #purplecollarlife
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Published January 17, 2024
Current subscriber count at the time of upload: 19,627
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[@watershedoverlook]

Wow. I'm impressed Chad. I think Toro should get you that third battery!

[@PurpleCollarLife]

That would be nice! Thanks for watching, Chris!

[@davida.p.9911]

Pretty impressive performance! Obviously if you have a smaller area to clear, it would last longer....larger area, not so much. I just bought a Skil leaf blower, 18 volt, and after about 15 minutes of using it from full charge, I was down to one bar. It works well enough for what I need it for, but for the big jobs, I'd still recommend gas. Thanks for sharing, Chad! 🏈😎

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Thanks for watching! I have seen some people use the leaf blowers to clear snow from sidewalks. It's genius!

[@randomrazr]

this snow blower was meant for suburban driveways. but its nice to see it can do a 300 foot driveway. you may not be as luycky with wet snow or slush

[@PurpleCollarLife]

You're right - this is more for a smaller driveway or parking area. But I did want to see how it would do in this driveway. I'm sure that wet snow or slush would probably wear the batteries down quicker. But I bet adding that 3rd optional battery would really help.

[@mileshiles1287]

I'm impressed the technology is get better.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

It is better for sure. I have seen some videos of people using these same 60V batteries in a Toro chainsaw. While I'm super happy with my Stihl gas powered saws, I would consider one of these new battery saws by Toro or Stihl for camping trip or if I lived in town.

[@richardwalther6229]

I think battery powered anything still receives a lot of resistance from the die hard combustion engine fans out there. But for the savings in maintenance, reduced noise and no smell (notice I didn’t mention the environment) I think it just might be worth getting new batteries every 5 years or so. The deal-breaker for battery for me would be if they are all like Ego brand snowblowers, which somehow make a more annoying whine than a gas alternative. At that point, I’d opt for gas and throw in the old earplugs.

[@davesauerzopf6980]

Go Bills. I spent a lot of time in Buffalo and that is one heck of a cold place. As for the snowblower, lithium batteries will run 100% and then shut down, they also hate cold weather. Once the batteries shut down, you are stuck. With a driveway that size you are asking a mouse to work like a mule. At the end of the day, you still need to get the tractor out to finish the job that the Toro could not accomplish. It is great content for someone that is not good with a gas snowblower and has a substantially smaller area to clear.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Go Bills! Big day tomorrow. Yes - I typically plow our long driveway either with the ATV, or the John Deere (power angle plow AND heated cab). But for this video, I wanted to see how long the electric snow blower would last (in case someone was shopping for one and wondering). Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@craignash4736]

You mind sayin how much it cost ? And how long does it take to recharge them ? Thanks for sharing. Craig. Pa.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

The batteries take a couple hours to re-charge. As far as price, I think the last time I saw them out at Home Depot (or it may have been Tractor Supply) - they were around $1800 including the batteries and charger. I'm pretty sure a couple years ago this one was priced at about $1500. But I could be remembering wrong.

[@Stihl-Alive044-nc8op]

With your driveway, I would put a plow on the truck and clean up the snow in comfort.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Our truck is a bit long for snow plowing (crew cab, long bed). But I do have the John Deere 2210 with a power angle plow and heated cab. But sometimes you just have to be one with nature and enjoy the snow in your face. :)

[@dougyoung3896]

I like to put dinosaur juice in my snowblower!

[@PurpleCollarLife]

This made me laugh!

[@DavidSmith-jj5pr]

about 17 car spots 😉

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Thanks!

[@bryanritts213]

That looks like way too much work! Don't you have a tractor with a bucket? lol

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Our John Deere has a front snow plow (and heated cab). That's definitely the way to go! But I wanted to see how this would do in a long driveway - so I shot the video for content. :) Jennifer says that sometimes I do unnecessary work just for the sake of the channel. She's not wrong. :)

[@donhgr]

They’re not a good buy, Toro said 4 year average on battery life and they are $350-$400 each. Nope Hell NO

[@PurpleCollarLife]

So far, our batteries are holding up good. But they are just about 2 years old at this point.

[@LL-mt2nz]

Toro states number of charge cycles. Not years.

[@badgerlandturf]

You look AWFULLY cold with all that snow on you! It’s a good test for an electric blower, but I’m surprised you don’t use your cab JD to plow snow and keep yourself out of the elements. Well I’m sure this will annoy you - GO CHIEFS!!!

[@PurpleCollarLife]

It was a cold one for sure. And I normally do get the John Deere out to plow. It works great. But sometimes you have to brave the cold for the sake of video content. :) Tomorrow is the big day. Let's hope the Chiefs can stay onside this time, so that Mahomes doesn't have a meltdown. :) Just playing. It should be a great game!

[@PainterD54]

Electric? What a joke. Wait till ya have to buy new batteries (spendy) then you'll see how much you saved (and how you're NOT saving the planet anyway)

[@trcass1]

so how did you get it back into the garage? did you have to wait until the batteries charged a bit? good segment, great demo......but electric vehicles and tools are not in my wheelhouse. thanks for sharing. sure you helped some make the decision to get one.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

I just pushed it back in (tilt back and push). It's not very heavy - as long as the driveway has a cleared path to push it through. Thanks for watching!

[@larrykluckoutdoors8227]

It has it place, be great for my wife to do the sidewalk as I plow the driveway

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Thanks, Larry. It is awesome with sidewalks too.

[@ralpharvin2668]

More than likely one of these machines wouldn't be expected to do what you did, but you gave a good demonstration as to their capabilities. I had to laugh though when you asked your wife to wait five minutes before turning in the drive. My wife would have said "I can't wait five minutes!" Her first priority is to head to the bathroom.😂

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Thanks for watching! You're right about the intent of the machines - more for clearing out small driveways or parking areas. But I wanted to see the capability in a longer driveway. I'm glad that typically I plow the driveway on the John Deere with the heated cab. That air was COLD! :)

[@Z-Bart]

I got a sweet Craftsman gas powered last year (used) for. $50. I use it for the dog's trails in our back yard. It does a great job. You got a lot further than I had anticipated.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

We call the snow blown dog trails "pooping paths" because our Great Dane (Olive) does NOT like to walk out in the deep snow. :)

[@alloutdoors1277]

Just use my snowblower for the first time in two years they were calling for 1 and a half but we got five worked out great! Looking forward to seeing the John Deere plowing videos in the future

[@PurpleCollarLife]

They keep tricking us. They'll call for 6-12 inches, and we get 4. I'm hoping for one of those unpredicted snows - where they say we'll get 1-2 inches and we end up with 10+. Those are always my favorite.

[@davidgabrielsen2139]

Don't buy this. The plow guy came once last year and charged me $425 for the season. So I bought one of these and a third battery. I have run it three times including yesterday. It was thirty yesterday, so not cold not hot. Fortunately I have a hose bibb in the garage and hot water as this thing bogs down if the snow is wet. Chute gets clogged quickly and has to be cleaned out. Have not had a storm to date where this machine didn't clog up multiple times.

[@plmn93]

Seems like something isn't right, Toros are known for NOT clogging and I've seen several videos of these things in wet snow doing just fine. You may want to check to make sure your auger lever and belt tension are set correctly.

[@davidgabrielsen2139]

@@plmn93 Factory settings. Clogged 4 for 4. Lever was straight up. Belts? Out of the box?

[@plmn93]

@@davidgabrielsen2139 Yes, the tension setting is part of the assembly instructions out of the box. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJeTnWavrLqAntE If that doesn't help check the belt tension. And when the lever is straight up it's not engaged so I don't know what you're talking about there.

[@plmn93]

That's a nice test, but you need to remember that battery capacity degrades over time. So buy more amp hours than you need. These electrics are getting pretty close to meeting my needs, but they are not quite powerful enough and the replacement battery cost is still a dealbreaker. You need to be vested in their 60v ecosystem for it to make sense, IMO. But I'd much rather be vested in Toro than Chinese EGO, that's for sure. Toro has local support in most areas.

[@stevesmith6058]

Junk

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Thanks for watching.

[@EARN-750-DAILY_JOB_FOR_U]

"If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less*than*excellent work." *Thomas J. Watson

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Thanks!