OT: Ego Snowblower, a GREAT company

[Climb01742]

Over the years, we've had a few threads here about electric snowblowers and lawn mowers. It's a topic of interest to some of us. This morning, I had a truly amazing exchange with the Ego Power folks and I wanted to share it.

Last summer, I bought an Ego battery-powered lawn mower and it was a champ. So this winter I got one of their battery-powered snowblower. Before this morning I had used the blower three times since getting it just before Christmas. It, too, has been a champ. Light snow, heavy snow, handled it all. I'm coming from a good-sized Honda gas blower. While the Ego isn't as powerful, it has been soooo easy to use and has more than handled our needs. I kept telling myself to register the snowblower warranty with them (as I did the mower) but I kept procrastinating.

See where this is going?

Yesterday and last night, all of New England got dumped on with heavy snow and high winds. Tree branches and whole trees are down everywhere. In fact, tree limbs fell and hit both our cars in our driveway. Yikes. But thankfully, no damage.

I started to clear our driveway with the snowblower. I knew there were probably branches down inside the snow, hidden. I tried to be careful and go slow. The blower ate a few smaller sticks but was ok. Then it happened. Buried deep was a good sized pine branch. And it choked the auger and shut the machine down. It was a solid branch with lots of pine needles. Getting it free of the auger took some work. Then I did everything the manual suggested but no go. The puppy wouldn't start again.

With a sinking feeling, I called the Ego folks and asked for any other suggestions. We tried a few things, none worked. Then I admitted that I'd never registered the warranty. I'm out of luck, aren't I, I asked. The very nice woman on the phone asked when I bought the snowblower. Cut to the chase. They warrantied the machine_after_it died. We did it over the phone and a new snowblower will be here in 5 days. Free. No shipping either. That's a $650 hit they took when they didn't have to. How many companies would have said, no warranty, no luck?

It's easy to vent when you're pissed at a company. I wanted to 'vent' when I was happy because a company did a really stand up thing. A big thumbs up to Ego products. And an even bigger thumbs up to the company and their customer service.

[makoti]

Almost enough to make me wish I needed a snowblower. Almost. Good companies are rare.

[AngryScientist]

that's great customer service. very good.

so these machines dont have a shear pin or something like that which will fail before a stopped auger will destroy the machine? that seems like a bad idea.

glad you got taken care of climb.

the snow we got here in north jersey is very localized as to who got how much. we got about 6 inches of heavy, super crusty stuff at the house.

my gas blower ate it for lunch, or breakfast really.

[Tony Edwards]

Glad you had a good experience, but federal law prohibits manufacturers from requiring a warranty card as precondition of providing warranty coverage. As long as you are able to establish that you purchased the item on a date which would provide that it is still covered by warranty at the time you experience a problem, they have to cover it.

[Climb01742]

that's great customer service. very good.

so these machines dont have a shear pin or something like that which will fail before a stopped auger will destroy the machine? that seems like a bad idea.


Very fair question. I thought there might be some sort of trip switch than you could reset. I simply don't know enough about how an electric motor/drivetrain works to know. There may be limits on what a non-mechanical system can handle? I don't know. I'm just happy they're standing tall behind their products.;) I know gas-powered mowers/blowers have their strengths, but for me, the ease and no-gas-simplicity are very welcome.

[benb]

I'm curious how big your driveway is since you live so close. I live in Bedford. From what I saw on the news even West Concord got a lot more snow than I did though.

I can't even imagine that being able to do my driveway here... gas or electric anything single stage seems like a no go.

They seem to measure driveways by how many cars would fit in them, mine is probably 10 cars or more, and it's wide, at least as wide as a 2 lane road, so it really strains the throwing distance, if the blower can't throw the snow off the driveway it ends up having to blow it a 2nd time.

Dealing with gas motors doesn't bother me a lot though. Worst part is doing oil changes and how hard it is to get rid of the oil around here. The appeal of electric is great if it gets there.

Do you take the battery out before clearing a jam? With a gas motor you have a lot off things you can do to make sure it doesn't turn over while you're working on it.

The lack of a shear pin would make it hard for me to take it seriously.

I had to rake areas of the driveway this morning cause I was afraid of the snowblower eating stuff. It sucked but my snowblower cost about 4X what yours did, and the worst part is breaking it means you get to call someone else to plow you out!

I have had a lot of experience with breaking the snowblower and then having to call for an emergency plow. I'm good at fixing stuff so 90% of the time I fixed the snowblower myself but it's still horrible, my old snowblower (Snapper) was a real POS!

[Climb01742]

Glad you had a good experience, but federal law prohibits manufacturers from requiring a warranty card as precondition of providing warranty coverage. As long as you are able to establish that you purchased the item on a date which would provide that it is still covered by warranty at the time you experience a problem, they have to cover it.

I didn't know that. And I bet some companies count on consumers not knowing too.

Still, Ego had other avenues to go down, perhaps. Like asking me to take it in for repair or dinging me for shipping, or something. Lord knows other companies have tried to wiggle out of their responsibilities.

Given that it's still winter, snow-season here, I'm very glad Ego is shipping me a new blower ASAP and not asking me to jump through any hoops.

[AngryScientist]

Worst part is doing oil changes and how hard it is to get rid of the oil around here.

i dont know where you live, but in NJ, any store that sells you motor oil has to accept it back for recycling.

the local Pep Boys and Autozone both have big 200 or so gallon tanks in the back of the store for waste oil. i stop by a couple times a year to dispose of my used oil from the cars and other equipment. never been asked a question, they just point me to the tank and i dump my old oil.

you may want to look into that.

[benb]

Very fair question. I thought there might be some sort of trip switch than you could reset. I simply don't know enough about how an electric motor/drivetrain works to know. There may be limits on what a non-mechanical system can handle? I don't know. I'm just happy they're standing tall behind their products.;) I know gas-powered mowers/blowers have their strengths, but for me, the ease and no-gas-simplicity are very welcome.

Yours is still mechanical, but maybe single stage blowers don't have a shear pin?

The shear pin is basically a bolt in the drivetrain that is designed to break if a stick gets ingested into the auger. It breaks so that you don't damage the drivetrain/motor, and they're designed to be easily replaced. So easily that you usually get extras with the snowblower. On my Ariens they are mounted on the snowblower so they're always there for you.

On a 2 stage blower these are on the auger, cause the auger would get jammed first. The Ego is a single stage, so it might be trickier to implement a shear pin.

[Climb01742]

I'm curious how big your driveway is since you live so close.

I can't even imagine that being able to do my driveway here... gas or electric anything single stage seems like a no go.

They seem to measure driveways by how many cars would fit in them, mine is probably 10 cars or more, and it's wide, at least as wide as a 2 lane road, so it really strains the throwing distance, if the blower can't throw the snow off the driveway it ends up having to blow it a 2nd time.

Dealing with gas motors doesn't bother me a lot though. Worst part is doing oil changes and how hard it is to get rid of the oil around here. The appeal of electric is great if it gets there.

Do you take the battery out before clearing a jam? With a gas motor you have a lot off things you can do to make sure it doesn't turn over while you're working on it.

The lack of a shear pin would make it hard for me to take it seriously.

Luckily, our drive isn't big at all. Two cars wide and maybe 2.5 cars long. And yep, took batteries out before sticking my mitts in there.;)

Our yard is smallish too. I totally get how battery/electric might not work for many folks. And current designs may need more work. But for us, and my lack of fondness for anything gas powered, I'm happy to go this route. Works for me.;)

[benb]

i dont know where you live, but in NJ, any store that sells you motor oil has to accept it back for recycling.

the local Pep Boys and Autozone both have big 200 or so gallon tanks in the back of the store for waste oil. i stop by a couple times a year to dispose of my used oil from the cars and other equipment. never been asked a question, they just point me to the tank and i dump my old oil.

you may want to look into that.

That doesn't seem to necessarily be the case here in MA. I should look and demand it if it's the law.

The thing is here we're so greeny/liberal/yuppie that there aren't even any Pep Boys/Autozone type stores in town, I think the nearest one might be 10 miles away. When I lived in NH I had a Autozone like a mile away and I always took my oil there for recycling.

I usually have to call around to a few auto repair places and eventually one will say they'll take it "this one time" since it's just a quart or two.

It was way more annoying when I had a motorcycle.

edit: Just looked it up for MA. The retailer has to take recycled oil, but only if you have a receipt to prove you bought the oil from them, and they only have to take 2 gallons per day per person.

[AngryScientist]

back in the "old days" - the newspaper was the most common culprit of jamming the mower. replaced more than a few shear pins when i was a kid from them.

[Red Tornado]

There is an electric 2-stage out there.
https://www.snowjoe.com/products/snow-joe-ion8024-xrp-cordless-two-stage-snow-blower-24-inch-80-volt-2-x-6-ah-batteries-4-speed-headlights
When I lived in Indiana, used a 46" 2-stage attached to a 24hp garden tractor. Really had to watch where you had the chute angled. Never got anything stuck bad enough to shear a pin. Guess I was fortunate. The people we bought the house from had a 2-stage tracked Honda. Kinda miss clearing the driveway.

[Climb01742]

Yours is still mechanical, but maybe single stage blowers don't have a shear pin?

The shear pin is basically a bolt in the drivetrain that is designed to break if a stick gets ingested into the auger. It breaks so that you don't damage the drivetrain/motor, and they're designed to be easily replaced. So easily that you usually get extras with the snowblower. On my Ariens they are mounted on the snowblower so they're always there for you.

On a 2 stage blower these are on the auger, cause the auger would get jammed first. The Ego is a single stage, so it might be trickier to implement a shear pin.

Very possible. It's a belt drive and that's the extent of my understanding (I'm very unmechanically-inclined.) It may be a trade-off in the design? And it may be part of their warranty strategy too, a trade-off that is built into their model? I simply can't say. If it breaks more often, I may feel differently. But now, it strikes the balance that I'm after.

[AngryScientist]

edit: Just looked it up for MA. The retailer has to take recycled oil, but only if you have a receipt to prove you bought the oil from them, and they only have to take 2 gallons per day per person.


that's somewhat of a silly rule, but it's something. my guess is the minimum wage clerk at the retailer isnt going to care how much oil you dump in the tank.

i've actually never once had a mechanic or service change oil in anything i own. when i was driving a lot for work, i was generating quite a bit of used motor oil, seemed like i was always under the car back then, even with 8k mile oil change intervals.

[benb]

Luckily, our drive isn't big at all. Two cars wide and maybe 2.5 cars long. And yep, took batteries out before sticking my mitts in there.;)

Our yard is smallish too. I totally get how battery/electric might not work for many folks. And current designs may need more work. But for us, and my lack of fondness for anything gas powered, I'm happy to go this route. Works for me.;)

I want an electric car. I don't mind going to the gas station 2X a year or whatever to power the lawn mower/snowblower/weed wacker. It's the constant trips for the car, and the huge amount of gas burned that bothers me, and the service visits! I don't even drive much and I bet the gas + maintenance on the car is enough to get a high end bike every other year.

Electric lawn mower would probably work for us. We have a lot of driveway, but not much yard that we mow ourselves.

[Climb01742]

I want an electric car. I don't mind going to the gas station 2X a year or whatever to power the lawn mower/snowblower/weed wacker. It's the constant trips for the car, and the huge amount of gas burned that bothers me, and the service visits! I don't even drive much and I bet the gas + maintenance on the car is enough to get a high end bike every other year.

Electric lawn mower would probably work for us. We have a lot of driveway, but not much yard that we mow ourselves.

What's your tree/limb situation? Just walked our dogs around our neighborhood and there's not a single house without a tree or major limbs down. Somehow our power has stayed on (yay!) But clean up crews will have their work ahead of them. Many streets are at least partially obstructed by branches/trees.

[ripvanrando]

PepBoys in Concord, MA. I needed a good laugh today.

[54ny77]

so whaddaya do when the power's out because of snow and ya gotta charge it?

uhhhhhhh.......

:p

[AngryScientist]

PepBoys in Concord, MA. I needed a good laugh today.

? help me out, whats funny?

[Bruce K]

Wow benb, you gotta get out more. :rolleyes:

But I guess that "urban sprawl" of living in the western 'burbs is catching up with you!;)

Up on the North Shore there is an Autozone near Liberty Tree Mall and a Pep Boys in Salem. Plus, we have a NAPA here in Gloucester.

I don't know if Sears (North Shore Mall might be the closest since they closed Burlington) will take oil, but you could call them.

BK

[buddybikes]

Had their lawnmower dead, got their snowblower - dead after second storm, right back to Home Depot, back to little electric that we have blasted over 15 years. My back can't move a full size snowblower.

[ftf]

? help me out, whats funny?

I think they are referring to the fact that Concord Mass is well wealthy, I think they think no one there is visiting a pepboys.

[zap]

Climb, good to see that you are happy so far with Ego.

I purchased an Ego 21" mower 3 weeks ago. Happy with it so far........just finished cutting our grass for the second time this young season. We have 2/3 acre and I've been able to cut all the grass with one charge. Half the backyard is woods.

Last fall I purchased an Ego leaf blower and that has worked well.

No pollution while I do some yard work.

[ripvanrando]

? help me out, whats funny?

Concord and surrounding areas are rather affluent and every so tasteful....pretty signs, etc. Autozone or PepBoys would be likely forced into Billerica or south to Waltham.

[Climb01742]

Climb, good to see that you are happy so far with Ego.

I purchased an Ego 21" mower 3 weeks ago. Happy with it so far........just finished cutting our grass for the second time this young season. We have 2/3 acre and I've been able to cut all the grass with one charge. Half the backyard is woods.

Last fall I purchased an Ego leaf blower and that has worked well.

No pollution while I do some yard work.

A) Very glad your Ego products are working well and holding up. I also like no gas exhaust and noise.

B) Darn you and your warm, grass-growing weather!!;):) Hope spring comes here soon. Bet your riding is getting good too. Enjoy!

[earlfoss]

They used to sponsor a racing team in the Chicago area too!

[benb]

Concord and surrounding areas are rather affluent and every so tasteful....pretty signs, etc. Autozone or PepBoys would be likely forced into Billerica or south to Waltham.

Nearest one is Waltham IIRC, and this is exactly what I meant in my previous comment.

Not many do-it-yourselfers in these towns. Lots of Lexuses and such that get taken for the $250 oil change where they give you free coffee and a loaner car, and plenty of houses with $100k landscaping jobs where the homeowner never lifts a finger and a landscaper does all the maintenance. Those pro crews probably have an easier solution.

It's annoying to drive to Waltham, driving to Nashua or Salem/Gloucester/whatever would be pretty ridiculous. I'd end up burning 2 gallons of gas just to get rid of a quart of oil or two. And that'd kill an afternoon that would be better spent riding or something.

[ripvanrando]

I have to change my snowblower and generator oil after this outage and snow.

Getting rid of the oil properly is a pain. My hedge trimmer and leaf blower are electric and love them but the driveway is too long, needs gas.

Someone mentioned Liberty Tree Mall. I remember as a kid in the 60's that this area was marsh, field, and river with pheasant, etc. It was a beautiful place, I fished there. Mini-golf at Vics with fried clams afterwards.

[charliedid]

{Like}

[alancw3]

climb: can you tell me the model ego lawn mower that you like so much as my daughter is about to buy an electric mower? thanks for any input as i know that ego has basically two mowers. a 21" and a 20" steel deck.

[54ny77]

watched some vids of that snowblower, actually quite impressed. it's not a gear-driven unit though, right, i.e., it goes as slow or fast as you can push it?
that for me is a deal killer, my back can only take so much pushing & pulling in cold weather. i gotta have the ability to let the blower do its thing (at varying speeds forward & reverse).

hopefully this most recent storm for us in the northeast is the last time we have to have this conversation, and it's all about riding for the next 8-9 months! :banana:

[Climb01742]

climb: can you tell me the model ego lawn mower that you like so much as my daughter is about to buy an electric mower? thanks for any input as i k now that ego has basically two mowers. a 21" and a 20" steel deck.

Happy to help. We have the 21 inch. So far, It's been great. I don't know if this will matter, but in addition to cutting grass, it was great in the fall mulching leaves, too. I hate raking leaves, and the mower mulched them quite easily. One last benefit: the batteries recharge very quickly, so if her yard is large, mowing and recharging isn't tedious at all. Good luck!

[Climb01742]

watched some vids of that snowblower, actually quite impressed. it's not a gear-driven unit though, right, i.e., it goes as slow or fast as you can push it?
that for me is a deal killer, my back can only take so much pushing & pulling in cold weather. i gotta have the ability to let the blower do its thing (at varying speeds forward & reverse).

hopefully this most recent storm for us in the northeast is the last time we have to have this conversation, and it's all about riding for the next 8-9 months! :banana:

Yep, gotta push it. I was a little concerned about that, too, before using it. Shoveling kills my back, that was the reason to get the snowblower. But I gotta say, having to push it hasn't caused any issues. Granted, our driveway is flat, so I'm not fighting gravity, but the blower throws snow so easily (even the heavy stuff) that I find I don't need to push very much. I actually find the self-propelling part a plus. When I had my gas Honda blower (and a bigger driveway) there were times when slippery snow/ice and the sudden surge of the blower taking off were problematic. One ice patch actually pulled me off my feet. As other posts have pointed out, the EGO isn't perfect, but for the right set of needs/preferences, color me happy.

[Steve in SLO]

As another data point, we have an all EGO fleet of landscaping products now and I love them all. Lawnmower – 21 inch self-propelled, cuts beautifully and is easy to maneuver. The string trimmer is similarly good. The hedge trimmer is impressively powerful. Best of all is the chainsaw, which is so easy to maneuver that it does my light – moderate homeowners jobs beautifully. I now have a motley collection of Honda, ECHO, Ryobi and Craftsman gas equipment that I never touch anymore.
The best part of the electric tools is that after a long winter you just pick it up and start working. No cleaning out carbs, tired arm, swearing, etc.

[AngryScientist]

the string trimmer - i'll be getting one of these soon.

i have had three gas tring trimmers die in about 7 years. the little cheap engines just gum up the teeny carburetors and they just wont run right. i have very little use for the string trimmer, just some clean up after mowing the lawn, so it sees very little use. perfect application for me for a battery powered unit.

[Steve in SLO]

As another data point, we have an all EGO fleet of landscaping products now and I love them all. Lawnmower – 21 inch self-propelled, cuts beautifully and is easy to maneuver. I save a lot of battery life I only using the self propelled feature while going uphill. Otherwise it is easy to push across level grass. The string trimmer is similarly good. The hedge trimmer is impressively powerful. Best of all is the chainsaw, which is so quiet and easy to maneuver that it is a pleasure to use. I now have a motley collection of Honda, ECHO, Ryobi and Craftsman gas equipment that I never touch anymore.
The best part of the electric tools is that after a long winter you just pick it up and start working. No cleaning out carbs, tired arm, swearing, etc.

[54ny77]

It's the damned gas. If you don't use your lawn tools that much, buy the can of 50:1 ethanol free at home depot and run carb cleaner in the right proportion every now & then. On a per gallon basis that can is pricey, but again, if you're only using it for 10 min or so at a clip every few weeks in season, the cost more than offsets carb rebuild or replacement.

the string trimmer - i'll be getting one of these soon.

i have had three gas tring trimmers die in about 7 years. the little cheap engines just gum up the teeny carburetors and they just wont run right. i have very little use for the string trimmer, just some clean up after mowing the lawn, so it sees very little use. perfect application for me for a battery powered unit.

[Climb01742]

Best of all is the chainsaw, which is so easy to maneuver that it does my light – moderate homeowners jobs beautifully.

I have no real need for a chainsaw, but I gotta confess to an itch to own one. If they ever remade the movie 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' with a battery-powered saws, would they call it 'The Marin County Chainsaw Massacre'?;):):p

[alancw3]

Happy to help. We have the 21 inch. So far, It's been great. I don't know if this will matter, but in addition to cutting grass, it was great in the fall mulching leaves, too. I hate raking leaves, and the mower mulched them quite easily. One last benefit: the batteries recharge very quickly, so if her yard is large, mowing and recharging isn't tedious at all. Good luck!

thank you for the info. i will recommend that my daughter get the 21".

[gpendergast]

I have no real need for a chainsaw, but I gotta confess to an itch to own one. If they ever remade the movie 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' with a battery-powered saws, would they call it 'The Marin County Chainsaw Massacre'?;):):p

lol good one!

[zap]

thank you for the info. i will recommend that my daughter get the 21".

We also have the 21" non drive mower.

Soft sale right now at Home Depot.

[buddybikes]

I have a few batteries if anyone here uses ego and wants to drive to central ma.

You can take the mower too if you want to work on it.