Snow Joe iON8024-XR (Review)
Snow Joe iON8024-XR is one of more serious electric snow blowers. It’s a two stage snow blower with 2 serrated steel blade auger that can clear up to 1,000 pounds of ice per minute.
It has 2500 watt brushless motor as well 24 inch clearing width and 13 inch clearing depth/intake height.
Performance
Snow Joe iON8024-XR handles 6 inches of regular, dry snow well. It will handle 10 inches reasonably well too but you might have to go at it a bit slower. Throws it well too!
Snow Joe iON8024-XR does struggle with wet snow and chute clogs pretty easily even if there’s only few inches of it. If you find your driveway to be full of wet snow this isn’t the snow blower you want to have.
Maneuverability
Snow Joe iON8024-XR is self propelled and has 3 forward speeds and 1 backwards. It also has extra “XPORT speed” but it feels just as fast as third forward speed.
With batteries this snow blower weighs 97.8 lbs (or 44.3 kilograms) – considerably less than two-stage gas snow blowers. Because of its relatively small weight and tires that provide good traction it’s easy to maneuver.
Control panel
Control panel consists of safety switch, two battery charge indicators (unit runs on two batteries at the same time), forward speed buttons (each speed has its own button), “XPORT” button, reverse speed button, LED light button and safety key/power switch. Quite often you have to press buttons multiple times for them to finally work which is not acceptable for a unit this expensive. On a positive light each button and battery indicators are illuminated so they are easy to read and use in dark time.
On the left handle you will find drive trigger and chute control switch. Chute control switch is made of plastic and is hard to use (takes a lot of effort) in freezing temperatures as it freezes. Expect thumb pain/exhaustion if you use it often.
Right handle has auger trigger.
Batteries
Snow Joe iON8024-XR snow blower comes with two 5.0 Ah batteries. They generally last 20-40 minutes on full charge depending on conditions (snow blower uses both of them at the same time). Charging time is very long though – it will take hours to charge them from 0 to 100%.
Features
Chute rotates in 180 degrees with electric control located in left handle. Snow Joe iON8024-XR has build-in 3 W LED headlights that are bright and very useful in dark time.
Quality
Other than the issues previously mentioned the unit feels reasonably well built. A lot of parts are plastic but they do feel sturdy enough, most vital parts are made of sturdier materials though.
Conclusions
Snow Joe iON8024-XR is expensive yet finicky in many ways. It handles regular snow pretty well but not wet one. Even with all the advantages of electric unit (no fumes, gas, maintenance, start-up problems, noise, etc.) it’s hard to justify spending this much money on iON8024-XR considering its flaws and the fact that for similar pricing you can get a very powerful and capable gas snow blower.
Should you buy it? For some Snow Joe iON8024-XR will perform well enough, for others not, so the answer depends on your expectations and how you plan to use it.
Snow Joe iON8024-XR 80-Volt iONMAX Cordless Two Stage Snow Blower Specs/Details:
- Type: Electric – battery powered
- Motor:
- Motor: 2500 W
- Plowing Capacity: 1,000 lbs/min
- Stage: Two-Stage
- Clearing Width: 24″
- Intake Height/Clearing Depth: 13″
- Transmission:
- Self propelled: Yes
- Forward speeds: 3
- Backward speeds: 1
- Battery: 2 x 5.0Ah
- Chute Rotation: 180 degrees
- Tire Size:13”
- Weight:
- Without batteries: 92.5 pounds
- With batteries: 97.8 pounds
- Certifications:
- ETL approved
Alternatives
- Gas snow blowers:
- Electric snow blowers:
- Battery powered:
- Corded:
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