Snow Joe SJ618E (Review)

Snow Joe SJ618E is a corded electric snow blower. With cutting width of 18 inches, intake height of 8 inches and 13 amp motor it can move up to 550 pounds of snow per minute.

Performance

Snow Joe SJ618E deals with light snow well for the most part. It handles 8 inches of it (same as intake height) without much effort. It can handle more but you will likely have to go slower at it and do more than 1 pass.

Handles hard and dense snow well but as expected you will have to go slower at it.

Wet and slushy snow is where it starts to struggle a bit. It will handle 3-4 inches of it pretty well but it might have trouble with dealing more than that. On top of that it’s rather common for chute to get clogged when used on wet/slushy snow.

Manufacturer claims it throws snow as far as 20 feet away. In reality you probably won’t come close to that figure. You can expect it to throw normal snow 4-8 feet away and wet snow around 3-5 feet. Take note that if you push it too slowly the density of snow going through the snow blower might be insufficient resulting in snow not being thrown as far.

Quality

For the most part Snow Joe SJ618E is made of plastic including auger so the unit doesn’t feel that sturdy. With that being said it shouldn’t be a problem as long as you don’t abuse it and use with care.

Maneuverability

Snow Joe SJ618E isn’t self propelled so you have to push it yourself. It’s lightweight (25.9 lbs) so for the most part it’s easy to do but in deep and dense snow the lightweightness might play against you.

As it’s cord powered snow blower you will have to deal with cord management. It might be a bit frustrating at first but you kinda get used to it. Alternative to this could be buying a battery powered snow blower but you won’t find one as powerful as this one for similar price.

Miscellaneous

Snow Joe SJ618E doesn’t come with a cord so you have to purchase it separately. Be sure you get one that’s at least 12-gauge (the smaller the number the better but 12-gauge is sufficient enough). Another recommendation is to get one that’s designed for cold temperatures so it remains flexible in freezing weather.

Despite the small issues cordless electric snow blowers have their advantages over gas powered ones. You don’t have to deal with the noise, fumes, starting up which can be difficult at times, tune ups or maintenance including dealing with gas and oil.

Conclusions

Snow Joe SJ618E is a good snow blower for light to medium duty jobs. Company also offers more serious corded snow blowers like Snow Joe SJ623E and Snow Joe SJ625E if you are looking for something with more plowing capacity.

Snow Joe SJ618E Electric Single Stage Snow Thrower 18-Inch 13 Amp Motor Details/Specs:

• Motor: 15-amp
• No-load speed: 2000 ± 10%
• Clearing width: 18 inches
• Intake height: 8 inches
• Stage: Single
• Weight: 25.9 lbs
• Certifications:
  • ETL Approved