An epic snowstorm has befallen our fair state, and while we’re forecast to be only about half-way through, it’s already dropped almost a foot of snow.

The forecasters have been warning us for the last few days, so when I thought I was done with vehicle travels for the day, I pulled the snowblower out, parked the Jeep a little farther back, and put the snowblower at the front, next to the garage door, prepared for action. I plugged the battery in to ensure it was fully charged, and waited for the snow. I was rewarded with shin-deep snow at the back door. In the mid-morning there was a bit of a lull in the snowfall, so I set out to clear what I could.

The snowblower made pretty quick work of the driveway between the garage and alley. The plows had been through, so there was already a snow berm in place. The rest of the driveway was over boot-deep, and some of the berm threatened to go over the top of the snowblower intake. It took about half the battery and four passes to clear the berm alone. The battery was fairly kaput after that, so I parked the snowblower and recouped inside while the battery recharged.

The charger claims to be able to recharge to full in 50 minutes, but after nearly 2 hours, it was ready for the next round. I returned to the garage and found the plows had been by again, leaving a small berm behind. I did a quick throw of the new berm and set out for the sidewalk. Another neighbor was shoveling her drive, so I did a pass over the berm on her drive as I walked by.

I reached the sidewalk and noticed the plows had done the street, so I set to do the street-side of the sidewalk first. It was deep enough to go over the intake, and with the plow-thrown snow, was a bit more packed than the other snow. I had to let the snowblower creep in a little bit and then sink down as it chewed through the snow. I got past the two houses closest to the alley when the battery died. I’m the fifth house over. I turned off the engine and pulled the snowblower back to the alley. It recovered enough to help me drive the snowblower back to the alley to rest and recharge again.

About 90 minutes later I decided I needed to get another try in, or I wouldn’t have enough time or light to get another after that. The charger had 3 of 4 dots of power, so I hoped it might be enough. I scurried to where the alley meets the sidewalk without throwing any more snow, hoping that would help stretch the battery. The plow had been by again on the street, tossing a bunch of debris into what I’d plowed before, but it wasn’t filled in. I managed to power past one more house before the battery started beeping. Instead of pressing on, I kicked it into reverse to let it help me out of the channel I’d dug. I made it back to the alley before it conked out. I pushed the blower back to the garage and parked it again.

I’m waiting for the battery to charge again. I’ve got 2 of 4 dots in the last 40 minutes or so of recharging.

The snowblower can take 3 batteries, but only came with 1. Each new battery is $450. I have a charger, and could cycle through them, but that would mean at least 3 hours, if their 50-minutes were accurate, but more likely 6 hours to recharge. They do make a dual-battery charger, for another $200. So, for another $1100 I can have a fully-charged battery pack, and probably could do this kind of snow in one pass. There don’t seem to be any batteries available in stores nearby, at least according to the few websites I’ve checked, but I could get one delivered as early as a week from Monday…which should be a few days after the snow melts. I’ll put another battery or two and an appropriate charger on my wishlist.

To be fair, my old, single-stage, human-propelled snowblower couldn’t handle this snow. It’s very thick and wet, and is too deep for its intake. While it would be easier to throw more fuel in, I don’t have enough fuel to make more than one pass.

I hope to get a full block pass tonight, at least one lane on the sidewalk, and plan to need to do more tomorrow. There’s still half of a storm forecast, although not so much snow left to fall. It's mostly winds, so I anticipate the snow-blown valley to fill in with drifts from the high walls around them.

I’m still happy with my choice to go electric. It’s been nice to not have to worry about running to fetch gas when I run out. It is discouraging that it takes so long to charge a battery that runs dry so quickly, but that’s as much an impact of the storm’s snowfall as it is about the current state of battery-run electric motors. Also, the giant intake, self-propelled, big-wheels, and powerful-enough 2-stage thrower are quite nice for this heavy, deep snow.