EGO Power+ 28 in. Self-Propelled 2-Stage Snow Blower Review: Pricey yet powerful

The EGO brand of battery operated equipment started off in 1993. They hit the US in 2012 and are arguably the #1 rated battery power equipment brand. You can’t walk in to a Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart or other retailer that sells lawn and garden equipment and not see at least one product from the company. They offer a wide range of products including lawn mowers, weed eaters, hedge trimmers, chain saws and even snow blowers. We were lucky enough to be offered the chance to give their newest line of snow blowers a whirl and see what we think of them. In this case, the EGO Power+ 28 in Self-Propelled 2 Stage snow blower. There are two models of the Power+ 28-inch, the SNT2807 and the SNT2800. The only difference between them is the inclusion of two batteries and the dual port charger, which is the SNT2807 and the model we will be reviewing.

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

The Quick Take

The EGO Power+ 28 in. snow blower fills the need for a large snow clearing deck that moves a lot of snow quickly and more quietly than a gas powered variant. The two 12Ah batteries provide plenty of power to move the machine, light your way, warm your hands and throw snow up to 60′ away.

There were only a few things that came up during our test runs that we want to make sure to mention. The tires are large and have a lot of tread, but wet and icy snow prevents them from moving sometimes and you will have to do some pushing to keep it moving. EGO currently doesn’t offer chains or supplemental traction at this time. Removing the batteries with gloves on is a little tough. The release pops them up with very little to grip. The Electric chute moves quickly and you overshoot your placement if you push the joystick too quickly. I also feel the power button operation needs to be tweaked. You simply press it down to turn it on, whereas to turn it off you have to hold it down for 3 seconds. I believe it should be the other way around so you have a quicker shut off.

Overall, the EGO Power+ 28 in. snow blower did its job in various snow conditions, from freezing dry powder to heavy wet and icy. It is difficult to go wrong with this unit if you have a decent area that will need attention in the snow. You won’t have to run out for more gas, you don’t have to worry about storage, you cut down on loud engines that can damage your ears and you lose the exhaust smell too.

Specifications

The Blower

• 28-inche wide clearing area
• 21-inches tall intake
• Large metal auger
• Electric chute with a 200-degree rotation with deflection and capable of throwing snow up to 60′
• 16 X 5-inch snow tires
• 3-point height adjustment handle (ground to handle bars are as follows)
  • 32.5″ lowest
  • 34″ Middle
  • 35.5″ Highest
• Heated handle grips
• Multi-speed forward and reverse throttle lever
• Multi-Speed auger throttle lever
• LED lights
• Trigger-controlled steering assist
• IPX4- rated weather resistance (Repels splashing water, from any angle)
• Weight: 181 lbs w/o the batteries
• Adjustable Skid Plates
• Clears a 32 car drive with 8-inches of snow on a single charge with both batteries installed

The Batteries

• 2 × 12.0Ah ARC Lithium batteries
• Capacity: 672Wh
• Weight: 7.9lbs each
• 20% increment light system for visual charge
• Shock-Resistant
• Built-in intelligent power management

The Charger

• Dual-Port charger (CH2800D)
• 2 × 280W Charging Ports
• Compatible with all EGO POWER+ 56v batteries from 2.5Ah — 12Ah
• Fan-cooled for overheating protection
• Will charge the 12.0Ah batteries from zero to 100% in 180 minutes (3 hours)

Unboxing Video

What’s in the Box

• The EGO Power+ 28 In. snow blower
• Two individually boxed 12Ah batteries
• Dual port charging station
• A hard plastic snow removal tool
• A bag with 6 bolts and 6 knobs
• Your instruction manual and warranty information.

The machine does require a small amount of assembly, but does not require any tools. You will need to attach the handle and the chute. The handles take 4 bolts and 4 hand twist knobs, and the chute takes 2 blots and 2 hand twist knobs.

Design

The overall look of the snow blower will resemble every other one on the market, however EGO’s green, black, and grey color scheme is easily recognizable. The trademark green is placed in subtle places, as you can see from the images.

A large array of LED lights easily illuminates your way with 2 different settings. You get 3 rows of LED lights just below the control center, along with another dual set just above the deck. You have the option of running them all, or just the deck lights.

The top control center is laid out in a way that makes sense. The left handle puts the machine in motion as it is self-propelled. The next lever adjusts your speed and if you will be going forward or reverse. Then you have the button for the lights, followed by the large power button and then the hand warmer button. The lever on the right the auger speed control lever and the handle on the right turns the augur on. That handle also has a safety lever that you must pull in before you can depress the handle and put the auger in motion. You’ll notice two small black triggers under the handles, too. Those two triggers help you steer the machine. Pull the right trigger to turn right and pull the left trigger to turn left.

A side note that, I felt, was important to share a little more about is the levers for the drive and auger. They are long and easy to grip onto with and without gloves. Adjusting them forward or backwards produces a noticeable click that is also felt with the bare hands. On the drive side, there is an added tension between forward and reverse and back. My only concern is the design of their attachment. If you look closely, you can see the top is connected via one single black bolt. It does have some slight play to it. I don’t feel like they will break easily, more of an observation.

In front of those controls is the 2-in-1 chute joystick. Push the joystick to the left and right to spin the chute in that direction. It rotates a full 200 degrees. To angle the deflector, you simply push the joystick forward or pull it backwards. Unlike the 24-inch variant, the joystick does not lock. I don’t think this will be an issue for most users, however, if you find yourself going under branches or places where things could catch on the joystick, it would move your chute.

At the base of the handles is where you find your battery compartment. The green tinted clear plastic lid lifts easily as it is only held closed with two magnets. The 28-inch blowers peak performance is using a pair of 12Ah batteries. However, it does state it can run on their 5.0Ah batteries and any size between 5 and 12. Using smaller batteries or a single battery will change your run times. When in use, the battery charge indicators located around the power button on the batteries glow through the plastic and look really cool at night. It also makes it easy to glance down and see an approximation of power levels.

Coming to the business end, you find your 28-inch wide deck. The auger measures 26-inches wide and 15-inches tall. You will also find two break away sheer pins. There are two replacements that are mounted on the chute should you need them. EGO gives you a nice little snow removal tool that conveniently mounts to the top of the deck so you can easily clear the deck or the chute.

Performance

The snow took its sweet time getting to Oregon this year, but when it did, I got a variety of snow to play in. The first snow fall was about 6.5-inches or so deep in most areas. It was 0 degrees out with a -17 degree wind chill, and the snow was super fine and light. There was so little moisture that you couldn’t even pack a snowball. The EGO had zero issue throwing that snow all over the neighborhood. I, on the other hand, couldn’t feel my face in 5 minutes. The following morning, my son cleared the rest of the cul-de-sac corner and the cleared all the snow from the sidewalks on both sides of the street, a few houses deep. He is 13 and had zero issue driving the unit around. He actually enjoyed it and wants more snow so he can go back out and plow more.

By the end of the blizzard, we had only accumulated 8.5-inches in my neighborhood, which is well within the EGO’s capability to clear. The ideal depth, according to EGO, is 12-inches, with the battery ratings geared at 8-inches. We migrated down the block and cleared more sidewalks, around cars in the street and any driveways that we saw that we could easily sneak in and out of. All the driveways around here are small 2 car driveways, so they only took a handful of passes to clear out. We cleared 8 driveways and still had plenty of power to keep running down the sidewalk back home.

The next day our weather shifted and it rained, turning all the light fluffy powder to a slushy mess. The snow level dipped to about 5-inches at that point. The EGO Power+ 28 Inch had no issues moving the heavy wet snow, but you could tell it was working the machine a little harder. I did notice the battery life depleted quicker compared to when I was clearing the light snow the previous two days. You could audibly hear the motor was under load and working harder. After getting the angle right to prevent snow build up and adjusting the auger speed to accommodate the slushy mess, we were able to complete numerous passes down the street without an issue. I travelled the other direction down my street and cleared out 6 driveways and, while I still had power, it was less than when I did the 8 driveways in the powder.

That night, we dropped back down to single digits, freezing everything that thawed. It warmed up and snowed another inch in the morning. The sloppy snow mixed with the ice sheet underneath is just as slippery for the snow blower as it is for your car. While the tires are large and offer great traction, the 181 lb (ca. 82 kg) machine slipped a bit in this type of winter weather mash-up. I adjusted the skid plates to get the front of the deck raised more so it didn’t catch as much on the frozen chunks of ice under the new powder. That helped it move a little more freely, but I still found myself having to push and shimmy it forward from time to time. EGO currently doesn’t offer any chains or added accessories to increase traction, but it isn’t the type of conditions that are common. While I didn’t try it, I imagine the same principles of lowering the tire pressure as you would on a car could help with those more slippery conditions. I am sure if I were to wear some good snow boots, I would have also had better luck moving it around.

Extra Performance Bits

The variable speed on the drive side of the blower is quite impressive. In my video, I go from the slowest setting to the fastest. The top speed is a brisk walk and not the one I’d recommend while in use. While I cleared quite a bit of the powdery snow at full speed, I didn’t feel as though I was in total control and found myself almost chasing the machine. Staying in the bottom two speeds seems to be the sweet spot when actually plowing unless you have long legs, then a middle setting is probably better. Getting up the slope in my driveway and going through the grass, I did go a little faster to maintain the same speed as flat ground.

EGO rates the batteries to last for clearing a 32-car driveway on a single charge. I cleared 8 driveways that hold 2 cars in about 6.5-inches of super light powder and still had 3 green fuel bars left. I imagine the claim is accurate, but it is very difficult to replicate the exact conditions. In the heavy snow and ice, I found myself turning the auger speed up to push the heavy snow out and with just about the same amount of plowing was down to 2 bars of battery. There are countless variables to the battery life of the machine and what you will be encountering snow wise.

Demo Video

Price/Value

This particular model, the SNT2807 comes with dual batteries and charger, and is running at $2,199 at Lowes, ACE, and most other retailers where these are sold. Similar-sized gas blowers were in the $1500 — $1800 range that I could see. That makes the EGO a little more expensive upfront. You do save on gas, both for the snow blower and for your vehicle to go get it. That also saves you from having to travel through potentially bad weather as well. You also don’t have to worry about storage of the snow blower or draining the gas tank. The maintenance is less intensive as well. There are no belts, spark plugs, carburetor, or anything else associated with an engine. Just make sure your bolts are tight, tires are inflated, and that it is dry before storage. That makes it pretty straightforward and less intimidating for the less mechanically inclined.

From a parent’s standpoint, I feel like the EGO Power+ is a safer bet for my 13-year-old to use than a gas blower. If it snows, he can easily put two batteries in the compartment and roll it out of the garage. I don’t have to worry about him spilling gas or trying to start an engine. He was even eager to go out and plow.

Those of you with batteries for your mower, weed eater, or other summer products can use them for the snow blower as well. If you purchase the SNT2800 variant, then you will get just the blower with no batteries. The retail price for the SNT2800 at Lowes was $1499 when wrote this. Just remember, the rated run time is targeted at two 12Ah batteries and can change dramatically based on the size you use and the conditions.

Wrap Up

The EGO Power+ 28-inch snow blower is straightforward to assemble, requires very little maintenance, can easily be used by anyone, and does its job as advertised. While it certainly makes some noise, it is much quieter than a gas blower, and all my neighbors didn’t even hear me outside. You can save some money if you already have other EGO batteries, but may lose out on run time if they are smaller Ah than the 12Ah that the 28-inch can be purchased with. This blower might be overkill if you don’t see much snow throughout the winter months, or if you have a small driveway or area to clear out. It made short work of the snow I received and got me back in the house much quicker than shoveling, and for that, I am thankful.

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Last Updated on March 13, 2024.