I recently reviewed the new Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless snow blower, and had the opportunity to test it in deeper snow. This post is an update to that review.
The snow was challenging.
I measured an average depth of close to 10″.
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The top layer was denser in some areas, due to freezing rain and compaction from rooftop snow drift.
It was a workout to push the Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless snow blower through its first pass. Once that was done, I could take half-width passes to lower the load on the auger.
The auger didn’t self-propel; it’s all leg and at times body-powered.
Where there was denser or thicker snow, it was a full body workout to tilt the blower to clear some of the top snow, and then the bottom. This has been the case with other single stage snow blowers.
I never stalled the auger, and cannot say the same with other cordless snow blowers.
But it’s a matter of resistance. At some point, the snow is like a wall and there’s a limit where I couldn’t power through. So I took angled passes and made it work.
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This is what the driveway looked like after the first set of batteries (4x FORGE 12Ah) were drained and needed to be recharged.
I had FORGE 8Ah batteries at the ready. I didn’t get much done before they ran out of charge. This wasn’t all I did with them, but overall I would strongly recommend FORGE 12Ah batteries.
Moisture made its way into the battery compartment.
After 4x FORGE 12Ah batteries were depleted and recharging, and after 2 FORGE 8Ah batteries were depleted, I moved to Milwaukee’s older High Output 12Ah batteries. They made it to a single bar of charge and then tapped out.
I’m guessing they over-temped, which is what I experienced when testing the Dewalt FlexVolt cordless snow blower with their 12Ah batteries two seasons ago.
You don’t need FORGE batteries, but you kind of do.
I used 2 Milwaukee dual bay simultaneous Super Chargers, 48-59-1815.
I WISH I had the new 4-port Super Charger.
So, I went through:
- 4x FORGE 12Ah
- 2x FORGE 8Ah
- 1x of the FORGE 12Ah off the chargers plus a fully-charged FORGE 12Ah
- 2x High Output 12Ah
- 2x FORGE 12Ah fully charged to at least 80% off the chargers
- 2x FORGE 12Ah fully charged
On an EGO 2-stage 24″ snow blower, I might have went through at least 2x sets of 7.5Ah batteries, but I would have had a far easier time.
I cleaned off the snow blower multiple times. This is what it looks like after a while.
I wore a full face shield.
I don’t know if it’s because of the powdered ice particle snow we’ve had, or just the nature of the machine, but there is an abundant of back spray.
This happened every time I tested it.
The snow blower handles snow with ease, but shallower snow disperses in the air. I had to change how I clear the snow to avoid angering my neighbors too much.
Again, the first past is brutal, and subsequent passes much easier when I wasn’t clearing at full-width.
I really liked the shape of the front scoop, which didn’t snag and let me get closer to our cars and other side obstructions.
My neighbors had a nice clear driveway. This is what mine looked like after.
I could have cleared this with the snow blower, but most if it would have been dispersed right back to the driveway, or maybe the neighbor’s.
I was able to control the spray for a bit, but only by lowering the chute angle all of the way. But what that did was throw the snow ahead of me, where I’d have to go over it again. I try to avoid doing this because it just makes more work.
I had to shovel a lot more than if I still had my 2-stage snow blower.
It seemed like there’s a little more power and performance when powered by 4 batteries instead of 2, but it was very hard to tell. Where I needed to make a full-width pass into a new area, it was a struggle every time. The auger never showed signs of struggling with 2 FORGE 12Ah batteries.
I had to shovel the bottom of the driveway, where the street plows piled up ice and snow. The Milwaukee cordless snow blower did help me towards the bottom, which was surprising.
I had (5) FORGE 12Ah battery available. A total of (8) plus the (2) Super Chargers already on-hand would have made things easier on me.
Because I only had enough batteries for one full set, and I didn’t stagger them (I started with 4 instead of 2 sessions with 2 each), I then had to make do with other batteries until the Super Chargers worked their magic.
On one occasion I came back to flashing red and green lights – a fault of some kind. I moved the battery to a different charger and it worked fine.
Full-width passes in this snow were difficult and tiring. They’re also unavoidable.
Let’s say I was a snow-clearing pro and I had a restaurant as a client. I would have plowed the parking lot and used this on any walkways or sidewalks.
Although it has limitations, the M18 Fuel snow blower worked a lot better than having to shovel.
Not to mince words, this would have been a nightmare without FORGE 12Ah batteries. The kit gives you (2). You either need ample supply of M18 FORGE 12Ah batteries, or a mix of FORGE 12Ah batteries and a Super Charger or two.
It’s worth repeating that this is a limit of what you can squeeze out of this type of cordless power tool battery form factor.
I have tested other cordless battery-powered single stage snow blowers, and none of them would have been better here. The Milwaukee is the only one I never stalled.
Surprisingly, I never had to clear the ejection chute. But on the downside, I think it’s the nature of the machine to disperse finer snow into the air, back at me and all around, especially when doing very shallow passes.
2x FORGE 8Ah batteries delivered significantly less runtime than 4x FORGE 12Ah. That of course makes sense.
The top layer of snow was very heavy. Frankly speaking, I didn’t expect to go through so many batteries, and that’s because I expected the snow blower to be of minimal usefulness given the depth and characteristics of the snow. Maybe I should have charged up more of my FORGE 8Ah batteries.
If I tried to do too much at once, or moved too quickly, the snow blower just couldn’t handle the volume and the excess spilled out to the side.
Officially, the snow blower has a 21″ clearing width and 12″ clearing height.
In this snow, I couldn’t get the max clearing width and max clearing height at the same time.
I love that it’s smaller and lighter than a 2-stage battery-powered cordless snow blower, and it works with Milwaukee M18 batteries (FORGE 8Ah and 12Ah are strongly recommended).
The power and build quality are excellent, and considerably better than competing models I tested.
We have not had snow like this in a few years. I didn’t bother using the 2-stage at all last year, and might have only used it once the previous winter. That’s why I donated my 2-stage and was looking forward to only testing the Milwaukee M18 this season.
I remain firmly convinced that this is the best single stage battery-powered snow blower I have ever tested, and it might be the best on the market.
This snowfall demonstrated the limit of what the Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless snow blower can do.
While impressed, I am also confident that 2-stage battery-powered snow blowers of comparable value would have delivered better results with far less exertion. The way my body feels today, I deeply regret not holding onto the 2-stage snow blower for this winter season.
I find myself wondering if even pro users would be better off with a consumer or homeowner-brand of self-propelled 2-stage snow blower and a ramp for their truck.
Thank you to Milwaukee for providing the review sample.
See Also: Milwaukee M18 Cordless Snow Blower Review – Better than Expected
ebt
I’m glad you were ok in this storm! I sold my 2-stage Tecumseh-powered Simplicity 22″ that I had for 10+ years and no longer needed (sold NJ house and now rent till I find retirement home…I mean home to retire in!).
That Milwaukee, while useful, is not intended for that (even though its says 12″ deep, its a singlestage and needs perfect powder that is half that). Don’t get me wrong, that looks like it worked and struggled. But for followup to a larger blower, or for someone deck or to make a path for a pet, that would be it. Even like ease of lifting off a tailgate versus a large 2-stage.
I watched a furniture repair channel on youtubed that is in Ontario. He had a Greenworks? 2 stage that had multiple batteries. He was impressed and it was so quiet that he could talk and remove snow.
But sometimes you need a bigger tool when it comes to snowfall unpredictability.
Stuart
This is absolutely beyond what the Milwaukee was designed and is optimally suitable for. But, that’s also what made it a good test environment.
I had to shovel the deck. Even if this made it up the 2 steps, there was too much snow drift from the roof despite my attempts to clear some of it the night before.
I don’t trust Greenworks as a brand, mainly due to their marketing and interactions I’ve had with them.
If I were to purchase a battery-powered cordless 2-stage snow blower, my picks would be EGO or maybe Ryobi. EGO’s parent company operations seem to be falling apart in the USA, but I wasn’t happy with the quality of the machine Ryobi sent over unsolicited a few years ago. I believe there are new models now.
An industry friend recommended Toro, but I’m not at all familiar with their battery system.
There are very few options when it comes to battery-powered 2-stage snow blowers, and since the machines are used only a few times each year, you have to look at the broader OPE lines so as to spread the utility of pricey batteries.
ebt
Agree with EGO vs Greenworks (I gave up on how their tools would break and seemed junky).
Friend of friend uses the Toro 60V max and loves it. But that is a 26″ near $1900 w/batteries. Ryobi is that much but smaller width. I would go with the Ego 28″ model, as I have lots of EGO tools and several batteries. Just not the 12Ah ones! Those are HUGE!
Kompahko
Milwaukee has a lot of tools that can be used with any of their batteries but don’t really work well without high ouput or forge batteries.
We’ve had the 9in cut-off saw for a fews years and it will overheat 12.0 high output like there’s no tomorrow. It needs forge batteries.
The m18 snow blower kit is 2248 in canada but i’d rather pay 2498 for ryobi’s 24in 2 stage snow blower with 4x 6.0
Stuart
In the context of tool design and engineering, power and performance can be difficult to dial in.
Too low, and application speeds and capabilities suffer. Too high, and runtime suffers.
The High Output 12Ah batteries depleted most of their energy before tapping out.
I really think FORGE 12Ah are the way to go, and a Cool Cycle charger to get them recharged quickly. The cost could be shared with a fleet of other Milwaukee M18 cordless tools or outdoor power tools.
MM
Luckily I live in a warm area where I don’t need a snowblower. But that said, if I had to deal with snow like this (or even close to it) on a regular basis I don’t think I’d consider a cordless model at all.
This is not a cheap unit. Then on top of that you need large numbers of premium batteries, and perhaps also a high-end charger, to use it effectively. Even after all that expense, and waiting for battery charge time, you still had to work hard to finish a first pass and then had to wrestle with half-width passes afterward? I would not be a happy camper in that position.
This kit costs about $1500. M18 Forge 12ah’s are what, about $250 a pop? If someone bought the blower kit, 6x Forge 12’s and a Supercharger they’re about at the cost of a tracked 2-stage Honda.
Now if you were dealing with much lighter snow and you had another purpose that justifies the expense of all those batteries? Then it might make sense. But otherwise, it seems like typical consumer battery platforms (not just Milwaukee) are not yet powerful enough for this application.
Stuart
I don’t want to deal with gas. Battery-powered is the only option I’m willing to buy or use.
The kit came with 2 batteries, and I had others available. It comes with a dual port Rapid Charger, and I had Super Chargers available, plus a Packout 6-port charger I used to help prep batteries the night before.
M18 FORGE 12Ah batteries are versatile.
As mentioned, I think this is a very capable single stage cordless snow blower.
2-stage machines are better equipped for deeper snow, and also handle shallower snow (2-6″) with greater ease. But their batteries are huge, and tool applicability is limited. Blowers, trimmers, and other tools are so much more comfortable to use with M18-sized batteries.
MM
I was speaking generally; obviously every person’s situation is going to be different. If I understand correctly, you were given the blower for review and you already own a number of high end M18 batteries, so yeah, what’s not to love? Like I wrote near the end of my post, something like this makes a lot of sense if your snow removal needs are light and you have other uses for M18 packs.
But otherwise, for someone who just needs to remove snow and nothing else–no chainsaws running on the same batts–it sounds like this machine requires a big up-front investment to keep running effectively and even with that is only capable of dealing with modest snowfall. In fact, the up-front buy in is so high that it competes with premium gas models, which I am assuming would totally trounce it when it comes to performance. Sure, gas has its cons and I can see that people might want to avoid it, but the decision to avoid it becomes difficult when the price/performance is skewed that far and you are spending money out of your own pocket. You have to seriously irrationally hate gas in order to give up that kind of price/performance to avoid it.
10 years from now? I’m sure a single-stage unit like this, running on whatever battery tech will be the norm then, will be more than capable but right now I think the price/performance of these is disappointing.
Jared
I do live where there’s lots of snow – and I agree with your points. This is a hugely expensive machine for it’s capabilities.
I understand that someone might still need exactly this. Like Stuart was suggesting, perhaps you’re contracted for snow-removal in a noise-sensitive area and want something compact for the sidewalks. If it fits your use-case, it sounds like an excellent machine.
However, it sounds like this would be a bit of a stretch even for a homeowner who might just have a double-car driveway to clear. I don’t just mean the single-stage aspect of it, because corded single-stage blowers see that kind of use all the time around here (and yeah, they can be a chore to use). But if you need multiple 12ah batteries and are into this for $1500+? Yikes. You can get a decent little corded unit for ~$150 (actually that’s not quite fair – you’ll need a good-quality, long extension cable too, so add another $75).
Would that be “just as good”? No. But it’s like 90% less money for 80-90% of the performance. That doesn’t make Milwaukee’s unit bad, just niche.
Stuart
“What’s not to love?”
Plenty, which was why the review and this follow-up are so lengthy. I appreciate the design, and I think it’s better than other single stage battery-powered cordless snow blowers. But, as mentioned, I greatly miss having a 2-stage.
If you’re a pro, and the average snowfall is 2-4″, but every few years you get 8-12″ (or more), what’s the plan?
I strongly prefer battery-power. Less hassle, less fumes, less noise, less maintenance, less nuisance, easier storage.
It’s optimal to have batteries shared among different tools. For that reason I might change my mind regarding snow blowers, because I don’t really want to buy into any large format (e.g. 60V Max) battery-powered OPE platform.
The M18 Fuel’s performance is great *for what it is*, and I 100% agree that the price is high considering the alternative options.
I very seriously doubt that single stage machines will get appreciably better over the next 10 years.
Hon Cho
Just before this recent storm, I sold an Ego 21″ single stage snowblower because the batteries had died and the cost to replace the batteries was excessive. Cordless is nice, but it’s a big upfront cost to have sufficient batteries on-hand if you want to be able to finish blowing snow without on or more recharge cycles. Stuart mentions having plenty of Milwaukee batteries available, but he’s pretty clear that anything less than the big AH Forge batteries are less than optimal.
Cordless snowblowing is getting there, but still work to be done.
Josh R
The fine snow from this storm produced a lot of backspray on my Ego 2-stage blower, which hadn’t ever had backspray on previous storms. I’ve never seen snow shoot out the back of the deflector the way it did.
jamanjeval
Needing to push the batteries that hard will likely result in the packs developing unbalanced cells. This has been my experience with several of their M12 and M18 packs that have been pushed into thermal shutdown indicated by the alternating blinking charge bars. You’ll see that they start to end their charge cycle with 3 out of 4 bars.
The YouTube channel “Tool Scientist” has shown that while Milwaukee has included the hardware for balancing the packs, they have not enabled it.
fred
The size of my driveway and property really dictates a plow plus an engine-driven snowblower based on today’s technology. But for my age and infrequent use – gas-engine OPE is a recipe for frustration and/or failure. For giggles, I put fresh hi-test gasoline, and a new spark plug in my 13-year-old Ariens on Saturday and tried to get it started. Nothing doing – with either to electric or pull starter – using recommended choke and throttle settings (or any other fiddling around). Same issue I had last year ahead of a snowstorm – but then when it was springtime – it started right up to allow me to run the gas out of it. Anyway – my landscapers showed up – plowed my driveway with their truck – then the crew of 6 worked to blow and shovel most of my front walks etc. Mercifully – we have no sidewalks or need for public access to properties in my village – so snow clearing is more a matter of personal preference and need – rather than any liability issue. I’m sure I could have had the local landscaper supply guys tune the machine up ahead for the storm – but with battery-powered OPE – you don’t need to worry about a finicky carburetor – trading that for the exorbitant cost of high-capacity batteries.
MM
I have found that canned pre-mixed fuel–which is shelf stable and does not contain any Ethanol–has completely banished engine hassles. I first learned about it about 10 years ago. I had seen it in the stores but never bought it because it was expensive and I didn’t understand the point. I finally ended up buying a can when I bought a new chain saw: Stihl had a deal where they would double your warranty period if you bought a can of said fuel with the equipment. I am very glad I tried it, because that stuff is amazing. I typically use that hedge trimmer exactly twice a year and even after sitting for months over the winter it always starts on the first or second pull. I have a bunch of other gas OPE: Two chainsaws, pole pruner, two brushcutters, and and edger. If I have a lot of work to do I’ll use normal mix gas but I make sure to leave premix in the tank when I put the tools away. Since doing that I’ve had zero “engine hassles”. No hard starting, no fooling with spark plugs or carbs. Nothing. The best example is an old Echo edger I’ve had for close to 20 years. Originally I had to rebuild the carb every 2-3 years, and replace the primer bulb every so often as well. I haven’t had to fool with anything on it since switching to premix 10 years ago.
Premix fuel is the magic potion. It is costly to run it all the time, but it’s only necessary when you put the tools away for storage. One can a year is plenty for my needs.
DougP
Could you tell us the size of your driveway for reference? Length and single car or double?
Stuart
I’ll have to measure it. Roughly speaking, it’s single car width at the bottom and middle (maybe 2, 2-1/2 lengths) and then can fit maybe 6 cars at the top.
Big Richard
Related, the not as good but decent DeWalt DCSNP2142 kit is on clearance at Tractor Supply Co for $549.99, originally $1119.99. Listing title says “batteries and charger not included”, but it does appear to be the 2x12Ah kit (I’ll verify mine later tonight after pickup). So check you local TSC.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/dewalt-60v-max*-brushless-21-in-single-stage-snow-blower-2245132
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dewalt/comments/1qoqzo5/ntd/
Stuart
I wasn’t a fan of how the Dewalt’s 12Ah batteries tapped out before they were fully drained. They were very hot and it took a long time before I could recharge them. That was in around 5″ of snow.
https://toolguyd.com/dewalt-cordless-snow-blower-review/
Patrick T
While I’ve been jealous of the guys with the big gas snowblowers this past weekend (got over a foot in my NE Ohio city), I really don’t need one that big. Or have the space to store one either.
After hurting my back about 8 years ago, I broke down and got a corded snow Joe at the end of the season. One of their 18” models. The cord is definitely a hassle. But, it has been great.
I have a long (by city standards) driveway sandwiched between houses. So, I have to throw the snow forward, until I clear the houses. In my situation, I try to get after it before we get much more than 6”. I was still able to tackle some drifts in the road that were over a foot. It struggled for sure. But, never quit.
As good as it has been, I sure would like the convenience of cordless. Have started looking at options.