Yard Machines 31C-040-800 Snow Fox 12.5-Inch 8.5 Amp Electric Snow Thrower
by Yard Machines
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List Price: Our Price: $119.00 You Save: $60.99 (34%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Yard Machines 31C-040-800 Snow Fox 12.5-Inch 8.5 Amp Electric Snow Thrower
Customer Review: Great electric snowthrower
Summary: 4 Stars
I just used it for two days of snow, and it's worked great. There are a few things I wish were better, but overall, it's a great snow thrower if you don't want to toss out hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
Pros:
+ Very light. You can carry it with one hand.
+ Fairly quiet compared to gasoline powered blowers
+ The wheels in the back are a big help compared to similar electric models that are more of an electric shovel.
+ Throws the snow pretty far if set for a straight throw.
+ Has handled up to a couple inches of snow just fine so far
+ Snow guides are easy to adjust
+ Cleans down to the cement fairly well
Cons:
- I wish it could cut a wider swath
- If set to through the snow left or right, it doesn't through the snow very far
- Get a long cord if you want to do your sidewalks, so factor that into the cost as well
- If you have cracks in your cement, the thrower might catch on them, so be careful, mine catches on them.
- Sending the snow forward seems to cover where I've been, so I've gone to the side throw heading towards the side edges of the driveway.
Overall, it's worked well.
Customer Review: Ya gota be nuts NOT to have one of these
Summary: 5 Stars
My kids bought this thing for me last year. I never even opened it - just stuck it in the shed. This year they were forecasting 10 inches os snow. I knew the kids would ask 'How did it work?", so I brought the box in, opened it up and took out this 20 pound piece of plastic. I thought "This won't last long". The crappy piece of plastic threw snow and cleared my two car wide long driveway in no time. I'm closer to 70 than 60 and I cleared my driveway quicker than my three neighbors. Well we had another lighter snow and I was looking forward to pulling out the 'Snow Fox". What a delight to just run it across the driveway. Well yesterday, we had 10 inches of snow, a few hours of sleet, then 10 more inches. I knew this was just too much for the little machine. So I started the old fashion way. 10 minutes later, I thought I'd give the miracle machine a try. It worked! Oh I had to go slower and I couldn't take a full cut. A half cut moves an awful lot of snow! I love this little piece of crappy plastic. Oh there is a down side. I don't get to freshen the gasoline, change oil or clean the carburetor - One simply hangs the little bugger in the shed - takes less room than a leaf rake.Customer Review: Tough little snowblower -- compact and easy to handle
Summary: 5 Stars
Bought it from Amazon just after returning the Toro 1800 18-Inch electric snowthrower, which burned out after clearing the driveway from one 4" snowfall. The Toro was a hassle to assemble; instructions obscure, and the nuts and bolts did not fit well in the assigned slots. Had to be force-fit.
But the Yard Machine Snow Fox is better designed (ergonomics), easy to handle and lift, and seems durable. It got a real workout in our DC-area "Snowmageddon". It's no John Deere Tractor, but it handles multiple passes, chews thru snow drifts pretty good, and handles wet, heavy snow, as well as the dry, powdery stuff.
It's only a 12.5" wide cut, so it will take longer to clear big areas. I didn't save much TIME using it; I also used shovels a bit, but with the Snow Fox, I'm using more muscles than I would with a shovel, which puts most of the strain on the lower back. I'm still tired and achy, but it's better distributed...so I'm more willing to turn on the Snow Fox than I would be to pick up a shovel.
Been using it heavy-duty for 7 days straight. So far, still ticking. Seems well built. Easy to assemble, clear instructions, and everything fits precisely.
Customer Review: Snowfox
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased a YardMachine SnowFox and just received it the other day. It is wonderfully light weight and will be perfect for the light snowshoveling that I need on my deck and sidewalks. The reason I chose this product over the competition was because it has an 8.5Amp engine vs. a 6.6amp engine. More power for the money! The handle is also easier to grip and manuver. It also has a bigger 13" clearing width and a larger 6" clearing height. The competition's only has a 12" width and 4" height. Most of our Minnesota snowfalls are over 4" in height! The other thing I noticed right away was that you can adjust quickly what direction you want the snow to discharge in. The competitions model only discharges one way. And the liturature says the Snow Fox will throw up to 25 feet when the competitor's model only throws 15 feet. It also has rear wheels which will help me manuver it easier rather than manually shoveling. The reason I wanted an item like this in the first place was to avoid all of that pushing. This looks very easy to use. I just think this is going to make my snow work much easier! Thank you Amazon for your prompt shipment!Customer Review: There are some problems with this machine
Summary: 2 Stars
My snow blower also arrived in a box that was very banged up, but the machine itself was not damaged. I went to the store to get an extention cord, and was very dissapointed when I realized that the cord outlet receptacle was too small, and the extention cord plug did not fit. I read in another review that this was a problem for someone else, so I went back to Lowe's and Home Depot several times to find a plug that would fit, but to no avail. I called the company, and person who took me call told me that I probably do not how know to plug a cord because the cord outlet receptacle "is plenty big" to fit any extention cord. So basically he was telling me that I was having a problem because there was something wrong with me, not the machine. Finally, a friend came over and confirmed that the receptacle is too small. He shaved down the plastic around the plug (with a small knife) and the plug finally went into the receptacle. In addition to the receptalce problem, the cord retainer was put on backwards on my machine, I hope this will not be a problem as well. I havn't had a chance to test the machine on snow yet. I really hope it will work.