Snow Joe SJ620 Review

(Rated: 4.7 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Result Quality
Check Price
Related pages: Best Electric Snow Blower, Best Snow Blower, Electric Snow Blower Reviews, Snow Blower Reviews, Snow Joe, Snow Joe Snow Blowers,

In the middle of a long winter, one of the things I think I can safely say that none of us looks forward to is clearing a heavy snow fall from our driveways or sidewalks, let alone digging out a car that is parked on the street and surrounded by deep snow. Getting this done by hand seems to take forever, and it is a task that can leave us exhausted, with sore backs and aching shoulders. And using a gas powered snow blower is a hassle all of its own: you have to make sure you have enough gas on hand, and then you have to deal with a noisy machine that is belching out emissions and filling your clothes with fumes and the atmosphere with pollution. Fortunately, you can have all of the benefits of a snow blower without the drawbacks when you opt for an electric snow blower like the Snow Joe SJ620.

Review Summary

The Snow Joe SJ620 is a plug in electric snow blower with overall dimensions of 45 x 19 x 38 inches, which means it will not be very difficult to find storage space for it in your garage or tool shed. It has an 18 inch wide clearance that allows you to finish medium jobs, such as two or three car driveways, sidewalks, and walkways quickly and efficiently. It has a snow cut depth that is ten inches high, which means you can use it on all but the worst winter blizzards without experiencing any loss of performance.

Unlike gas powered snow blowers, which make quite a racket and spew emissions and fumes as you use them, the Snow Joe SJ620 is quiet and environmentally friendly. It has a 180 degree chute control so you can decide which direction snow should be thrown. And it has five durable steel blades that can throw snow 20 feet and deal with tough conditions.

In addition to these excellent features, which I will discuss in more detail in the Pros section, there are a few minor performance issues the Snow Joe SJ620 deals with, which I will cover in detail in the Cons section. I’ll also provide a detailed product comparison guide, and discuss pricing in depth.

Specifications

The Snow Joe SJ620 is an electric snow blower with dimensions of 45 x 19 x 38 inches. It has a push button start and a 13.5 amp motor. Its clearing width is 18 inches and it has a snow cut depth of 10 inches. The Snow Joe SJ620 can clear up to 650 pounds of snow per minute and throw it up to 20 feet.

The Snow Joe SJ620 is a manually operated snow blower with no drive system. It has an ergonomic handle and compact wheels. Its chute is controlled with a handle and can turn 180 degrees. The snow blower weighs 31.5 pounds. It is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty for 2 years.

Description

The Snow Joe SJ620 is an electric snow blower that is designed to handle big, tough jobs without needing fossil fuels to do it. Unlike bulky, noisy gas powered snow blowers, the Snow Joe SJ620 is very quiet, which your neighbors will appreciate if you have to clear a heavy snow fall early in the morning before you can go to work. And, it produces zero emissions at the point of use, which means you will be able to get all the benefits of a big, powerful snow blower without having to worry about increasing your household’s overall carbon footprint.

The Snow Joe SJ620 has a 10 inch snow cut depth, which will allow you to handle all but the worst winter storms with the biggest snow fall. And it has an eighteen inch wide clearance, which will allow you to get your driveway clear in fewer passes and less time. This will allow you to get back indoors and out of the cold more quickly, which is important when temperatures drop below zero. The Snow Joe SJ620 has a capacity of up to 650 pounds per minute, which along with its clearance width will allow you to finish jobs more efficiently than ever.

There are a few issues associated with the Snow Joe SJ620: it is a bit on the heavier side, which may make it more difficult for some users to operate. It may not be as powerful as you might expect a snow blower to be, and it tends to have a bit of difficulty clearing wet, heavy snow. It also may leave a thin layer of snow behind, which will require you to put down rock salt to melt it. But overall, I do not think any of these issues are significant enough to take away from the fact that overall the Snow Joe SJ620 is a solid, reliable machine.

Pros

There are a number of features that taken together make the an excellent electric snow blower to keep medium sized areas clear of even the heavier snow fall some regions of the United States experience. It has an 18 inch wide clearance that allows you to finish jobs efficiently. It has a 10 inch high snow cut depth that allows you to take care of bigger jobs. It is quiet and environmentally friendly, and it has durable parts.

1. 18 inch clearing width for more efficiency : The clearing width on the Snow Joe SJ620 is 18 inches wide, which is significant. A wider clearance like this one will allow you to finish clearing snow from your driveway in fewer passes and less time, which is important, especially when temperatures dip below zero and frostbite is an issue. With an 18 inch clearance width, you can clear the average two car suburban driveway in under a half an hour and be back indoors before you know it.
2. 10 inch high snow cut depth for big jobs : The 10 inch clearance on the Snow Joe SJ620 is important, as well. In most regions of the United States, this clearance height should be more than enough to take care of the kind of snow fall most storms will drop, and it should be able to handle all but the most severe blizzards. This means you will not have to worry about getting out there and clearing snow while it is still accumulating.
3. Quiet and environmentally friendly : The Snow Joe SJ620 is a very quiet machine, especially when compared to gas powered snow blowers, which are particularly noisy. This will be important if you have to clear snow from your driveway early in the morning to get your car out of the driveway and you have neighbors that are still sleeping. And unlike a gas powered snow blower, this one produces zero emissions at the point of use, so you can reduce your carbon footprint while enjoying quality performance.
4. 180 degree chute control : The snow throwing chute on the Snow Joe SJ620 is easily adjusted using a handle to throw snow in any direction, 180 degrees, from one side to the other. This will conveniently allow you to make back and forth passes on your driveway without worrying about plastering the garage or house with snow. You can decide exactly where cleared snow winds up, which will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.
5. 5 durable steel blades that throw snow 20 feet : The auger on the Snow Joe SJ620 is equipped with five durable steel blades that will be able to hold up to lots of wear and tear over the years. You can use them on asphalt driveways or concrete sidewalks without damaging them. And they have the kind of power necessary to throw snow up to twenty feet away, which is far enough to clear even some of the widest driveways from the center to one side.

Overall, these Pros add up to make one very impressive electric snow blower. It comes with the kind of clearance width and snow cut depth that will allow you to handle big, deep jobs quickly and efficiently. You can use it any time of day or night without disturbing your neighbors, and it allows you to direct snow where you want it and throw snow up to 20 feet away. Any one of these features would be great on its own, and taken together they are excellent.

Cons

On the other hand, there are a few areas in which the Snow Joe SJ620 does not perform quite as well as one would hope. Unlike gas powered snow blowers, it may struggle to throw wet, slushy snow the full twenty feet, and it is not quite as powerful as I would like. Its power cord can get in the way. And the snow blower tends to leave a thin layer of snow behind. It’s also a bit on the heavier side.

1. May be difficult to maneuver through wet snow : When you are using the Snow Joe SJ620 in wet, heavier snow, you may encounter some difficulties. First, it may be a bit more difficult to maneuver the big machine through wet snow. And second, the blades on the auger may have difficulty throwing wet, slushy snow the full 20 feet. That is not to say that the Snow Joe SJ620 cannot handle wet, slushy snow: it just may be a bit slower going when you do encounter it.
2. It is not as powerful as one might like : In spite of the fact that it has a 13.5 amp motor and five durable steel blades, you may find that the Snow Joe SJ620 is less powerful than you might like. It is no secret that electric snow blowers are less powerful than gas powered ones, which is the main reason gas powered snow blowers remain so popular. But on small to medium jobs without very deep snow, the Snow Joe SJ620 should have enough power to get the job done.
3. It relies on a power cord, which could be problematic : There are advantages and drawbacks to using a plug in electric snow blower. On the one hand, unlike a battery powered snow blower, you never have to worry about running out of power: a plug in snow blower can run almost indefinitely. On the other hand, you are limited by the range of the cord, and there is always the danger that you might run over it if it is hidden under the snow.
4. May leave a thin layer of snow behind : Unless you make a concerted effort to scrape the front of the Snow Joe SJ620 along the ground as you use it, you may find that it leaves a thin layer of snow behind. Some users may not mind this; and it is easily mediated by putting down rock salt after you have finished clearing the driveway. At the same time, if you have a large area this can be a hassle, so I think it is worth mentioning.
5. Is a bit on the heavier side : The Snow Joe SJ620 weighs 31.5 pounds, which makes it one of the heavier electric snow blowers in its size class. While 31.5 pounds is not an overwhelmingly high amount of weight, especially on a machine that has wheels, some users – particularly the elderly or those who do not have the necessary strength level – may find it difficult to use. If that sounds like it may be the case for you, you might want to look for a lighter machine.

I should stress that while these Cons are important to discuss, so that you have a clear picture of what you are getting into with the Snow Joe SJ620, at the same time they are not so serious that I would recommend against purchasing this machine. While it is not as powerful as you might like, and it is a bit heavy, it still has a number of attractive advantages that make it one of the better electric snow blowers on the market today.

Product Comparison

It is always a very good practice to do some comparison shopping when you are looking to buy a new home or garden appliance, especially when it is a big purchase as with an electric snow blower like the Snow Joe SJ620. This way, you can get a clear picture not only of what is out there but also a better understanding of how a given product stacks up when compared to its competition. The following table compares the Snow Joe SJ620 to the Maztang MT988 and the MTD 31A-050-706.

	Snow Joe SJ620	Maztang MT988	MTD 31A-050-706
Dimensions	45 x 19 x 38 inches	41 x 19 x 39 inches	41 x 16.5 x 34 inches
Start	Button push	Button push	Button push
Motor	13.5 amp	13.5 amp	11 amp
Clearing Width	18 inches	18 inches	14 inches
Snow Cut Depth	10 inches	10 inches	9-1/2 inches
Capacity / Minute	Up to 650 pounds	Up to 700 pounds	Up to 400 pounds
Throw Distance	Up to 20 feet	Up to 30 feet	Up to 20 feet
Drive	Manual push	Manual push	Manual push
Handle	Ergonomic	Ergonomic	Ergonomic
Chute Control	Handle 180°	Handle 180°	Manual 180°
Wheels	Compact wheels	Compact wheels	Compact wheels
Light	n/a	n/a	n/a
Weight	31.5 pounds	26 pounds	29 pounds
Warranty	2 years	2 years	2 years

The Snow Joe SJ620 has the largest overall dimensions of the three machines, but along with the Maztang it also has the most powerful motor, the widest clearance and the highest snow cut depth. The Snow Joe SJ620 can move the highest capacity of pounds per minute, although the Maztang can throw it the farthest distance. The Snow Joe SJ620 is heavier than either of the other two machines. In the other product spec categories, the three snow blowers are more or less the same.

Conclusion

When you are shopping for a new snow blower, there are a number of important product specs to keep in mind. You want a large clearing width for the most efficient job possible. You also want a high enough snow cut depth so that you can handle whatever Mother Nature throws at you. Beyond that, you want a machine that is powerful and made of durable parts so it can provide quality performance over the long term. Let’s look at the Pros and Cons of the Snow Joe SJ620 before we wrap up.

Conclusion Pros

1. 18 inch clearing width for more efficiency.
2. 10 inch high snow cut depth for big jobs.
3. Quiet and environmentally friendly.
4. 180 degree chute control.
5. 5 durable steel blades that throw snow 20 feet.

The Snow Joe SJ620 has an 18 inch clearance width, which will allow you to finish clearing big areas in fewer passes and less time. And it has the kind of high snow cut depth that will allow you to take care of heavy snow fall with less effort. Beyond that, it is quiet and environmentally friendly, and has durable, high quality parts that will last for years.

Conclusion Cons

1. May be difficult to maneuver through wet snow.
2. It is not as powerful as one might like.
3. It relies on a power cord, which could be problematic.
4. May leave a thin layer of snow behind.
5. Is a bit on the heavier side.

The Snow Joe SJ620 does not have quite as much power as I would like to see on a snow blower, even an electric one, in spite of its 13.5 amp motor. It also may have difficulties with wet snow, and may tend to leave a layer of snow behind when you use it. It is a bit heavier than some users may prefer, and the power cord can be difficult to get used to. All things considered though, I think the Pros outweigh the Cons on this snow blower.

Final Word

When you live in a region that gets a fair amount of snow fall over the course of the winter, and you have an average amount of space to keep clear – counting your driveway and sidewalks – you will want a snow blower that can get the job done quickly and efficiently with as little fuss as possible. A plug in electric snow blower like the Snow Joe SJ620 offers the kind of snow clearance width and snow cut depth that can deal with even the heaviest of snow falls quickly and efficiently. And unlike a gas powered snow blower, it is quiet, environmentally friendly, and easy to use: it barely needs any maintenance to keep it running well, and it will start up every time and always be ready to use. The Snow Joe SJ620 has all of the advantages of a gas powered snow blower with none of the drawbacks. It’s well made and convenient, and will provide reliable performance over the long term.

Best Price

The Snow Joe SJ620 has a price tag that places it in the middle of the price range for comparably sized electric snow blowers. These machines can get to be very pricey, but there is not reason that you should have to spend a fortune to own one. You can find snow blowers like the Snow Joe SJ620 that have the kind of clearance widths and snow cut depths that you want on your snow blower without having to spend hundreds of dollars to get it. Overall, the Snow Joe SJ620 offers exactly what you need in an electric snow blower at a fair price.