The advantage of electric is maintenance and starting. Your wife could use this (you cad!). No storage of gas that goes bad, no tune-ups or oil changes. No pull start. That being said, I think there is a limit of how much you can realistically do with this. My ex brother-in-law had the gas version of this which used flexible rubber blades that actually got down to the sidewalk. It worked pretty well I thought and was less complicated than the two-stage blowers.
I bought this at Home Depot about two months ago for $321, and thought it was a little expensive but still worth it.
We’ve had consistent snowfall here in Minneapolis and this thing has saved my butt. No problems with anything I’ve shoved down it’s throat, just avoid the ice dam from the plow.
I have a 75’ drive, a patio, two walkways, and I also do my elderly neighbor’s drive. Before, when I had a two-stage gas, it took 15 minutes just to warm up the machine, stink up the neighborhood, handle fuel and oil, find my hearing protection…what a mess. That thing eventually blew a gasket and bled oil all over my garage, and left a rusty footprint I may never be able to get rid of. This is so much better. Killer deal at $134.
And cord management, if you just plan ahead and know how to coil, is not an issue. Let it run down the path you just plowed, and work next to where it lays on the next path. I mean, this is like a vacuum cleaner, really, and nobody complains about them being electric.
Being from “the north” I would never buy an electric snow blower.
I purchased a Toro machine that looked similar to this about 5 years ago. In all fairness it could have been a different model or they could have improved it since then. But the one I had was a piece of crap. The first time I used it, it worked fine. The second time I used it, I hit a chunk of ice in the pile of snow the plows leave by the curb. That was enough to dislodge a belt or grind a gear or something, because the blades would no longer turn after that. Back to Home Depot it went for a refund. I no longer have the documents for the machine as it was returned, so maybe I had a different model, or maybe Toro got their act together to make a machine that can be used more than a few times. Just sayin’.
How many HDMI ports does it have? Oh wait, this isn’t a refurbished TV.
I have one and love it. It is great for clearing 2" - 6". Starts working hard when it is wet and heavy snow but never failed me yet. Will not replace a gas model. I would not try to dig out my cabin with this. I use it for my driveway which is about 3,000 sf and I can clear it in about 5 - 10 min. I use a 100’ extension cord and once you get a system of how not to run over the cord it is great. I sucked the cord up once and had to cut it out. Way easier than a gas model if you have an outlet or 2 nearby. Super light so it hangs on the wall. I have a 60" plow on my 4 wheeler and this is faster for small areas.
Just remember this thing has a 15 amp motor, so your standard orange extension cord WILL NOT WORK. You will either burn up the cord or destroy the motor in your snowblower.
Considering also that it will be freezing, you need a cord that is still flexible in cold temperatures. I suggest http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cable-Low-Temp-Outdoor-Extension/dp/B00004SQFA/ref=pd_sim_hi_8
Keep in mind if you need a 100 foot cord, you’re going to need a 12 gauge cord, as at 100 feet the 14 gauge cord only provides 13 amps and will create a fire hazard.
http://www.amazon.com/US-Wire-99100-100-Foot-Extension/dp/B001KY03FC/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1360934159&sr=1-6&keywords=12+gauge+extension+cord This one should work well.
Living in “the north” I own an electric snow blower and have no issues.
My reasoning was that maintenance and initial up front cost of gas was higher, in my experience living in Michigan the one time our power DID go out with a storm I didn’t have to go into work anyway because there was 2 - 3 feet of snow on the roads.
And as others have said, if there is a lot of snow, this can handle it. If it’s higher than the body of the blower, you can run this on top of the snow and do it in layers - something you cannot do with a gas powered blower.
The additional bonus of this little blower is that its quiet - you can run it at 3am if you need to and not wake up your neighbors.
I should also add that the people complaining about it not getting down to the concrete are using it incorrectly. The picture of the guy using it on his driveway is wrong. If the back wheels are on the ground, the blade is not being used. The key is to lift the back of the blower up about 1-2" so that the blade is sliding along the ground, not the wheels. This ensures you are cutting down into the snow so you pick up everything.
I live where you live. I can’t speak directly to your question, because I own neither. But what I can talk about is electric weed trimmer vs. gas. I thought buying anything electric over gas was a major advantage because of how much $ the small engine repair guys want to fix something these days. So I drag almost 200 feet of cord out every time I need to trim and remind myself that I’m saving lots o’ dough on gas trimmer repairs. I’m over it. Dragging a cord everywhere sucks. Hope I didn’t waste your time, but wanted to fast-forward you to a perspective that you might share in a few years of dragging extension cords around in the snow.
Filters. We have so little fun around here that we get it where we can. 
“That’s no knife, THIS is a knife” - Crocodile Dundee
“That’s no snow blower, THIS is a snow blower!”
This seems to be the biggest complaint with electric snowblowers, but it all depends on where your plugs are. Mine are in my garage - so I can pull the cord out behind me as I go down the driveway, keep it in the path I just cleared and go beside it, back and forth. The cord never gets in the way. If you have to cross the cord to complete your driveway, then perhaps an electric is not for you. And given the amperage of this motor, a 200’ cord would be absolutely impossible to manage.
This device requires at most a 100’ distance between your plug and the end of your plowing run. Longer than that and you won’t be able to get the thing to run.
Get the gas one. Get at least a 8hp and 24" auger. Electric ones are a pain in the butt. Dealing with extention cords all the time… why go through all the trouble?
Growing up in Buffalo, I can say that I know snow. But, I no longer live where it snows 6 feet overnight. I still get snow, not as much but I have a 150 foot long driveway! I bought one of these a few years ago from home depot because I have given up on gas-powdered outdoor equipment. (that is another story) I was pleasantly surprised at how well this works in light or heavy snows. Like any snow-blower the method of removing snow is a learned skill and many times failure with equipment is because the method is wrong. For a deep snow you can only “slice off” only half the size of your equipment blade. Use of a spray to help the snow slide off also is a common tip. I highly recommend this equipment. It has served me well with no problems, except my neighbors who were complaining when the wind picked up the snow I was blowing and put it in their driveway… haha
Just read the posts about cord problems, Not true!!! any idiot can buy long enough cords and shift them away from whatever side you are working on. Would you rather be positioning a cord or standing in a cold shed tuning-up a gas motor that didn’t work…
I have one. It works really well on light snow. I’ve only used it a few times with snow drifting about a foot high. It handled that fine. I don’t think it would dig right into a 4 foot snow plow pile. You could easily, however, break the snow out with a shovel then throw it with this.
The ONLY problem I had was the extension cord. It got stiff in the cold weather. That, however, is a small price for the convenience.
The device is very light. One hand carry. It was easy to use it as an electric shovel to get porch steps. You can hang it on the garage wall to get it out of the way.
As for electric, anything I only use occasionally is electric. No messing about with fuel preservative etc.
This is a lightweight machine. Don’t buy it if you live in Syracuse. Here in the midwest (near St. Louis), it’s just perfect.
I’ll bet if Woot changed their shipping policy, Hawaii would be snapping these things right up. . .
You might be able to just replace your plug - a 3 prong plug should fit snugly and not fall out. Replace your receptacle ($5) and this problem should be solved 
Hmm…
I live in Florida, what else can it ####?
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