Why should you consider owning and using the Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E? One reason might be its 20W halogen headlight. Another reason might be its affordable price. Read my Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E review to learn more about this corded single stage electric snow thrower.
How much assembly is required for the Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E?
Very little assembly is needed. Remove the snow thrower and all the extra pieces from the box.
Start by pulling the folded frame handle upwards and into position. Secure the lower and middle frame by adding the T-bolts.
Next, you may loosen the knob of the chute deflector and push it upright. You can adjust the chute deflection angle anytime you want by loosening the knob, changing the deflection angle and tightening the knob again.
The chute crank is the last item you have to assemble. Simply push the pieces into their places and keep it together with the provided screws.
How does it throw the snow?
The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E is an electric snow thrower. Its electric motor requires neither gasoline fuel nor oil. It only needs electricity from an outlet.
The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E is a single stage snow thrower. Therefore, it does not have an extra impeller to blow the snow. It only has the 4-blade metal auger which does all the work. The auger blades cut, spin and throw the snow out through the discharge chute. The maximum throwing distance is about 25 feet. The discharge chute can be rotated 180-degrees from behind the handlebars with the chute crank. It might be able to throw up to 720 pounds of fluffy snow per minute.
The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E does not have self-propelled wheels. The electric motor only spins the auger blades. You have to push it around on its two back wheels and skids. However, the action of the auger does help in some small way to pull the machine forward into the snow. Nevertheless, it is easy to push through fresh dry snow on a hard surface.
How many inches of snow can it throw?
The product specifications say that it cuts a path through the snow that is 18 inches wide and 10 inches high. The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E is recommended for light, fluffy snow up to 10 inches deep. Therefore, be careful when the snow is wet and heavy. You should rather do two slow passes if the snow is wet and deeper than 10 inches. After all, the SJ623E is only a single stage electric snow thrower.
You should probably use a gasoline powered two stage snow blower, such as the Ariens Deluxe 28, for clearing heavy snowfalls and large driveways.
What size extension cord should you use?
Snow Joe recommends a minimum wire gauge for a 25 to 50-foot cable of 14. You need to use a wire gauge of 12 for a 100-foot outdoor extension cable. Any farther than 100 feet and you would need a 10 gauge extension cord. The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E does not ship with an extension cord, so you will have to buy it yourself. Buy an outdoor extension cord that has either UL, CSA or ETL certification.
The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E has a 2-pin polarized male plug. You connect the female plug of the outdoor extension cord into the male plug end. Remember to loop the cord through the cable restraint holder to prevent it from being pulled out of the male plug. The extension cord goes into an outdoor electrical outlet with at least a 15-amp breaker switch. Nevertheless, a 20-amp circuit breaker is probably better and will prevent any switches being tripped due to an overloaded circuit.
If you prefer a battery powered snow thrower without an extension cord, then you may read my review of the Snow Joe iON18SB cordless snow thrower.
How big is the electric motor?
It has a 15-amp electric motor. It runs on 120-volt current, so it has a 1800-watt motor. Keep this in mind when buying an outdoor extension cable for the snow thrower.
Is the Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E easy to push around?
Yes, it is much lighter than a gasoline powered snow blower. It weighs about 33 pounds, so most people will be able to pick it up when necessary. It also has two wheels, so you can push it around. The scraper bar at the bottom of the auger housing will scrape away snow down to the pavement. The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E is recommended for paved surfaces. Therefore, do not use it to clear a gravel driveway.
Can it be used on a wooden deck?
Yes, it can clear snow from a wood deck. It has a metal auger with rubber tipped blades. There is also a scraper bar on the bottom of the auger housing. It helps to scrape the snow clear from the deck without the auger blades touching the wooden surface of the deck.
Does the Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E have a light?
Yes, it has a 20-watt halogen headlight on the front of the auger housing to provide light when clearing snow in twilight or at night. The headlight can be turned on or off with a small switch that is hidden underneath a plastic cap at the back of the machine.
Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E: Verdict
The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E is easy to move around because it does not weigh much. It does not need a lot of storage space, and you can even fold down the handlebars. The halogen headlight is a useful feature when cleaning snow in dark conditions.
This corded electric snow thrower is definitely not as powerful as a gas powered snow blower because it only has a single stage system. It works well for throwing dry, fluffy snow. In contrast, wet and icy snow might clog up the snow discharge chute. You can use the included chute cleaning tool to remove wet snow from the chute and auger blades.
The length of the extension cord also limits the total area that it can reach. It is only practical for clearing smaller areas near the house.
The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E is powerful enough to cut into dry snow that is less than 10 feet deep. It has an electric motor that gets its power from an extension cord and outlet, so be mindful of where the extension cord is lying. Do not run over it with the snow thrower. Of course, you do not need to worry about adding oil or gasoline.
There are two snow thrower models which are the same except for the halogen headlight. The Snow Joe Ultra SJ623E has the headlight, while the SJ622E does not have the light. Nevertheless, the price difference between these two models are very small. You might as well get the SJ623E snow thrower with the headlight (buy on Amazon).