Electric Power Sweeper / Snow Brush?

[Off-Street Parking]

Does anyone know if any company makes an ELECTRIC power sweeper or power snow brush?

For reference, this is the sort of thing I'm looking for:

... but electric instead of gas engined.

Where I live, we get quite a lot of the wet slushy snowfall each year... The kind where a snowblower is both overkill and at the same time not completely effective at clearing it, particularly for our irregular limestone/flagstone walkways. I generally hit the driveway and flatter areas with the snow thrower and/or shovel first, then push broom what is left over... But a power brush would actually be ideal for all of it. Summertime use is secondary, but it might have some value.

I'm open to building something if I can't find one, but thought I would see if anyone knew of any electric options before I went that far.

 

[bochnak]

My city uses a brush sweep for all the walks, most of which is brick. The brush is hydraulically driven.

Will the brush work well with wet heavy snow?

And why electric over gas?

 

[Off-Street Parking]

My city uses a brush sweep for all the walks, most of which is brick. The brush is hydraulically driven.

Will the brush work well with wet heavy snow?

And why electric over gas?

I've seen them a lot for public spaces as well. A lot of the schools in particular have them mounted on their lawn mowers for clearing off playgrounds and sidewalks.

For my case, I'm not really worried about the heavy wet snow. If it's too heavy or too deep, a quick pass with the snow thrower would knock it down, and then an easy pass with the brush would clean up what's left. I think most of the time a single pass with a power brush would do it, but I will always have the snow thrower for when I need it.

Electric over gas is a personal preference... For me it has a lot of benefits, and I've been happy with everything else I've switched on. So if I'm adding another new piece of equipment, electric will be my first choice.

 

[bochnak]

I've seen them a lot for public spaces as well. A lot of the schools in particular have them mounted on their lawn mowers for clearing off playgrounds and sidewalks.

For my case, I'm not really worried about the heavy wet snow. If it's too heavy or too deep, a quick pass with the snow thrower would knock it down, and then an easy pass with the brush would clean up what's left. I think most of the time a single pass with a power brush would do it, but I will always have the snow thrower for when I need it.

Electric over gas is a personal preference... For me it has a lot of benefits, and I've been happy with everything else I've switched on. So if I'm adding another new piece of equipment, electric will be my first choice.

How much HP do you need? I imagine this device will need a good amount of HP depending on how big it needs to be.

 

[finn]

I'm interested in the same thing. we typically get 2"-6" of light lake effect snow 4 or 5 days per week form December through early March. I really don't want the gas snow blower to be stored on the deck and my wife wants nothing to do with starting any gas devices (well, except her lawn mower).

A 110v or even a battery powered sweeper would be ideal, as it could stay on the deck, under the overhang all winter.

 

[justme-]

I've yet to see an email electric or battery power sweeper...simply a question of battery life for work which would be abysmal or size. Look into a Toro Power shovel...not sure if they still make it or what its called now. They had several sizes, Electric snow blower you can use like a shovel or Stihl sweeper. We had several when I was a kid and my dad (in his 70s) uses one for the porch.

 

[jimindm]

I have a gas powered power sweep. Not a brush, but had rubber paddles. It fit two different models of power units and the one I have is the second. It takes a lot of power to make them run. Mine works great, but I would go to the next size up if I would be buying a new one.

I would guess the reason you do not see a battery type is the power needed to run them very long. I would guess likely much of the same reason for the corded electric version. An extension cord of recommended size would be non existent in many homes.

 

[mnoeltne]

I would think that a brush like that will have a lot of friction, which will need a lot of horsepower. So, I really doubt you'll find an electric one, especially a cordless.

But, Good Luck with your quest, and if you do find one, let us know!

 

[Off-Street Parking]

I'm interested in the same thing. we typically get 2"-6" of light lake effect snow 4 or 5 days per week form December through early March. I really don't want the gas snow blower to be stored on the deck and my wife wants nothing to do with starting any gas devices (well, except her lawn mower).

A 110v or even a battery powered sweeper would be ideal, as it could stay on the deck, under the overhang all winter.

Yes, the quick use and ease of storage are definitely some of the driving factors for me. It's great to be able to just grab my electric snow thrower and bring it into the house, so that I don't have to walk through the snow the next day to get to the garage to start clearing the driveway.

I've yet to see an email electric or battery power sweeper...simply a question of battery life for work which would be abysmal or size. Look into a Toro Power shovel...not sure if they still make it or what its called now. They had several sizes, Electric snow blower you can use like a shovel or Stihl sweeper. We had several when I was a kid and my dad (in his 70s) uses one for the porch.

They sure do. Toro still makes theirs, and companies like Greenworks and Snow Joe make cordless battery-operated versions of the power shovel.

 

[Off-Street Parking]

How much HP do you need? I imagine this device will need a good amount of HP depending on how big it needs to be.

I have a gas powered power sweep. Not a brush, but had rubber paddles. It fit two different models of power units and the one I have is the second. It takes a lot of power to make them run. Mine works great, but I would go to the next size up if I would be buying a new one.

I would guess the reason you do not see a battery type is the power needed to run them very long. I would guess likely much of the same reason for the corded electric version. An extension cord of recommended size would be non existent in many homes.

I would think that a brush like that will have a lot of friction, which will need a lot of horsepower. So, I really doubt you'll find an electric one, especially a cordless.

But, Good Luck with your quest, and if you do find one, let us know!

Yeah, the power requirement could be a concern. I think at a minimum it would have to be accepted that an electric power brush wouldn't match the power of a gas model, and therefore would have different limitations on how it could be used.

I can say one thing though- my 80V cordless snow thrower will chew through some really heavy stuff, and throw the medium weight snow a considerable distance. So in terms of being able to move the volume and mass of the snow, I don't have any doubts that you couldn't do it with electric.

I think mnoeltne is on to the key difference though- that brush is going to have constant friction, whereas the electric snow throwers spin their augers up to speed freely before you start digging in.

 

[Off-Street Parking]

So... To make it practical, I think you just need to scale it down a bit.

My snow thrower for example clears a 20" path, and runs for about a half hour on its 80V battery. For the electric brush, you have comparatively more friction to overcome, but still need to maintain a moderate brush speed to be able to usefully fling the snow, so you can't just gear it down. So the logical choice then is to just reduce the width of the brush until you reach a workable middle ground. Clearing driveways and larger areas becomes less practical, but clearing walkways and decks might actually be easier from the extra maneuverability.

I was also thinking that an electric brush could have an issue of having too much rearward propulsion forces for its weight. So in this case, having a bit of extra weight from a heavier motor and/or batteries might be beneficial.


In the end, you might just end up with something that looks like an "over-motored" brushed power shovel on wheels. A little bit of a spring-loaded suspension on the wheels to keep the brush from making contact with the ground unless you press down a touch would help the brush (and user) be able to control the brush friction/speed, and prevent a runaway tool if you aren't holding it firmly.

 

[chrisexv6]

Pretty surprised Stihl, Echo dont make the sweeper attachment for their cordless expandable systems. Echo does make one for their gas expandable system.

When the snow is light enough I just go at it with my backpack or handheld leaf blower. Its not as fast as I would hope, and it is messier, but its a lot less work than the heavy walk behind snowblower.