Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The negative reviews here are predictably from people who can't figure out how to use it right. Assembly: The instruction manual is fine and easy to follow. The only thing I wish they would do is somehow label the various screws so you know at a glance which ones to use, especially since they identify them by metric sizes, and we all know most Americans couldn't use the metric system if their lives depended on it. Bag them separately and give them labels like A, B, C, etc. Note the auxiliary handle has a clamp that uses a hex bolt. You must put the hex head of the bolt in the side of the clamp with the hexagonal recess. If the hex recess is on the wrong side for you, take the clamp off and turn it around. Battery: People complaining about the battery cover popping open and the machine stopping aren't installing the battery properly. You MUST push it in hard until the green thumb latch snaps back into place. The latch locks the battery into position. I have never, not even once, had the battery pop out. Same people probably just let doors swing closed behind them then complain the door doesn't lock. As for why the battery is in the handle, you'd never be able to lift it if it was down near the motor. It would be like trying to lift a 20-pound sledgehammer just with two hands at the end away from the hammer head. Some people complain that this won't stand on its own with the heavy battery in the handle. It actually can. Tilt it all the way upright and it will stand fine on its nose, although I wouldn't trust it if there's any kind of strong wind. Wheels: Some complain it's hard to push the wheels through snow. You're not supposed to push them through snow. They're behind the snow thrower, so they're supposed to rest on bare ground that you've cleared. Thumb button: You don't need to hold this in. It's only a safety precaution to start the machine. Press the button and squeeze the hand trigger to start. Once started, release the button and the motor keeps running as long as you keep the trigger squeezed. I actually release the button even before the motor starts, since there's a slight delay of a second or two between the time you squeeze the trigger and the time the motor starts. In terms of actual performance, it works fine for me. I get 40-60 minutes of start/stop use out of a fully charged battery, enough to clear about 2500 square feet of sidewalk and parking lot. I have a second battery, which I think is a good idea for anyone who buys this, although if I manage to drain both batteries, it will take about three hours to recharge the first one for use. I've done deeper snow with it by lifting it to shave off the top of the snow first. I won't lie; it's still not easy, but a darn sight easier than trying to shovel that much snow. And pay attention to what direction the wind is coming from so snow doesn't blow back onto you or the area you're trying to clear. This is a snow thrower, just tossing snow up and forward into the air, not a snowblower with a chute that neatly deposits the snow to the side. The directional vanes don't really help that much, but I didn't expect they would.