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The Lawn Review: Home » Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18 inch Snow Blower Review: 2024

Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18 inch Snow Blower Review: 2024

Ryobi’s 40V HP Brushless 18” Snow Blower is what you need to prepare for winter. This Ryobi Snow Blower is a really handy, inexpensive tool that will clear out your driveway during the long winter months.

ryovi 40v hp brushless 18 inch snow blower review
nice side profile!

Winter is coming. Or is already here. Depends on when you read this. But the last thing you want to do is look at 7 inches of snow out of your front window and realize nothing stands between you and that snow except for a shovel. 

Let’s check out this one from Ryobi.

Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18 in. Snow Blower: Features and benefits

Okay – now that we understand the major differences in snow removal equipment, let’s jump right into the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless snow blower review.

Compare this snow blower to another battery powered snow blower here.

Power output on the Ryobi 40V Snow Blower

Power is everything when it comes to a snow blower. If it didn’t matter, then you would be out there shoveling instead of dropping $500 on a snow tool.

The Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 18 inch snow blower has a clearing width of a foot and a half, with a depth of just under a foot. That’s a lot of snow. There are definitely bigger, badder snow blowers out there, but if you are a Ryobi loyalist, then this is a good choice. 

I would rate the power as “okay”.

Sadly, this is only a single stage snow blower, so while it claims to launch the snow 25 feet, I have a hard time believing that this has the same capabilities as a two-stage snow blower. For smaller to medium-sized jobs – I think this one is going to be just fine for getting rid of the snow.

Chute ryobi snow blower rotate
rotates side to side to spray snow on whichever neighbor is most annoying

Using the Ryobi 40V snow blower is super easy

While the Ryobi 40V Brushless Snow blower is leaps and bounds a massive improvement from gas snow blowers, it is missing one function that is super important: a self-propelled function.

Sadly, if you are pushing this thing across your driveway in 8 inches of snow, it is still going to require quite a bit of force to push through the snow. 

Otherwise, this thing has some great bells and whistles. It comes with a nice light for those early morning snow blower jobs. The Ryobi snow blower also comes with a configurable chute, so you get to choose which neighbor you like the least when sending snow flying. 

led light snow blower
The light that helps guide your path.

Compared to gas snow blowers, the ease of having a push-button start and no oil or gas to mess with is amazing. Time is absolutely critical when you are in freezing temperatures and having to crank a cord a dozen times to get started is miserable. The beauty of these electric snow blowers is just how reliably they start up with the push of a button. 

how to start ryobi snow blower
press start, pull the handle together and push.

Once you push the button, simply close the lever by the handles to activate the auger. Then get to pushing and throwing snow. 

Durability of the Ryobi 18 inch snow blower

I’ve glossed over this already, but with the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless Snow Blower, there is no maintenance. No oil changes, no gas and oil mixing, no filters or spark plugs – just charging the battery.

Wow. 

The beauty of this electric snow blower in particular is that it has a brushless motor. Ryobi brushless motors are the absolute top of the line when it comes to battery-powered lawn tools. They are quieter, more efficient, provide more torque, run cooler, and last longer. Compared to regular brushed motors, they are way better in every way.

Fortunately, this snow blower is going to last you.

Cost and value

The Ryobi 40V HP Brushless snow blower ain’t cheap. At almost $550, it comes at a premium. You are getting a reliable, dependable product that is going to knock out snow for most folks. 

Sadly, at this price point I would expect a two stage snow blower with a self-propelled function.

In our opinion, this thing is a bit overpriced. 

Ryobi 40V HP 18” Brushless Snow Blower: Official Review

While I love most of Ryobi’s products, I really expected more from this one. As I mentioned above, it is a bit pricey and I’m shocked to see it only being a one-stage snow blower. 

This one is for sale at Home Depot right now for a great price.

We have reviewed a few other snow blowers that I would recommend before this one unless you already own the Ryobi 40V HP battery. 

Check out the Greenworks snow blower here for more information on a competitor.

Why we review lawn tools

The reason we started this website in the first place was because we had so much trouble trying to find reasonable, understandable, honest reviews for lawn equipment. And it’s not cheap! After hours and hours of research, trying products and returning them, and messing up our yards – we started this site. 

makita lxt mower reviews

As people who had to learn the hard way, we want you to know exactly what you are signing up for before you purchase a piece of equipment. That’s why we are committed to providing honest, easy-to-understand reviews that mean something. 

Snow blowers vs snow throwers

Many people ask what the difference is between a snow blower and a snow thrower. Let me tell you right now, both are far superior to a snow shovel. While snow blowers and snow throwers build significantly less character for young men, they are much easier to use and more effective for clearing out large amounts of snow. 

ego snow shovel
Battery powered snow shovel still is weaker than a snow blower!

In short, snow throwers launch snow 10-15 feet away and are generally more narrow. Snow blowers launch snow 25-30 feet away and are wider. Snow blowers are heavier duty and can also handle many, many inches of snow. At the end of the day, it will be much more fun to launch the snow into the neighbor’s yard instead of just the edge of your own yard. 

1-stage vs 2-stage blowers

Snow throwers tend to be the name for one-stage blowers. One-stage means that the action of launching the snow happens in one step: it gets scooped up and shot through a tube in one motion. Blowers with two stages have one action that scoops up the snow and another that launches it. This allows for a much stronger “launching” capacity, sending snow to the moon.

Alex K

Alex K

Alex is not a lawn care natural. He had to learn things the hard way. But after stumbling through his first few seasons of lawn care, he learned a lot. Mostly - what not to do. Alex has become one of the country's advocates of battery-powered lawn tools, quoted in the Washington Post among other highly visible publications. Alex started The Lawn Review with his friend Tyler - who you may see in some of the videos on this website - to help normal people like you understand how to take care of their lawn themselves with the best tools possible. Alex has thousands of hours of experience using hundreds of different lawn tools and has found exactly what to look for in each type of tool. He speaks with deep experience not only about the boring technical specifications, but what the tool actually feels like when you are using it, what to look for before you make a purchase, and how the lawn tool measures up when you factor in price.