Originally posted by reeftool Those lithium ion batteries don't perform well in extreme cold either. I have a perfectly good John Deere snowblower that's a few years old but still starts and runs and clears anything the sky throws at it and I'll keep it until it's no longer functional. I've seen that same video and if I buy an electric snowblower, it will most likely be an EGO. These products WILL improve in time. I'm stunned with the output of my newer Dewalt battery power tools compared to my older ones from just a few years back. I do have a good collection of batteries. Currently, I'm using 2 drills (one regular, one hammer), an impact driver, impact wrench, and a 3/8 ratchet with 7 batteries and 2 chargers.
Up until recently, I was using a gas generator for outside projects and have now added a battery power station which handles short power outages, remote power, camping power and charges with solar, 12V from a vehicle and AC. Trying to get a generator started when it's below 0 is just as much fun as a snowblower. This unit stays inside where it's warm.
I think the idea is you keep the batteries warm and charged until needed. A battery at room temperature doesn't lose it's charge immediately after going into the cold, it takes a while for the cold to penetrate. This is one of the reasons why one should have multiple batteries available for equipment that will be used when it's very cold.
Yes, your battery life will be shortened when using it in very cold temperatures, but you will get a lot of work out of it before the cold penetrates enough to kill it.
I suspect a battery powered snowblower would die from use before it would die of cold.
One of the things I found when I was setting up a solar power system was batteries that were self heating, using a small amount of their stored power to keep the cells warm. Doing this prevents the catastrophic power loss that a frozen battery suffers and greatly increases the amount of available energy that the battery can produce.
Considering the number of people who store power equipment in heated garages, I rather imagine that cold temperatures, at least for them, is a non starter concern. The entire machine is warm when starting, so cold has to penetrate the entire thermal mass of the machine before the battery will be overly affected.
Probably by then, the job is done.