Milwaukee will soon be launching their long-awaited M18 Fuel cordless snow blower, model 3036, which they say will redefine snow removal.
The new Milwaukee M18 Fuel cordless snow blower features a 21″ auger that is powered by 2x M18 Li-ion cordless power tool batteries.
This is a single stage blower, which is expected for a snow blower of this size, with a rubber auger and auger-propelled propulsion.
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Milwaukee says this is the most powerful single stage snow blower, enabling professionals to work faster from start to finish, while offering quieter operation and better visibility in demanding winter conditions.
Milwaukee says that their new snow blower can throw snow to a maximum distance of 35ft to the front, or 30ft to the side.
It has 2 LED headlights mounted near the handlebar.
It can be stored vertically for long-term storage.
The snow blower weighs 83 pounds and can be transported to the jobsite if needed.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel Cordless Snow Blower Features & Specifications
- 7.5 peak HP power
- 21″ clearing width
- 12″ intake height
- 35ft front throw distance
- 30ft side throw distance
- Gear-driven chute control
- Clears deep, heavy snow without stalling
- Up to 40% wider chute
- Push button start
- Rubber auger
- Auger-propelled
- Dual-coated frame with zinc plating and powder coating
- Optimized for M18 Forge 8Ah, 12Ah batteries
- 3-year warranty
Runtime: can clear 1750 square feet when powered by 2x Forge 12Ah batteries, or 6″ of average density snow for up to 11 car spaces, or up to 500 ft of 3.5ft wide residential sidewalk.
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Noise level: 92dB; 10 dB quieter than 252cc gas engine snow blowers
Lower vibration: Milwaukee says that their M18 Fuel snow blower delivers less vibration (1.6 m/s^2) than gas engine snow blowers.
Battery Power: (2) M18 batteries are required (optimized for M18 Forge 8Ah, 12Ah), and there are (2) additional battery connections for (4) total, for uninterrupted extended runtime.
Purchasing Options, Price, and Availability
The new Milwaukee cordless snow blower will be available as a kit, bundled with 2x M18 FORGE 12Ah batteries, an M18 dual bay simultaneous rapid charger, and a scrench
Price: $1499 (3036-22HD kit)
ETA: August 2025
Bill
“and a scrench” ?
Also, can we assume the motor is operating at 36 volts?
Bill
After a little thought and a quick search, I found that a scrench is the tool equivalent of a spork.
Now my new word of the day. 🙂
MM
Screnches are very common for gas OPE, especially chainsaws, where they combine the screwdriver for adjusting chain tension with a wrench for the bar nuts. They are a thing for other kinds of equipment as well, my trimmers and brushcutters have them too, where they have a Torx driver for changing guards and a wrench for changing blades. I think I have five of them and no two are identical. They usually also have a wrench for changing spark plugs, kind of an all-in-one service tool.
And speaking of Screnches, a tip I learned from an arborist friend: attach a short piece of cord and a carabiner to your scrench, this way you can clip it to the handle or the lanyard ring of your tool so you don’t lose it. When you’re working you can use the carabiner to clip it to your belt. I also like to paint them a bright hi-vis color so they are easily spotted if you leave one on the ground. The lanyard and carabiner trick is also very handy for things like chainsaw wedges or precut line sections for trimmers.
fred
My old Ariens snowblower had a plastic key that had to be inserted to complete the electric circuit to the spark plug. I learned the hard way that one should tether it to the machine. Bouncing over/into a drift – nine fell out and even though its red – I spent 20 or 30 minutes digging around in the blowing snow to find it.
Regarding the machine itself – I’m betting that HD and others will sell quite a few for homeowner light-duty use. I can’t imagine my landscaper – who plows my driveway with is dump truck – and does most other work with gasoline-engine OPE buying one.
Scott K
I never knew this had a name. The first time I got one it was referred to as a chainsaw tool, so that’s what I’ve always called it. Scrench is way better.
Stuart
It’s the combination installation and maintenance tool that’s included with a lot of cordless outdoor power tools. It’s a socket wrench screwdriver type of doohickey tool.
And yes, dual M18 batteries being required implies it’s a 36V tool.
George
It seems like a weird time of year for this launch..
Stuart
Not really; the timing is close to what I would have expected for fall/winter 2025 season availability.
Adam
Announced, not launched.
Retailers need advance heads up. Home Depot would have some wiggle room with snow blower displays, however typical planograms for merchandise are done months in advance, and the retailer needs to know about box dimensions, so they can appropriately plan. Other retailers (like Ace) might spend less on Ego stock, knowing Milwaukee has an offering.
So for winter placement, it would need be known earlier (now), rather in the fall when product is shipping. Several reasons for announcing now.
One could also factor price. Some will need to budget that if they want to blow snow in red.
Stuart
Yes, but brands talk to retailers completely separately from media and end users – and often earlier.
From what I have seen, major retail customers are sometimes consulted way in advance.
Today Milwaukee announced the new snow blower to the media, preorders opened at online retailers, and we’re likely to start seeing end user communications and listings on their website.
This follows the pattern of leading the launch shipping ETA by about a month, with August timing not unexpected for new snow equipment.
Robert
It’s nice that Milwaukee is making improvements. But the marketing hype of “redefine” in “ redefine snow removal” bugs me. Redefine requires a change in kind not just in degree. Needs something very significant, not just incremental improvements. Such as autonomous snow removal at this price point. Or accomplishing two stage blower or equivalent in this size blower and price.
blocky
It’s the snow-mutilator
Aaron+s
That sounds more like what Bosch marketing would produce
Mitherial
This is probably a decent setup for a homeowner already on the M18 platform who has a reasonably sized driveway—but would be terrible for most “professional” use—Milwaukee really should make an MX platform powered two stage version (though I bet even that would eat through batteries quickly).
As a winter-related tangent, is there any word on the current availability of the M18 propane heater? It seems to have been cancelled at some point (possibly due to QA/production issues)?
Stuart
The propane heater looks to be out of stock (I checked HD), but products like that are seasonal. If it’s still not available by October, then I’d be worried.
Personally, I’d say that 90% of users will buy this to leverage their Milwaukee batteries at home, but there might be some users who need to clear the way to clients’ doors or similar.
You might also have some snow-clearing businesses who plow a driveway or parking lot and also need to clear the client’s walkways.
Another Bob
Stuart, you hit the nail on the head. A lot of guys doing residential driveways would use the old Toro two-stroke paddle wheel blower because it was easy/light weight in and out of the truck bed. This battery option would seem to be a viable ICE (pun intended) alternative.
This one is a little/lot heavier at 83 lbs but not sure if that includes 2 or 4 or 0 batteries? It’s a little quieter which is nice. Still need ear pro I’d think. But cost of the unit plus the cost of the, I’d think in commercial setting required, batteries is steep. Also, I assume we’d have to keep the batteries in the truck cab so they wouldn’t get too cold to use?
It will be interesting to see if guys around here start swapping these out for those old Torro’s. If they can survive and be useful in the cement like consistency snow we get around here we will know we have a winner.
Mitherial
The M18 Propane heater was not available anywhereI checked online last winter (and I looked at all of the usual suspects), though I’m sure some physical stores still had old stock. I did run across a forum post claiming that Milwaukee had supplier quality issues with one of the components (and maybe it also was not selling well—though it seems pretty versatile for small or short-job contractors working without access to regular power).
Jared
I understand why, they have huge power demands, but I’m taken aback by a $1500 single-stage snow thrower. I’m not saying it shouldn’t exist, but that’s a proper two-stage self-propelled gas snowblower price that can move considerably more snow – like a whole different class of machine.
Something similar could be said for other OPE items I suppose, like chainsaws, but even then – it’s like the cordless version costs double it’s gas equivalent, not 10x (that’s compared to a corded single-stage, I suppose a gas version would make it more like 3x).
Stuart
The Forge 12Ah batteries sell for $299 each (via HD), and the Rapid Charger is $129.
The price is a little higher than I anticipated, but I thought Packout was priced a bit too high at first, and look at how things have went there.
MM
You have a point. I think that tools like this are a good example of how price doesn’t necessarily follow the actual complexity of the tool. The example I usually talk about is comparing a worklight with a cordless drill or saw. Often times a worklight is just as expensive (if not moreso when we’re talking about modern tripod lights) yet the drill or saw is much more expensive to manufacture thanks to its gearbox and motor.
I don’t think this is a particularly expensive tool to build because it doesn’t seem to have much in the way of precision parts inside. As I understand it does not have power drive to the wheels, so it’s just a push-cart with an auger on the front. There’s no complex transmission or gearbox. It says something about a “gear drive” for the discharge chute, but I don’t think there’s a motor or electronics involved, it looks like it’s a manual linkage connected to a hand lever.
I think it’s probably reasonable to compare the cost to build one of these to a basic electric mower. They’re a similar size and weight. The basic construction with wheels & a handle are similar. They both have one stout electric motor and not much else inside. A self-propelled mower would be more costly as it needs to have either a transmission to steal power for the propulsion from the blade motor, or it needs a second motor & gearbox dedicated to propulsion.
Chainsaws are interesting too. A modern gas chainsaw is a very complex thing, with highly optimized magnesium castings for the engine and parts of the frame, the engine itself contains a lot of precision parts, then you’ve also got a clutch and brake. Meanwhile a cordless chainsaw lacks all those fancy castings. No clutch. No mechanical brake. No carburetor. No choke. No ignition system. If we ignore the oil pump (which is also present in a gas saw), it’s just a housing with a single electric motor in it. It ought to be a lot less expensive to manufacture, yet many are very pricey.
Saulac
What is auger propelled propulsion? The wheels are not driven, but the movement of the auger has a secondary effect of pulling the machine forward? Honda used to make pretty small machines that have tracks and can actually turn like skid steers. I have no use of snow blowers, but want one of these Honda and turn it into the sort of trailer dolly. Not sure how much weight they can handle though. Speaking carrying heavy stuff ….Milwaukee should have a M18 convertible hand truck that can be configured into wheel barrel and other thing. Heck, maybe to just carry all the stuff that guys want to have with them thanks to the Packouts.
Another Bob
Yes, the auger helps pull it forward. It also scrapes the driveway, so leaves a pretty clean path.
I think Makita had a self-propelled wheelbarrow. Don’t remember if it was available in the US or only Europe, but a tracked wheelbarrow or flatbed like thing would be pretty cool.
Stuart
They do, and it’s incredibly expensive.
Matthew C
Auger propelled means exactly what you thought, the auger makes contact with the ground to pull the snowblower forward. It’s pretty standard for this size of snowblower since it allows the unit to remain compact and be useable in tight spaces. I have a similar sized gas snowblower and wasn’t sure how it would perform, but have been very impressed. Being able to push down on the handle to raise the front and inch or so allows me to reposition for getting around cars or maneuvering are found corners. It can be a little jumpy when you first make contact with the ground (first 3-5 rotations), but smooths out once you start moving in a consistent direction.
The tracked dolly/wheelbarrow idea seems cool, I built a cart powered by some old electric motors and diesel batteries which was fun, but severely underpowered. I could see something like that having uses, but probably being a small market
fred
Makita makes several versions – each based on their LXt (18V x2) platform
https://www.makitatools.com/products/tools/outdoor-power-equipment/wheelbarrows-and-dollies
Starting prices of around $2000 and up (some over $7k) – have always made me hesitate – for home garden use.
https://toolup.com/products/makita-xuc05z-36v-18v-x2-lxt-brushless-material-handling-dump-pipe-frame-tool-only
Stuart
Not sure. Maybe the wheels are coupled to the auger for forward-assist only when it’s turning.
This would be in contrast to some forward-driven dual stage models that allow for independent motorized travel even when the auger is not activated.
Or, it could just pull the blower forward as the auger gobbles up snow. We’ll know more soon.
MM
Honda still makes those tracked snowblowers. Personally I don’t think they’d be very good for making into a powered trailer dolly, I have my doubts how much vertical weight (tongue weight) they could handle.
I think you’d be better off starting with a concrete buggy or a commercial tier stand-on ZTR mower with hydrostatic drive.
Grady
Just In Time For Summer!
Harrison
7.5 “peak” horsepower is 5500w…
That is theoretically possible with two packs of 15 tabless cells, but like any high draw Milwaukee tool, I’d be concerned about the motor and circuits thermally throttling, or melted battery terminals.
Ultimately this is bad value because Milwaukee is fighting an uphill battle due to their low voltage. All their tools require thicker, more expensive wire, motor windings and switching to avoid a meltdown. The EGO 24” is basically the same price for a proper self-propelled 2-stage. It will run circles around this thing.
My friend bought the 28” EGO this past winter, and it outperforms his old 28” gas MTD.
Stuart
They’ve been conquering the “low voltage uphill battle” for a while, developing or co-developing all-new tech in the process.
Dewalt’s FlexVolt cordless snowblower was a bit disappointing (https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/dewalt-cordless-snow-blower-review/%3C/a%3E ), and I’m much more optimistic about this one, partly because I know how long Milwaukee has been working on getting it right.
alex
At this price, you can get a two stage ego. You can get the single stage with 2 batteries for 750$ (and a lot more runtime).
Jason
Was thinking this too, having one battery platform is all fine and dandy but I switched to 80V Greenworks years ago and just have all them for my outdoor power and have never once felt like it was inconvenient having another charger hanging there.
If anything it’s less running to find a battery in my tablesaw or something. Snowblower was the reason I got the first tool and then the mower was half the price of Milwaukees.
Not saying it shouldn’t exist, it should and it will sell I’m sure. But for most people I think you can give pause and consider if it’s really worth the money
ElectroAtletico
So “tool only” should be about $799. That I can do.
Any $ above and I’m going to stick with my trusted and reliable corded 22in Snow Joe.
ps. You know, I think I will stick with Ol’ Joe!
Stuart
I would guess $999 or maybe $1099 IF they do that.
Tool-only snow blowers are going to have a high return rate; I predict that a lot of users will plug in 5Ah batteries – which you can do with a lot of M18 tools – and then complain about the lower power and runtime.
Big Richard
If you look at their mower, the 2x12Ah mower kit is $1099 and the bare tool is $799. Only $300 less. If they offer a bare tool, I would expect it to be $1199 or maybe $1099. It would likely have a sale price of $999.