After a weekend where the area where I live in Utah received more than a foot of snow over a two-day span, I was certainly curious about the snow removal capabilities residing within the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel. This big snowstorm would shine a light on the harsh reality of living in a place where snowfall is abundant and needing the proper tools for snow removal.
I have tested a number of the best snow shovels and blowers - battery-powered and gas-powered - this winter, yet this was my first testing experience with a cordless snow shovel. Before this weekend, the month of December had been relatively mild. We’ve had unseasonably warm temperatures and no snow. But weather in Utah can be unpredictable, and one January Sunday morning, we woke up to eight new inches of snow. Now, that’s more snow than the maximum clearing depth listed within the Enhulk manual. But mother nature gives us what she gives us, and considering I waited over a month of no snow to use this snow shovel, I wasn’t going to wait for a lighter storm to hit to test the device.
I tested the Enhulk 20V 12-inch cordless Snow Shovel after a good-sized snowstorm that brought eight new inches of snow. Knowing the limitations of the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel, I opted to only test it by removing the snow from my walkway and sidewalks. I tested how well it removed snow, how far it tossed the snow, how long the battery lasted, and how loud the machine was during operation.
How did the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel against one of Utah’s big winter storms? Read on to find out, and head to our guides to the best snow blowers and best pressure washers for more.
Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel: Key specs
Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel: Price & Availability
You can find the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel available from Amazon at $179.99. This is one of the more affordable snow removal options you’ll find.
Comparatively, snow blowers can be in excess of $200, so you’re making a decent saving by going for a snow shovel. It may also be the most appropriate for the snow-clearing job.
Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel: First impressions
Out of the box, I was impressed by how simple and straightforward the installation was. You can put the whole thing together in two minutes. There are really only two poles that you connect to one another, which guide you with convenient arrows. Then, you screw the handle into place using the hand-twist knob, and you’re essentially good to go.
At just under ten pounds, the device weighs and looks kind of like a weed whacker. It’s also incredibly easy to maneuver around. The second handle is helpful when pushing the shovel through the snow.
With the exception of the poles, the entire machine is made of plastic. That made me a little worried about the potential longevity of the machine. Also, the grooves that direct the snow in one direction or another are narrow, and you can’t throw snow at a right angle like you would be able to with a snow blower. The grooves only turn about 30 degrees in either direction. It made me wonder how it would perform at tossing snow from side to side.
Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel: Design
To start the machine, there is a safety switch that needs to be pressed before you can pull the trigger to activate the auger. The safety button can be pressed inward on either side of the handle, which is convenient. The secondary handle isn’t fixed into place, either. This means you can untighten the knob and adjust it to your preferred placement. This also makes handling and maneuvering the Enhulk Snow Shovel easy.
There is a little knob above the mouth of the snow shovel that changes the direction where snow is thrown. While you should only use this snow shovel on narrow walkways and sidewalks, if you did have to make several passes on a walkway, you would have to repeatedly bend down to change the direction of the chute, which would get old after a bit.
The snow shovel has a clearing path of 12 inches. Compared to other snow shovels, that’s par for the course. And if you’re using this to clear walkways and sidewalks, that is still wide enough to clear essentially an entire walkway in two passes. The manufacturer also claims that the snow shovel can handle up to six inches of snow depth. With the amount of snow that we received, I certainly put that to the test and then some.
Score: 4/5
Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel: Performance
After the amount of snow that we received over the weekend – my house got about a foot in some areas – I knew that was too much snow for the Snow Shovel to handle. After clearing the Dewalt 60V Snow Blower the day prior, the next morning, there were another eight inches waiting for the Enhulk to tackle.
I used the Enhulk to clear my walkways and sidewalks. Spoiler alert: I didn’t get very far. Admittedly, there were about two more inches on the ground than the recommended depth from the manufacturer.
I started right outside of my front door on my porch and walkway. Removing a couple of inches off my porch was no problem whatsoever. In fact, I really appreciated how it didn’t even leave a thin layer of snow under the blade like some snowblowers do. There was clean cement under each pass.
The snowy walkways were a much different story. In order to effectively clear snow, I would have to lift the shovel, remove a few inches, lower it, remove a few more inches, and then finally finish by pushing it on the ground. When I started from the ground and tried to push the shovel through the snow, it would just push the snow forward and not toss it out of the way. As you might imagine, it took quite a long time to remove the snow from my walkway. In fact, before the battery died after 30 minutes of normal use, I was only able to clear that walkway and the sidewalk in front of my driveway, which is roughly 80 feet of walkway and sidewalk in total. After the performance, I wouldn’t recommend trying to clear more than two, maybe three inches max from the ground at a time.
The manufacturer rates the throwing distance at 16.5 feet. From my experience, that range is closer to about 10 feet. And you have to be diligent about keeping snow from packing up the chutes. As snow would pack in there, I would notice it wouldn’t toss snow quite at the same angle, and snow would start to propel more forward.
Finally, I tested the loudness of the machine during operation using a decibel meter app on my phone. I took a measurement by my head during operation, and the Enhulk Snow Shovel recorded about 82 dB of sound. Closer to the engine, a second reading indicated 92 dB of sound. Those readings equate to the same sound level of a noisy restaurant and a blender, respectively.
Score: 2/5
Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel: Care & maintenance
The great thing about this snow shovel is there is little maintenance. After use, it’s smart to ensure that you remove any packed snow from the mouth of the snow shovel. You don’t want it to freeze overnight; the next time you turn it on, the ice could cause damage to the components. As long as you keep the unit clean and dry after use and keep the battery charged in a room-temperate area, you should expect 25-30 minutes from the battery and a snow shovel that fires right up when you need it.
How does the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel compare?
The Toro Power Shovel has a bigger battery that equates to a longer run time of 45 minutes. It can toss snow farther than the Enhulk Cordless Snow Shovel with a 25 ft throwing distance compared to the 16.5 feet of the Enhulk. The Enhulk Cordless Snow Shovel is $160 cheaper.
Compared to the Skil PWR Core Electric Snow Shovel, the Enhulk is the more affordable model. The Skil PWR Core Snow Shovel costs $279 compared to the $140 of the Enhulk. The Skil PWR Core Snow Shovel has two speeds and a 40V battery compared to the Enhulk 20V.
The EGO POWER+ Multi-Head System Powered Snow Shovel has the same clearing path width as the Enhulk, but the chute only moves 25 degrees in either direction compared to the 30 of the Enhulk. It has a bigger 56V battery and can throw snow a further distance at 25 feet. But, again, the machine is significantly more expensive at $399.
Should you buy the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
How I tested the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel
I tested the Enhulk 20V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel after a heavy snowfall. I used the snow shovel to clear the walkway to my front door and as much of the sidewalk as I could before the battery died. I tested how well it removed snow, how far it threw the snow, how loud it was during operation, and how long the battery lasted.
To test the battery life, I inserted the fully charged battery, started the stopwatch on my phone, and used the machine to clear snow until the battery ran out.
To test the loudness of the motor, I used a decibel meter app on my phone. I tested the sound in two places: one where I was standing as the motor was running and another by the engine.
Read more about how we test.
