JD snowthrower attachment

[ALPS]

I'm going to look at a used 42" snowthrower attachment for my JD GT245 this weekend. It's listed as being in excellent condition, and the price seems fair compared to a new one, even though the seller doesn't have the chains and weights a new one would have.

With this being my first house, and not having any experience with snow removal (exept with a shovel), does anyone have any advice, opinions or first hand knowledge of these attachments? It appears (from web site photos) to be single stage.

I had the neighbor offer to plow for me last year a few times, and I was greatful for him doing it, but you get what you pay for -- and this was for free.... I had a lot of gravel in my lawn in the spring. The driveway is mostly large, loose gravel, and I'm thinking that the snowthrower, especially if it's adjustable, would be better than a plow in this case.

Thanks for any info.

 

[ducati996]

Your at the mercy of whats available during the height of the snow season. Typically weights and chains are additional options, so you need to locate them right away in order for your setup to function correctly or satifactory.
Single stage works fine and I think its all that is available for that size machine. If you plan on using it soon I would move fast, otherwise you might have to ask your neighbor for another favor.

Gravel is a hassle for all blowers...keep the blower high enough to skim over the gravel without biting into it. But low enough to remove the bulk of the snow..

Good luck

Ducati

 

[JDFANATIC]

Alps,

I saw an interesting idea on the gardenweb forum. It had to do with a walk-behind snowblower, but I'm sure it is worth considering on a tractor combo. This guy had added two wheels where the side shoes mounted on the blower. this way it ran over the gravel and kept it from digging in. I used to have a gravel drive, and if I didn't have it paved a few years ago, would have tried out this idea.

Good luck, as Duc said, the single stage isn't a problem at all.

 

[JerryK]

I used a JD 140 [14hp Kohler] with a 42" single stage blower for years. The 140 had a hydrostatic xmission, just like your tractor. Single stage blowers work fine, as long as you can vary your groundspeed. I run a 78" two stage on a JD2240 51pto hp now.

 

[Dutch445]

Alps,
the 42" blowers work great, especially with 2o hp you have to run it.
You may have already checked into this , but the 42" snowblowers are made to fit many different machines, from the older LX's up thru the GX300 machines. There are several different mounting and lift kits available depening on what machine they mount on. The unit you are looking at will be ok if it came off an identical machine as yours. (the GT245 has 2 variations, one with foot lift and another with the hand lever lift)If not, you may need to also get the right lift kit and attaching part kit from a dealer..

The 42" snowthrower is quite well built, although still belt drive. They do offer a Heavy Duty Belt, not widely publicised though, in case you run into belt life issues.

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Malibu]

Have used a 38" blower on a old JD110 for years with good results. Still prefer it over the Kubota B7500 with FEL and rear blade for fsst snow removal and no large piles of snow.

A couple of tips:

- Chains are a must have.
- Rear weight is a must have, I run about 280 lbs. in a old ammo box mounted on the rear.
- Pack down a couple of inches of snow with your car/truck over the whole driveway to form a base before you start blowing if you can. That will keep a lot of gravel off your lawn.
- Set skids to keep the scraper blade about a inch off ground for the first couple of times, should be OK to lower it once you get a base of hard pack snow.
- Try to avoid blowing snow onto lawn if possible to avoid stones.
- Don't blow snow into the wind.
- A face mask and ski goggles are nice to wear.

 

[jimgerken]

i LOOKED AT ONE OF THESE LAST NITE, with the intention of learning something. The 42" I looked at was new last year, and has not blown much snow yet. I was interested in the clearance (space) between the impeller (rotating part that throws the snow) and the housing. I was surprised to find the clearance quite large, about 7/16". the clearance between the paddles (parts of the impeller that pitch the snow up the chute) and the housing was closer, maybe 1/4", maybe 3/16". This surprised me a bit, as I imagined it would be closer than that for best throwing distance. Anyway, if you measure this with your finger, you may get an idea if anything is wildly worn. Good luck.