Snowblower Woods Snowblowers

[Rick Jay]

Hi All,

Woods equipment has released a new line of snowblowers:

http://www.woodsonline.com Follow Turf & Grounds to the snowblowers for info.

I believe the major change in this line from previous versions is that the "fan" diameter has been increased from 18" to 23". It's protected by a shear pin on the PTO driveshaft.

I'm interested in the 60" model and have received a ball park figure of $2300 or so here in MA, painted Kubota orange.

Has anyone had experience with Woods snowblowers that can lend any comments or criticisms? Or give opinions on this line as compared to other manufacturers?

Thanks,

Rick Jay

 

[Wheeldog]

Hi Rick,

Welcome back - hope everything's well. I don't have any experience with the Woods blower, but I'd have plenty of confidence in any Woods product from my own experience.

Here's a link that may help you gauge prices in the Northeast a bit:

http://www.unionfarmequip.com/equipnew/woods/pricelist.html

(Not sure if the SS60 is the one you'd be looking at). Good luck.

Rob

 

[Rick Jay]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the info. The SS60 is the one I've been eyeing. I was all set to get a 6' rear blade, but the new SS60 caught my eye. It certainly looks rugged.

I would use it mostly to clear the sidewalks in front of our house and our neighbors. I live in one of these developments that have sidewalks on both sides of the street: they were put in for looks rather than function. Our street isn't so busy as to need them on both sides.

Anyway, when the snow comes, I usually do our walk and the neighbors on either side. I found that the loader doesn't work too well in this application, so I usually use my walk behind snowblower. Unfortunately, none of my other neighbors do their sidewalks, so there is only about a 300' long stretch that is cleaned....by me.

This year my daughter started kindergarten and she needs to walk to the bus stop...about 800' from our house. (Unfortunately, a recent bizarre back infection has left me a bit sore and achey, so I'm not looking forward to doing the whole walk by hand.) So the choices will be: a.) I ask all the neighbors nicely to do their sidewalk (which they probably won't) b.) I call the police and have them ask them to clear their sidewalks (technically a $25 fine, but not very neighborly of me) c.) I let my daughter walk in the road (not a very busy street, but still dangerous) or d.) I do the whole sidewalk all the way to the bus stop.

Other economic circumstances might force me to delay my decision, but I'm really leaning toward solution d. Since it's "for the kids", my wife might even support me on it. (I doubt it, but I'll try.)

I'm open to other comments. Anyone else in a similar situation or have another solution?

Thanks again,

Rick

 

[Wheeldog]

Rick,

Seems like there are a number of people on TBN that wouldn't even consider a rear-mount snowblower because of the fact that you need to be looking backward most of the time. I'm not one of those people, but . .. maybe you should at least check out a front-mount snowblower. I'm sure they're big bucks but you seem to have a large area to do, and craning your head around may not be too easy on your neck or back. Maybe you could find a used front-mount if you checked a few different Kubota dealerships.

Rob

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I don't know what your sidewalks look like, but I would be concerned running a 5' blower on a 4' sidewalk in my old neighborhood. Besides the fact that you will probably be running your tires and/or skids on the grass, what is the chance that you will hit something your neighbors' kids left on/near the sidewalk, etc.

 

[Rick Jay]

Dave M,

Good points. Actually, the sidewalks are asphalt and in pretty good shape. They measure about 54" across. I'm more concerned about old newspapers or such left on the sidewalk than toys, but both could be a problem.

Skids on the grass are a problem too. I was thinking about raising the blower a bit and not try to scrape the ground.

The rear blade would be "safer" from the point of view of potential damage to my equipment, but it leaves more of a mess when I cross over their driveways. Maybe I shouldn't worry about that.

Thanks,

Rick

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Not to beat this to death, but here are some more thoughts on your application.

I use a 75" rear mounted blower on my driveway, except I switch to a blade after Lake Erie freezes (i.e. when lake effect snow stops). The blower is more fragile than a blade, but it is also far more dangerous to bystanders, nearby homes and vehicles, kids and pets. When you stop the tractor a blade becomes harmless, while a rotating blower is still dangerous. The blower's auger can sometimes throw objects in surprising directions. The blower is not very effective for less than 3" to 6" of snow. Any slope variations in the sidewalk will make it very hard to avoid digging in and still clear snow effectively when just "raising the blower a bit".

 

[MaxDaddy]

I have a 72" Woods SS74 that I am now looking to sell. It has the larger fan blade and the shear pin in the PO. I have never found it dangerous, but I have found that a good backblade does a better job on my 1/4 mile gravel drive without the neck and back pain of driving backwards. BTW - does anyone know the horsepower needed to drive a 72? I have a 55-horse David Brown so it was never a problem, but prospective buyers want to know if their tractors will run it. As much as I want to sell it, I won't sell to someone with an underpowered tractor.

 

[aczlan]

The general rule of thumb is 5HP/foot for PTO powered equipment. Woods recommends 30-50HP for the SB74C (see: http://www.woodsequipment.com/uploadedFiles/Products/Manuals/MAN0869.pdf ) so I would suggest that range...

Aaron Z

 

[Baby Grand]

Holy thread resurrection!