59" blower for 3x20 series

[Rob-D]

Well last week I bit the bullet and ordered the 59" blower for my 3320. I went back and forth between the front and rear blower and could have gotten a Frontier rear blower for about half the price but my old 47" blower on my 2320 worked so well that I decided to go with the 59" one here.

There will be pictures to follow but let me say that this is a well built blower. The side walls are a full 1/4" thick and it stands much higher than the 47" blower which has 1/8" side walls. The shear pin system is excellent, like on the 47 and having changed pins on blowers on the system where the pin runs through the axle itself is a pain especially when it is full of snow. This is so much easier.

It says "Assembled in the USA" on it also.

One of the reasons I went with it is because it uses the front 3ph and I think more implements are coming out for it here as they are in Europe. I spoke to my dealer and in the spring I'm going to add the front blade which won't need all the front hitch parts.

90% of the front hitch stays on so it's not a big deal to pull the blower and go to the FEL.
When it's all together I'll take some shots and let you decide for yourselves if it's worth it.

Watch, we won't get any snow this winter!

Rob

 

[rekees4300]

I ordered a 64" Frontier 3pt rear blower exactly 2 months ago today and still waiting for delivery. JD dealer said "4-6 weeks maybe sooner" when I ordered. Hopefully you will get yours before you're snowed in!

 

[Rob-D]

I ordered a 64" Frontier 3pt rear blower exactly 2 months ago today and still waiting for delivery. JD dealer said "4-6 weeks maybe sooner" when I ordered. Hopefully you will get yours before you're snowed in!

I got it today! The shipping tag says it came out of Wisconsin.

Rob

 

[rekees4300]

That was fast! Mine must be coming on a slow boat from China!

 

[Rob-D]

That was fast! Mine must be coming on a slow boat from China!

Not sure I thought most blowers come out of Canada.

Rob

 

[jjmarotz]

You'll love the 59 blower. I got mine late this spring and didn't get but maybe and hr use out of it then snow was over. But what I did use it it was SO much better than my old 3pt Meteor. I just pulled the 59 out of storage and have some steel on order to build "wings" for it to add more width and an electric actuator to run the chute spout. I'll get some pics later this week or next of the mods. Here's a cardboard mockup of the wings.....

 

[skid-kid]

I just picked up a 59" blower last friday. The front hitch has me concerned. It is not the three point type that I see on everyones 3x20 tractors. I am done mowing for the year so I am mounting it by this weekend to make sure it is all correct and works. I will be posting some picks when I do it so people can see the difference in the front hitch.

 

[Rob-D]

You'll love the 59 blower. I got mine late this spring and didn't get but maybe and hr use out of it then snow was over. But what I did use it it was SO much better than my old 3pt Meteor. I just pulled the 59 out of storage and have some steel on order to build "wings" for it to add more width and an electric actuator to run the chute spout. I'll get some pics later this week or next of the mods. Here's a cardboard mockup of the wings.....

Hmmmm... An electric chute actuator, that sounds like something I might be interested in doing myself. I have some stepper motors but maybe I could do it with a 12v windshield wiper motor and linkage.

How much are you extending the bucket with the wings? I just measured my tractor width at the ground, front and back and neither wheel is over 59" even with my rear wheels in the widest position. The blower itself runs about 59-1/2", outside to outside without the snow cutters on each side. Wonder why Deere doesn't use them?

What I found with my last blower is that you have to get the tractor right behind it or the tractor 'skews' to one side or the other, I'm wondering if the wings will help with this?

The other thing is that when I was installing the blower I took off the 300cx loader and with the 485 BH on the front is very light, which is understandable. The blower adds about 400 lbs or so to the front end but I like weight there so I'll put on the my front weights too.

Do you leave the mid PTO shaft on all year? I don't use a MMM on this tractor. What I did notice is that the bearing assembly is quite low, sitting under the front hitch as it does.


Rob

 

[jjmarotz]

Hmmmm... An electric chute actuator, that sounds like something I might be interested in doing myself. I have some stepper motors but maybe I could do it with a 12v windshield wiper motor and linkage.

How much are you extending the bucket with the wings? I just measured my tractor width at the ground, front and back and neither wheel is over 59" even with my rear wheels in the widest position. The blower itself runs about 59-1/2", outside to outside without the snow cutters on each side. Wonder why Deere doesn't use them?

What I found with my last blower is that you have to get the tractor right behind it or the tractor 'skews' to one side or the other, I'm wondering if the wings will help with this?

The other thing is that when I was installing the blower I took off the 300cx loader and with the 485 BH on the front is very light, which is understandable. The blower adds about 400 lbs or so to the front end but I like weight there so I'll put on the my front weights too.

Do you leave the mid PTO shaft on all year? I don't use a MMM on this tractor. What I did notice is that the bearing assembly is quite low, sitting under the front hitch as it does.


Rob

The wings will increase width by 8" total, with the amount of snow I have to move it just speeds up the process, also I have a circle driveway and when turning with the blower the rear wheels would "walk" up on the snow that hadn't been moved yet compacting it and building ice ridges. My old 68" 3pt blower allowed more movement of the tractor in deeper snow without the tires touching the banks.

Yea I left the PTO shaft on this yr. I don't have mmm either and as you said the front coupler/bearing assy sits lower than the shaft so that would be damaged before the shaft if anything. I think if one was doing lots of dirt work and running around stups, rocks, deep mud, ruts, etc it may be a good idea to remove the shaft as to not "highcenter" the tractor and bend it.

 

[xkbal]

The shear pin system is excellent, like on the 47 and having changed pins on blowers on the system where the pin runs through the axle itself is a pain especially when it is full of snow. This is so much easier.

Something to keep in mind is that, unless they have changed the blower, the impeller has no shear protection. I've broken 2 of the castings the impeller bolts to when something got caught in the impeller.

Al