Rear Snow Blower - Hydraulic or Manual Rotator?

[devildog1]

Hydraulic All the way. I had two three point snow blowers with the manual chute and they do work well, but sometimes the wind changes when your busy steering round a turn or curve, and all U do is move lever, that's when the hydraulic shines, no cranking. Good Luck, Farmer’s Almanac says above average snow fall for Northeast States.
DevilDog

[Kubotafan]

if you don't have one, buy a snowmobile helmet. Works very well. A cheap one is all you need.

I found a snowmobile helmet would fog up inside.

[Carl Bert]

Through the knowledge I've gained through these forums, I'm going to go with a rear snow blower - looks like the right fit for my situation.

Now the choice: stick with a manual crank for rotating the chute or spend a few hundred for a hydraulic rotator (I already have the rear hydraulic available)? I do have an open platform so keeping the snow off me is important.

having never run snow blower in my life I have no real sense of how often one is moving the chute and how easy it is. I have about 800' of driveway with one curve and it does a large circle in front of my house. I frequently have some wind blowing.

Suggestions?

For those with a hydraulic chute rotator - do you often use it? Would you go back to manual?

Wow, 800 feet of looking behind you. I give you credit. I wouldn't even consider it for my 100 foot drive. I think I would rather a front blower with no cab, over a rear blower with a cab. Having to twist around, to me, takes all the fun out of it. Just my opinion.

[Lightnsound]

I found a snowmobile helmet would fog up inside.

I got a nice pair of ski goggles that work great.

Im fine with the crank, but my machine is open station and the crank is easily within reach. Sure hydraulic rotation is nicer, but then again I could be using a shovel, so I don't complain.

[Kubotafan]

I got a nice pair of ski goggles that work great.

Im fine with the crank, but my machine is open station and the crank is easily within reach. Sure hydraulic rotation is nicer, but then again I could be using a shovel, so I don't complain.

I did use double glass ski goggles and they worked better than the snowmobile helmet. The plexiglas on the roll bar was the best solution by far.

[kiotiken]

Wow, 800 feet of looking behind you. I give you credit. I wouldn't even consider it for my 100 foot drive. I think I would rather a front blower with no cab, over a rear blower with a cab. Having to twist around, to me, takes all the fun out of it. Just my opinion.

Well, I agree that driving around backwards wasn't for me, but a front blower isn't a solution in my mind either. If you drive towards your garage, you leave a pile of snow in front of it, if you drive away from the garage, you leave a tractor length of uncleared snow. The inverse or pull type lets me drive forward, but get right up to the garage door.

[ericher69]

Front blower rear blade takes care of this issue.


I manually clear a hand shovels width near the garage and doors cut could get within a foot with the rear blade.

Just for fun take the tractor you plan on installing the rear blower on and make several swipes (however many it would take to clear desired width)
running in the same gear that you would with the rear blower at 540 PTO

Now imagine having blowing snow/wind/ice blowing back at you.

May be a worthwhile exercise if you haven't purchased the rear blower yet!

Just trying to make you realize what you are in for!

[Carl Bert]

Well, I agree that driving around backwards wasn't for me, but a front blower isn't a solution in my mind either. If you drive towards your garage, you leave a pile of snow in front of it, if you drive away from the garage, you leave a tractor length of uncleared snow. The inverse or pull type lets me drive forward, but get right up to the garage door.

Pull type rear blowers are only good for full size tractors. Ground clearance on the SCUTs just isn't enough to drive over the unplowed snow. But even with the full size, why would you want to drive over the snow first, packing it down, before the blower gets to it. Just doesn't make sense.

I've used front mount blowers for years, and I clear within inches of my garage doors, or anything else I need to get close to. I just can't see where saving a few dollars compares to the inconvenience of a rear mount blower.

[kiotiken]

Pull type rear blowers are only good for full size tractors. Ground clearance on the SCUTs just isn't enough to drive over the unplowed snow. But even with the full size, why would you want to drive over the snow first, packing it down, before the blower gets to it. Just doesn't make sense.

I've used front mount blowers for years, and I clear within inches of my garage doors, or anything else I need to get close to. I just can't see where saving a few dollars compares to the inconvenience of a rear mount blower.

I've been using a rear scraper blade, and a cheap one at that, for years on several different tractors (JD 955, Kioti CK30 and DK 45) and it has done a fantastic job. It might weigh 200lbs compared to the blower at probably close to 1500#, and it has no problem scraping snow that I've driven over, so that doesn't concern me with the blower.

Front mount blowers are great for long runs, but in and around buildings I see them being much more difficult to operate. It's also way more than a couple bucks!

[CDN Farm Boy]

I've used both conventional backup style rear blowers and pull types, never used a front blower. The pull types are great IF you can drive thru the snow, it depends on how much drifts you get. Where do you mount the loader if you have a front blower? I bought the B3300SU because I didn't have to pay for a mid pto that I'll never use. I have 1200' of wide open lane. Sure I'm going to build a cab as I've been spoiled with brand new Case & JD cabbed tractors with different companies I've worked for but I spent the first 15 yrs using a open station 2wd on 3/10 of mile open lane.

The single biggest thing with blowing snow with an open station is paying attention to the wind. I've never had an issue with being covered in the snow from the chute. It may mean driving the lane empty to get to the other end but always blow with the wind. It seems obvious written here but I see it every year someone trying to blow snow up wind.

My neck got just as sore with the backup blowers as the pull type but neither gives me the crook in my neck like bailing hay. I don't understand the "packing the snow before you blow it" issue. How many people run a RFM or MMM? The grass still gets cut. I've yet to see anyone rig up a FMM on their CUT. If your tractor is big enough to drive thru the snow, get a pull type. If not, get a backup style.

Either way, if you have the ability to run hydraulic chute, do it. It's way nicer than using a crank.