Snow Attachments FEL Plow blade or rear snow blower?

[koopster]

Id your tractor a Gear drive or hydro? Ifits a hydro you will be losing a lot of power just to operate the transmission.

The Erskine folks have a rear to front P.T.O. set up for front mounting of shaft powered integral implements. Michigan Iron works I think is the other one.

A rear rear mount snow blower with all the bells and whistle and a rotating drum like the Pronovost 720 TRC will cost you less money than a PTO conversion kit.

Leonz, you are so right about the Pronovost TRC. No clogging as you can rotate the drum left or right. I LOVE mine. my last post on our recent slush storm http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/snow-removal/233048-side-discharge-rotating-drums.html Sometimes a bit of extra $$up front saves a ton down the road.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Creamer]

I am surprised at how many people suggested a snow blower. I havea 1200' long drive and live in NE Indiana. My Ford 1710 with turf tires can plow this driveway with up to 6" of snow in about 15 minutes with a back blade angled driving forward. I plow in almost high gear and turn around using the brake so that I can do a donut and make a real sharp turn.

If there is more that 6" it takes a little longer because I have to make a couple of more passes. IF it is real serious and drifted a couple of feet high, I turn the blade backward and angle it off the driveway to clear it out and then go forward to smooth everything out. The longest I have ever taken to clear my driveway in the last twenty years is an hour and that was a real serious blizzard with 3-4' drifts over half of my driveway in an area that I had to push it a ways to get to where I could push it far enough off out of the way to not have it drift shut again.

I would never waste my time and money on a blower especially without a cab!

 

[grsthegreat]

I am surprised at how many people suggested a snow blower. I havea 1200' long drive and live in NE Indiana. My Ford 1710 with turf tires can plow this driveway with up to 6" of snow in about 15 minutes with a back blade angled driving forward. I plow in almost high gear and turn around using the brake so that I can do a donut and make a real sharp turn.

If there is more that 6" it takes a little longer because I have to make a couple of more passes. IF it is real serious and drifted a couple of feet high, I turn the blade backward and angle it off the driveway to clear it out and then go forward to smooth everything out. The longest I have ever taken to clear my driveway in the last twenty years is an hour and that was a real serious blizzard with 3-4' drifts over half of my driveway in an area that I had to push it a ways to get to where I could push it far enough off out of the way to not have it drift shut again.

I would never waste my time and money on a blower especially without a cab!

it all depends on amount of snow over the season. We can easily get 10-12 feet of snow over the season, and while plows work great....they do build up a berm that gradually closes down the driveway as more and more snow arrives. You simply run out of places to push it.

Then the snow blower comes in the blow further snow 30-50 feet away. Worth every penny that they cost in high snow areas.

 

[linrick1]

I run a PA plow on the front and a blower on the back. For lighter snowfalls, I'll windrow the snow and then blow it into the woods. For heavier snowfalls I'll start right in with the blower and then clean up with the plow. Until I can get myself a rig like smfcpacfp's this setup does the trick for me...Rick

 

[grsthegreat]

I did the windrow thing myself this last snowfall. Worked great. Took less overall time than blowing everything. Best of both worlds as it made the job faster AND allowed me to blow the snow 30-40 feet away from the roads to allow for melting water not to puddle next to the berms that the plow makes.

 

[lungdoc]

All snow removal advice needs to be hugely adjusted for local conditions. The amount and type of snow, whether it melts much between snowfalls, whether it stays cold enough to keep a frozen base, whether there's hills or not, how much of a ditch you have, road surface type, whether it's larger areas or a long road, whether you have any place to put the snow piles, the amount of wind and drifting etc. can all make big differences in your choices. Where we are a plow is quick but the banks build up too much for a truck plow alone, so I blow it when I am there and also remove a lot of the banks, we pay a guy to plow with a truck if we aren't there.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I am surprised at how many people suggested a snow blower. I havea 1200' long drive and live in NE Indiana. My Ford 1710 with turf tires can plow this driveway with up to 6" of snow in about 15 minutes with a back blade angled driving forward. I plow in almost high gear and turn around using the brake so that I can do a donut and make a real sharp turn.

If there is more that 6" it takes a little longer because I have to make a couple of more passes. IF it is real serious and drifted a couple of feet high, I turn the blade backward and angle it off the driveway to clear it out and then go forward to smooth everything out. The longest I have ever taken to clear my driveway in the last twenty years is an hour and that was a real serious blizzard with 3-4' drifts over half of my driveway in an area that I had to push it a ways to get to where I could push it far enough off out of the way to not have it drift shut again.

I would never waste my time and money on a blower especially without a cab!

Not only does it depend on how much snow you get in a season (we get 10 to 30 feet), currently we are at 12 1/2 feet, it depends upon whether it stays around. In NE Indiana it comes and then it melts a short time later. Where I live it comes in late November and keeps accumulating until mid March with very little melting. People who plow have to leave huge areas to accumulate snow, and if they don't, they spend $1,000 a truckload to haul it away.

Where I live, nobody with only half a brain would buy a plow to clear their driveway.

 

[toxicjeeper]

I did the windrow thing myself this last snowfall. Worked great. Took less overall time than blowing everything. Best of both worlds as it made the job faster AND allowed me to blow the snow 30-40 feet away from the roads to allow for melting water not to puddle next to the berms that the plow makes.

Started doing this as well. Drop the bucket and drive up one side and back the other and use the snowblower to clean up the windrow in the middle. I cant belive how little snow we have had this year.. unreal..usually have a good 3 foot wall on either side from the blower..not this year..

 

[buickanddeere]

Pushing snow is a waste of time as the ridges and heaps just increase drifting. A snowblower hurls the snow away down wind.

 

[douber1]

A CAB WOULD BE A DEFENITE PLUS EVEN IF ONLY A USED ONE
CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW MACHINE