Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Pull type blower verses snow berms

[aczlan]

I checked Curtis Cabs and The Original Cab Co.both of which require a ROP to attach them. Both are designed for a much smaller tractor than I currently have. I guess until my ship comes in I'll just have to suffer and make do with an open cab and enjoy the fresh air!

Odd, the Original Cab Co. cab on the Cub GT3200 where I used to work did NOT require ROPS attachment (which is good as it doesn't have one)
You might make a frame out of 3/4" PVC and drop a golf cart canopy over it. Should be under $250 for everything.

Aaron Z

 

[smfcpacfp]

I agree, that would be the "Are they nice to have? You bet!" part of my comment. And a rather interesting comparison you make.

To use you own analogy, if you were in the midst of a full day's work in the bush and had to go #1, would you drive to the heated bathroom of the house or just go beside a tree?

Do you agree that it makes more sense to use what ya got (and help others to use theirs to the best of abilities) rather than telling someone that they can't do snow with an open station? There is often much confusion in the difference between NEEDS and WANTS when in reality they are very different.

Where I live, all I have are trees. My outside is my#1 toilet. I agree you should use what you have if feasible. I ordered what I wanted and needed, when I ordered my tractor. I am not familiar with anyone who confuses NEEDS and WANTS. Why would anyone give up what they WANT if it is more than what they NEED, if wants are feasible. I guess masochists think that way, but not I.

I think we agree essentially, but the original idea here was would a pull thru blower would handle road berms well. I really don't know since I don't have a pull through rig. Personally I think it would be difficult if the tractor would not push thru the hard pack snow berm. There is no doubt that that a front blower with have little problem with issue. I deal with that issue all of the time.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

I think we agree essentially, but the original idea here was would a pull thru blower would handle road berms well. I really don't know since I don't have a pull through rig. Personally I think it would be difficult if the tractor would not push thru the hard pack snow berm. There is no doubt that that a front blower with have little problem with issue. I deal with that issue all of the time.

I
4. To deal with a plow ridge bigger than you can drive thru, raise the blower to the top, back up over the ridge (stop when the back tires start to climb the bank), drop the blower and pull ahead. Repeat as necessary.

I've removed 5' high x 10' wide plow ridges with this method. And the ridges are usually half ice when I get to them as it's usually people that come home after a few weeks south and want their driveway opened.


About the only down side to a pull type is you can't move a pile like you can with either a front mount or conventional rear mount if the blower is the same width as the tractor. If the blower is wider than the tractor, you can nibble into the bank.

 

[PILOON]

Another consideration for pull type is your tractor weight.
While mine is conventional back up type, I notice that in certain snow conditions the snow simply compacts under my wheels as my tractor being a 20 hp CUT lacks the weight to doze thru.
Then follows a bumpy ride. I wonder if a pull would be practical on a CUT?
A heavier tractor would simply squish thru to the road bed.

In these parts the pull blower is mainly used by contractors in suburbs where houses are every 500 ft. The guys back up to the garage doors and drive off to the next house. all of 10 mins per client! Most use 8 ft pulls on 100 hp tractors (cabbed)

 

[rmorey]

Just a tip...if you get hydro rotation on the pull type blower, set the stops BEFORE you use it. That thing can put 2500 lbs of wet snow down your neck, before you realize what happened. Ask me how I know!

 

[degerb]

I will primarily have to deal with berms thrown up by plows parallel with the road way. I don't have too many piles to deal with. Nibbling away at the berms makes sense! My question is this.. What width is the norm for a pull type or inverted blower or is there such a thing? My tractor's track width is 60", which width would be best a 68" or a 75". My 50 hp tractor will handle both, but at this point I think I am going to go with a Martin Meteor 68" with with hyd chute rotation.

 

[kco]

I will primarily have to deal with berms thrown up by plows parallel with the road way. I don't have too many piles to deal with. Nibbling away at the berms makes sense! My question is this.. What width is the norm for a pull type or inverted blower or is there such a thing? My tractor's track width is 60", which width would be best a 68" or a 75". My 50 hp tractor will handle both, but at this point I think I am going to go with a Martin Meteor 68" with with hyd chute rotation.

I have a 75" Meteor pull-type and no experience with the 68". The 75" is heavier built than the 68" and they are rated at 50hp for the 75" and 35 hp for the 68". I think these may be maximum horsepower ratings since my DK35SE HST (with just 28 hp PTO) has no trouble with the 75" (my dealer assured me it would handle it). Other TBNers who know more about equipment (i.e. 99% of them?) may have a better idea regarding blower hp ratings. It may be worth asking MK Martin (Meteor manufacturer) about it. I talked to them when researching blowers a couple of years ago and they were very helpful as were others I contacted.

As I said in another post, the Erskine looked like the best of Lucknow, Meteor and Erskine, but they were expensive for shipping to my location. The Lucknow also looked good but Meteor won out due to shipping (plus I think I liked Meteor's chute rotator better).

Cheers

 

[JerryK]

The bigger blowers usually have a larger gear box, which should be sized at least as large as the avail HP. Hard for a little tractor to tear up a big one, but easy for a big tractor to tear up a little one. Most of these gear boxes are just standard off the shelf stuff, used on blowers and bush hogs/etc. They are designed for standard jumps in HP, say 30, 60, 100. Same with the PTO shaft.. Bigger rating is always better. You should shoot for at least 2-3 inches wider than your tire track, if not 4-6". You can add width with wings if you have too, but if you are buying new the next bigger size is usually a good long term investment. I run mine just outside of my right tire, and sticking out on the left. This helps with the PTO shaft alignment [PTO's usually are offset just to the left of center looking at the rear of the tractor]. Plus gives me lots of clearance on the left [between tire and mailbox/etc.], which is my usual cutting edge whilst blowing. Also depends on how tight you set your side to side stabilizers. You can have a lot of side to side slop if you don't have them or they are setup too loose.
I still don't see the facination with a pull type, other than being able to blow forward. I have a big heavy CUT, and don't see how it could work trying to drive thru heavy snow pulling one. And the bank cutting thing, you'd be adding to the packing of the bank by driving over it. Most larger cuts are not that uncomfortable sitting side sadle going backwards. And you don't have to stare at it 24/7, much more than running a backblade/etc. I sit looking over my right shoulder, left hand on steering knob, right avail to raise/lower or rotate chute. You can do some creative remodeling of things that are in your way to be comforatable. And the cab thing, there are lots of shinny N.H. and Case cab'd tractors around here. Most of the duct taped cab repairs I have seen are the back left top corner... Northern Michigan hardwood forests are hard on cabs...

 

[Deerherd]

In these parts the pull blower is mainly used by contractors in suburbs where houses are every 500 ft. The guys back up to the garage doors and drive off to the next house. all of 10 mins per client! Most use 8 ft pulls on 100 hp tractors (cabbed)

Can somebody explain to me why this is better and or easier? You still have to back up the full length of the driveway and you have now run over/packed down the snow TWICE. My old neighbor had a pull type and he was constantly scraping these frozen tracks by hand off his paved drive.

He spent WAY too much time being a traffic hazard trying to whittle away the big piles at the road when a single trip in each direction with a rear blower would have taken care of it. Never mind the fact he would have to get towed out of the ditch three to four times a year. He didn't have to edge his driveway though, he removed three feet of sod every winter.

I need to purchase a blower in the next month or two and keep looking at the pull type because of my 2800' drive. I ordered a plow that will be used 90% of the time but other than going in reverse, the benefits of the rear blower seem to far outweigh the pull type or am I missing something here?

 

[rmorey]

Can somebody explain to me why this is better and or easier? You still have to back up the full length of the driveway and you have now run over/packed down the snow TWICE. My old neighbor had a pull type and he was constantly scraping these frozen tracks by hand off his paved drive.

He spent WAY too much time being a traffic hazard trying to whittle away the big piles at the road when a single trip in each direction with a rear blower would have taken care of it. Never mind the fact he would have to get towed out of the ditch three to four times a year. He didn't have to edge his driveway though, he removed three feet of sod every winter.

I need to purchase a blower in the next month or two and keep looking at the pull type because of my 2800' drive. I ordered a plow that will be used 90% of the time but other than going in reverse, the benefits of the rear blower seem to far outweigh the pull type or am I missing something here?

Deerherd,

Most long driveways are gravel covered. As a result, you need to leave a small covering of snow on the driveway to limit the gravel thrown into the ditch by the blower.

In the normal course of blowing out my driveway, I would start up the tractor, blow down the rh side of the driveway to the road, clean up the entrance with the fel, then blow back to the house on the lh side. I dont back and forth anywhere.