Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Pull type blower verses snow berms

[Deerherd]

Rick,

Thanks for the reply and I have about 250' paved up at the house the rest gravel. Last year I had a DK35 with cab and only used the blower maybe 5 times. I didn't use the blower until I had a good base and mostly to move the snow banks back. The two big snows I had there was no way I could have driven the tractor forward, it was up to the middle of the grill.

In my case since I will mostly be using a plow, I think I'm going to stick with the rear blower. It's much more efficient for moving the banks back and the few times a year it's too much for the plow, I'll just go in reverse. It's pretty easy with a cab and mirrors anyway.

Thanks again for your reply.

 

[kco]

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.

This is a good point and something I forgot to mention about the Meteor blower. Adjustable skid shoes are extra (I recall around $130). The blower of course does have a fixed runners on each side but adjustable shoes are handy for early season and warm weather blowing. I think some manufacturers include adjustable shoes as standard.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

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)

It's 2 min or less per drive not 10. I regularly run around 35 - 40 drives per hr, including travel time between.

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?

If the blower is set up properly, there is no problem scraping clean to the pavement, except for wet, heavy plow ridges. Backup and pull the plow ridge, then pull the drive. If you keep it cleared tight to the edge of where you want from the start of the season, it's not a big issue.

It sounds like you neighbour had some difficulties with his setup if he got towed out of the ditch 3 - 4 times a year. The company I drive for has an approx 24,000 operator hours in the last 4 yrs and only once did someone need to get towed out of a ditch.

The only times a conventional rear blower is beneficial over a pull type is if you want to move big piles of snow (say from a parking lot into the bush lot next door), if you are trying to move a long plow ridge as you are -- but only if the ridge is bigger than what you can straddle, or you regularly get more snow than you can drive thru.

Please explain, why if you had a pull type blower, why you would bother with a plow at all? Solves your ridge problem.

 

[Deerherd]

The plow for my application and snowfall amounts is much more efficient and quicker. Most snows it's one trip down and back, with a little clean-up at the street and the parking area. The parking area at the house is pretty steep and driving on it without cleaning it right down to the pavement first, turns it into a skating rink. It's a pretty exciting ride backing out of the garage and realizing the only way you are stopping is to hit an immovable object or snow bank. (I now shovel or use a walk behind blower and salt first thing, I don't need that kind of excitement that early in the morning!)

With my previous tractor the moldboard was 24" high and handled a 10" snowfall no problem, which covered 90% of the time. I went to a 30" moldboard for my current tractor but its a couple of feet wider so time will tell how much that can do.

Not sure what they do in Canada or who I ticked off at the highway dept but they seem to try and dump as much snow as possible where my driveway hits the main road. They come and fill in my driveway as soon as they see me leave and then hang around the town garage betting how many people will drop dead from heart attacks from their handiwork. If you don't get at it before the first thaw/freeze cycle (like the time between going to and coming home from work) you're sunk. There is a 4-6 foot wide 2-3 feet high pretty solid wall of ice blocking the drive.

Sometimes I can break through with the plow but usually it's where I use the blower the most. I can back right into it (that's AFTER I have trudged to the house and brought back the tractor) with a rear blower. How does one clear this wall of ice with no plow or a forward blower?

 

[rmorey]

The plow for my application and snowfall amounts is much more efficient and quicker. Most snows it's one trip down and back, with a little clean-up at the street and the parking area. The parking area at the house is pretty steep and driving on it without cleaning it right down to the pavement first, turns it into a skating rink. It's a pretty exciting ride backing out of the garage and realizing the only way you are stopping is to hit an immovable object or snow bank. (I now shovel or use a walk behind blower and salt first thing, I don't need that kind of excitement that early in the morning!)

With my previous tractor the moldboard was 24" high and handled a 10" snowfall no problem, which covered 90% of the time. I went to a 30" moldboard for my current tractor but its a couple of feet wider so time will tell how much that can do.

Not sure what they do in Canada or who I ticked off at the highway dept but they seem to try and dump as much snow as possible where my driveway hits the main road. They come and fill in my driveway as soon as they see me leave and then hang around the town garage betting how many people will drop dead from heart attacks from their handiwork. If you don't get at it before the first thaw/freeze cycle (like the time between going to and coming home from work) you're sunk. There is a 4-6 foot wide 2-3 feet high pretty solid wall of ice blocking the drive.

Sometimes I can break through with the plow but usually it's where I use the blower the most. I can back right into it (that's AFTER I have trudged to the house and brought back the tractor) with a rear blower. How does one clear this wall of ice with no plow or a forward blower?

If something is in front of me that will cause a problem blowing the driveway, I just push it off to the side with the fel, back up a bit and then keep on going.

 

[aczlan]

How does one clear this wall of ice with no plow or a forward blower?

By clearing the shoulder for 10-20 feet on each side of the driveway so that when the plow guy gets to your driveway, the snow is dumped in that cleared space (not in your driveway).

Aaron Z

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

You deal with the big ridge with 2 methods:

By clearing the shoulder for 10-20 feet on each side of the driveway so that when the plow guy gets to your driveway, the snow is dumped in that cleared space (not in your driveway).

Aaron Z

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.

 

[RFB]

smfcpacfp,

I have to agree with your premise of "need" for doing your "own" snow. My "own" snow consists of two miles of 16 foot wide road, and three different structures with appurtenances. I use a 5740HSTC with a front power angle blade and rear 7 foot Loftness blower for the road, and a B3000HSDCC with front blower for the driveways and appurtenances. No, I do not "need" that comfort or convenience, in heavy, blowing drifting snow. But I sure am thankful for it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...01t-newbie-3-mile-snowplow-challenge-snow.jpg

 

[Scooby074]

With enough ground clearance, pull type can handle alot of snow with no problems. A video from quebec, where they get more than their share of snow.

 

[PILOON]

With enough ground clearance, pull type can handle alot of snow with no problems. A video from quebec, where they get more than their share of snow.

Multiple close drives is primarily what the pull type blower was designed for.
One fellow I know in Montreal Area assigns about 75 drives per blower in the suburbs. Some pull blowers also have a drop down pull blade attached to the blower so as to leave nil snow at the garage doors.
The guy I speak of has a fleet of about 10 blowers, half owned and half rented. The rented ones get used by farmers in the summer. Also for trouble free fleet he trades every 3 years or so.
In summers his same clients use him to mow lawns and related chores.