Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Pull type blower verses snow berms

   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #1  

degerb

New member
Joined
Jan 19, 2013
Messages
23
Location
Dover, ID
Tractor
Massey-Ferguson 253
Hi Guys:
Thanks for all the input on my previous post for a snowblower dolly, they have helped me a lot. I have a couple of questions before I pull the trigger so to speak, on buying a snowblower. We have snow berm/road width problems in the winter. I have a M/F 253 turbo I intend to use. I know a lot of the pro's and con's but do to my old arthritic neck, I am leaning heavily toward either a Meteor or Lucknow pull type. My questions are, how do pull types handle snow berms left by a snowplow? What is the best way to approach removing them with a pull type? Thirdly, using a pull type to handle snow berms (My M/F can probably handle up to an 84") what is the best width of blower to buy? I realize probably using a back blade to pull the berms away from the banks and guard rails would do the job, but Gee Whiz, that is a lot of mounting and remounting eauipment in winter temps! Thanks Don
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #2  
I had a pull type for many years, quite an antique, and never did get a mfg. name off it.

It had a "wing" off the right side that more than cleared out past the tires. The berm pushed up by the plow guys was taken about 18 inched to the gulp. Snow just poured out into the woods. ;-)
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #3  
Hi Guys:
Thanks for all the input on my previous post for a snowblower dolly, they have helped me a lot. I have a couple of questions before I pull the trigger so to speak, on buying a snowblower. We have snow berm/road width problems in the winter. I have a M/F 253 turbo I intend to use. I know a lot of the pro's and con's but do to my old arthritic neck, I am leaning heavily toward either a Meteor or Lucknow pull type. My questions are, how do pull types handle snow berms left by a snowplow? What is the best way to approach removing them with a pull type? Thirdly, using a pull type to handle snow berms (My M/F can probably handle up to an 84") what is the best width of blower to buy? I realize probably using a back blade to pull the berms away from the banks and guard rails would do the job, but Gee Whiz, that is a lot of mounting and remounting eauipment in winter temps! Thanks Don




About your snow blower issues:
We need to know more about this, is your MF 253 a four wheel drive or two wheel drive unit?
Are the rears loaded with liquid ballast or do you have wheel weights?
Is a front end loader installed on the 253?
Is it an open station or does it have a cabin?
Do you have snow chains for the tractor?-this is something you really need by the way.

What prevents you from installing a swivel seat to permit you to avoid twisting your neck?

If you have an open station tractor you can install very large truck mirrors to save your neck too.


WHY are you removing snow along the shoulder of the road????,this is the responsibility of the municipality in your area who responsibility it is to maintain the roadway.
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #4  
I clear by my mailbox on the roadway with a normal PTO blower. The county struggles to keep the snow berms back on that windy side of the road.. up here where we get lots of lake effect and blown snow. I cut about a 12' notch into the bank at a 30 degree angle upstream to the box to give an area for the county plow to unload the snow it is trying to push back into the bank. Clear close to the front of the box, then a small downstream angled notch. The notch area is also insurance in case I can't use the blower and need to use a blade. Gives me clear areas that I can blade the snow to. I could not do this with a pull type blower. Rear blowers are not that bad if your tractor is big enough that you can sit a little sideways. Lots of tractor operations require the op to go in reverse at least half the time, or keep an eye on his rear implement... so I see it mainly as a normal operation blowing in reverse. :)
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Ok Guys here goes.. My M/f is a 2 wheel drive it has Rim guard in the rear tires and I do have chains and I do not have a FEL. My road is an access road, not a county road which would be plowed by a municipality. My tractor is similar to a Ford 8N but larger where you sit straddle of the tranny and have the gear shift stalks in the way preventing turning too much side saddle or to install a swivel seat. I do not have a cab but am looking for one. I currently am using a JD 160 with a 44" Berco blower on the front, I have really beat it up trying to keep the road wide enough for either a fuel truck or fire truck access in the winter. I know the job is way beyond what the JD is capable of but you use what you have. I bought the M/F to use primarily and using the JD for around the buildings. We really don't get huge snowfalls and drifts like Northern Michigan but unfortunately we do get enough, so was thinking a rear pull blower might be way to go.
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #6  
Ok Guys here goes.. My MF is a 2 wheel drive it has Rim guard in the rear tires and I do have chains and I do not have a FEL. My road is an access road, not a county road which would be plowed by a municipality. My tractor is similar to a Ford 8N but larger where you sit straddle of the tranny and have the gear shift stalks in the way preventing turning too much side saddle or to install a swivel seat. I do not have a cab but am looking for one. I currently am using a JD 160 with a 44" Berco blower on the front, I have really beat it up trying to keep the road wide enough for either a fuel truck or fire truck access in the winter. I know the job is way beyond what the JD is capable of but you use what you have. I bought the M/F to use primarily and using the JD for around the buildings. We really don't get huge snowfalls and drifts like Northern Michigan but unfortunately we do get enough, so was thinking a rear pull blower might be way to go.

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Hello degerb,


I use My JD115 with a 42" front mounted snow caster for clearing long paths
to the wood and coal pile open and keep a broken asphault driveway and a
dirt driveway open during the winter months.

Candidly I think the price of the pull behind snow
blower is going to scare you versus the next larger size
rear mount which will aid you in half cuts with the
PTO running at 540 rpm.


A pair of very large truck mirrors would aid you
considerably as practice will aid you in backing.

Some rear mounts including Pronovost and S.Houle
and others have chute extensions that would reduce the
blowback when the wind kicks up as the extension
funnels the snow way above the operator level.


Paul Vanderzon is member of the forum here and
also sells Both the Pronovost(my favorite) and The S. Houle
snow casters.

You can contact him via the forum here or at Dé§*eigement Vanderzon | Dé§*eigement Saint-Bruno
or call him and tell hom I sent you and he can help you with this issue.
disclaimer: I recieve no financial compensation from Vanderzon Inc.


I would also suggest that you purchase a one of Clarences impeller kits for both your
John Deere and your new snow caster as you will improve them by a factor of at l
east 2 in throwing power.


Please update us with your progress when you are able to if possible.
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #7  
Ok Guys here goes.. My M/f is a 2 wheel drive it has Rim guard in the rear tires and I do have chains and I do not have a FEL. My road is an access road, not a county road which would be plowed by a municipality. My tractor is similar to a Ford 8N but larger where you sit straddle of the tranny and have the gear shift stalks in the way preventing turning too much side saddle or to install a swivel seat. I do not have a cab but am looking for one. I currently am using a JD 160 with a 44" Berco blower on the front, I have really beat it up trying to keep the road wide enough for either a fuel truck or fire truck access in the winter. I know the job is way beyond what the JD is capable of but you use what you have. I bought the M/F to use primarily and using the JD for around the buildings. We really don't get huge snowfalls and drifts like Northern Michigan but unfortunately we do get enough, so was thinking a rear pull blower might be way to go.

I have a Meteor 68" pull type blower. I have found that if you can get the tractor through a drift/berm, the blower will blow it away. I have blown over 24" without any difficulty.

The ideal attachment would be a fel, because you could move the berm out of the way. If you need a blower, then driving vs backing up is much more "civilized", :thumbsup: and is the way to go.
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #8  
I can't think of one single disadvantage of a pull type snowblower as long as your tractor has the clearance to drive over your average snowfall amounts. I wouldn't even consider a rear PTO blower if it wasn't a pull type, even though they are more expensive. The price is the only advantage of the standard blower, as long as your tractor has the ground clearance.

How much PTO hp do you have?
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Hey guys.. It is a rated 50 hp turbo. It has 360/70-R20 tires on the rear, It was a vinyard tractor hence the smaller wheels/tires. I know the ground clearance (10") could be a problem with deep snow, but I figure I will just blow more often. If clearance it is a huge problem, then I will have to have larger wheel discs fabricated for larger rims/tires as some M/F 253 stuff is hard to come by. Oh well, It's only money Right?:(
 
   / Pull type blower verses snow berms #10  
Hey guys.. It is a rated 50 hp turbo. It has 360/70-R20 tires on the rear, It was a vinyard tractor hence the smaller wheels/tires. I know the ground clearance (10") could be a problem with deep snow, but I figure I will just blow more often. If clearance it is a huge problem, then I will have to have larger wheel discs fabricated for larger rims/tires as some M/F 253 stuff is hard to come by. Oh well, It's only money Right?:(

______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Hello degerb,


I hate to say this BUUUUUUT I think you will be money ahead trading the MF253
towards a Kubota 2360 with a heated cab or the John Deere equivalent and
a front and rear blower rather than go through this as the ground clearance
is going to be a huge problem where it could be hung up and or stranded on
a snow bank/berm your trying to drive over.

The 2360 will have 4 wheel drive and the hydrostatic transmission and with it
you have room enough to swing in the seat to watch the rear while working
or in my case I have a CAB CAM in my truck and I will not be without one from
now on and they work very very well at night too.

The BX2360/John Deere equivalent is small enough to garage and the cabs
allow you to work in your shirt sleeves with the kubota supplied heater and defroster.


Rather than a second snow caster you could use rear blade to push the snow over untill you can no longer pull it into pile to use the front mounted snow caster.



THE LEAST I WOULD DO is purchase a front end loader for it and a plow for it to mount
on the front end loader from everything attachments as they are a forum sponsor.

The front end loader with the plow would allow you to plow the snow into a windrow and the rear mounted snow blower would wack it in one pass and get rid of it for you.
 
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