Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow Blower Attached on Tractor?

[NhcoastalJ]

Hi
I came across this site and think its a great source of information. I am purchasing a home next week and need something to cut the grass (@ 2 acres) and clear the driveway. Living in New England (NH) we get a mix of snow types heavy & wet or light and blowing. I would like to put a snow blower on the front of a riding tractor (CC 3 series) but will I get the traction I need ect ect or should I get a seperate snow blower. Most people I have talked to recommend buying a seperate unit. The driveway is @ 100 ft long and has a fairly steep rise.
I also plan on mounting a tiller on the rear a few years down the road.

 

[jim_wilson]

You should do some searching thru the site - there are tons of postings about using a snowblower on a tractor and the front mount snowblower vs. rear mount snowblower debate. For what you will probably pay for a front mount snowblower for your tractor you could probably get one of those really nice Honda snowblowers with the tracks - which will work well on your steep driveway and be more maneuverable than the tractor mounted blower will be.

 

[skivt]

Do you have a steep hill or is it flat? I also live in NH and liked having a snowblower on the front of my wheel horse. I have a steep hill so I had wheel weights and chains and it worked great.

Now that I have my MF 2300, I am looking to buy a rear snow blower. The rear one is half the price of the front mount.

Welcome to TBN,

skivt

 

[NhcoastalJ]

My driveway is steep along with the the front lawn going up to the front of the house. The tractors I'm looking at do not support a rear blower only a front mount.

 

[hwp]

Welcome to TBN.

The first thing that I would suggest you do is really think about what you want to do with your tractor and what attachments you may want to add in the future. There is a wide variety of tractor types available, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Many of us took a few iterations before we ended up with exactly what we wanted/needed. I started with a 12hp garden tractor, then went to a 18hp Snapper, and finally to my Kubota F2400. All were bought used. My major activities are cutting grass and snow blowing, my preference for both is front-mounted attachments. A cab was a high priority. My Kubota came with a cab, a 60" mower deck, a 52" snowblower and a dozer blade. I have since added a 60" sweeper, a rototiller and a tow-behind aerator. A front-mount tractor is the perfect fit for me, but not for everybody. A front-mount tractor does not have a 3ph, which some people cannot live without.

Two acres is a lot of grass to cut with a lawn/garden tractor sized mower. I cut about 2 acres of grass - often twice a week - and the 60" mower deck works well for me. My previous tractors had 42" mower decks and I found them too small. A lot of people find ZTR machines great for just cutting grass.

Snow removal is another matter. In my opinion a 100' driveway is a bit small for a tractor-mounted snowblower. I think you would probably be better off with a seperate machine. One of the major issues with a snowblower is how far you want to throw the snow. If all you want to do is dribble it off the driveway then almost any machine will do. But if you want to throw the snow any distance, there are two critical factors - the tip or discharge velocity and the clearance between the drum and the blade tips. A snowlower capable of throwing snow 100 feet requires a dishcarge velocity of about 5000 feet/min and a gap between the blades and the drum of no more than 0.020". I rebuild the tips of the blades on my snowblower every other year and fit the tips to the drum with a 0.010" feeler gauge. Most people prefer a two-stage snowblower to a single-stage snowblower. A major difference is that with a two-stage blower, the discharge velocity is determined by the speed of the impeller, all the auger does is feed the impeller. Whereas with a single stage snowlower, the auger is also the impeller and therefore has to turn faster to achieve the same dishcarge velocity.

The point of all this is that there are a lot of factors to consider before you make a final decision. Good luck! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif