About To Test My 2360 Snow Blower

[DMW]

Finished clearing my driveway this afternoon. Large drifts up to 42". Had I cleared them in the middle of the storm when they were 24", I don't think it would have saved much time. Most large snowfalls in this area are lake affect, very light and fluffy. Drifting snow usually packs tighter around here than new fallen.

 

[Dmacleo]

Finished clearing my driveway this afternoon. Large drifts up to 42". Had I cleared them in the middle of the storm when they were 24", I don't think it would have saved much time. Most large snowfalls in this area are lake affect, very light and fluffy. Drifting snow usually packs tighter around here than new fallen.

doing 1 driveway and multiple drives/roads little different.
I handled 8 drives with blower while neighbor handled road.
one spot I didn't touch (course it was my OWN property) was drifted 38 inches. that 70x20 foot run took me a bit (about 15-20 minutes) to clear.
the final run on 600x20 largest drive took me lot less time to clear than spot on my own drive I had ignored.
but I've been keeping commercial properties/customers cleared for 43+ years.
least now I don't have to worry about keeping bare ground/running out at 2" mark.

 

[metalbender]

I beg to differ on the drifted snow is lighter than fallen snow. Probably depends a lot on location. Two feet of drifted snow here stops my tractor dead in it's own length when I try to blade. Fist pass with the blower is done where the snow has least accumulated. Next passes are less than full width.

 

[mgstevens]

From memory, that memory of being a kid on the east coast shovelling driveways full of drifts, it was all white concrete on its way to solidifying. I don't recall the drifts being fluffy or light at all. I admit I have never plowed or cleared drifts. Here it is mostly powder snow and it falls in very even layers.

 

[hube2]

Yep, the drifts here are packed in like concrete, you can walk on the tops of them easily without sinking in. I live in a wind tunnel and 90% of the snow I move is drifts. Cannot get accurate snowfall measurements because the snow generally falls vertically. The grass will be bare in some places while the drifts are 6 feet high.

 

[Dmacleo]

Maybe it is more location driven then realized.
But a foot of drift on top of foot of fresh snow still harder to move than foot of either.
Guess lot depends on customer needs also. Like I said spent years keeping stuff bare pavement or under 4 inches on gravel due to contracts.

 

[bdhsfz6]

It's very windy where I am as well. The snow keeps drifting long after the snow stops falling and I sometimes have to make 2 or 3 more passes until the snow crusts over. The drifts I face can be 2 or 3 times as heavy as fresh fallen snow depending on the moisture content.

I used to put up drift fence in places when I was plowing my 1.25 mile private road with a pickup. I frequently had to use the blower when I couldn't pile the snow high enough with the truck. It was slow going with the blower and used to take hours.

A few years back, I switched to a FEL plow which can pile snow 12' high if necessary and makes short work of the drifts. It's also much faster especially since I don't need to put up the drift fence anymore. I don't use the blower much these days but it's sometimes handy to have around though.

 

[Dmacleo]

It's very windy where I am as well. The snow keeps drifting long after the snow stops falling and I sometimes have to make 2 or 3 more passes until the snow crusts over. The drifts I face can be 2 or 3 times as heavy as fresh fallen snow depending on the moisture content.

I used to put up drift fence in places when I was plowing my 1.25 mile private road with a pickup. I frequently had to use the blower when I couldn't pile the snow high enough with the truck. It was slow going with the blower and used to take hours.

A few years back, I switched to a FEL plow which can pile snow 12' high if necessary and makes short work of the drifts. It's also much faster especially since I don't need to put up the drift fence anymore. I don't use the blower much these days but it's sometimes handy to have around though.

debating towards a slide/bolt on FEL plow ( 60 Inch Snowplow ) or a actual plow ( Front Blade) and am back and forth.
I can stack higher, and convert to pure bucket with the bxpanded type BUT I can do neater (less damage due to float/etc) job with the massey style.
dunno, in all honesty prob go bxpanded type just so I can in few seconds convert to bucket to move banks at end of roads for visibility.

combo of back blower and front end usage (bucket or plow) works best for me

whatever, least now in a 14-18 inch storm I'm not in a truck 18-30 hours and can do crap here on my own time and if people don't like it...oh well LOL
another 8" +/- due starting tonight. puts me at 29-34" for last 8 days.
banks on road running 5-9 feet right now, end of road 12 feet so got to work that soon.
last 2 storms drifts were up to car windows in drives where I didn't have access beside cars. average 3.5 feet.

edit: forgot to mention, due to gulf of maine, I'll OFTEN start off with a heavier snow then turn to lighter. lighter stuff drifts on top of heavier.