Buying Advice Advice on 2320 purchase for mowing and snow removal

[jcmseven]

One question, Can you effectively move snow from a gravel driveway with a snowblower withouth chipping up the auger and chute??? I have honestly though about getting one for my 2320, as we do get some snow; but I have been reluctant secondary to my actual drive being gravel.

John M.

 

[Dutch445]

Hey John,thanks

I would say you are probably going to get chips,
as you always get some stones. The best thing
I can recommend is having the driveway topped with
what we call here "driveway mix", which is very small
crushed stone (again, i think around here we call it #1)
mixed with stone dust. This mixture packs well, and if
you run these small stones thru they blower they do minimal
damage.

If you have seen what has been thru my blower, you wouldn't
believe it. I believe Shulte or Loftness had videos of blowing
gravel with their blowers on their website, my 47 has been there
done that. (i actually had to have a machine shop replace the
side of the blower housing around the impellar because of the
tears in the steel from my ex using it for 1 winter after I moved out)

anyway, there is also some very thin polyethylene sheets out
there that could be used to line the chute if you were concerned.

hmmmmmm...............

 

[Dutch445]

To add to the gravel question,
it is usually only a problem here very
early winter, or a very late storm when
the ground is thawed.
Once the driveway is frozen, the snopack
makes a nice base, and the shoes can
be raised to allow the cutting edge back down
for a clean scrape of the driveway base.

 

[JJKJ]

I did ok with the blower on my X500 for the first time out--not picking up too much of the rock on my drive. Not sure if it was the right thing to do, but on my X500 you can adjust how low the blower will go by adjusting the mower height knob. Usually you have it all the way down so the blower is riding on the skid shoes, and this is the way I did the cement pad in front of my garage. For the drive, I set the adjustment knob so the blower was riding about 1/2" off the drive. This puts all the weight of the blower on the lift mechanism and front of the tractor. Probably not the best, but it did work. On day 2 of snow, as you said dutch, I let the blower ride on the snowpack and it picked up minimal rock. The rock on my drive isn't true gravel, it has an asphalt base and the rock is small decorative-type pebble so it did scratch the inside of my chute a bit but nothing I was worried about.

I am however leaning towards configuring my future purchase with the front blade and FEL. First, from watching a few plowing videos, I think the blade will do the job a vast majority of the time. Using the FEL to move large piles may be necessary, maybe not. However, the big advantage I see to using the FEL and blade is that both can be used for other jobs than snow removal. Unfortunately the blower can only be used for snow removal (and maybe gravel removal as well ). The other big reason for going with a blade is the cost in relation to the blower. I'm stretching the budget on my tractor purchase so I'd like to spend the money to get the base tractor I'd like and if necessary add implements later. Down the road if a blower seems like the right thing to do, I can add it easily. I'd really like to spend the money on a FEL after thinking about some of the projects I have this coming spring and summer (I have a couple minor erosion issues to remedy).

So right now I have the dealer working on a quote for both a 2320 and 2520 with a FEL, 62" mmm, and front blade. I think the 2520 is a bit more than I need but the dealer has a 2520 in stock and would have to order the 2320 so on previous quotes, he's giving me a better discount on the 2520 making it an attractive option.

Thanks for all the advice and expertise!

John

 

[JJKJ]

I was playing around with Google Earth and found that the driveway I clear is actually longer than I thought. I've attached a pic of my property; the yellow line is the measurement tool and shows 501' for the main drive itself. I did not measure the lower drive that goes to the barn. I will have to clear that as well because that is where I'll keep the tractor and my son's car.

The house is sits on the high spot with the barn about 15' to 20' lower. The remaining land to the west slopes downward to the road.

For reference on mowing, the island area between the drives is where my biggest hill is. It is fairly steep near the sidewalk leading to the barn. I think a 4wd tractor mowing this area will be beneficial. The pic is oriented North up, so my drive is pointed west. That means there's no real protection from drifting from the prevailing winds. I do have a fence around most of the property as shown which will help, but the drive itself is still open. The good news is that when the wind does blow, it clears the driveway pad nicely for me.

Anyway, thought the pic might help with perspective.

John

 

[Dutch445]

Understood on the FEL with other applications.
Sometimes people don't have much use for it if all
of their projects are done.
Upgrading to the 2520 also opens up the
72" mid mower if you are looking to reduce
mowing time even more!

good luck and keep us posted

 

[turbo36]

I have a 2520 and it is my personal favorite, to me it is the best combination of power and size.
Not trying to start a war but I have driven them all (and owned the 2305) if you are within $1,600 of the 2520 then I would go that way.
I would also get the 54" blower, instead of the plow, if you can afford it. Plowing leaves big piles that lead to more drifting; blowing throws the snow away from the drive and keeps the drifting to just the height of the surrounding ground snow.

 

[JCB]

John,

I've got a similar setup as you and wanted to chime in. Long gravel drive, decent sized parking area, and a 2210 with front blower. We just got a big 14" snow in Madison, WI and clearing it out sucked!

I'm gonna say your drive would have taken about the same 2 hours of time, and that wasn't two SUMMER hours, that was 2 wind chill, coverall, blizzard hours.

By far the blower is the best tool I've used on that tractor, and the ONLY tool for big snow, but snow removal is the one task that always makes me want bigger. The 2210 and 2230 are probably only gonna be marginally faster than your x500. I'm just gonna flat out guess 20% faster. The tractor with a blower works great for keeping the drive clear, but...moving big snow is miserable.

I run the blower on its shoes an inch or two off the drive and do lose traction on the r4's occasionally. I'm debating finding some tire chains to put on. As I'm sure you're aware with the x500, power can occasionally be an issue, and sometimes you have to go slower than you'd like. It'll be the same with the 2320.

All that said, it sure beats shoveling! I'm not getting a bigger machine, but if I was in a similar situation, I'd either get chains and weights for the x500 and have a pretty good snow mover, or skip the 2320 and go for more power and get the 2520 or bigger.

Good luck,

Joe

 

[JCB]

John M.

I wanted to add that gravel is not a problem. I've got a lot of crushed rock hauled in on my drive (fist size and smaller) and around my place. It all goes through the blower occasionally and aside from a reflexive cringe and guilty feeling when hearing and then seeing a rock go flying 20-30 feet, the 48 is built pretty well and not much worse for the wear.

Dutch, it does help greatly that my 48 was already pretty well used when I got it.

Joe

 

[jcmseven]

I would agree the 2520 might be a smidge better than the 2320 with regard to PTO work; most of my experience has been in ground engagement, where the 2320 and 2520 are about the same. To me, the aerial view of your property indicates that you might be a candidate even for a 3000 series. I do not know if you are planning to buy outright or finance. I have always been a "cash on the spot" kind of guy, but with JD zero percent, it might be worth considering a no interest plan. If this is the case you might wish to re-run your numbers and see with a purchase program whether you could justify going into a 3320, for example. Trust me, financially though more pricey initially it will save the buyer money if he or she does not need to re-buy in one-two years (as I have in the past). I would still say the 2320 is a different beast from any of the X series or from the 2305, as it is a true compact tractor. Powering a 60" snowblower would probably tax it, but powering a 54" front mount likely would be fine for it. The question is does our OP want more potential for the future.

John M