Best Snowblower?

[PILOON]

OK
The best blower is the one that does what U expected to do!
Like get rid of that white stuff!

OK, they are not all alike.
It all adds up to available $$'s and available HP.

There are simply so many parameters to take into the equation that there is no simple easy answer.
Location, type of snow, depth, temperature and $$ available to spend.
PLUS
No 2 winters will deliver the same types of events.
Think 'global warming'.
Heck up here in Quebec, 2 winters back we were out in Kayaks at Christmas no less!
Years B4 the ice was 24" thick covered by 12 inches of white stuff!
Blame it on global warming!

My take?
Experiment and adapt to what your blower can do!
I run a 60 inch on a 30hp PTO and have learned how to even handle 24 inches of that white wet stuff..
It is called "time and patience", AKA, live and learn!

 

[airbiscuit]

This has been my snow removal journey.

I have a sidewalk, 300' driveway, 1/2 mile private road, neighbors to help. Typical snowfall 4-8" Some 10-15" Occasional 15-20". Here is what I have used over the years.

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - sidewalk light fluffy snow
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - sidewalk 6"+ snow
• ATV w/5' blade - Driveway up to 8"snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - Driveway/Private Road - any amount of snow
• Rear Blade - Driveway/Private Road up to 8" snow
• Rear facing Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road - 6"+ snow
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road Up to 24" snow

Those bolded are what I still have

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - Light and easy
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - Didn't get used enough
• ATV w/5' blade - Quick way to move snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - nothing faster but Disintegrated from lack of use
• Rear Blade - Not great at rolling snow well off to the side
• Rear facing Snowblower - Removes any amount of snow, but comes with a stiff neck
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Fast and efficient - why didn't I do this sooner

No one tool is perfect. Your list might look different.

 

[PILOON]

As a teen we'd use wooden snow shovels and a neighbor would pay me $1.00 to do his 50 ft drive.

But lazy I made up a plow with 3/4 plywood, bedframe steel angle as a cutting edge and a hockey stick and rope to actuate the lift function from the open driver's window.
My plow rig was 'hooked' onto the bumper of my VW beetle.
Dang thing worked just fine.

Sure beat the shove that you'd have to wax for wet snow.

 

[ChesapeakeBoy]

I had a Farm King ... worked great.. but I got tired of going in reverse. I had a Renegade skid steer blower. It was great... It did take a lot of PTO hp to blow... I have gone to a Normand Inverted this year. I hope you use it this week!!!! There are many good blowers out there...

 

[5030]

Rear mount has never been an issue with me because I have 3 cams facing rearward so watching where it is, is no issue. The cams are not there for the blower but for watching farm implements while farming. Selecting any blower distills down to available horsepower (pto) or hydraulic flow as well as how much snow you get in the winter and just what your removal situation is so no one blower is ideal for every use.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I haven't seen the name Schulte yet. They are considered one of the top notch snow blowers in western Canada. My neighbour has an 8' one and it's something to watch. In the right snow he can throw the height of the power lines and I'm guessing about 300 feet. It takes a few pony's though. The fan is around 3' diameter and is on a reduction gearbox. 1000 rpm pto.

 

[5030]

They all take a lot of ooompha, from the little ones to the big ones, all snow blowers are power hogs, which is why a plow is better unless the snow is too deep for a plow.

Consider yourself lucky you ain't filling the fuel tank.....

 

[pmsmechanic]

I have mixed feelings on it all. I've moved snow with a blade and yes it's a lot faster than an fel which is a down right slow way to move snow. I don't really want to spend the money or put the time in for another attachment for my tractor. I have an fel and a front mount snow blower. The snow blower can move the same amount of snow in an hour as I move in 4 hours with the front end loader. I have a few long pushes around the house and the shop. So for me the snow blower right now is the better choice. But is it worth it? I might only use it about twice a winter and some winters not at all. It's a fun way to move snow but I have money siting on the purchase that could be used somewhere else. But it's sure a nice way to move snow and so the justification goes back and forth on my mind. If I was to think about a snow blower again I would most likely look for a good used inverted snow blower, but it's sure nice to have it on the front of the tractor!!!

As for the fuel in my situation it's probably a wash either way. 4 hours of pushing vs 1 hour of blowing snow.

 

[dnw64]

...all snow blowers are power hogs, which is why a plow is better unless the snow is too deep for a plow.

Sorry but that's not the only reason. There's also logistics. I could do it with a plow where we are now, but not easily. Our last house was a BEAR to plow - just no where to put it. The area in front of the garage was roughly 50 x 50 and hemmed in on three sides by the garage, the house and a bank. The turn-around was house on one side and grass on the two others. Over the course of a winter, the snow piled up so high on the side of the driveway that you had to plow it all in front of you, the the only place to put it was on the other side of the road, which had a small ditch and then went up from there. Had to have a loader in more than once. With a decent snowblower you deal with it once (yes, more slowly) but never again. No snowbank moving, no lawn repair come spring, less shoveling. Just blow it and forget about it.

 

[5030]

Every situation is different, every situation is unique. What works for you may not work for me and vice versa. All I'm attempting to impart is blowers are power hogs and plows aren't. Small blower = small tractor, big blower = big tractor, it's all relative but push comes to shove (literally), a snowplow is more fuel efficient than a blower.

I run a 10 foot retired county power angle plow on the front of my 100 horse Kubota and the blower on the back and when I cannot push it anymore or plow steer gets the best of my 9000 pound FWA tractor, I flip around and blow it off.

In my situation, I plow a good mile of semi private road from the farm to the pavement so the plow is the only way to fly and fly I do, but sometimes the drifts get the best of the tractor and then it's blower time. I don't like plow steer, we have deep ditches on the road side so when it gets squirrely, I blow it off. I run chains on the front tires (R1's) and nothing on the back R1's. Not about to visit with the ditch. Not my thing.