hydraulic pump on PTO for front snow blower

[Reg]

Oh great wise ones:

I'm researching what tractor to get, and want to end up with a snow blower up front. I'm looking at about 30hp and a 5 foot blower. Looks like one way to do this is get a FEL with skidsteer quick attach, then get a hydraulic blower with quick attach fittings. Problem is that tractors in the 30 hp range will not have enough hydraulic gpm to operate a snow blower. So, I'd have to put a hydraulic pump on the rear PTO and run lines up front.

How do you do this? Do you have to buy all the components separately (pump, reservoir, control block, lines) or are there standardized after market kits for doing this?

How much gpm would I need?

Thanks in advance, JG

It isn't THAT hard to shop for all the components and hook them up.
Probably the hardest part on a small tractor is finding somewhere to conveniently mount the reservoir tank.
A ROUGH guideline is that you need a gallon of reservoir for every gallon per minute of pump capacity.
Even a 5 or 10 gallon tank can be hard to find a convenient spot for on a CUT.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

It isn't THAT hard to shop for all the components and hook them up.
Probably the hardest part on a small tractor is finding somewhere to conveniently mount the reservoir tank.
A ROUGH guideline is that you need a gallon of reservoir for every gallon per minute of pump capacity.
Even a 5 or 10 gallon tank can be hard to find a convenient spot for on a CUT.

Your rule of thumb IS correct...but back when I was debating hyd drive vs mechanical drive on my Power Rake project I found many articles and posts saying while what you say is true, you CAN get away with much smaller resevoirs by using quality modern day fluids and hydraulic coolers....

But at the end of the day your GPM = Reservoir Size is a bulletproof combo.

 

[Reg]

Your rule of thumb IS correct...but back when I was debating hyd drive vs mechanical drive on my Power Rake project I found many articles and posts saying while what you say is true, you CAN get away with much smaller resevoirs by using quality modern day fluids and hydraulic coolers....

But at the end of the day your GPM = Reservoir Size is a bulletproof combo.

Right, you can "get away with" none at all, e.g. what is in the pump, motor and lines - at least for a short period and a very light load.
The capacity of the cooler counts as part of the reservoir.

The O/P might recall seeing roadside mowers with LARGE vertical tanks - guess what ?
They're 40, 50 gallons or more.
OK, so those are for continuous duty in HOT weather and they probably hook up as much mower as they can, etc.
I don't know what de-rating factor to choose for low temperatures (snow) and short term use (maybe an hour ?) at less than rated power.

Many CUTs have 9 or 10 gallons available and I was guessing that the O/P has already determined that wouldn't be enough - BICBW about that.
Anyway, just holding up a 5 gallon gas can against a 30 or so HP CUT suggests a space problem, even in a "get by with" engineering sense and that would be a 1/3 down size against a 15 GPM pump.
The synthetics enthusiasts will probably decide the guideline is obsolete, they drink a LOT of oil company Koolaid.
(-:

 

[aczlan]

Anyway, just holding up a 5 gallon gas can against a 30 or so HP CUT suggests a space problem, even in a "get by with" engineering sense and that would be a 1/3 down size against a 15 GPM pump.

Well, you could make a belly tank IF you dont do much offroading...
Some quick calculations (L*W*H*0.00432900433) tell me that a tank that is 36" wide, 36" long and 6" high will hold ~33 gallons (mount in place of a MMM).
Alternatively, a pair of tanks that are 10" wide, 6" high and 48" long (mounted underslung on each side of the mid PTO (where your add-on pump is mounted) with 1.5 or 2" hose connecting them and an inlet on one and an outlet on the other will give you ~25 gallons of fluid storage.

Either should be enough in the winter to run a blower, especially with so much surface area on the tanks, it should cool the fluid very well.
It would also help with running fluid lines... You could have a very short return line.

Something to think about.

Aaron Z

 

[mikefromnh]

How about a 3ph weight box/reservoir, I imagine you could fit 15+ gallons easily enough.

 

[aczlan]

How about a 3ph weight box/reservoir, I imagine you could fit 15+ gallons easily enough.

That is what is done for the Deere/Frontier SB21/SB2176 (which has a 18-25GPM flow at 3000 PSI). However someone mentioned wanting to retain use of the 3 point hitch (such as for a rear blade) and a under-tractor hyd fluid reservoir would allow that.

Aaron Z

 

[Reg]

I use a rear blade in winter.
I also use the loader for stacking, but ...... I guess that is a trade-off.
I don't think a front blower would eliminate MY need to move/stack/dump over the edge.
So for ME a front blower is out, so rigging a rear reservoir becomes a "not needed".
Belly tanks ? Yes, POSSIBLE. IF I could get by without the loader bucket.
I guess I haven't bought into the front blower idea itself very much (-:
Right now the hoe is on - Oh yeah, swapping THAT and the loader for a front blower and belly tank.
I would look forward to THAT task every time a storm warning shows up (-:
We get a lot of false alarms here, significant nor-easters often become no shows, so over investing in storm preparation can become very frustrating.
Not much beats the simplicity and straightforwardness of a FEL and rear blade.

B'sides, I already OWN them - as in "paid for".

 

[Reg]

YAT
Yet another tangent.
Since the O/P is still in the initial stages of the tractor purchase decision it might be worth adding this all up and then reconsidering a larger tractor with ONLY a FEL and rear blade.

Personally I still don't SEE the point of blowing snow, it rarely worked for me with a walk behind.
True you are higher up on a tractor and it can probably throw it farther, but the wind isn't always in your favor and I'm thinking that I would almost NEED a cab if I was blowing snow around this place.
That would be NICE, but there are competing alternatives for that sort of money and I like bigger tractors anyway.

So, a 30 HP or so tractor with FEL, 5 ft blower and the hydraulics project.
Perhaps plus a cab ?
vs.
A 50 HP or so tractor with FEL and rear blade.
Perhaps plus a snowmobile suit ?
and some change leftover, might even get into a Cat 2 tractor..... maybe.

 

[forester2]

I went thru the same mental exercise and ended up buying a second tractor- Kubota HSD3030 w/ cab and front mount blower. NO regrets!!

 

[Reg]

I went thru the same mental exercise and ended up buying a second tractor- Kubota HSD3030 w/ cab and front mount blower. NO regrets!!

Yes, it is a trade-off that MIGHT work one way for some folk and the other way for others.
Like HOW MUCH snow can reasonably be expected ?
HOW MUCH of that is best blown vs blade'd, carried and stacked ?
What OTHER benefits would a larger tractor have ?
What competing alternatives one (or one's spouse) might have for those funds ?
on and on......

I guess getting wedded to the idea of having to have a front mount blower isn't for me