Snow Hydrostatic and Compact Plus / Minus

[CDN24]

I'm liking motownbrowne's ..... 'adjusting a stop nut' and the dealer's suggestion of obstruction preventing full pedal travel. It's strong enough in reverse so speed according to the dealer mechanic should only be pedal travel .... swash plate opening yada yada / HST. As far as adjustments on valves goes I went through the shop manual looking for an adjustment, also asked the dealer mechanic, I think you're right no quick adjustment available.

 

[RjCorazza]

Mine is a NH TZ25DA, 3cyl diesel 25 HP engine, 18 HP at the PTO. Reverse in High is practically useless powerwise, I can't back it up my trailer ramp in High. In Reverse Low it's "boil me an egg' slow. I'm looking to get a snow blower attachment for it; the front mount ones so far are costing at $8500.00 ... mounting kit etc, and the rear PTO one is around $2500.00; + tx. Besides a stiff neck after 2hrs of snow work I'm afraid the rear mount at 350lbs will stop the tractor dead in it's tracks facing a good grade and 5" of wet snow. If anyone has experience with blowers on these small units I'd like an opinion. Tx.

I can't comment on the HST speed adjustments, but I will say that while snow blowing you will need to go very (very) slow, particularly with an 18hp machine. On my previous Kubota L3410 (28hp pto) and a 6' rear blower as soon as I started pushing snow while going uphill I would lose traction. Leaving the blower slightly off the ground helped with uphill traction, then lowered to the pavement downhill. The weight of the blower on my rears really helped. I don't want chains because I plow / blow 15 or so driveways and can't risk the damage to the pavement.
There were 2 driveways I was not able to get up after the NE blizzard of 2016 (35"), but these were the kind of driveways that you know are going to be a problem... Plus they waited until 3 days after to call me when the snow was getting pretty wet.
The difference between 5" and 35" is not quite as linear as one would think. The blower will need time to process even 5" of snow, and when you start pushing it the tractor will likely lose traction, particularly uphill.
About rear mounts and comfort, I never had an issue with looking backwards even for hours at a time. What I did finally realize is that blowing snow with an open station tractor is miserable work no matter how much attention you pay to the wind! Even in my area of relatively mild winters I recently decided to get a cab tractor.
Anyway.... you didn't ask about cabs. You will want the "boil me an egg" slow reverse gear!

 

[Tinstafl]

I love my cab and only have used it twice now with the AC on.

 

[Tinstafl]

Forgot to add, I decided on power shuttle rather then hydro. It also opened up more options and it was cheaper.