Snow Attachments New Provonost Puma-74 delivered yesterday!

[Trails End]

Kubotafan - I meant to comment on the plexiglass shield. It sounds like a good idea but I'll
probably wait until I get some experience with the blower on the tractor. Did you include a
windshield wiper on the plexiglass shield??

 

[srs]

Trails End, sent you a private message. Stanley

 

[Kubotafan]

Kubotafan - I meant to comment on the plexiglass shield. It sounds like a good idea but I'll
probably wait until I get some experience with the blower on the tractor. Did you include a
windshield wiper on the plexiglass shield??

I never had a wiper on it. Occasionally snow would stick to it and I would have to stop to clean it off, but as both sides of the glass are the same temperature the snow would usually just blow off it. I never had any regrets, and only wished I had done it sooner.

 

[check]

I blew snow for five years with an open station tractor before getting a cab tractor. You will find you get snow blowing back on you. After using it for two years I had a brain wave. I got a piece of Plexiglas and mounted it to the roll bar with four u-bolts. It wasn't a cab, but made a BIG difference blowing snow. I wondered why I hadn't thought of it sooner, and would highly recommend it. Likely cost me close to $100.00 by the time I bought the u-bolts and Plexiglas, but was money well spent.

Pictures! Pictures!

 

[Kubotafan]

Pictures! Pictures!

I don't have any pictures and sold the tractor after I bought the B3030HSDCC. The Plexiglas mounted on the back side of the roll bar, and extended about 4-6" on either side. On each side of the u-bolts I put a nut, then a large metal washer, then a rubber washer I cut out of a tire tube, the Plexiglas, another rubber washer, a metal washer, and another nut. I didn't know how much expansion or contraction there might be on the Plexiglas and figured the rubber washer would give a little cushion. With a nut and washer on each side I could adjust the Plexiglas out so it wasn't in contact with the roll bar. I also put rubber gas line on each "leg" of the u-bolt to protect the paint on the roll bar and prevent any metal to metal contact. The Plexiglas drilled easily for the u-bolts. Sorry no pictures, but hopefully this will give an idea of how I did it. I don't have the skills of 4 shorts and others on this site, but was able to handle this project myself. It isn't difficult, and I really don't think anyone will be disappointed with the results.

 

[check]

I don't have any pictures and sold the tractor after I bought the B3030HSDCC. The Plexiglas mounted on the back side of the roll bar, and extended about 4-6" on either side. On each side of the u-bolts I put a nut, then a large metal washer, then a rubber washer I cut out of a tire tube, the Plexiglas, another rubber washer, a metal washer, and another nut. I didn't know how much expansion or contraction there might be on the Plexiglas and figured the rubber washer would give a little cushion. With a nut and washer on each side I could adjust the Plexiglas out so it wasn't in contact with the roll bar. I also put rubber gas line on each "leg" of the u-bolt to protect the paint on the roll bar and prevent any metal to metal contact. The Plexiglas drilled easily for the u-bolts. Sorry no pictures, but hopefully this will give an idea of how I did it. I don't have the skills of 4 shorts and others on this site, but was able to handle this project myself. It isn't difficult, and I really don't think anyone will be disappointed with the results.

Thanks, Kubotafan, I'll try it. How high did you make it?

 

[Kubotafan]

It was to the top of the roll bar. The width and height aren't that critical, but I also had a revolving light and to rear work lights on the top of the roll bar, so the Plexiglas could only go up so far. It wasn't a cab, but was an excellent alternative until I was able to afford the cab tractor.

 

[devildog1]

Gee nice looking snow blower, it will work well for you. I like the color too, :thumbsup:lol,lol.! Gee some of the snow blowers seem so similar in design I bet only a few different manufactures are making for all. Mine is a LA2674 Kubota snow blower and it looks to be almost a twin except for a few different design changes. The chute on the Puma is hydro cylinder, on the Kubota it's hydro motor, bolt on cutting edge, round auger bar vs square, different shoe design but both seem heavy duty. Best of luck with that great looking snow blower and keep us up to date on your review.DevilDog

 

[Trails End]

Thanks for the comments, DevilDog!! I wanted the hydraulic motor chute rotator, but they
sent the blower with the cylinder rotator instead. It seemed to work ok once I re-installed
it correctly, but the hydraulic motor seems less complex. Don't know if it's more reliable but
we'll see. I'm still waiting for the first chance to use the blower. Snow forecast for tomorrow
through Friday.

 

[Trails End]

I finally had a chance to use the new snow blower for the first time, after an
8" snowfall of light powder snow. Sorry, but no pictures. The wind was blowing
at 25 mph from many different directions, as is usually the case after a nor'easter
here in New Hampshire. The blower worked quite well, despite the fact that I
had it adjusted just a little too low for a gravel driveway. The inside of the impeller
drum was 'sandblasted' from the gravel ingested and blown out the chute. Fortunately,
none of the small rocks hung up the auger or blower so no shear bolts suffered any
catastrophic failure.

The only problem I had was getting the tractor started. The temperature was about
5 degrees F when I went outside and turning the ignition key only resulted in the
clicking of the starter relay. With about an hour on the charger, that problem was
solved and it started and ran fine. The tractor hadn't been used much in the last
month, except for a short stint while changing attachments, so the battery didn't
get much chance to charge after starting it previously.