Snowblower Snow Removal with a B3200

[WarrenPFJr]

Hey All,

I'm looking for some input on snow removal with my B3200. I live in the Catskills and have been using the FEL to clear my 1000 ft gravel driveway and pathways to the animals/wood pile. There has to be a better way, I probably spend at least 2hrs each snowfall of 6 inches or better clearing. Right now Im considering a plow for the truck, it would be nice to stay toasty warm but the driveway is also a bit tricky with retaining walls, hills, nooks and cranies where visibility could be a bit difficult.

I passed a local farm selling an old rear mount snow thrower and never thought of that as an option until now. The unit for sale is 7 ft ($1,500), which is probably too big for my machine but it got me thinking of a snow thrower vs a truck plow. A plow set up for the truck with cost around 3k, I don't want to spend 10k plus on a front mount blower (thats just not in the budget).

I have a backhoe and FEL on the B3200. I have never taken either off in the 6 yrs I have owned the tractor. So swapping implements could also be a factor, my FEL is not quick disconnect and I have a system where I need the FEL all winter to bring in wood. ( I burn a lot of wood and bring it to the house on pallets).

So my several part question:

1. Is the B3200 worthy of such a snow throwing attachment, am I better off with a blade or something else or do I continue to look at a plow for the truck?
2. If I do go with a snow thrower what are the pros/cons of a rear mount pull vs push
3. Is there an economical thrower to mount on the FEL? Driving forward seems much easier than driving backwards.

Thanks in advance for the input!

 

[Mendonsy]

I have a 54" rear mount blower for my B7500 that works fine for my purposes .... BUT ..... I don't have the backhoe swap to deal with so my 3pt hitch is always available. I usually mount it about Halloween and leave it on attached until late April.
The nice part about a blower is that you don't have snow piles to deal with. The disadvantage to a 3pt blower is have to do the snow clearing in reverse.

 

[SARG]

I take the backhoe off my T1030 so the machine is more useful for mowing & snow removal. I leave it off most of the time because it isn't a tool you need often.
A snow thrower handles just about any amount of snow where a back blade is usually more work and seat time.

 

[nybirdman]

Front snow plow/rear back blade are the cheapest options.Research FEL mounted snow plows in the snow removal forum of TBN.A six foot front mount manual snow blade should work fine with your tractor.Maybe even a snow plow used on a side x side ATV would work.
A decent seven ft. Medium duty back blade will move a lot of snow.

 

[WarrenPFJr]

Thanks for the quick responses guys! Although I do use the backhoe often, I have no use for it come winter so swapping it out seasonally for a blower makes sense. I am liking the idea of not having snow banks, by winters end I usually run into problems of where to put the snow even with the FEL.

I have no experience with a snow blower. Whats the rule of thumb for sizing? My FEL is 5' which is enough to clear my tires. Are blowers heavy/power hungry? Does a B3200 have enough power to handle something larger like 6' or 7'? Picking up the used 7' blower I saw for $1,500 is starting to sound like a good deal. What do I need to think about to determine if it would work with my machine?

 

[aczlan]

Your tractor isn't big enough to handle a 7' snowblower. The rule of thumb is about 5HP/foot. There are some exceptions, but our 7' snowblower is a little too big for our L3830...

Aaron Z

 

[Normal Bill]

Snowblower isn't fast really but it is awesome.....especially with the narrow, long, gravel driveway where you just run out of places to pile the snow. It just chugs away shooting the snow out into the woods.

I have a driveway like that and using the bucket takes way too long. I use a plow attached to the bucket for 6" snows and snowblower for greater amounts.



If your driveway has the open areas where you can pile snow then I'm sure putting a plow on your truck is best.

 

[RoyJackson]

Your Kubota has 23 PTO HP which would be a good fit for a 60" 3PH snow blower. You could probably squeak by with a 72" snow blower too. My personal opinion is an 84" blower would be too much. Even with a 72" blower, partial width passes may be required.
If your tractor is an open station, you will likely get covered with snow occasionally. This is the only reason I ended up trading my very nice Deere 4400 for a 4520 with a cab.
I think the best combination for snow removal is, as others wrote, a FEL mounted plow and a rear snow blower.

As far as your backhoe...my 4520 also has a backhoe and it isn't a difficult task to remove and re-install it. Just make sure you drop it off on level ground and I strongly suggest putting a couple of boards under it rather then right on the ground.
Your first time removing (and installing) will take a bit of time, but after that...piece of cake!

BTW, I also suggest you locate ALL the 3PH components before dropping the 'hoe off!

 

[WarrenPFJr]

Thanks Guys! I appreciate all the feedback and very quick responses.!


Yes, the more research I am doing the more I am leaning towards a 3ph snow blower. My gravel driveway is long, through some thick woods and with some tight curves and a steep hill in one spot. I usually have to make some stock pile areas with the FEL so a plow may not work as well as a snow blower. If the blower is rear mount I do still have the FEL to work on the giant banks the town often leaves me with too.

My tractor is open so it sounds like Ill need a good pair of ski goggles and a trash can cover shield for my off hand.

Any tips on what to look for when purchasing a snowblower? Brands, features do's and dont's?

 

[RoyJackson]

My tractor is open so it sounds like Ill need a good pair of ski goggles and a trash can cover shield for my off hand.

Any tips on what to look for when purchasing a snowblower? Brands, features do's and dont's?

Ski goggles work great! A good quality wind and water resistant jacket and hat help out too. And definitely keep your hands and ears covered! As far as the hat with goggles, a "Mad Bomber" type hat worked great for me when I had an open station tractor. The hat is less important with a cab, but tinted goggles still help out a lot if you clear snow during a sunny day.

Snowblower...well, I went with a used 74" Woods brand with manual chute rotation. With an open station tractor, manual rotation is fine. I bought the snow blower used when I had a open station 4400. Worked great!
When I went to my cabbed 4520, I'm going to have to convert the snow blower to a hydraulic rotation or replace the blower with one that has hydraulics already installed.

As far as the blower...I bought mine from a dealer for $1400 (used) and I saw quite a few on Craigslist...missed a nice Meteor 60" unit for a really good price too. Not too much that can break except shear pins unless one does something really stupid. I do suggest using Pam or something similar to keep the snow from sticking to the chute. Wet snow is sticky and it will clog the chute if you don't use Pam or a more generic equivalent.
Brand? I like Woods...but I tend to buy by price, not brand.

One more thing...quick hitch compatibility is really nice with a snow blower. Mine isn't and probably cannot be modified easily. Blowers aren't as much of a PITA to hook up as a rotary cutter to hook up, but they aren't too far behind...

 

[Carl_NH]

Do you have the SSQA on your FEL? They make front plow blades if you do, and that with a 6 or 7' rear blade would be about the same as a snow blower probably. But if you use the FEL for wood in the winter that's a definite drawback.

I used my FEL (also not removable) and a 6' rear blade for the last 15 years, and have been looking for a decent used PTO blower for last 3-4 years, but they all wanted $1500 for rusted/well used, to $2K for decent shape machines.

So I ended up ordering a Woodmaxx after reading reviews here, and looking into how they are built - they are very HD units, the 60" weighs 700 pounds, and are $2250 delivered with manual chute. I bit the bullet and got the electric option.

It's more blower than my B21 HP wise, but I will go slow instead - the driveway isn't long, but I do about 600' of clearing 200' driveway and the banks are the issue and if more than 12" I was using the walk behind SB following up with the tractor and blade.

The Woodmaxx in my opinion is about the best value for $ out there for a new unit. Oh, an added bonus is the steel frame they ship in I made a dolly for my BH and a dolly for the SB too for $50 of 4" casters! So roll the dolly under the BH and roll it off into the corner!

Carl

 

[cointoss]

I have a B3200 with a front loader and I use a 5' rear blower on it in the UP of Michigan. Only thing I could add is you need to blow with the wind otherwise you will wish you had a cab.

 

[WarrenPFJr]

Thanks for the input!

I called my local dealer where I purchased my tractor and they sell Land Pride blowers. The rep said a 74" would work well with my machine, that LP is now OEM with Kubota and making implements specifically to work with these tractors. I was quoted just under 4k for a manual machine.

I also checked out the Maxwoods and would much rather go with a recommended brand from you guys. The Maxwoods is almost half the cost, a no-brainer decision with one exception. The PTO on the B3200 is rated at 23HP, which falls into the 60" blower range (18-30HP) for Maxwoods instead of the 72" (25-65HP). I called Maxwoods and was told I may not be happy withe performance of the 72" because it would be oversized for my machine. They recommended I go with 60".

So the dilemma now- Do I trust my local rep that I can handle a larger unit from LP (perhaps due to different gearing or auger sizes) or the folks at Maxwoods? I like the idea of a larger size as my tractor is 60" wide but performance is obviously more important. Not to mention the huge difference in price tag.

Cointoss, you use the 60" unit on a B3200, any issues with the blower not being wide enough? Is this an issue? A previous post mentioned rule of thumb being 5 HP per linear foot of implement. I assumed that was referring to the Tractor HP of 32 but now guess its to the PTO HP of 23 bringing me down from over 6ft to under 5. I am wondering what you guys think.

 

[aczlan]

It all comes down to how slow you are willing to go.
As long as the weight is not too much to pick up and you have a hydrostatic transmission, you can run most any size you want. You will just need to slow down in deeper snow.
In light snow, the bigger blower will be faster. In deep snow, your groundspeed will probably be slower, but you will be clearing a wider path, so it should be about the same.
We run a 7' blower on our L3830 (37.4 Engine HP, 32 PTO HP) and its too big in deep snow, but its nice in shallow snow.

Aaron Z

 

[leonz]

Thanks for the input!

I called my local dealer where I purchased my tractor and they sell Land Pride blowers. The rep said a 74" would work well with my machine, that LP is now OEM with Kubota and making implements specifically to work with these tractors. I was quoted just under 4k for a manual machine.

I also checked out the Maxwoods and would much rather go with a recommended brand from you guys. The Maxwoods is almost half the cost, a no-brainer decision with one exception. The PTO on the B3200 is rated at 23HP, which falls into the 60" blower range (18-30HP) for Maxwoods instead of the 72" (25-65HP). I called Maxwoods and was told I may not be happy withe performance of the 72" because it would be oversized for my machine. They recommended I go with 60".

So the dilemma now- Do I trust my local rep that I can handle a larger unit from LP (perhaps due to different gearing or auger sizes) or the folks at Maxwoods? I like the idea of a larger size as my tractor is 60" wide but performance is obviously more important. Not to mention the huge difference in price tag.

Cointoss, you use the 60" unit on a B3200, any issues with the blower not being wide enough? Is this an issue? A previous post mentioned rule of thumb being 5 HP per linear foot of implement. I assumed that was referring to the Tractor HP of 32 but now guess its to the PTO HP of 23 bringing me down from over 6ft to under 5. I am wondering what you guys think.

=================================================================================

You have to have adhesion which translates to Traction!!!

You need to buy 2 link snow chains and have your tires
loaded if they are not loaded already.

the snow blower I have was nothing but an anchor until I
loaded the rears with windshield washer fluid.

If you want a snowblower that works well and has beem made for years
look at pronovost first then allied farm king as far as first or second asthey
are both well built and the snow casters are welded.

You need a snow caster with the largest diameter impeller in order to work well.

AN even better snow catseer is made by by Berta and imported by Joel at earth tools.


Any rear mount snow caster will be rated by the minimum and maximum horsepower range
of the mule not at PTO.

If you buy a six footer your first pass wil be slower but you can take half cuts.


UMM, why are you not buying a front mount? is it due to the greater purchase price?

 

[Mendonsy]

My B7500 is only rated 16hp on the PTO. It has no trouble with my 54" blower under almost any conditions so I suspect your B3200 could easily handle either blower.
Aaron is correct about the HST being the big equalizer. When you get into REALLY heavy stuff like moving the banks that the highway department has piled up in front of your driveway just slow down to whatever speed the tractor is happy with.

 

[WarrenPFJr]

We rarely get a snowfall of over a foot at a time where I am in the catskills, maybe once or twice a year. For any big snow banks the town leaves me at the road I am thinking the FEL might be quicker at handling anyway. This has me leaning toward a 72" model, and I do have HST. I don't mind driving slow so long as the clearing is quicker than using the FEL (what i have used for the last 6 years)

LeonZ- I have had traction issues in the past so will look into a set of tire chains, I do not have ballast in the tires and don't really want it. Ill check out the SB brands you mentioned. Im steering away from a front mount due to cost and also the frequent use of the FEL (i bring in firewood by the pallet all winter long) and do not have a Quick Attachment.

 

[aczlan]

You will find that the blower will take care of the banks much faster and easier than the loader will (BDTD, the blower on the L3830 is replacing the B7500 as the machine to knock back banks).
On traction, do I assume correctly that you use forks to move said pallets of wood? If so, you might find that you need a weight on the front when the blower is lifted up (on our L3830, it gets hard to steer at times when the blower is up). If so, you might make a weight with fork pockets in it so you can just pick it up with the forks when needed.
What I generally do when I run out of traction (with loaded R1s on the L3830), is to lift the blower up an inch or two to transfer weight to the tires.

Aaron Z

 

[cointoss]

The 5 footer will not be an issue for width, a lot of the time I never use the full with to remove deep snow because it can cause wind rowing.
I would not get the wider blower than a 5 footer either, too much weight on the hydraulics and tractor. Also, LandPride makes good equipment but I would look elsewhere for a 5 foot blower. Even look on Ebay but right now could be a problem finding one with the start of winter. I have had a B2710, B7800 and a B3200 and a 5 foot blower has worked well on all of them.

By the way, I have never needed chains on a those tractors as they wer all 4 wheel assist.

 

[Tomtint]

I have a similar tractor (L3700SU) . It is roughly the same size and when I use it for snow, I use a 7Foot pusher or a 80" snow bucket. .. Just today I ordered a3rd function kit so I will be able to use the 7.6" plow that I have set up for my skidsteer. If it is only a few inches of snow, a box is tough to beat. You do however need a place to pile it. The box will fill up pretty quickly.