3PH Snowblowers - pros and cons

[paulfun9]

I have read multiple treads on them and am still stuck specifically at the same point. It almost seems that the answer is very dependent on how much time one wants to spend doing one thing verses the other as well the balance point between how big the tractor is compared to the snow or drift your confronted with. With the hills and not wanting to install chains I cant comprehend how an inverted blower could possibly work as well as a standard. I haven't seen any picks from anyone who has to go up hill first (at least nothing like what I have to do) without chains using an inverted one yet.



Maybe if I stumble on a real good deal for an inverted one I can give it a try but at this point I think I would only be happy with it doing the lower more level areas and end up having to switch the chains on and off for any of the uphill drives I do. That to me is the deal breaker as I really don't want to be wasting time fighting with the drifts and switching chains on and off. The main reason I have the blower is to minimize the work I do and speed my time frame up and unless everything is picture perfect I just don't see it happening with an inverted blower.

 

[Fallon]

I have read multiple treads on them and am still stuck specifically at the same point. It almost seems that the answer is very dependent on how much time one wants to spend doing one thing verses the other as well the balance point between how big the tractor is compared to the snow or drift your confronted with. With the hills and not wanting to install chains I cant comprehend how an inverted blower could possibly work as well as a standard. I haven't seen any picks from anyone who has to go up hill first (at least nothing like what I have to do) without chains using an inverted one yet.



Maybe if I stumble on a real good deal for an inverted one I can give it a try but at this point I think I would only be happy with it doing the lower more level areas and end up having to switch the chains on and off for any of the uphill drives I do. That to me is the deal breaker as I really don't want to be wasting time fighting with the drifts and switching chains on and off. The main reason I have the blower is to minimize the work I do and speed my time frame up and unless everything is picture perfect I just don't see it happening with an inverted blower.

A large part of it has to do with the tractor pulling or pushing the blower. I got my rear facing blower because I couldn't drive much less plow my tractor through some snow (1.5' with 3-4' drifts), but I've only got a 32hp 3,500lbs machine. My neighbor with a 12k lbs machine has a very different outlook than I do. An inverted blower would do me very little good. I can plow faster than I can blow, so I always plow, but flip a 180 & blow if I stall out plowing or need to dispose of a windrow. I need the rear facing 3pt blower to push & chew through stuff I can't drive through.

Those inverted blowers seem to mostly be behind some pretty big machines. They are a lot more common in the commercial world where speed matters a lot & they are operating in denser areas.

 

[ruffdog]

When the snow gets deep enough for me to put it on, I need a rear facing blower so a path is made for the tractor.

 

[looch]

3pt blower and FEL here. I couldn't be without the FEL in the winter - it helps clearing through patches that have been hard-packed by vehicle traffic where the blower would just ride over top. A couple of things:

1. Do not underestimate the value of a slick chute. A rusty, pitted chute will hang on to the snow, particularly if it's wet. I'll shoot mine with some cooking spray and gain up to 20' of throw.
2. If there is very little accumulation, you can speed up and use the blower as a plow - slowing down when enough volume has built up to make use of the blower's capacity.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have also seen the trick of welding in a wedge, into the chute. So when there is just a trickle of snow, it rides down in the bottom of the wedge and still goes far, as opposed to dribbling out. Mind you, this only works with a squarish chute, not the round ones. I did this, but hve not tried it yet on that particular blower.

Nothing worse then a poorly performing blower and nothing nicer than a good one.

 

[TimP]

I use a rear blade for anything less than 6". But more than that, the rear blade struggles, especially if it's wet heavy snow. You end up building g a berm on each side of the drive and then it freezes and leaves nowhere else to push snow, unless you move the berm with a FEL.

I'm in the Baltimore, MD area, and we don't get that many really big snowstorms, so using a 3PH snowblower on rare occasions is not a big deal.

But I agree with the many comments about it being a "pain" to have to turn around to watch the blower.

The 3PH blower is cheaper to buy and easy to mount and still leave my FEL to use.

 

[TimP]

I use a rear blade for anything less than 6". But more than that, the rear blade struggles, especially if it's wet heavy snow. You end up building g a berm on each side of the drive and then it freezes and leaves nowhere else to push snow, unless you move the berm with a FEL.

I'm in the Baltimore, MD area, and we don't get that many really big snowstorms, so using a 3PH snowblower on rare occasions is not a big deal.

But I agree with the many comments about it being a "pain" to have to turn around to watch the blower.

The 3PH blower is cheaper to buy and easy to mount and still leave my FEL to use. AND, I have a belly mower which precludes me from using the Front blower because of the sub-frame required. I can do the belly mower or the front blower, but not both.

 

[fishhead]

I use a rear blade for anything less than 6". But more than that, the rear blade struggles, especially if it's wet heavy snow. You end up building g a berm on each side of the drive and then it freezes and leaves nowhere else to push snow, unless you move the berm with a FEL.

I'm in the Baltimore, MD area, and we don't get that many really big snowstorms, so using a 3PH snowblower on rare occasions is not a big deal.

But I agree with the many comments about it being a "pain" to have to turn around to watch the blower.

The 3PH blower is cheaper to buy and easy to mount and still leave my FEL to use. AND, I have a belly mower which precludes me from using the Front blower because of the sub-frame required. I can do the belly mower or the front blower, but not both.

Thats what i used to do, had a rear blade and front blower on a b3030, now i have a jd 3720 and the rear pull.
I just got in from doing my drive 10-15,000 sq ft of parking etc and 1/2 mile of a mix of 10 an 12 ft wide pavement.
We had about 5 inches and the amount on the drive varied between 0-5 inches due to melting,wind etc.
Did it all with the blower at almost the speed i used to blade it and i will never touch that snow again. I often go out even if there is only 2 inches and it works great

 

[fishhead]

I have read multiple treads on them and am still stuck specifically at the same point. It almost seems that the answer is very dependent on how much time one wants to spend doing one thing verses the other as well the balance point between how big the tractor is compared to the snow or drift your confronted with. With the hills and not wanting to install chains I cant comprehend how an inverted blower could possibly work as well as a standard. I haven't seen any picks from anyone who has to go up hill first (at least nothing like what I have to do) without chains using an inverted one yet.



Maybe if I stumble on a real good deal for an inverted one I can give it a try but at this point I think I would only be happy with it doing the lower more level areas and end up having to switch the chains on and off for any of the uphill drives I do. That to me is the deal breaker as I really don't want to be wasting time fighting with the drifts and switching chains on and off. The main reason I have the blower is to minimize the work I do and speed my time frame up and unless everything is picture perfect I just don't see it happening with an inverted blower.

Paul, i think your points are accurate and valid. I could not imagine pulling and reinstalling chains on a regular basis, i do it in november and off in the spring. Perhaps you might benefit from siping or studding those wheels? Too, i have seen threads about dedicated winter tires on some of those commercial units. One thing i learned today from that thread i mentioned on plow site was that often larger machines are recommended because of the weight of the larger commercial blowers and its impact on the 3ph while roading and then cycling up and down hundreds of times a day. That and they travel faster.

Where are you in PA?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

This last snow had me pricing blowers. It didn't take too long with my loader and being in a cab, but a blower would have been even faster. Course if I buy one, we won't get a snow like this for a long time. I'll be looking for one this summer, if I remember.