3PH Snowblowers - pros and cons

[coolnick73]

I bought a used 3pt blower a few years back and like others, I usually use my pickup's plow for the majority of the time. Other than messing around with broken shear pins, my blower works well for the bigger snows. One caveat if you have an open station, a few windy sessions of snow blowing may have you eyeing a cabbed tractor!

 

[RoyJackson]

...a few windy sessions of snow blowing may have you eyeing a cabbed tractor!

Which is exactly why I traded off a very nice, paid for, Deere 4400 for a 4520 with a Curtis Cab.

 

[coolnick73]

Has anyone used both a geared transmission and a hydrostatic one for blowing snow? My tractor is geared and I feel like I have to do quite a bit of clutch slipping while I am blowing snow. I'm in the market for a new tractor and am waffling between a shuttle transmission or hydrostatic.

 

[aczlan]

Has anyone used both a geared transmission and a hydrostatic one for blowing snow? My tractor is geared and I feel like I have to do quite a bit of clutch slipping while I am blowing snow. I'm in the market for a new tractor and am waffling between a shuttle transmission or hydrostatic.

I have used a shuttle (L3830) with a blower and in deep snow, I would rather have a hydrostatic transmission like our smaller tractors have.
The only place I would prefer a shuttle is doing a lot of ground engaging work.

Aaron Z

 

[oldpilgrim]

Has anyone used both a geared transmission and a hydrostatic one for blowing snow? My tractor is geared and I feel like I have to do quite a bit of clutch slipping while I am blowing snow. I'm in the market for a new tractor and am waffling between a shuttle transmission or hydrostatic.

I have spent many years using a gear for snow removal. Working that clutch would cramp up my thigh after every use. The hst is a billion times easier on my leg, not to mention more efficient. Clutch up to drive fwd, clutch down to dump,clutch up to back up, clutch down to stop, clutch up to start the cycle again. Add to that the shifting each time the clutch goes down. Multiply by a few hundred times per storm.

Not for me any more.

 

[paulfun9]

Today I drove down and around town and paid close attention to all the drives. It seems to me the guys who plowed have dirt/gravel and rocks turned up and all over the place but those drives I did with the blower have very little to none mixed in with the snow. I would have liked to have a camera so I could show the difference between the two.

 

[paulfun9]

Has anyone used both a geared transmission and a hydrostatic one for blowing snow? My tractor is geared and I feel like I have to do quite a bit of clutch slipping while I am blowing snow. I'm in the market for a new tractor and am waffling between a shuttle transmission or hydrostatic.

I use both! I prefer gear but You really want a wide choice of gears or a lot of power

 

[jenkinsph]

Today I drove down and around town and paid close attention to all the drives. It seems to me the guys who plowed have dirt/gravel and rocks turned up and all over the place but those drives I did with the blower have very little to none mixed in with the snow. I would have liked to have a camera so I could show the difference between the two.

Some guys just make a big mess out of everything. It can be difficult to do even if you are familiar with the driveway and edging, if not it can be a train wreck to repair the damage after the snow is gone. If you can push enough space without messing up the edge that can save lots of work in the spring. Blowing carefully I agree can be a better alternative and in heavy accumulations you don't run out of room.

 

[jenkinsph]

Today I drove down and around town and paid close attention to all the drives. It seems to me the guys who plowed have dirt/gravel and rocks turned up and all over the place but those drives I did with the blower have very little to none mixed in with the snow. I would have liked to have a camera so I could show the difference between the two.

Some guys just make a big mess out of everything. It can be difficult to do even if you are familiar with the driveway and edging, if not it can be a train wreck to repair the damage after the snow is gone. If you can push enough space without messing up the edge that can save lots of work in the spring. Blowing carefully I agree can be a better alternative and in heavy accumulations you don't run out of room.

 

[fishhead]

Today I drove down and around town and paid close attention to all the drives. It seems to me the guys who plowed have dirt/gravel and rocks turned up and all over the place but those drives I did with the blower have very little to none mixed in with the snow. I would have liked to have a camera so I could show the difference between the two.

I think that some of the contractors who have switched to blowing have used that improved product as a marketing and pricing advantage. Here is an example:

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