which snow blower is better?

[Jack Yuan]

The best snow blower is the one that someone else is operating while I sit inside with a hot drink and watch.

Yeah, enjoy life.

 

[Jack Yuan]

The best snowblower in my opinion, would be a pull behind with a rotating drum, but I don't believe anyone makes something like that?

Hi Piston,

What's "rotating drum"? How it looks like and what is it used for?

Thank you in advance.

 

[fishhead]

Hi Piston,

What's "rotating drum"? How it looks like and what is it used for?

Thank you in advance.

Jack- a rotating drum blower has an opening in the outer drum housing to each side usually the inner drum rotates from side to side sending the snow either out one of the holes or up the chute. Because you don't have the resistance of the chute you can move more snow with the horsepower, but you also can't control where it goes
see :
Normand N86-282HTR Side Discharging Snow SnowEquipmentDealer.com - YouTube
Schulte Snow Blowers SDX-12, RDX-12 - YouTube

I did once enquire of pronovost whether they could or would make a rotating drum pull behind and they said they had never been asked. I think that most of their rear pull production gets used commercially and typically those are used on larger tractors on smaller drives. The reasons for the larger tractors that i see listed are not to be able to drive thru the snow but for faster transit times and to accommodate the greater weight of the rear pull when traveling at speed and lifting/lowering cycles of 100's to 1000's of times per day. Too the saving of seconds from greater horsepower and travel speed add up when clearing hundreds of drives.

As far as leaving frozen tracks i have never had an issue, can't see the stuff freezing in the time it takes the tractor to move 3 or 4 feet (half second or less) and the blowers weigh more so they may in fact scrape better.

regarding the rest of the thread i always find it interesting that those of us that have tried rear and front blowers and actually have rear pulls are dismissed or a blanket statement of that that can't work here or will leave frozen ruts is used

google "switching to a blowing service" its an over 100 page thread devoted to commercial snow removal with blowers, within that largely the weapon of choice is the rear pull- in this instance its used because its much faster than even plowing or smaller drives. Too, those contractors claim that they leave a much cleaner product, do less damage and allow them more frequent visits while charging less at a greater profit. Many of those folks (most) are based in areas where it snows more than 3 inches, the snow does not melt in between and the snow has moisture in it. In my use i clear my drive faster than i did with a blade (or front blower) , i get a better result and its so easy to use i clear my main drive more often. There is no way i would ever drive as fast with a rear push as i do with my pull.

I wonder if folks are stuck on the old style single stage rear pulls? B and d's comment about 9 N's seems to be about those.

 

[Piston]

Excellent post Fishhead!

 

[Jack Yuan]

Jack- a rotating drum blower has an opening in the outer drum housing to each side usually the inner drum rotates from side to side sending the snow either out one of the holes or up the chute. Because you don't have the resistance of the chute you can move more snow with the horsepower, but you also can't control where it goes
see :
Normand N86-282HTR Side Discharging Snow SnowEquipmentDealer.com - YouTube
Schulte Snow Blowers SDX-12, RDX-12 - YouTube

I did once enquire of pronovost whether they could or would make a rotating drum pull behind and they said they had never been asked. I think that most of their rear pull production gets used commercially and typically those are used on larger tractors on smaller drives. The reasons for the larger tractors that i see listed are not to be able to drive thru the snow but for faster transit times and to accommodate the greater weight of the rear pull when traveling at speed and lifting/lowering cycles of 100's to 1000's of times per day. Too the saving of seconds from greater horsepower and travel speed add up when clearing hundreds of drives.

As far as leaving frozen tracks i have never had an issue, can't see the stuff freezing in the time it takes the tractor to move 3 or 4 feet (half second or less) and the blowers weigh more so they may in fact scrape better.

regarding the rest of the thread i always find it interesting that those of us that have tried rear and front blowers and actually have rear pulls are dismissed or a blanket statement of that that can't work here or will leave frozen ruts is used

google "switching to a blowing service" its an over 100 page thread devoted to commercial snow removal with blowers, within that largely the weapon of choice is the rear pull- in this instance its used because its much faster than even plowing or smaller drives. Too, those contractors claim that they leave a much cleaner product, do less damage and allow them more frequent visits while charging less at a greater profit. Many of those folks (most) are based in areas where it snows more than 3 inches, the snow does not melt in between and the snow has moisture in it. In my use i clear my drive faster than i did with a blade (or front blower) , i get a better result and its so easy to use i clear my main drive more often. There is no way i would ever drive as fast with a rear push as i do with my pull.

I wonder if folks are stuck on the old style single stage rear pulls? B and d's comment about 9 N's seems to be about those.

Yes, great post from fishhead, thank you very much.

And see how the rotating drum working from here: Schulte RDX12 with FM3 Front Mount Snow Blower - YouTube

a strong weapon against snow indeed.

 

[Egon]

The 8 & 9 N's do not do well in snow. With chains they are a a little better.

 

[dickfoster]

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No actually dick the best snow blower/snow clearer is the single 88 ton self propelled phantom Beilhack HB1600S climbing Donner Pass in a snow storm forcing the 4 so called rotary plow trains of the UPRR used to keep the mountain clear to jump off the tracks leave thier wheel sets aside grow legs and run down the mountain screaming like bunch of 6 year old girls. :cool2:

Yes I am partial as one HB 1600S with two operators and two track laborers can keep the mountain open more efficiently than four plow trains running with two flanger plow trains

Yeah they do have a chore keeping the tracks open in winter over the pass and Caltrans has their share keeping traffic rolling on I80 too. Before I moved here I looked at a house in Alta, CA.

It was a really nice place at a great price but it was on top of I 80 and the tracks too so I took a pass and looked elsewhere. I could already hear the traffic on 80 with the trucks and jake brakes coasting down the hill and I could just imagine the trains with those extra engines, pulling that grade at night. I don't know why they built that house where they did. Somebody eventually bought it but I know the seller really took a bath. Oh yeah a snow plow rig was included with the house. I guess you really needed it as there was about 3/4 mile of drive and another mile or so of unmaintained road before you even got to maintained road that the county plowed when they got around to it.

 

[leonz]

I can sympathize with you Dick, I want a new mule in the worst way as the garden tractor is looking like its going to need a clutch.


I enquired of Caltrans an interesting question a while back.

I asked if they ever thought of investing in burying narrow gauge track in the shoulders of the roads crossing Donner and to use a railway snow clearer to clear snow off the shoulders and in the process be able to clear a wide swath with the sliding adjustable single stage snow clearing heads on a Beilhack rotary plow that can clear 12+ feet wide plus in one pass in the closed position and snow 15 foot plus deep.

It obviously never got past the clerk running their internet portal as he or she told me that CALTRANS knows what it is doing on Donner Pass.

They sure do they have the smallest self propelled highway snowblowers (SNOGO brand I think) I have ever seen.

 

[GManBart]

==========================================================================
No actually dick the best snow blower/snow clearer is the single 88 ton self propelled phantom Beilhack HB1600S climbing Donner Pass in a snow storm forcing the 4 so called rotary plow trains of the UPRR used to keep the mountain clear to jump off the tracks leave thier wheel sets aside grow legs and run down the mountain screaming like bunch of 6 year old girls. :cool2:

Yes I am partial as one HB 1600S with two operators and two track laborers can keep the mountain open more efficiently than four plow trains running with two flanger plow trains

Seriously? The guy asks an honest question about tractor snow throwers and you bring up 88 ton machines?

 

[Jack Yuan]

Seriously? The guy asks an honest question about tractor snow throwers and you bring up 88 ton machines?

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: