Evaluation of snow removal tools

[dakotagun]

We've been hit with four blizzards in the past month, had 54" so far (annual average) and more on the way. This combo works well, but these drifts are so hard it would be nice to have the FEL mounted. Boss plow/F250 couldn't get through this road home drifted in overnight.

 

[RNeumann]

Not saying blowers dont have their place, but IMO they are over hyped and over recommended here on the forum.

Yes, blowers do a cleaner job usually. And yes they move the snow farther away. So if you live in an area that gets LOTS of snow, then a blower may be the only option.

But they have their downfalls. As mentioned, they arent really good in the wet heavy snow, they are slower, they are messy especially with an open station machine, and they cost alot more.

And angled plow, weather it be a rear blade or front, is the fastest and most efficient way to get snow off the drive. And if you dont live in the mountains and have steep drops off the sides of the drive, you can get the snow far enough away that you wont have issues come late winter and no where to roll the snow to.

There is a reason you dont see all the contractors running around with blowers doing drives and parking lots.

And the big key around here.....dont get over aggressive about plowing just because you want to play with your new toy. If we get 3" of snow......and its supposed to warm up in 2 or 3 days.....I dont plow. 3" dont cause me any issues. Let it melt off naturally in a few days. Plowing will make a big pile that will take an extended warm up to completely melt off.

IF we get enough snow to warrant plowing, yes it makes big piles. But next time we get some warm weather that will melt some of it, I will spread the piles out to increase its surface area and help it to disappear.

I like this write up. Along with cost is complexity. This is an instance where KISS would apply. I Don't see many posts about broke down blades or blades that sucked up rocks or firewood.
When I was looking the salesman also asked if I had a place to push snow to. If you happen to have an area that doesn't have a place to "lose" the snow a blower may be the only choice.

 

[fishhead]

I will agree and disagree
Mine works fine in heavy wet snow, even slush just have to be careful to keep feeding- i think the difference is in the design, clearances and quality of manufacture.

As far as speed, on a road or lane a plow is gonna be faster , until snowbanks or storage become an issue. Residentially though a fair number of contractors are switching to rear pulls as they are the fastest option, you can find a ton of videos on-line where they are doing drives in 60 to 90 seconds, regardless of if there is 1 inch or 10. Too, they aren't screwing up lawns and landscaping because they need to push the snow off. What these guys are doing is selling a superior service (no piles at garage doors, lawn damage, multiple visits per day/storm) for less money than plowers and ending up way more profitable. They are getting more more drives done per machine and retaining more value in the machine over its use. Of course with large scale drifting, low driveway densities, or long drives the math may change, but it is not like the old days of blowers only for big storms. In my case i have used rear blades, front blowers and a rear pull and the rear pull is by far faster over the coarse of the winter and does a better job. Also my tractor is open station and the rear pull is only slightly water than the blade and nothing like the front blower (miserable). I never wanted a plow on a truck as i don't want to have that wear on a truck. Tractors are made for it.

Most of what i know about commercial plowing is from plow site, so take it with a grain of salt but it sure seems like trucks and plows sure break a lot , even though they are simpler.

As to cost a good v plow is not cheep and you really have to compare the cost of the system i.e. 1 ton and plow vs tractor and blower. When you figure out total costs with depreciation, insurance etc i bet they aren't much different.

In my own case i considered a good front blade system but a high quality hydraulic adjustable blade and the outing system was not that much cheaper than my rear pull. And i would have been moving the snow again and again.

Here if you just let it sit it becomes ice and disappears in april.

Not saying blowers dont have their place, but IMO they are over hyped and over recommended here on the forum.

Yes, blowers do a cleaner job usually. And yes they move the snow farther away. So if you live in an area that gets LOTS of snow, then a blower may be the only option.

But they have their downfalls. As mentioned, they arent really good in the wet heavy snow, they are slower, they are messy especially with an open station machine, and they cost alot more.

And angled plow, weather it be a rear blade or front, is the fastest and most efficient way to get snow off the drive. And if you dont live in the mountains and have steep drops off the sides of the drive, you can get the snow far enough away that you wont have issues come late winter and no where to roll the snow to.

There is a reason you dont see all the contractors running around with blowers doing drives and parking lots.

And the big key around here.....dont get over aggressive about plowing just because you want to play with your new toy. If we get 3" of snow......and its supposed to warm up in 2 or 3 days.....I dont plow. 3" dont cause me any issues. Let it melt off naturally in a few days. Plowing will make a big pile that will take an extended warm up to completely melt off.

IF we get enough snow to warrant plowing, yes it makes big piles. But next time we get some warm weather that will melt some of it, I will spread the piles out to increase its surface area and help it to disappear.

 

[atsah]

I think everyone's snow removal needs are different, a blower works great for one person, a back blade and FEL works better for the next guy, some people plow hardtop, some people have gravel. The best thing you can do is watch video's and see what you think might work for your application, that's all you can do..

I think after a couple of years I have mine figured out. I have a back blade that I use a little and it's counter weight to boot, I just converted my 48 inch pin on bucket to a 60 inch SSQA (much deeper and higher than my stock bucket). I do believe I have the right setup for my application.

I considered a 3pth blower but the idea of driving backwards is not for me and they are way overpriced IMO, I have acres and acres of land to push snow back and I don't care about piles of snow.

 

[CADplans]

I purchased a tractor yesterday,,
As the salesman was writing up the order, he was telling me about his side job,,,
running three 4WD tractors, each over 100HP as snow plows.

He claimed his profit was greater than the dump truck contractors,,
He had zero break downs, as the plow duty was way below the design of the tractors.
He was getting more hours, because the tractors could go places the trucks could not go.

Developments, dead end streets, crossovers on highways are easy with a tractor.

Also, the tractors could handle deeper snow, that stopped trucks.

He figures three or four years and the machines will be paid for,,
the years after that will be his pension money,,,

 

[CADplans]

I think everyone's snow removal needs are different, a blower works great for one person, a back blade and FEL works better for the next guy,.

If we ever go back to having the snows of 30 years ago,, my needs would change again..

I could see fabricating BIG bolt-on wings for my FEL bucket,, kinda a poor mans snow pusher box,,

,,

Until then,, I will get by with my minimal tools, for my minimal snow,,, :thumbsup:

 

[LD1]

I will agree and disagree
Mine works fine in heavy wet snow, even slush just have to be careful to keep feeding- i think the difference is in the design, clearances and quality of manufacture.

As far as speed, on a road or lane a plow is gonna be faster , until snowbanks or storage become an issue. Residentially though a fair number of contractors are switching to rear pulls as they are the fastest option, you can find a ton of videos on-line where they are doing drives in 60 to 90 seconds, regardless of if there is 1 inch or 10. Too, they aren't screwing up lawns and landscaping because they need to push the snow off. What these guys are doing is selling a superior service (no piles at garage doors, lawn damage, multiple visits per day/storm) for less money than plowers and ending up way more profitable. They are getting more more drives done per machine and retaining more value in the machine over its use. Of course with large scale drifting, low driveway densities, or long drives the math may change, but it is not like the old days of blowers only for big storms. In my case i have used rear blades, front blowers and a rear pull and the rear pull is by far faster over the coarse of the winter and does a better job. Also my tractor is open station and the rear pull is only slightly water than the blade and nothing like the front blower (miserable). I never wanted a plow on a truck as i don't want to have that wear on a truck. Tractors are made for it.

Most of what i know about commercial plowing is from plow site, so take it with a grain of salt but it sure seems like trucks and plows sure break a lot , even though they are simpler.

As to cost a good v plow is not cheep and you really have to compare the cost of the system i.e. 1 ton and plow vs tractor and blower. When you figure out total costs with depreciation, insurance etc i bet they aren't much different.

In my own case i considered a good front blade system but a high quality hydraulic adjustable blade and the outing system was not that much cheaper than my rear pull. And i would have been moving the snow again and again.

Here if you just let it sit it becomes ice and disappears in april.

Trucks breaking ALOT on plowsite.

That would be like saying the same thing about tractors here.

Just the sheer volume.notany come on here and post about equipment that just works. Rather people are asking for help when they break