Front Mount Snowblowers

[leonz]

I'm curious, which blower do you have that works this way. When I was looking, I saw blades that could be rotated to either go backwards or forwards but I didn't see any blowers. Of course you also have to drive through the snow in order for this to work, yes? The loss of the loader was a concern for me as well. I eventually decided that for my situation I didn't have enough projects in winter where I needed the loader. If I did, that probably would have been a show stopper. My goal with the blower is to make sure the snow doesn't pile up anywhere such that I need the loader to deal with it. I also have a carryall for the 3-point that I can use for bringing firewood around etc, so am in pretty good shape for keeping the blower on most of the time. If I really do need to use the loader it would take about 5 minutes to switch over; one of the great features of the BX.

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Are you saying you have a front mount blower for your BX1880 now????????


Back blades have a turntable that lets them be rotated in a full circle by just raising the three point hitch and pulling a pin. this way it can be used with the blade facing backwards so you can avoid digging in to an area while plowing snow.

About snow blowers:
He has what is referred to in the trade as a pull behind snow blower and the only bad thing is you may have snows that are so deep that you cannot clear them unless you break through with the front end loader and knock it all back down to drive over it and get rid of it.

These pull behind snow blowers are expensive to purchase but if you have enough power to run them and 4 wheel drive they work well in tight spaces by garage doors as you can back up then drop it down and pull the snow forward.

The only issue is working in deep snows as they will be difficult to use as you would have to bury the tractor as you go forward and then back up to break up the deep snow pack.

The rear mount rear facing 2 stage snow blowers and the single stage snow throwers from MKMartin do not have to work in that way as they are pushed into the snow pack to clear snow.

 

[bironacad]

I looked for some pictures on an old thread, there were some there. Couldn’t find mine, lol thread is called show us you snow equipment? I don’t stay where the tractor sits so the end of my drive gets piled in with plowed in hard packed deep snow. The FEL makes quick work of this. Also helps
With close to building stuff at times. All good, helped me checking out threads.

If you are in a snow belt area with deep lake effect snow I would not look at my options however it works for me.

 

[tiktock]

I have a BX1880 and have the 80 series front mount 50" blower:
Kubota Snowblower Prep - YouTube

You are correct you lose FEL usage but to be completely honest, I can take the snowblower and entire front quick hitch and all its attachment points off in less than 5 minutes and throw my FEL back on in about the same time. I'd say in a pinch I could switch from front blower to FEL in less than 10 minutes start to finish. I'm also quite sure that the FEL might operate with the quick front hitch still attached but it may be a close call.

I couldnt stomach the idea of doing everything in reverse. The blower will put snow where I want it so I dont see what I'd ever need the FEL for. The blower already worked well in only 2" of slush so I think the only time it would be inefficient would be for super annoying 1-2" storms and if that becomes an issue, I'll invest in a cheap 5' rear blade from TSC.

The hydraulic chute control is annoying that its so expensive. The cost of a 50" mid mount mower just to be able to more easily rotate my blower chute? No thx. Manual rotation seems fine...my understanding is its only a forced option to go hydraulic if you use a cab.

I havent seen a power issue with my 1880 not having enough horses. First storm this year was 6-7" of almost translucent slush and I had to get off my tractor and adjust my chute because the Kubota was throwing that wet slush so far it was landing in my neighbor's yard 30 yards away.

 

[atitus74]

Are you saying you have a front mount blower for your BX1880 now????????

Yep, same as tiktock, and it works great. I got a pretty good deal on the hydraulic rotation & deflection so I went for it. While certainly not needed it makes it easier, especially if I am not around and my wife has to do it. Although the setup is pricey, its functional. The front hitch is heavy but its straightforward. I agree with tictock, easily less than 10 mins to switch between loader and blower when you have to but I am expecting not to have to do that much if at all.

 

[mgstevens]

Hello Tractor Types! I just signed up to this forum to participate in this particular thread.

Well, that, and the fact I just put down a deposit payment on a used MF GC2410. Elderly owners, city lot, under 400 hours and well cared for. I'm excited for the land-shaping years to come.

One thing I am on the hunt for is a front mount snowblower for this unit. My current machine, a Bolens HT-20 with a Johnson 14 loader has a front-mount snowthrower. Can't live without this tool in my life, with some 10,000 sq/ft of area to clear every snowfall.

So, I know that the SCUT method of delivering PTO power to the front is via a "quick-hitch" incorporating mid-pto transfer forward via driveshaft, and a hydraulic lift for the implement which either: approximates a fully-standard 3-pt hitch attachment, or it does its own non-compatible version of those same functions. Then the snowblower (I've seen OEM units for Kubota, MF and JD) mounts to that assembly (which uses half of the loader hydraulics for the lift) and often uses the remaining loader hydraulics to rotate the shute.

I know that MF makes specific front mount snowblowers (2360, 1410) and links to Woods for others, which may ONLY be for rear-mount, but this is never made clear. I'm in the southern interior of BC and the dealers I contacted all prefer to sell Kubota, so MF product knowledge is patchy at best. Anybody here have the low-down on a few questions:

• Does the quick-hitch that drives a sweeper attachment on a MF SCUT also work for their front-mount snowblowers?
• Do aftermarket snowblowers (Woods, Woodmaxx, etc) connect at all to these quick-hitch adaptors?
• Do people with rear-mount snowblowers have large chiropractor bills and many damaged surfaces around their driveways?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Mark

 

[leonz]

Hello Mark,

Are you aware that the MF subcompacts are Iseki machines?
They are an excellent brand of farm machinery and they make a lot of machines for both agriculture and other businesses like mining and tunneling.

Your going to spend a lot of money for just the front mount snow blower itself.
A rear mount will be much less money and will rob you of much less power.
Many rear mount users sit sidesaddle and push down on the reverser peddle or they use mirrors or cameras.

Price the MKMartin Series 1000 48" wide rear mount single stage and the Pronovost Puma 48 inch 2 stage snow blower
with the hand crank chute rotation and then decide.

 

[mgstevens]

Thanks for the response and direction to the two models you mentioned. I'm aware that the front mount comes at a price. I've only ever done front mount and don't need or use my loader in the snow season. The used tractor come with a sweeper that has the quick-hitch assembly included so I would only need the blower unit itself. Thus my questions about using other blowers (3-pt rear-mount) on the front once the quick-hitch is in place.

Ultimately, I need someone with deep product knowledge. What goes with and not with what in the universe of snowblowers for this tractor. It may be that I go rear-mount, but with the quick-hitch in hand, I think the blower pricing front/rear will be closer than starting out from scratch.

Time, and other answers, will tell. Thanks again.

 

[aczlan]

Your going to spend a lot of money for just the front mount snow blower itself.
A rear mount will be much less money

True, I have run both and it's REALLY nice to drive forward while snowblowing though.

and will rob you of much less power.

How? Sure you will lose a little power running through more ujoints, but there is not going to be a noticable difference in power output between a mid PTO running a front blower and a rear PTO running a rear blower.

Many rear mount users sit sidesaddle and push down on the reverser peddle or they use mirrors or cameras.

That they do, a front mount is hands down better though (IMO).

I have run both front and rear mount blowers on our L3830, the front is much more convenient, easier to see where you are going and easier to not hit things in tight quarters.

As for a front mount blower, 90% of the front mount snow blowers in North America (for Deere, Kubota, Massey, LS, etc) are made by RAD and the only real differences are the length of the PTO shaft (from the mid PTO to the front mount) and how the front mount connects to the tractor frame.

Aaron Z

 

[mgstevens]

I'm beginning to see that if all the quick-hitch and snowblowers come from Rad Tech, (oh, they also mfg a sweeper, which this new-to-me unit has..) then I'm possibly open to be able to use any (KB, JD, MF, Kioti?) front-mount snowblowers. I suppose a call to them would help sort that out, if they offer answers...

having the right mid-pto-to-front mount hardware already, will hopefully enhance my options.

 

[PILOON]

Another option is to add a back up camera system at a very reasonable cost. ($100 or less covers that)
I have installed one but will add that I still 'side saddle' much of the time.

Mind U the camera works really well as I expected.

My next very successful mod was to electrify my chute rotation.
I adapted a cheap ATV winch as I liked the speed/torque numbers, 3rd winter with no regrets or problems.