Rear Inverted Snowblowers 2019

[Hilbilly]

I picked up the new Farm King PT840 snow blower today and couldn't wait to give it a try on the 6" of snow that fell while I was in town picking it up. Got it all set up and made the first run down the driveway. Got about 100 feet and I look at how far it is blowing snow and I'm shocked. It doesn't even throw snow as far as my old Meteor that has a smaller impeller!!! The snow was landing in the same path that my Meteor blew the snow last time but the Meteor was on the other side of the driveway and throwing across the driveway. The FK was blowing to the near side. At least 10 feet less than the Meteor. The thing also rattles like something is going to fall off. The snow today was -6C and light. I couldn't even make a snowball with my bare hands. So it wasn't poor snow conditions.

I'm VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!:thumbdown:

Tomorrow I will take a look at it in the daylight to see if there is something that looks amiss. I'm also going to run the Farm King then the old Meteor on the same day in the same conditions and see how they compare. Monday I will call Farm King to see if they have any insight.

So far the only things I like about it are; 1) the color because it matches the tractor, 2) the width, I think the 84" is perfect for my conditions / tractor setup, 3) the travel speed is reasonable ( I was able to move along at about 6 to 8 kmph). But I think I could go the same speed with the old Meteor, in reverse. 4) I can drive forward.

I wasn't expecting a big increase in volume, which translates to travel speed but I was expecting the larger diameter impeller to blow the snow a little further. What a huge let down.

 

[airbiscuit]

Bummer. Let's hope Farm King has some suggestions.

 

[Hilbilly]

Bummer. Let's hope Farm King has some suggestions.

Have you had a chance to run you're new blower yet. I'll bet you will be very happy with the results.

 

[kco]

That's disappointing Hillbilly. We had a similar good dry snow here but I did not clear yet because more is forecast. I intend to do clearing tomorrow and will see if there is much difference in it. I like the Farm King blade, landscape rake and finishing mower I have because I think the build quality is good.

Another test you might try is to blow a patch of the same kind of dense snow you were blowing a few days ago with the Meteor.

 

[airbiscuit]

Have you had a chance to run you're new blower yet. I'll bet you will be very happy with the results.

I will be getting the skids on Monday, but just as I feared, nothing more than flurries predicted for the next month. I dropped off my old Meteor 3pt snowblower at an online auction house this afternoon and the bids have already started at a brisk pace. My wife is worried it will go too cheap but it is in mint condition, there is usually a pretty good demand for them and we have had a snowy start to winter.

I hope I will like my new one, but I liked my old Meteor, and I see lots of improvements with my new one. I just have to wait for snow.

 

[Hilbilly]

That's disappointing Hillbilly. We had a similar good dry snow here but I did not clear yet because more is forecast. I intend to do clearing tomorrow and will see if there is much difference in it. I like the Farm King blade, landscape rake and finishing mower I have because I think the build quality is good.

Another test you might try is to blow a patch of the same kind of dense snow you were blowing a few days ago with the Meteor.

Tomorrow I will do a run with the Farm King and then with the Meteor. Same day, same snow. That will be a true comparison. That will likely be the last chance I have for awhile. The weather forecast is for extremely low temps starting on Sunday. The forecast is for lows of -34C for 3 days (in the town close to us). We are higher and usually a few degrees colder. Sometimes 5 or 6 degrees. When its that cold I don't want to start any machines. At least there isn't supposed to be any snow with those colder temps. I'll be going through a lot of firewood when it gets that cold.

 

[Dave M7040]

The spout deflector is critical in determining throwing distance.

Farm King has either hydraulic or fix manual models.

Could you post a picture of yours plse.

Dave M7040

 

[Hilbilly]

The spout deflector is critical in determining throwing distance.

Farm King has either hydraulic or fix manual models.

Could you post a picture of yours plse.

Dave M7040

I got the one with the manual deflector. The dealer didn't have the hydraulic kit in stock and wanted too much for it anyways. I can easily add one myself later, for a lot less.

I ran the blower last night with the deflector in the highest setting because that is where it was set. Today I will set it down one notch and try again. I plan to take some videos of the Farm King, then mount the Meteor and take some video of it. I will also,get some pics of the new blower, to post here. I will need to use the old blower today to blow back the banks at the bottom of my neighbors shared driveway. The banks are too high for the inverted blower and need to be pushed back.

Funny thing is that I used to dislike the Meteor because it wouldn't blow the snow very far. However after I welded beads across the ends of each fan blade and used Fluid Film on the chute and fan, the blower works well and throws the snow further. Not sure what the biggest contributor was. The tighter fan clearance or the Fluid Film. I'm thinking it was the tighter clearance. I closed the gap from about 1/2" to just touching in some places. The gap was not consistent.

 

[shooterdon]

Hilbilly,

I have the 74" FK and noticed it was not throwing snow as far as I had hoped but it was plenty for my needs. Plus I was babying it and not running at 540 RPM for the first three uses. I am going to run it at full speed on this weekends snow dump (6-11"). Want ot add, my seems to run smoothly but I have not run it at full RPM either.

BTW, I am planning to install a linear actuator on my deflector as it is far less expensive than a hydraulic option. I have two rear remotes and I want one for chute rotation and one for the top link to adjust the angle of attack on the blower.

Looking forward to your comparison test. Good luck!

 

[Hilbilly]

No tests today! I looked at it in the daylight and found 2 of the fan blades were bent at the outside tips. Looking closer I see that they have hit the fan housing and bent the plate that restricts the opening. I've got it in the shop now and when the snow melts off I will get some pics to send in for a warranty claim. I sure hope I don't have to return it the selling dealer. He is a long ways from me.

Not a happy camper right now.:fiery: Sure glad I didn't trade my old one in for this thing.