Add SNowblower Extensions or Get Wider Blower

[Hilbilly]

My new tractor is wider than the previous one and now my 74" snow blower is only 2" wider than the rear tires. I know this will be a problem when blowing snow in the areas where the driveway is curved. It was bad enough with the old tractor. I don't really like my old blower anyways, so I'm considering getting a new one. The only choices I have locally are an 84" Farm King with an open gear box and a Kubota K74-24-09 (74" width).

The downside to the Farm King is the open gears (not sure if that would affect it's durability or not) and the smaller fan, at 23" x 7". The Kubota fan is 23" x 8" and therefore would move more snow or just move it faster. The downside to the Kubota is the width. I would have to make some extension wings for each side, which I don't mind doing, if it will still perform properly. Both blowers are the same price and come with hydraulic chute rotation.

Open for discussion and recommendations.

 

[seville009]

if you’re set on something wider, just get the 84” Farm King. When you say “open gears”, do you mean stuff is exposed to the elements? if so, I wouldn’t worry about that. not much can hurt these blowers.

the slightly smaller fan shouldn’t be a problem either; always have to adjust the speed or bite with blowers anyway depending on the snow density, so my guess is you won’t even notice it.

snow’s almost here; just put my snow tires on and driveway stakes in this morning. now the wait begins.........

 

[Hilbilly]

if you’re set on something wider, just get the 84” Farm King. When you say “open gears”, do you mean stuff is exposed to the elements? if so, I wouldn’t worry about that. not much can hurt these blowers.

the slightly smaller fan shouldn’t be a problem either; always have to adjust the speed or bite with blowers anyway depending on the snow density, so my guess is you won’t even notice it.

snow’s almost here; just put my snow tires on and driveway stakes in this morning. now the wait begins.........

The open gears refer to what I've only seen as a closed gear box on snow blowers. The gear box is typically enclosed with an oil bath where the PTO driveshaft connects to the blower. The gear box then transmits power to the fan and 90 degrees to the side, for the auger drive. On this Farm king the 90 degree drive is achieved with open gears, exposed to the elements and no lubrication.

 

[mikester]

Bolt on extensions is a cheap and cheerful solution to try. If you are unhappy with the results get the bigger blower.

 

[chim]

This is what I did last year for switching the blower from the L3200 to the L4240. Can't see the details, but there's a strip of steel welded to the inside of the extensions that sandwiches the ends of the blower housing. This locks the extensions to the blower. Four bolts on each extension hold them on.

After using the blower and the 8' Fisher blade on the front, I decided the blower will probably be sold with the L3200 as part of a package. I do a couple parking lots and the blade works a lot better. Nothing I clear has anything in the way of pushing the snow off the sides, so there's no real need for the blower. It is quite enjoyable to use the blower and watch a big arc of snow and see the driveway look like someone came along and cleared it with a huge dado blade

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Woodmaxx makes an 84" with optional hydraulic chute rotation and deflector (takes 2 rear remotes), or you can just get the hyd chute rotation if you want (takes 1 rear remote). $2850 if you get both options.

84" Snow Blower, Tractor Snow Blower, Hydraulic Chute Rotation - WoodMaxx

Free shipping.

 

[RoyJackson]

Woodmaxx makes an 84" with optional hydraulic chute rotation and deflector (takes 2 rear remotes), or you can just get the hyd chute rotation if you want (takes 1 rear remote). $2850 if you get both options.

84" Snow Blower, Tractor Snow Blower, Hydraulic Chute Rotation - WoodMaxx

Free shipping.

I've got a Woodmaxx chipper (8" capacity) with hydraulic feed. It's really well built.
Only two minor complaints about Woodmaxx
1) Their delivery schedule can be a problem and my chipper was delivered a month or so after the promise date
2) The upgraded PTO shaft is a sleeve (pull back) type and it is hard as al get-out to pull the mother back. I'd go with the standard PTO shaft and save $100+

Before I bought my 72" Deere blower, I looked at the Woodmaxx models....but it wouldn't have been delivered until after the upcoming winter (this was 2-3 years ago).

 

[Trillium Farm]

Snow King is built in Winnipeg and I believe Kubota's are built in Quebec by "I don't remember who" so both locations are familiar with snow
With that said I don't like the idea of an open gearbox as things could get in and damage the gears.

 

[Hilbilly]

Chim, I have some questions for you, if you don't mind.

Is that a Kubota blower and if so, which model?
Did you have to go slower with the wings added?
I'm wondering if the blower could process the extra volume at the same travel speed or not?
Also how much width did you add?

A little history here;
Last year I converted my old snow blower so it could be used on the 3PTH or on the loader, using a homemade hydraulic power pack. I was tired of looking backwards for hours at at time. What I discovered in the process was that with the blower running at higher RPM, it would throw the snow a LOT further but I had to go a little slower due to the loss of hp going from direct mechanical PTO drive to hydraulic drive. It was nice to drive forwards but it was a bit of a PITA to get all the hydraulic lines installed from the back to the front of the tractor. This was all done on my previous open station 47 hp Massey. I now have a Kubota 60hp tractor with a cab and the tires on this tractor are wider. I'm thinking that with the extra hp and using cab mirrors, I will be able to back down the driveway faster, if I got a better blower. The old blower (which I still have) is 74" wide, has a 15" auger and a 21" diameter 4 blade fan that is 7" deep. I've done a bunch of calculations and based on those calculations I can see that a larger diameter fan will throw the snow further and throw more of it. If that fan is a larger diameter and is deeper then it will throw even more snow. That is why I'm leaning towards the Kubota over the Farm King. They both have the same diameter fans and augers but the Kubota fan is 2" deeper. Therefore the Kubota blower will process about 30% more snow than the Farm King, which means I can travel at a higher speed. The Kubota will process 55% more snow than my current blower, which will drastically cut down on blower time. So if I upgrade I might as well get something that will process snow as fast as possible, without breaking the bank. In western Canada there is very little selection of blowers and most are the lower end ones due to the shipping costs to get the higher end blowers shipped across the country. Even the lower end units I am looking at run from $4,000 to $5,000 CAD.

My situation is that I have a very long, (1.5 km) steep driveway that is cut into the side of a mountain. Ditches and high banks on one side and a long steep drop on the other side. My method of snow moving is to use an 8' plow on the front of the tractor and plow the snow to the sides, as far as possible, until the banks get built up so much that the driveway gets too narrow. Then I use the blower to get rid of the excess. Some years I don't even need the blower and then others I need to blow several times. However after the first blower use there are vertical banks on both sides of the driveway so there is not much storage available before the blower must be used again. It would be a great setup to have the plow on the front and the blower on the back, if I can use the mirrors for backing up and not have to look over my shoulders. However if that doesn't work I may just go back to using the old blower on the front, with the hydraulic power pack. There would be no point in getting a blower that can process more snow if I don't have the power to drive it.

 

[FatTire]

I have extension plates for the snowblower on my Unimog. When dealing with the really stiff drifts the plates add just enough resistance that I cannot push into a drift to break it up. In which case I have to remove them. But for normal (loose or lightly packed) snow the gathering plates work great. So I'd say if you have difficult conditions go with the wider blower. If you only deal with dry, loose snow the gathering plates work great. Wet snow is another issue -- but that's why they invented lubricating sprays.