Snow Advantages/Disadvantages of Snow Plow/Blower/Scraper Blade

[jthaxter]

That sounds interesting. Can you provide pictures? I am not good at visualizing. Thanks, Steve.

I picked up a plow blade for $200 that already had been refitted with a crude frame for something or other. I just extended that frame and made an equally crude mount on the tractor. I threw this together in a hurry one year just before a big snowstorm. Figured I'd have to redesign/rebuild it, but it's worked so well I've just kept it. Have run it about 5 years now, so I guess it's ok. Originally I manually handled the plow angle, but that was a very big pain. I discovered I could just unplug the bucket curl/dump hoses and use them to control the angle cylinders; both single-acting cylinders are mechanically coupled and act as one double-acting cylinder. I welded a hook on the back of the bucket to provide the lift point for a chain. I have about $250 in the whole setup. Here's a few pics.

 

[Machold]

B3030 with rear-mount blower does a good job on 1/4 mile lane; the FEL also helps when needed. No cab, however; bundled up to the eyeballs with ski mask & goggles.

 

[kieramax]

I dont mean to sound crass but my bucket of my Kubota B20 serves me well here on Vancouver Island BC Can as last winter we only had 1/2 inch of snow all winter and that was pretty well melted away by noon so I didnt even get to fire up.
In some ways I kinda miss out on the fun??

 

[art]

For what I've seen there are many different things that add up to what is best and that depends on your situation. Last year until the unit was sold I used a grand L with a 72" bucket. After the sale brought home a BX2200 with a front blower. Of the two, the BX is faster! no windrows left after the bucket was full. Depending on how much snow you get, how the wind blows vs the way your driveway runs depends on what might work bet for you. With blowers you don't get banks which means less snow that you have to move if your driveway crosses the wind.

 

[gls1320]

I currently run a John Deere 790 with FWA,homemade weather enclosure, JD 70 loader and 60" bucket out front, and either a 6" box scraper or a Farm King 5' 3pt mount rear snow blower. As previous posters have stated, there are pluses and minuses to every and all set ups. If the snow is deep and heavy then I will put the snow blower on, otherwise the 6' box scraper does the job Ok, but as soon as it's full, you start pushing windrows on either side and I might add, it's the same with the front bucket, after it's full, it's just a pusher.
That said, next tractor, will be hydrostatic, full cab (heat/air), front mount (mid pto) snow blower. Looking behind while using the rear mount 3 pt snowblower is literally and figuratively a pain in the neck, and I feel it for a week or so afterward, (when you're 57, body parts don't flex and bend like they used to).

 

[sallymander]

Who would've thought, here in SW Montana it hasn't snowed enough in 15 years for me to plow. Climate has very definitely changed here.
When it used to snow I used a 12' blade mounted on a front 3 point hitch. Hydraulically angled to each side about 45° from the cab.

 

[jb62901]

Guess I am covered all the way around, everything can be removed in min and another attached. Also have the FEL if needed.

 

[PHPaul]

Little of both here. The rear blower IS a bit of a pain in the neck (arrrrrr, humor...) but the price/complexity of a front mount is way out of my reach, so I deal with it.

Between drifting and the loving attention of the town plow, I have to knock back the banks at the head of my driveway 2-3 times a winter. Having that plow attached to the loader arms works really well, I can just knock it back a foot at a time.

 

[check]

Yes, the township plow is a vicious machine that buggers up the entrance to our driveways. I use the front loader if it is a big frozen chunk, but otherwise the blower on the back of my BX 25 does a nice job of cutting through just about anything.

 

[Henniker]

I think it all depends on
A: What you can afford
B. Area and terrain that you need to plow; and;
C. Your local snowfall average.

I do fine with my rear blade and bucket, but my driveway doesn't have much of a hill. It would also go a lot faster with a blower.