I am looking at a old ARPS snowblower about 6 feet wide that would hook to the 3pt hitch. I and am wondering if anyone has any experience using it in deep snow. Does it work well in pushing the snow into the auger and throwing it out the chute? I know the ARPS snowblower models were discontinued years ago but have seen a few around at the farm auctions. Any input on how they proformed would be appreciated.
Snowblower ARPS Snowblower
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biggerten
Gold Member
Here's mine in action on a Jinma 354LE
Biggerten, that is a nice setup. How many years have you used the ARPS? Does is do well in heavy wet snow? We get about 100 inches of snow a year and I was thinking it would be better to snowblow it rather than continue to push everything with the bucket. What is your experience with the bucket? Anytime I get more than 5 inches it becomes difficult to push my entire 1/4 mile driveway. By January the sides of the driveway get smaller and smaller and that is why I was looking at a snowblower? Thanks
biggerten
Gold Member
I've had the Arps 2 years. It's a 6', and it's heavy.
I generally use the rear blade (cheap 84" King Kutter) to plow, it's faster than using the blower. Especially since the snow usually comes in what, 4", 6" at a time? I have the mold board forward with the blade angled, and go as fast as I can to 'throw' the snow to the outside. I generally don't use the bucket for plowing. I also use a Polaris ATV with a plow for clean up, it's fast and nimble, easier for tight spots than the tractor.
In the picture I'm widening the driveway by blowing the banks. As you can see, the blower eats the snow - it was -22F that day. That means it was frozen snow. I have never had the opportunity to use it in heavy wet snow, I'm only there on weekends. I probably should get the thing sand blasted and painted, but I spray WD40 on the interior of the blower to help.
A downside is that the Arps chute is hard to direct - I mean to modify it one of these days so that I can direct the chute from the seat.
Where are you in Wisconsin? I'm from about 30 miles south of Superior.
I generally use the rear blade (cheap 84" King Kutter) to plow, it's faster than using the blower. Especially since the snow usually comes in what, 4", 6" at a time? I have the mold board forward with the blade angled, and go as fast as I can to 'throw' the snow to the outside. I generally don't use the bucket for plowing. I also use a Polaris ATV with a plow for clean up, it's fast and nimble, easier for tight spots than the tractor.
In the picture I'm widening the driveway by blowing the banks. As you can see, the blower eats the snow - it was -22F that day. That means it was frozen snow. I have never had the opportunity to use it in heavy wet snow, I'm only there on weekends. I probably should get the thing sand blasted and painted, but I spray WD40 on the interior of the blower to help.
A downside is that the Arps chute is hard to direct - I mean to modify it one of these days so that I can direct the chute from the seat.
Where are you in Wisconsin? I'm from about 30 miles south of Superior.
Thanks for your response. I like that King Cutter option a lot. I have two feet extensions on my bucket for snow plowing but without some type of angle it is hard to push everything very far down the driveway.
I would like to do some logging in my woodlot this winter and thought maybe blowing some of the snow outward may help clear the trails and the landing area better? From your picture is seems to do well in deep snow?
Do you think a price of $300 for a good working one is decent?
I am east of Wausau in a small town.
Thanks for any feedback.
I would like to do some logging in my woodlot this winter and thought maybe blowing some of the snow outward may help clear the trails and the landing area better? From your picture is seems to do well in deep snow?
Do you think a price of $300 for a good working one is decent?
I am east of Wausau in a small town.
Thanks for any feedback.
biggerten
Gold Member
The King Kutter blade is inexpensive, I plan to replace it at some point with a Woods or somesuch, a heavier duty one, since I have managed to 'distort' this one a bit. I would be leery of using one in the woods, catch it on a stump or something and I'd bend it pretty good.
This Arps is heavy, got to weigh 400 lbs or so. There are some slinging type blades that macerate the snow, and then a disk that chucks the snow out the chute. You can see from the picture it's doing just fine chewing up and spitting out the snowbank.
It's hanging off of the back about 6' or so, so it's a bit cumbersome, between the FEL and snowblower it's a bit to maneuver. Although I don't have any in the picture, I've since bought chains.
I paid $200 for mine and think I stole it. $300 seems OK, as you know a newer one will set you back hundreds more.
Does your tractor have the HP for this sort of thing? I wouldn't consider it on a smaller tractor than my 35HP.
This Arps is heavy, got to weigh 400 lbs or so. There are some slinging type blades that macerate the snow, and then a disk that chucks the snow out the chute. You can see from the picture it's doing just fine chewing up and spitting out the snowbank.
It's hanging off of the back about 6' or so, so it's a bit cumbersome, between the FEL and snowblower it's a bit to maneuver. Although I don't have any in the picture, I've since bought chains.
I paid $200 for mine and think I stole it. $300 seems OK, as you know a newer one will set you back hundreds more.
Does your tractor have the HP for this sort of thing? I wouldn't consider it on a smaller tractor than my 35HP.
Thanks for your advice. My tractor is a 4 wheel drive 45 HP model with rear tire weights.
I just found out the orignial manufacturer is based in Wisconsin and they told me that they discontinued the ARPS snowblower in 1983. That makes sense as you really cannot find out a lot about these models. I agree newer brand models are over $1,000 dollars.
I just found out the orignial manufacturer is based in Wisconsin and they told me that they discontinued the ARPS snowblower in 1983. That makes sense as you really cannot find out a lot about these models. I agree newer brand models are over $1,000 dollars.
Maine Arps
New member
Just did my second snowstorm here in maine with an arps 6.5 foot blower on my L2850 and it worked great. Not like a plow scraping the ground but much faster than when I used to use the bucket. 