Hi
From time to time I like to read a little on the homepage from Earth Tools, and to see what new information Joel has to offer. Recently I visited this page of his:
2-Stage Snowblowers - Earth Tools
I got my Berta 2-stage snowblower in 2011, and at the time Berta offered it with the skids only, as far as I know. This hasn’t been a problem when working with the snowblower since, but it has made it difficult to move the approx. 155 lbs heavy implement around in the garage when needed
I also watched Joels video on the features and set-up of the Berta snowblower. I noticed straightaway, that the snowblower in the video had an integrated male quick-coupling tang like the one my Berta flail mower has
As I got my BCS 740 in 2011, I wasn’t aware that there was such a thing as a quick-coupling available, so my snowblower came with the standard flange, which fits the tractor without a quick-coupling, as seen on this picture:
As I later got more implements, I also got a female quick-coupling bushing for the tractor, and a male tang for each of my implement. This of course made it much easier to switch quickly between different implements, but it also put all my implements further from the tractor, by around 73 mm (2⅞’’). This might not look like much, but it increases the wheelbase and makes it harder to turn and lift the implement. I found this to be especially annoying when using the snowblower.
As I added a Berta flail mower to my collection in 2020, I therefore got it with the integrated male quick-coupling tang straightaway. This turned out to be a very good idea, as the flail mower sits very close to the tractor this way, and it makes maneuvering and turning very easy
So, based on the above, I decided to contact my dealer, to see if he could get a set of wheels and a new coupling for my Berta snowblower.
The wheels/rollers are 70 mm (2¾’’) in diameter, and the same in length, and are made with an inner metal part containing roller bearings, and an outer layer of hard polyurethane. To swap the skids for the wheels, is literally a matter of a few minutes work, and can be done leaving the stands on the snowblower. Just remember to put the wheels on the inside of the stand, as they otherwise will stick out wider than the snowblower!
Removing the old flange was easy, but this also revealed, that swapping the shaft wasn’t going to be that easy
On the above picture with the snowblower lying on the auger, the shaft on the left protrudes from the snowblower, and the end of the shaft with the 3-jaw claw has already been removed. This was no easy task, as the original shaft was fixed with a bolt through the hole near the top. The new shorter shaft on the right, is made to be connected to the shaft with a keyed joint, and not with a bolt like the old one. This is a problem of course, as the shaft on the left does not have keyway that will except a key
Luckily for me, my neighbor has worked in a metal shop all his life, and he fixed the shaft with 3 Allen key set screws
This is of course not an ideal solution, as the keyed joint is missing, and this joint was supposed to transfer the torque in the shaft. I will have to see how things turns out when winter comes, and hope for the best. My guess is, that Berta some time since 2011 and now, perhaps has changed the way the parts are connected in the PTO-shaft, from a bolt to a key joint.
The point of all of this was to get the snowblower closer to the tractor. With the old original flange on its own, there were 105 mm (4⅛’’) between tractor and the snowblower, which was acceptable. With a quick-coupling added to that, the snowblower got 178 mm (7’’) away from the tractor, as that was too much, I think.
Now, as seen on the photo above, the new flange with the integrated male tang is only 64 mm (2 ½’’). With the 61 mm (2 ⅜’’) female quick-coupling on the tractor, the snowblower is now only 125 mm (5’’) from the tractor
It is probably hard to justify the costs and the hours spent to gain just 2’’, but I hope that the snowblower will be easier to work with from now on, and that perhaps some members having similar ideas, can use this information. Based on my experience with 5 different front-PTO implements, I can highly recommend to get implements with a factory build-in quick-coupling tang, as it puts the implement as close to the tractor as possible. The Berta company clearly offers this service, so perhaps others do as well? My 2 Zanon mowers sadly have no integrated quick-coupling tangs, but it could be interesting to hear if they are available.
As one would expect when ordering parts from Berta, they don’t come cheap! This was no exception, and here is what I had to pay:
One pair of wheels was 163.50 Euro ($189.12). The flange and the shaft was 361.50 Euro ($418.15). With shipping and 19 % sales tax on top, my total bill was 654.50 Euro ($757.07)
Best regards
Jens
