Blade or blower for a B7800

[bialecki]

Blade Versus Thrower; depends, is the road/ driveway you are clearing paved or gravel? My drive is gravel and when the stone was 1/2" crushed stone my walk behind snow thrower worked fine, especially when the gravel froze. However I went with a larger 3/4" stone and the stones now jam the auger and I shear the pins more frequently, as well as making sure no one is in line of the chute due to stones being thrown.

I went with a front blade on my B7800 last year and the winter was not cold enough to freeze the gravel and I ended up plowing the stones and making a big mess come spring, (so I had to go out and buy a 6' Midwest rake with gage wheels, that's what I told my wife anyways).

So it all depends.

 

[AMR]

I used a BX23 for 3 seasons and really liked the speed of the front blade for those annoying 1 to 6 inch snows. In the heavier snows the machine was pushed around some trying to get a blade full but it got the job done. My guess was that it was much faster than a blower for those small snows and much slower than a blower for the big snows. But we get a lot more small annoying storms so I figured that I saved money over a blower, it takes up less room in the garage and I can use it for dirt.

I got the front blade for my B3030 but have not used it yet. I just got it all set up last weekend and it looks killer, a foot wider with more ground clearance and further from the front tires on the tractor. With loaded rears I am not even going to put the BH on see how she does. I am not looking forward to cold snowy weather but it is a fact of life and hopefully I have a good set up to keep the driveway clear and have a little fun doing it.

 

[lawn_king]

I now have a B3030 hsdc w/ blower & fel. I previously had a B7500 w/cab,blower,fel & front blade. Having all 3 was awesome, i could deal with any kind of snow and here on the coast there are lots of kinds! If i had to choose just one it would be the blower, jmho.

 

[Bob_Young]

Living in the snowbelt, this question has been pondered some. So far I've gotten by quite well with FEL and 5' rear blade on the B7610. The blade does most of the work, but the FEL is needed when banks get too high and in spots where the blade can't be used.

I paid extra and got a Woods rear blade so that I'd have blade rotation around the longitudinal axis (blade tilt or "bank" if you're a flyer). It works best if I let the tilt axis float.

The blowers are appealing but, I know:
1)they can be very slow
2)you're at the mercy of the wind when blowing....you cannot blow into the wind effectively in my experience
3)they're useless for 6 months out of the year
4)they're expensive
5)being expensive and having moving parts, they should be stored indoors when not in use

These points have put a damper on my lust for a snowblower. If I had a cab and plenty of room to store one indoors, it would mitigate 3 or 4 of these negatives and I'd consider buying one. But rear blade and FEL have worked well so far and the longer I go without a blower, the more I question the need.

Plus, the blade is useful year-round and doesn't mind sitting in a corner of the yard when idle.
FWIW
Bob

P.S. The front blade idea looks good at first glance, but the FEL is just too darned useful to be without. Unless I could change quickly and easily between the two, the front blade would be a non-starter for me.

 

[Killer_B]

I had both the front blower and front blade on my B7610. If I had to choose between one or the other, I would take the blower. Having said that, I was able to do about 75% of the snow removal with the blade. The other 25% that required the blower was the real heavy stuff.

One me Deere, I couldn't decide which one to get , so here is what I did.

 

[canoetrpr]

Good going KillerB.

Question - Did your SMV sign always attach to the back of the seat? On my bota L3400 it attaches to a bracket behind the seat. The position is such that I can't reach the chute rotator when the SMV sign is on... so I have to remove the SMV sign for the winter.... which is not particuarly legal since when I fire the tractor and do my drive way, I drop by a neighbour or too to see if theirs needs blowing.

 

[sandman2234]

Have any of them ever complained about you not have the SMV sign?
David from jax

 

[bialecki]

Nice machine Killer_B. Does the young man on the machine operate the JD or does he do the walk ways with a shovel? Did you sell your Kubota or do you have both?

 

[canoetrpr]

Have any of them ever complained about you not have the SMV sign?
David from jax

My neighbours couldn't care less if I had a SMV sign or not... given that I am just saving them from having to clear their driveway! Legally in Ontario it is required that you have a SMV sign on a tractor if you drive on the road.

I'm only driving 300 feet to check each neighbour's driveway.

 

[Fjord]

My neighbours couldn't care less if I had a SMV sign or not... given that I am just saving them from having to clear their driveway! Legally in Ontario it is required that you have a SMV sign on a tractor if you drive on the road.

I'm only driving 300 feet to check each neighbour's driveway.

I just put a bracket on the snowblower to slide the SMV sign into just to keep it legal, although for the amount of time I spend on the road it's not likely all that necessary.