Snow Attachments Blower or plow. Which is best?

[B Colton]

I'm getting ready to buy a Kubota B2650. Trying to figure out if I want to buy a snow blower for it. I already have a 42 HP with an 8 foot blade. This works very well but is time consuming. Does the snow blower work well with this tractor and will it save time moving snow in a wide area? With the blade it is back and forth many times as the snow falls to the side. When it's below zero I want to be done fast! I have 3 long driveways to clear.

 

[George2615]

Welcome to TBN............

A snowblower is slower than a plow but throws the snow further and doesn't leave piles that freeze.
Its slower because you have to give the blower time to chew the snow and spit it out the chute.
Snowblower is great for paved areas but on gravel driveways I always spent more time replacing shear pins. On gravel drives before it's frozen the blower has a tendency to pick up stones even with the shoes all the way down. If the stone gets between the auger and the metal it stops and busts a shear pin.
Of course you have to watch how you blow the snow if it is windy out or it will blow right back on you.

 

[nybirdman]

IMHO;snowblowers can only be justified if you get 150 in./yr.or more.They are more expensive,slower and more wear and tear.I use a front 8ft.and a rear 7ft.for my snow removal chores.
Blowers without a cab would not be fun at all.

 

[RickB]

I have both, wouldn't want to be without either. If I HAD to choose, the plow would stay and the blower would leave.

The plow is MUCH faster for me, and the blower gets used when the banks get high and space is limited. It sits all winter as many years as it gets used.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Welcome colt from Western pa, I agree with the previous posters. If you have gravel, skip the snow blower. Do you plan on running tire chains and or loaded tires? We have a bx2370 with a blower on a paved driveway and it works beautifully.

 

[GManBart]

Welcome to TBN!

The one thing that has been left out of this discussion is whether you have a place to push the snow time after time? If you don't, your driveway will narrow each time you get snow. If you have a big area to push the snow into, a plow is great because it's fast. If you don't have that area, a blower will be slower each time it snows, but will prevent you from having to move the snowbank with your FEL every other snowfall, which is likely faster overall. I have a 7.5' plow for my truck, and it's great for moving the snow fast, but I want a thrower for my Massey so I don't have to deal with moving the banks multiple times each winter (and I'm doing that from the warmth of the cab on my backhoe).

 

[Budweiser John]

I have both, wouldn't want to be without either. If I HAD to choose, the plow would stay and the blower would leave.

Yes, I agree with RickB. Depending on the snow depth and drifting I will often use the FEL to windrow the snow and then use the blower to blow the wind rows into the yard attacking the windrows from the end. The biggest advantage of the blower being the snow is blown over a wider area minimizing wind blown drifting back onto the cleared areas.
The biggest down side of a TPH blower (and no tractor cab) is visibility and having to continually operate the unit looking backward.
The blower came as a package deal when I purchased the tractor so it's not going away but any snow fall less that 4 or 5" I simply pop on the tractor and use the FEL for the removal task.
A front mounted blower with a cabbed tractor might be a different story however.

 

[Steve_Miller]

I have a 6' FEL blade and a 5' blower on the back. Used the blower twice in the previous 5 years, but this year couldn't have done without it (10' of snow this past winter).

Steve

 

[FatTire]

I agree with above posters (sort of). When I'm in a hurry I always go with the plow. BUT, when the snow is really deep (or stiff) the plow just can't do it. And if there is a lot of snow already on the ground, or the prospect for another storm, when plowing I leave the snow where I can get to it with the blower so that I can come back later and get it away from the driveway. Gravel driveways are a problem for both blowers and plows, but its unavoidable. Try not to dig in much, and buy some gravel or roadbase when you need to . I would not base my decision to plow or blow on the gravel. Since you already have a plow, I'd want a blower....

 

[GManBart]

The biggest down side of a TPH blower (and no tractor cab) is visibility and having to continually operate the unit looking backward.

There are 3pt snow throwers that allow you to drive forward....pull-type is usually what they're called, but some companies call them "inverted" snow throwers. They're extremely common in places that get serious amounts of snow.

A front mounted plow blade on the FEL and a rear pull-type snow thrower is considered by many folks to be the ultimate combo.

 

[firemech]

Up here in northern Ontario I wouldn't be without a blower. The plow is quicker but the snowbanks close in the driveway and as the banks gets higher so do the snow drifts. The blower while slower allows me to put the snow were I want; the banks are only as high as the seasons snowfall (although this past winter was still over 5 ft high). While I made a homemade cab for the L3400, I previously blew snow quite comfortably with a good snowmobile suit and snowmobile helmet with visor when blowing with the B7510 we used before the 3400

 

[DelSc]

I have a cabbed B2650 and wouldn't go back to a plow again. My driveway is about 500 ft, and I have a couple turn around that get cleared as well. The blower takes longer, but it does a much better job for me since I can throw the snow quite a distance from the driveway and buildings. With a plow, we run out of places to put the snow and it never looks quite as good as when i use a snow blower. The 2650 has enough power to use a 60" snow blower, but if its really deep heavy snow, you have to go slow. I used a snow blower on a tractor without a cab for a couple years, and that convinced me to get a cab.

I never found a gravel driveway to be more of a problem with the snowblower. For the first couple storms, i adjust the skids for higher clearance, and once the ground freezes solid, I put them back again. With a plow, you have to be careful until the ground freezes or your gravel ends up in your grass too.

 

[Will_C]

I would have a blower if finances allowed. Seeing how you hVe a plow, I think a bllower would make sense-you then would have the best of both worlds.

Will

 

[vtsnowedin]

Yes keep the plow and get the blower. They both have their days. A long drive or road is much faster with a plow as long as you have ditches wide enough to plow into and if you don't you need to fix that with your tractor for both drainage and snow removal. Drives and parking lots and sections of the road where it is in a cut both sides ,the blower can move snow out of the way faster then you can load it out with your FEL.

 

[msb1766]

I have both, each has its advantages. I prefer to use the blower if there is more than a few inches, with the blower the snow is gone, At the end of the driveways there is no huge pile of snow to try to see around to get out of the driveway. Also the height of the snow along the driveways is a lot shorter so there is less drifting snow.
If it there are a few inches and/or it is really cold out I can plow the driveways in about the time it takes to warm up the tractor.

 

[crazyal]

I still have my plow for my dump truck and it is faster but I usually use the blower. When I only had a plow the blade was always digging up the gravel driveway in the fall and spring before the ground froze. The shoes helped some. As others have said the plow leaves banks. Half way through winter and I would be spending time trying to push snow back into the woods only to have the banks reappear the next time it snowed. With the blower once and it's done. I can put the snow where I want it too. A good tractor blower will throw it up to 50 feet. Now I rarely get gravel in my lawn as I can throw the snow over it and into the woods. A nice thing about a front mount blower is you can put down pressure on it. This is real handy once the ground is frozen and people have driven on and packed the snow. The plow only has it's weight to keep it from riding over it while with my blower I can raise the front tires off the ground and brake steer to scrape it away so it doesn't turn into ice if we get a warm spell and rain.

 

[tractchores]

I have a blade and blower. Since I got the blower I never use the blade. I find the blower quicker and I only need to move it once. The one exception is small snowfalls that aren't enough for the blower, but in that case it acts as a plow.

 

[chim]

Besides trucks with plows, had a tractor with a front blade, a few with rear blades, FEL's and now a rear blower. As some have said, the blower isn't as fast as a blade in some applications, but with remote chute controls and a heated cab, it sure is nice. I think a blade would be faster doing parking lots. For driveways though the blower is great.

Snowfall here ranges from almost nothing to the odd blizzard. We've had a few winters that required moving banks back. After a few freeze/thaw/freeze cycles it can be a pain even with the FEL. A blower eliminates that.

Backing up very lowly for the last few feet when approaching the garage doors almost eliminates hand shoveling without needing to use the FEL. The chute rotates enough to throw snow more than 180*.

 

[oosik]

When I had my Ford 1700 4WD - I had a blower & rear blade. Only used the blower when the berms got so high the rear blade couldn't get the snow over them. The berms would freeze and the rear blade couldn't break them down. The blower cleared them easily.

I have the bigger and much heavier Kubota M6040 now and keep the driveway clear of snow & berms with just the rear blade.

It would take me one hour using the rear blade to clear my mile long gravel driveway and its nice to go forward.

The blower was rear mount, pto driven, would take three hours to clear the driveway and sometimes my neck would be stiff/sore for a couple day afterwards from all the driving in reverse.

I'm more than happy to be rid of that blower. No matter the conditions - the snow always drifted back on me.

 

[skyhook]

If you decide on a snow blower, a rear pull type is what I would prefer, more expensive but easier on the neck, especially on them long driveways.
Of course, with these type blowers, you need a big enough machine that can drive over the snow your blowing.
If I were to buy a new machine, I would do so with the thought of a "front mount" blower option.
Either way, your looking straight ahead when blowing snow.