Blower vs Plow

[Ed_C]

Which would make more sense on a 30 HP Kubota B7800? A Blower or Plow attachment. Is driving backwards with the blower a problem? Though I can see the benefit of turning back around and having the loader right there in front ready to go.

I have just under 1000 ft of winding hilly paved driveway to clear. Narrow paved area but with space on the side to throw/push snow

 

[VABlue]

I haven't done either with my tractor, but I have plenty of experience shoveling the stuff. I would go for the blower - less of a mess near the driveway edges.

 

[Dmace]

I don't find any problems with my rear blower. I turn so that I am pretty much sitting sideways on the seat and barely have to turn my neck at all. The nice part is I can see directly in front of the blower, So I can see the large rock, tree, toy, small child, etc... and not hit it. I get to keep the loader on in case I want to scrape the driveway. My driveway is gravel so I leave the blower up a little so as not to pick up rocks and then scrape it with the loader if needed.

Also a good 5' blower is only about $1500-1800 whereas a plow alone will cost that without hydraulic hookups for angle. One thing I will add is a hydraulic chute turner so I don't have to get out everytime I want to adjust the exit of the snow. The heated cab with glass windows and wipers is a huge plus!

Here are some pictures:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/owning-operating/66586d1166750594-plowing-loading-throwing-deep-snow-100_0602-1.jpg

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/kioti-owning-operating/48368d1134167351-snowblowing-ck20-785759-100_0603-1.jpg

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e139/4CE-FED/100_3007.jpg

The snowblower is so much cleaner than plowing.

Before and After

 

[cmhyland]

Ed,
If you go for a blower you really need a cab....

I'm in Northeastern CT and have no problem with the front mounted plow and loader. The blower is cleaner, but you need the cab and a really big bag of sheerpins if the drive is gravel...

Regards,
Chris

 

[Ed_C]

Thanks guys. Keep the ideas coming. A plow on my ATV has worked well on my shorter gravel driveway, but I'm moving to a place with a very long hilly driveway that thankfully is paved. i'm starting to see the benefits of a blower--especially having with quick access to the loader. but I'm still open right now.

Might just justify the cab ;-)

 

[TMcD_in_MI]

Ed - If you search around this site, you should be able to read all you would ever want on this subject, as it's come up every winter.

In a nutshell, plows are faster but make bigger snow banks. Plows are at a disadvantage if you tend to get dumped on a lot with snow and wind resulting in a couple of feet or more to try to move. Rear blowers are half the price of front ones, but you have to turn around. Some folks don't mind this, others get sore necks or backs, but it is nice to be able to keep the loader on. On some tractors, reverse gear may be too fast to use without a lot of clutch work. With a blower, a cab is a very good thing.

I bit the bullet and bought a front blower, cab, and heater. It's been worth every penny -- to me, anyway.

Tom

P.S. The picture is obviously B.C. -- before cab. Also, I have a gravel driveway, keep my blower low, yet rarely replace a shearpin.

 

[hazmat]

Blower

The B7800 is on the lighter side (1,800#). My old TC18 (1,400#) wouldn't plow uphill, but would blow snow uphill - rear blower.

My new B3030 came with a 63" front blower (but no cab) .

 

[zzvyb6]

If snow is under 3' I'd say plow wins hands down in terms of efficiency. Plus you can go as fast as the tractor will go if you stay on top of it. All done in 15 minutes. However, if you run out of room to stash the snow, the blower will toss it farther. As for rear control, its awful Once you sample going foreward, there's no going back...

Plow tractor ought to have 4WD and weights plus Left/Right brake steer. I run a pick up truck plow suspended right in front tof the front weight bar. This keeps the plow close to the steered wheels and resists push off forces.

When a storm comes up, I park the tractor in the barn: plow facing out. Get her going and I'm all done both directions before the motor warms up. The guys with rear anything have only reverse speeds at their disposal.

 

[herringchoker]

Ed - In a nutshell, plows are faster but make bigger snow banks. Plows are at a disadvantage if you tend to get dumped on a lot with snow and wind resulting in a couple of feet or more to try to move. Rear blowers are half the price of front ones, but you have to turn around. Some folks don't mind this, others get sore necks or backs, but it is nice to be able to keep the loader on. On some tractors, reverse gear may be too fast to use without a lot of clutch work. With a blower, a cab is a very good thing.

In my opinion, Tom sums it up nicely. I have a B7800 with LA402 FEL and an old 72" rear blower. The blower is really too wide for the tractor (awkward to move around - no problem whatsoever powering it), but I already had it when I got the B7800, so the price was right. With the HST you can infinitely adjust your ground speed to match what the tractor & blower can handle. Also having the FEL on the other end adds a lot of flexibility. Maybe I'm getting old and spoiled , but I consider a heated cab and power chute rotation to be absolutely necessary.

 

[454shooter]

How about the best of both worlds. A plow on the loader and a blower on the rear. I like it a lot.

 

[johnk]

454,
Looks like you're loaded for Bear. Bring on the Snow. Frankly speaking... It really won't be that long before it arrives once again and puts that ICY grip on us. I'm just trying to depress everyone.....Nice setup!

 

[6sunset6]

Thats exactly what I have A plow on front and a blower on back. I use both. The plow is on a QA cause I move firewood around with the bucket or sometimes forks and a big firewood crate. I would send pictures but it does not have either of them on it now. I just put a hydraulic cylinder on the chute . Posted that someplace previous. Cab would be nice .not yet.

 

[WayneB]

I have a rear mounted snow blower and it works fine for me. My driveway / road is around 1000 feet down hill with a few curves. I am going really slow so it is no problem backing up with the blower. I wear my snowmobile helmet with a heated visor and it worked fin last winter. Be prepared to get hit with blown snow as there will be a bunch of it! Cab would be nice with heater!

Wayne

 

[knute_m]

I have about a half-mile of driveway to maintain. We bought this place three years ago. Some is real steep -- so steep I need to use 4WD in my pickup during good weather. I don't have a 3-pt snow blower anymore. If I still had a blower, I wouldn't be able to get up the hill. When I had it on more level ground, I still only used it every three or four years, as most of our snows are 15 inches or less. The rear blade does a good job, and it is real fast.

I bought an older 28-inch walk-behind blower with chains. I figure that if I can't make it up the mountain with the tractor and blade, the old walk-behind will make a path up the mountain and down the mountain almost as wide as my loader.

I've also got chains and loaded tires on the tractor. They are a must for winter.

 

[DrainPondDesign]

We have 900' of uphill gravel drive through some cuts that leave little space to push snow. Our first winter was mild but the drive was only one plow width wide by spring with no place left to push the snow. We bought a 30hp cab tractor with front blower, rear weight box & chains which does a great job of blowing the snow back into the trees. The blower also cuts right through town plow snow banks so we no longer feel the need for a plow or loader to move snow.
The downside is the expense but for us the alternative is snowshoes as we're a long way to anything.

Stay warm

 

[art]

I often like to look at the direction the driveway runs, does the snow normally blow length wise or cross? If it is across then the front blower is a must! As well as a cab! The front blower will give you down pressure unlike a three point so a loader has little advantage as far as scraping.

Pushing snow makes banks and from banks you have drifts! Blowers don't make banks to drif from and it's often been said that with a blower you only have to move it once!

 

[js5020]

I have a plow on the CUT and a blower on the Gravely, hands down I use the blower, no banks, no yard clean up,,,,, go ahead and snow I can blow it 40 feet in whatever direction I choose. I use the plow to help out the neighbors and have a reason to start the tractor in the winter.

 

[Ed_C]

Does tire selection make a difference? Are chains necessary? I suppose you need more "grip" with a plow as opposed to the blower.

 

[Grrrr]

Does tire selection make a difference? Are chains necessary? I suppose you need more "grip" with a plow as opposed to the blower.

I would think you would want as much grip as you could get with either setup. Not just for pushing power but to maintain control when going up hill.

I think you would want chains and filled tires if your driveway can take them.

I know ags will go pretty well in snow (especially with chains) but I think that R4s and chains would be good too.

 

[KennK]

Last winter was my first with my JD3320. I had a rear blade and the front end loader, and I was amazed how well the rear blade did. I drove forward, rather than backward, and used the FEL to do some cleanup.

I'd bought chains for the rear tires, but didn't need to use them.

Like someone said, as long as I stayed on top of the snow and didn't let it pile up too deep the rear blade is well.