Do the JD hydraulic front blowers with rear PTO power packs work well?

[johnsayen]

Have an L6060 with mid PTO and front PTO driven blower. Recently saw a similar JD and the blower was hydraulic and powered by a rear PTO power pack. That must be JD’s solution and I was slightly confused as to why they didn’t do a mid PTO as you can’t hang a rear blade off the back. Does the hydraulic perform that much better than the mid PTO?

 

[finn1]

Seems like a kluge.

I have seen similar setups on other tractor brands. I suspect they are just alternate solutions if a mid pto isn’t available for a particular model.

I would do a hard pass on this.

 

[oldnslo]

With hydraulic drive you can raise the blower to full lift height of the FEL. Mid-PTO driven units have a limited lift height.

 

[grsthegreat]

i have a similar hydraulic unit on mine, and as seen in the pic on left, i can raise it as high as my loader can operate. thats the only reason i went with it. when my buildings shed i can get 6 foot piles of snow that block paths and traps horses out of barn. what used to take a day to clear with rear blower and front bucket takes about an hour now.

expensive, but only about 2x what i was quoted for a high quality rear blower at the time (10 years ago). has worked flawlessly. also this option allows loader to stay on tractor, no mounting onto frame of tractor. i can swap out to front plow in 2 minutes.

 

[IndyJay]

Seems like a kluge.

I have seen similar setups on other tractor brands. I suspect they are just alternate solutions if a mid pto isn’t available for a particular model.

I would do a hard pass on this.

Saw a video on Messick's showing a front cutter. In that case the PTO powerpack was to generate more GPM than the tractor hydaulics can deliver.

 

[grsthegreat]

my rear powerpack delivers 15 GPM at 3000 psi. this is alot more than the tractor system could deliver. it also keeps tractor hydraulic supply separate from implements, and allows for tractor system to have enough supply to keep tractor operating.

 

[rScotty]

Rear PTO-driven power pack is far and away the best solution for all the reasons you mention.

 

[grsthegreat]

i even contemplated getting a few other front mounted devices like post hole driver, than reality set in after i looked at prices.

 

[rScotty]

I'll add another reason, although you did sort of mention it.

When I had my PTO driven power pack it held 15 gallons of regular relatively inexpensive hydraulic fluid in it's own reservoir and had its own filter - completely independent of the tractor.

I was able to use rented or borrowed implements without worrrying if it was going to contaminate my expensive HST fluid.
rScotty

 

[grsthegreat]

it also keeps the hot oil from flowing thru the tractors system. if i used my power pack in the summer, i would add a oil cooler to it.