Snow Experience Needed

LouNY · Feb 3, 2021

Lets look at what you have currently a JD 620, a 44hp on the drawbar and 48hp on the pto, it weighs well over 6000 pounds, the hydraulics are the weak point under 9 gpm at 1200 psi. On top of that your on 12.4-38 tires or a bit wider.

It is going to take a large compact to equal what you are using now, your 2wd will outpull and definitely out work the compact 35-40 hp tractors.
I would actually recommend looking at the larger power shuttle tractors with a cab.
I went from a 55 hp Oliver that was a 7000# to a Branson 8050 with a power shuttle.
In the Branson line I'd say the smallest to look at would be the 5835 or a 7845,
or the T4 New Hollands or the midsize CaseNH.

As far as your splitter many of the newer tractors will have the same flow and I believe they will all have more pressure.
The larger cab tractors will have 2 or 3 steps to climb to get in but my replacement knee's do just fine climbing up and settling in a nice soft dry seat with the heat or AC maintaining a comfortable climate.

PILOON · Feb 3, 2021

I started off with a big Deere with FEL and 7 ft blower and chains on the rear. Even had a cab.
Dang thing could not negotiate my hills and was bulky to maneuver.

Traded it against a small 4 x 4 CUT with a 60" blower and never looked back.
CUT is probably 20 hp at PTO and I operate my DIY splitter from the CUT's hydraulics. The splitter uses a 4" ram and is as fast as I can handle.
OK, I did DIY a 6 ft plow for minor snow events.

I'll add I sure would prefer a hydrostatic 'box' vs my 3 spd + hi/lo but it does the job just fine.

I'd say from my experiences that any Hydrostatic CUT ( properly set up) would serve you well, be it whatever brand.
Hydrostatic , cabbed, aux hydraulics and FEL and you'll be happy.
(I give a BX21 as an example as I've had the pleasure of borrowing one on occasion.)
Unless you are doing wood on a commercial basis most CUTs will have all the hydraulic power you need.

On my CUT I DIY'd a front blade for minor events and use the blower most times as I did today for a 6/7 inch event but the blade for 'squeaky clean' finish.
OH yes, I used the blade to push back some snow banks the city made.

LD1 · Feb 3, 2021

y112 said:
I was out plowing the latest 12". I am currently using a 7 foot rear mounted blade with unloaded tires and chains.
The log splitter I use runs off the 620's hydraulics, and hits the bypass (squeals) on the knotty stuff. My next question
is will the compact tractor Hydraulics have the same pressure as the 620?

Thanks for all the replies

The 620 will run the splitter with about twice the power. PSI is power......GPM is speed. A 3 series may have a little less GPM....so it will be slower. But modern compacts run 2500 or so PSI....so alot more power. But speaking of pressure.....go through your current splitter and hoses and make sure you dont have any black iron or galvanized water pipe fittings on the high pressure side. People got away with it with older stuff with 1000-1200psi even though they werent technically rated for it. But now is the time to make sure you have all high pressure steel fittings.

As to 3-series vs the 620.....the 620 was made to PULL. A 3 series wont hold a candle to it if you are out plowing, discing, working ground.

But you will be amazed how much snow it will move without spinning out in comparison to the 620. Lots of guys around here run sub-compacts with loaders an 5' blades and do just fine in our heavy snows (~8"-12")

HawkinsHollow · Feb 4, 2021

A bunch of excellent answers!! That's way this forum rocks!!!

KennyG · Feb 4, 2021

If I read TractorData and the John Deere site correctly, the 620 has 8.9 GPM hydraulic flow and the 3R series has 9.1 GPM. The 3D and 3E series only have about 6 GPM but an R should be much more capable than the 620 with more flow and pressure.

jaydee325 · Feb 4, 2021

y112 said:
I normally plow in 4th gear about 1/2 throttle and split wood
at off idle.

A new tractor with exhaust after treatment is not going to like to be operated at low throttle settings like you are a custom too. You risk plugging the diesel exhaust filter or Diesel Oxidation Catylist. These systems need heat operate correctly and that means higher RPM throttle settings. Also, new diesel engines make their rated HP at higher RPMs than that venerable 620 does.

It appears your 620 has a CAT 2 hitch. So, if your blade is CAT 2, you will need to address that. To get a CAT 2 hitch in Deere CUTs, you are in the higher end 40XX series tractors or larger.

buck12 · Feb 4, 2021

jaydee325 said:
A new tractor with exhaust after treatment is not going to like to be operated at low throttle settings like you are a custom too. You risk plugging the diesel exhaust filter or Diesel Oxidation Catylist. These systems need heat operate correctly and that means higher RPM throttle settings. Also, new diesel engines make their rated HP at higher RPMs than that venerable 620 does.

It appears your 620 has a CAT 2 hitch. So, if your blade is CAT 2, you will need to address that. To get a CAT 2 hitch in Deere CUTs, you are in the higher end 40XX series tractors or larger.

This is excellent advice. I still struggle to force myself to run at higher RPMs than required to do a job. It just seems to go against everything inside of me.

rScotty · Feb 4, 2021

buck12 said:
This is excellent advice. I still struggle to force myself to run at higher RPMs than required to do a job. It just seems to go against everything inside of me.

I do too. We went from a JD 530 with the factory loader and lots of nice options to a Kubota M59. They are very different tractors and I could talk all day about some differences that folks moving from a 1958 model to a 2008 model might never think about.... For instance, modern loaders are tucked up much closer to to the front of the tractor. That's handy, but you lose the reach. So we end up using the backhoe and thumb for doing the kinds of things we used to use a 3pt boom with the 530.

Another thing is the low RPM. We got lucky there and bought before the more modern post-2015 tractors that are designed to be run flat out at all times. Our 2008 Tier IV Interim engine doesn't have all the fancy emissions parts. It works fine at an idle. Frankly I wouldn't have one that had to be fun fast. I enjoy the work, but not if the engine was screaming when it didn't need to be.

The thing you notice about the new one is to get the same pulling/pushing power combined with cat II 3pt implement and decent traction and stability in a new tractor to match what we had in the older one we needed to go to 4wd and roughly twice the HP. But once we did that, something wonderful happened. HST plus transmission with 6 speeds forward and six in reverse - mostly I leave it in medium range and just use one finger to shift from high to low within medium range. Lo range for grunt work and hi for travel. Goodby to that gear shift lever and hand clutch on the 530.

Frankly we were so used to being beat up by the older tractor - stirring the gearbox and pushing the pedals and hand clutch and such that we never noticed how much work we were putting into a job until we got older and began to be bothered by muscle aches and arthritis at the end of the day. The new tractor doesn't do that. The controls are right at hand and take only a fraction of the effort to work. It's also closer to the ground and with a lot better visibility. I don't find myself standing up and leaning to the side as I used to do. I'm not always pumping the diff lock, and getting on and off is easier because it is closer to the ground. I can work the new tractor for hours and my body doesn't hurt.

Some things aren't as good. The new tractor doesn't have a sprung and damped seat like the old one, and maintenance is a true pain compared to the old JD where everything was right at hand. And so much of the the quality of the new one doesn't match the old... No more cast iron dashboard or hour meters that are works of art. No more beautifully curved and cast levers and such... But the new one does work better and easier. By far less effort to get things done.

We pull an 8 foot rear blade - a 1000 lb big Rhino - and used to come back from a session up and down the dirt road pulling that blade all worn out and sore neck for a week. With the new tractor I sometimes leave the blade back at the barn and just use the front loader bucket to smooth and move dirt and then level by backdragging. It's that controllable and easy.

Power steering is nicer on the new tractor, and the lights really work. An insulated canopy replaces my old yellow umbrella. Both tractors have decent hydraulics. Plenty of flow and psi for most jobs on both. The new one won't set the rear wheels out as far, and doesn't have power wheel width..... but then it doesn't need it for stability either.

enough for now,
rScotty
BTW, we are keeping both tractors. The old JD has a far better 3pt hitch. It's not even a contest.

wolc123 · Feb 5, 2021

I bought a new JD 4120 with 400x loader in 2005. Other than a new starter, when it was about 5 years old, it has given me 15 years of trouble free service. I plow snow with a rear 7 ft blade and the front loader.

It has r-1 tires, with the rears loaded, and will push mountains of snow, uphill, on icy ground, with no chains. It works much better than the old Ford 8n with loaded rears and chains that I used prior.

It has the power reverser transmission, and an American made, pre tier 4, 43 hp turbo charged diesel engine. The only options on it are a rear work light and a block heater, both must haves for plowing snow.

I keep it under an overhang on my pole barn, with a cord to the block heater, switched inside the house. I turn that heater on about an hour before usage when it is real cold outside, and it starts as smooth as it does in the summer. I really enjoy clearing snow with that rig. They are calling for some this weekend and I can hardly wait.