Finally bought new 54" blower!

[escavader]

Its nice up on the hill the trail goes through there.we stayed at TARDIFS one year and at cozy cabins last summer .plan on staying there this year.The people are so nice .and the step father works on antique tractors[farmalls]wHEN WE RETIRE IN A FEW IM SELLING EVERYTHING AND BUYING A PLACE UP THERE,SERIOUSLY.
ALAN

 

[welcomematt]

Well I finally pulled the trigger on updating my 47" blower to the new 54" blower....cost me about 1200.00 to upgrade, but I think it will be worth it. My 2320 which I purchased last year was just squeezing through the path the blower was making. When I bought the 2320 I wanted the 54" blower but they still had not released it. My only concern was the "plastic" impeller they had on it. After talking to my JD dealer he told me that all blowers coming through now will have plastic impellers.... the 47", 54" and 59" models. These impellers have better resistance to impact and bending, and take less horsepower to spin them. Overall this blower is supposed to perform better in all snow conditions. We are suppose to get a large snowfall in the next couple of days and we are looking at a double digit snowfall here in northern maine. Will post pictures and let you know what I think of it as soon as I can!

I had this unit for 2 months, and it was at the JD dealer getting repaired more than being used. On three seperate occasions, the plastic impeller broke where it is overmolded on the steel shaft. (The shaft would turn, but put a small load on the impeller and the impeller wouldn't turn). After the third impeller replacement, the dealer gave back my money and the 47" blower. If you're planning to use it only for light fluffy snow, it will probably be ok.... But if you have to blow the entrance of the driveway after the city plow passes, and there is ice, gravel and small stones; be very careful. I'll never forget what the dealer told me... "It is a snowblower, not an iceblower".

 

[Dutch445]

after looking at the parts breakdown, it looks like
they are using a different auger gearbox in that blower.
the collar that houses the shear bolt is the same though,
but there's a new "plate" between the collar and impeller.
i wonder what the chances of the old steel impeller fitting in
that new blower would be, knowing that the shaft size
is the same.
might be an easy swap out to get the best of
both worlds.....

and Happy New Year to everybody!

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Easy for me to say this sitting here...BUT, looking at that pic, what I'd probably be inclined to do would be bring the plastic joke of an Impeller to one of my friends to have him fab up a 4 bladed STEEL impeller to directly replace the existing one.

I'm just suprised JD didnt ask RAD to build them a REAL front blower...Kubota/CIH/NH have the nicest front blowers (RAD units)...I've always thought the front JD units are a joke. When I heard of new blowers for the front, I thought for sure we'd be getting a Yellow RAD unit...
If I were a fan of Front blowers, I'd probably be investigating the installation of a front 72" blower from a Kubota/CIH/NH onto my 3520....

 

[Ductape]

Easy for me to say this sitting here...BUT, looking at that pic, what I'd probably be inclined to do would be bring the plastic joke of an Impeller to one of my friends to have him fab up a 4 bladed STEEL impeller to directly replace the existing one.

I'm just suprised JD didnt ask RAD to build them a REAL front blower...Kubota/CIH/NH have the nicest front blowers (RAD units)...I've always thought the front JD units are a joke. When I heard of new blowers for the front, I thought for sure we'd be getting a Yellow RAD unit...
If I were a fan of Front blowers, I'd probably be investigating the installation of a front 72" blower from a Kubota/CIH/NH onto my 3520....

 

[pilot-werx]

I have to two front mount blowers.... One is a 47" on my 455 garden tractor and the other is a 59" on my 4210. I think they are both quite nice and built rather well. I think the plastic impeller is a good idea. Plastics have come a long ways in recent years and I think a little flexibility on the impeller is a good thing.

Not to be a smart ***, aside from cost or not having a mid PTO, I cannot imagine anybody not being a fan of a front mount blower....

 

[Dale1995]

I was pretty happy yesterday when I got my new 54" blower.....after seeing some of the posting from everyone, I'm beginning to think that maybe I should have kept my 47"? I can't imagine that John Deere would put out a new blower and not have done their homework on it. Don't get me wrong plastics have come a long way....and is by no means indestructable. But neither is steel. What the heck theres a 2 year warranty on it anyway.....

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I have to two front mount blowers.... One is a 47" on my 455 garden tractor and the other is a 59" on my 4210. I think they are both quite nice and built rather well.

Put your 59" side by side with a RAD Built front mount from Kubota/CIH/NH...2 totally different leagues in terms of quality. All quality and other stuff aside, I think its a JOKE that they only offer a 59" blower for a tractor that is 60" wide...

Not to be a smart ***, aside from cost or not having a mid PTO, I cannot imagine anybody not being a fan of a front mount blower....

First off....I dont think your a smart behind...If we were up home we'd be having this "heated" friendly discussion over a cup of coffee.

Been there, done that with front mounts. I just found myself with a shovel in my hands more then the steering wheel...not to mention the shovel doesnt have a cab, LOL...
With my FEL Mounted blade I can literally get to within 6" of the buildings...so the ONLY thing I need to shovel is the porch & steps. I backdrag the snow to where I can catch it with the blower.

Now, if I had a mile long driveway..then you can BET your first born that my 3520 would have a RAD/Kubota/CIH/NH (Painted Yellow of course) blower on the front of it.

 

[pilot-werx]

My driveway is roughly 600 feet. With the 4210 I can get within 4 inches from the house. I only need to shovel in front of the garage and barn doors.

Years ago I had a rear mount blower that was good for moving snowbanks. Trying to do the driveway was a nightmare. On the flip side, it was much cheaper than the front mounts...

 

[Nuru]

I use a front blade, but every so often, I can see where a blower would be kinda nice. For me the best combo would be rear blower/front blade or rear blade/front blower.