I did it. Roast and discuss my choice. (sharing experience + numbers for others)

[goridedoo]

As far as blower, I need to do more research, but I have been looking at the Erskine 925RM. It's 3 point 90inch width, 35inch height, 540pto. I figure something that size will clear my driveway and turnaround in no time.

I am looking for a bush hog as well to help cut the pasture as I am not having any livestock out there this year as I am moving the fence etc to put in trees and build the shop.

I purchased a 4707 in late December, blew a little snow with it (we had very little here in SD this winter). I have a Farm King 960 on it, and its too big for the tractor IMO. Any drift and it pulls the rpm down in a big hurry, and you have to ride the clutch, which is extremely grabby. I'm really unhappy with how grabby the clutch is. It makes loader work and blowing snow very difficult. A creeper gear for blowing snow on a lower HP tractor like this would be ideal.

 

[JWR]

I purchased a 4707 in late December, blew a little snow with it (we had very little here in SD this winter). I have a Farm King 960 on it, and its too big for the tractor IMO. Any drift and it pulls the rpm down in a big hurry, and you have to ride the clutch, which is extremely grabby. I'm really unhappy with how grabby the clutch is. It makes loader work and blowing snow very difficult. A creeper gear for blowing snow on a lower HP tractor like this would be ideal.

goridedoo is very correct about creeper gears. On a smaller tractor with a 5ft blower I have found over the years that lesser snow depths (say under a foot) are easily handled at 'normal' tractor reverse speeds. However deep stuff or especially heavy packed snow bogs you down in a hurry. My older Kubota happens to have a creeper gear and that turns out to be ideal for snow blowing. You should have a low enough gear on the 4707 I would think to maintain good progress even in deep/heavy snow, especially with the PTO hp you have. The goridedoo user though has the specific experience using a 4707 and you see what he says. That Farm King 960 is an 8 ft blower with dual augers. I have zero experience with dual auger blowers which I thought were sold primarily for the really DEEP deep stuff.

Maybe someone on here knows if dual auger blowers are harder or easier to drive through snow than single auger. I really do not understand why a 8ft blower is too big for the 4707 but then goridedoo has the experience. You sure do not want to be riding a clutch !!

 

[MinnesotaMorg]

I think these concerns are partially why I am going to order the snowblower through my local MF dealer. They are close so hopefully any "break in" issues I encounter they can help me fix without too much pain. But for the snowblower I figure if anyone knows whats an appropriate size for the 4707 it should be them.

Any drift and it pulls the rpm down in a big hurry, and you have to ride the clutch

Do you do this in order to reduce your ground speed? I'm imagining that the snowblower starts to plow snow if you're moving too fast for it to process and could potentially be bad for the unit unless you slow down and let it catch back up. Do you know what transmission you have?

 

[goridedoo]

I think these concerns are partially why I am going to order the snowblower through my local MF dealer. They are close so hopefully any "break in" issues I encounter they can help me fix without too much pain. But for the snowblower I figure if anyone knows whats an appropriate size for the 4707 it should be them.



Do you do this in order to reduce your ground speed? I'm imagining that the snowblower starts to plow snow if you're moving too fast for it to process and could potentially be bad for the unit unless you slow down and let it catch back up. Do you know what transmission you have?

Correct. I have the Dyna 2. Hard wind blown snow is what I was running into issues with, which we have a lot of here. I think if you tried to blow through a lengthy 1ft hard drift without being on and off the clutch you would kill the tractor (with an 8ft blower). Not trying to discourage you, but my 4707 is a dog with that blower on it.

I posted awhile back in the snowblowing section to see if anyone thought a 7ft single auger blower would be better, but didn't come up with much.

 

[JWR]

Correct. I have the Dyna 2. Hard wind blown snow is what I was running into issues with, which we have a lot of here. I think if you tried to blow through a lengthy 1ft hard drift without being on and off the clutch you would kill the tractor (with an 8ft blower). Not trying to discourage you, but my 4707 is a dog with that blower on it.

I posted awhile back in the snowblowing section to see if anyone thought a 7ft single auger blower would be better, but didn't come up with much.

I do not have a snowblower in use on my larger tractor. Just drastically less snow where I am even in the WV hills compared to you guys. I would comment that you want a blower wider than your wheels and you can probably cope with whatever other issues there are with width. Surely the low-low gear on 4707 would be OK and let you avoid excessive clutch use in all but the worst cases. There are so many techniques too -- like multiple passes if the snow is too deep/hard, cutting less than a full width path if loading is too high, etc. On a tractor that size I cannot see going with anything less than a 7 ft blower. Again, your tire spacing is probably a good reference point.

 

[RidgeHiker]

I have a 6' blower on my 50HP tractor. A creeper gear would be great. It's not about engine bogging down, but if snow is heavy and deep it can pack into the blower, may break shear pin and require clearing out by hand. Worst situation is first pass into the snow berm at the street from county plows which pack the snow in as they move it. So I usually just use the bucket there or take smaller digs into the berm going back and forth.

 

[goridedoo]

I do not have a snowblower in use on my larger tractor. Just drastically less snow where I am even in the WV hills compared to you guys. I would comment that you want a blower wider than your wheels and you can probably cope with whatever other issues there are with width. Surely the low-low gear on 4707 would be OK and let you avoid excessive clutch use in all but the worst cases. There are so many techniques too -- like multiple passes if the snow is too deep/hard, cutting less than a full width path if loading is too high, etc. On a tractor that size I cannot see going with anything less than a 7 ft blower. Again, your tire spacing is probably a good reference point.

Lots of variables. I think my machine would work fine in 10-12" of light to medium density snow that fell straight down. That just doesn't happen here, we'll get 6", and 50mph wind for two days. Makes for 3-4ft drifts that are so hard you could drive right over the top of them. That first cut can be tough! I agree though, would still want a minimum 7ft blower.

I have intentions of tuning my tractor to 100hp or so, once my year of warranty is up. Could have bought a 4710, but I believe it was about a 10k upgrade, and the added hassle of DEF.

 

[Williy]

Nice Tractor just know that you will really
enjoy the cab when blowing snow!

Do you have snow fences up along side of
your drive way??? They really help. You
could even put them in two rows if the snow
is too much!

willy

 

[MinnesotaMorg]

see if anyone thought a 7ft single auger blower would be better

Looking at the specifications of the Farm King 960, they want a tractor hp of 90-125. So you are correct saying its a little too large for the 4707. I have been eyeing that Erskine 925RM, single
auger, 90" width, 35" cut height.

I have intentions of tuning my tractor to 100hp or so, once my year of warranty is up

Just kidding, I'll probably be right behind you a few years down the road. Who knows what will happen though.

Do you have snow fences up along side of
your drive way?

I do not. I learned all about them this winter though thats for sure. I will put them up for next year and see what kind of difference they make for me.

 

[JWR]

Lots of variables. I think my machine would work fine in 10-12" of light to medium density snow that fell straight down. That just doesn't happen here, we'll get 6", and 50mph wind for two days. Makes for 3-4ft drifts that are so hard you could drive right over the top of them. That first cut can be tough! I agree though, would still want a minimum 7ft blower.

I have intentions of tuning my tractor to 100hp or so, once my year of warranty is up. Could have bought a 4710, but I believe it was about a 10k upgrade, and the added hassle of DEF.

You can certainly have some chips changed and do things for your 4707 that will give you more HP. My guess is, though, that traction will be your issue rather than horsepower. An 8ft blower trying to push heavy windpacked snow at more than a creeper speed is going to cause you to lose traction, I think. Don't you have that problem ?