I want to hear from owners of Kubota front mount blowers

[davemskinner]

I would however do it different. If I knew what I knew today, I would have never purchased this setup. I would have purchased a loader mount snowblower. Quick attach style

This way in a matter of minutes, take off the blower with two levers and put on the bucket. No subframe to worry about. I wouldnt have had to put on a mid pto kit either.

Most tractors don't have a high flow hydraulic pump which is required for that type of blower. I have often thought the same thing. If you wanted to go that way, one could add a high flow Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU) to run off the rear PTO.

 

[Fallon]

Most tractors don't have a high flow hydraulic pump which is required for that type of blower. I have often thought the same thing. If you wanted to go that way, one could add a high flow Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU) to run off the rear PTO.

12gpm at 2,500psi is only 14hp or so. That's what most compact or even utilitytractors have ballpark for hydraulics. Pretty low compared to PTO HP.

PTO pump setups can transmit the HP but arent cheap or nearly as efficient as a plain PTO shaft.

 

[davemskinner]

12gpm at 2,500psi is only 14hp or so. That's what most compact or even utilitytractors have ballpark for hydraulics. Pretty low compared to PTO HP.

PTO pump setups can transmit the HP but arent cheap or nearly as efficient as a plain PTO shaft.

My understanding was that front mount hydraulic blowers required 20-30 gpm based on size. Thanks, for the info. I new the PTO based HPU would be expensive. Kind of hard to justify. Based on your info it becomes very doable.

 

[ChesapeakeBoy]

I run a 74" Quick Attach skid steer snow blower on my MX4800. I have a 22 gpm Prince PTO pump and a 30 gal reservoir mounted on my blade. It works great. I have used this since 2015. I use my FEL in the winter to move firewood to the house.

Kubota MX48 first snow... 1" - YouTube

 

[davemskinner]

so, even with the higher flow of the "M" series tractor, you still needed the PTO HPU? Interesting.
Really nice setup!

 

[Fallon]

so, even with the higher flow of the "M" series tractor, you still needed the PTO HPU? Interesting.
Really nice setup!

A M4072 only has 16gpm, a M7132 only has 21gpm picking random Ms off Tractordata.com. those are probably pretty representative of the class though. 21gpm @2,500psi is only 30hp. Well under half, maybe a third of the avalible engine HP. Hydraulics are also less efficient (wastes a lot more energy to heat, friction, leakdown, etc) than direct mechanical drive.

A skidsteer is made to be all hydraulic for control & because there isnt really a way to run PTO up to the boom effectively. Tractors are designed for efficency putting power to the ground or the PTO. More efficient machines for what they were designed for, but they have different tradeoffs.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Hydraulic pumps are exensive. Why put a high capacity pump on a tractor that generally just runs some cylinders? But high capacity pump options would be nice. It would still have to be cheaper than the mechanical equipment for a front mount blower or the aux hydraulic equipment on the back.

 

[ChesapeakeBoy]

My MX4800 only shows a auxiliary gpm of 9.8 gal per Kubota. The blower is a 15-25 gpm if memory serves. I think I paid $450 for the PTO pump. Maybe $250 for the aux tank. All in all, no more than an additional Rear Remote, even if the tractor had the GPM to run the blower.

 

[ChesapeakeBoy]

My MX4800 only puts out 9.8 gpm, per Kubota. The blower is 15-25gpm, if I recall correctly. The PTO pump was about $450, and the tank was about $250. About the same as an additional rear remote.

 

[Fallon]

My MX4800 only puts out 9.8 gpm, per Kubota. The blower is 15-25gpm, if I recall correctly. The PTO pump was about $450, and the tank was about $250. About the same as an additional rear remote.

You definitely need a relief valve in there. Hoses aren't cheap either. You really should have a filter in there as well.

Control valves can probably skipped for this use case as you dont need reverse & can just start or stop things with your PTO. May be needed if you want to use it to power anything else.

A cooling radiator & fans are generally needed for that type of power pack. But extra cooling beyond the tank itself can likely be omitted if you are only using it in the winter.