Snowblower MK Martin vs Lucknow snowblower on DK35 HST

[kco]

I am planning to purchase a pull-type snowblower and have narrowed the choices to MK Martin Meteor 68" or 75" or a Lucknow 72". I'd appreciate any opinions or recommendations about the manufacturers.

I realise there are higher-end pull-type blowers such as Erskine and other possibilites such as front mounted blowers, but I can't justify the additional cost.

The following are some specifications:

MK Martin SB68 P/T:

Price: $3,700
Cutting width: 68"
Fan diameter: 21"
Fan depth: 7"
Weight: 506#

MK Martin SB75 P/T:

Price: $4,250
Cutting width: 75"
Fan diameter: 23"
Fan depth: 8"
Weight: 748#

Lucknow S6PT:
Price: $4,200
Cutting width: 72"
Fan diameter: 22"
Fan depth: 8"
Weight: 595#

The prices are Canadian LIST with skid shoes and hydraulic rotator.

I have a DK35SE HST rated at 38 gross hp & 27.5 PTO hp. We get several snowfalls of 12", some of which can be fairly wet, but with no drifts. The very wet snows are normally about 8" or less.

Questions:

1. Will the DK35SE handle the MK Martin 75" or the Lucknow 72" models in my snow conditions?

MK Martin's literature just gives PTO ratings of 35 and 50 hp for the 68" and 72" models respectively, but I assume that is a maximum value. My Kioti dealer says the DK35 HST will handle the 75" in my conditions.

Lucknow's literature recommends 20 hp minimum and 35 hp maximum for the 72" model. The Lucknow rep advised against their 78" model (which has a 26" diameter, 8" deep fan) for my tractor and the site recommends 35 hp PTO minimum for the 78" model.

2. Any comments on the blowers or "pros and cons" for Lucknow vs MK Martin?

I've attached files showing details for the snowblowers.

Thanks,

 

[leonz]

A lot this is going to depend solely upon the weather
and if you have deep accumulations which can and
do happen your stuck.

You will find a greater majority of pull type
snow casters on higher horsepower tractors
with higher ground clearance which have the
wieght and available tractive effort with or
without chains and loaded tires.

For the money and the available power you have
you can buy a group 1 P720 or P720TRC rear mounted
Pronovost snow caster that will never have any issues
with deep snow or any heavy snow period.

 

[kco]

Thanks for the comments Leon.

I did look at Pronovost blowers and, as you noted, they only make pull types starting at 84" and that is too large for my tractor.

I've decided on a pull-type blower because (for me) not having to continually look behind outweighs clearing-capacity limitations. The snow up here arrives in gentle dumps of up to 12". We get 4 to 6 of the 12" snowfalls per year with many more of 6" or less. We get virtually NO drifting--there is normally no wind during snowfalls and we are in a densely treed area. Winter is 90% overcast so snowpack depth and density increases through the winter, but it is easily manageable as long as one keeps up with it.

I'm confident the DK35 (14" clearance) will have no trouble. Until now I managed the approximately 800' driveway with a smaller Kubota L275DT and 6' rear blade. It had no problem driving through the snow with the blade angled to throw the snow to the edge. The driveway is gently sloped and if the tractor could not handle uphill runs for the deeper snowfalls I simply did all the clearing in the downward direction.

Such a method just gets the snow to the edge of the driveway and I then need to push it into the ditch by offsetting the rear blade and driving in reverse. That's getting very hard on my old back--thus the change to a pull-type snowblower.

I've attached a few photos of our place after a typical heavy snowfall. The snow on the deck rail gives an idea of a typical heavy snowfall and the snow on the roof and idea of how it accumulates.

 

[olllotj]

Which did you end up with, and how's it going?

 

[kco]

I got the 75" MK Martin Meteor pull-type with a hydraulic chute rotator. I could not be happier with it. My concern was the 27.5 PTO hp of my DK35SE HST, but my dealer assured me it would handle it. It has done that easily. It handles our normal, heavy snows of 12" or less easily:



We had a record single-dump of fairly dense snow this year which it also handled fine, but I did have to slow down occasionally, mainly while clearing uphill:



It will handle heavy, "wet-cement-like" snow without plugging as long as you keep the blower busy with lots of snow by regulating the ground speed. The HST makes that easy. I have front and rear chains and recommend at least rear chains, even though the DK35 is fairly heavy.

I am happy with the blower and recommend it, especially the pull-type, if you have significant distances to clear. I imagine I would have been just as happy with the Lucknow.

 

[HEC]

Very nice pictures and I am amazed at your ability to go through that much snow pulling a blower . Great job !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[olllotj]

Thank you. I have a very similar sized hst tractor, and am thinking about selling my front mount deere 59 setup to get one of those.

 

[kco]

Very nice pictures and I am amazed at your ability to go through that much snow pulling a blower . Great job !!!!!!!!!!!!

That was about the limit for the tractor heading forward. The grill guard was pushing snow the whole time and I cleared most of the neighbours' places on our road. However, one new neighbour moved here in the fall and had no means to clear his 1/2 mile driveway. The day after this storm he asked me to do his driveway, and by that time we had an additional 8" of heavy wet snow, plus he had about 12" of consolidated snow from prior storms. The depth was not much deeper than snow in my photos, but it was much denser and gentle uphill most of the way. I gave up going forward and did the whole 1/2 mile by backing in about 30' at a time and blowing forward and downhill. It took a couple of hours to reach the house.

Once it had blown one path it again easily handled it going forward by keeping one side on the cleared path and knocking the top of the deep snow down by keeping the bucket a foot or so from the ground.

The night before he came to see me the neighbour and his two young boys(probably 11 and 12?) had got home from Vancouver at 02:30 AM. It took them 2 hours to walk the 1/2 mile to the house.

 

[HEC]

That was about the limit for the tractor heading forward. The grill guard was pushing snow the whole time and I cleared most of the neighbours' places on our road. However, one new neighbour moved here in the fall and had no means to clear his 1/2 mile driveway. The day after this storm he asked me to do his driveway, and by that time we had an additional 8" of heavy wet snow, plus he had about 12" of consolidated snow from prior storms. The depth was not much deeper than snow in my photos, but it was much denser and gentle uphill most of the way. I gave up going forward and did the whole 1/2 mile by backing in about 30' at a time and blowing forward and downhill. It took a couple of hours to reach the house.

Once it had blown one path it again easily handled it going forward by keeping one side on the cleared path and knocking the top of the deep snow down by keeping the bucket a foot or so from the ground.

The night before he came to see me the neighbour and his two young boys(probably 11 and 12?) had got home from Vancouver at 02:30 AM. It took them 2 hours to walk the 1/2 mile to the house.

I thought I was out in the country , wow, you guys are way out there . Nice of you to do your neighbors drive .

 

[kco]

We are only a few miles from the highway so it is not that isolated. However, it is quite wild and natural except for the relatively small valley-bottom areas. Although we can get some snow it is usually with no wind (no drifts), and the winters here are mild. This winter has been particularly mild and we have not had significant snow since those photos were taken. I think winter, and weather in general, is much more severe in the eastern half of the country and northern USA.

 

[k0ua]

KCO, can you comment on the chains. Did you need spacers on the rears? I dont have them and my chains keep crawling around, and rubbing the ROPS support after a few minutes of use.. What about the fronts? What kind of chains, and any problems with clearance. I think I need spacers for the rear's.

 

[kco]

It was quite a challenge to get DUO's to fit without spacers, James.

REAR CHAINS:

I started with a much too large set which were exchanged for free and no shipping charge. I got the new chains working but they were a challenge to avoid the ROPs support. Besides that, the gaps between patterns were too large. That made for a rough ride and noticeable slippage.

At the end of the first season I modified the chains as shown here

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/268885-duo-chains-planned-modifications.html

and that noticeably improved ride and traction. It also made them easier to mount because the extra patterns moved the side chains higher on the tire wall and hold the chains more securely on the tire.

These still had a problem with the end gap which I filled with one standard cross chain. The chains still moved at that gap and this year I made the final modification by closing the gap with one more DUO pattern. I am fortunate because I can get bulk DUO patterns locally with no shipping, and at half the cost of CanadianChains.com.

The last post (#32) in the above thread shows that modification. I have not used the tractor since but am confident that final change fixed any clearance concerns. To close the last pattern, I cut out the second last link of the cross chain and attached the single link thus freed-up to the cross hook on the gap's facing pattern, and used a pin coupler to fasten the other pattern to it (as seen in the last 2 photos of post #32).

The DUO's were so-so until I closed the patterns. Using another DUO pattern (instead of single chain) to fix the end gap has (I think) finally resolved the clearance issue. They are great now and I recommend them if you can get a decent price on a chain tool and extra patterns and don't mind the work. Of course adding rear spacers would eliminate the space problem more easily, but what would we do for entertainment!

One other thing I found is that the pin couplers are much easier to work with, and do a nicer job, than more common shackles. I keep a couple in the tool box for repairs, but don't expect I'll need them.

My DUO's patterns have 13 links measuring 12.95" inside the hooks. I think newer DUO chains for 43x16-20 tires have 12 links measuring 23.30". I think the 12-link cross chains would be a bit better.


FRONT CHAINS:

Because of our small wheels, front chains are even worse to fit than the rears. I had trouble this year with some 2-link ladders which are too worn to modify. So I bought some very nice H-pattern chains which are basically the same as my modified DUO's but lighter (7mm vs 10mm). They will not work "as is" as shown in this thread:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...hains-dk35se-cab-post4060838.html#post4060838

Since posting that I have confirmed that I can return the chains for a 20% charge or exchange them for free. I think the only way I can get a chain to work is to make small 2-link ladders using 5.5 mm square link chain. Even then, clearance will be an issue.

So, I am planning to add spacers and keep the H-pattern chains. Bro-tec shipped 2" spacers today and I should have them within 10 days. As long as they fit my wheels I know it will all work. I may just use the spacers in the winter.

I'll update the above thread once I have tried them.

 

[k0ua]

Kco thanks for the info, I read all the threads.. I am thinking spacers. I got into one spot where the tractor front end kept loosing traction and swinging sideways. This was the last storm, where we had freezing rain on top of the snow, to make an ice crust.

I havent been out today from this storm, it has a sleet base than snow on top.

Here are the pix of the last one. You can see how my chains have crawled around on the rears.