New Deere 54" 2 stage SnowBlower!!

[DeereMann]

Please keep us posted, I'm interested to hear the difference.
My 47" has a metal impeller. Haven't used it yet.

First big snow here yesterday. 7 inches of heavy snow, with wind afterward (this be flyover country, obviously). Temp around 20 degrees F.

Performance observations:

New Plastic Impeller:
The 54" Deere snowblower seems to throw a bit less further than my previous 47" Deere snowblower, but not so significantly that I was unhappy. Maybe throws 25 feet rather than the 30 feet my old one did. Many attribute this to the poly impeller, but it should not be the material itself that causes this. It is a function of velocity of the outer blade diameter, blade design (& no. of blades), & slipperiness of the surface finish. The diameter appears to be larger than my previous impeller, same no. of blades, so maybe blade design & surface finish are the culprits? It was difficult to tell because this was such a heavy snowpack (snow does not throw as far when wet & heavy). Anyway, it's good enough for me to not consider swapping to a used metal impeller.

Traction w/o Tire Chains:
Absolutely no problem here - with turf tires & 4WD the tractor never slipped - flat surface, uphill, downhill, sideways, whatever. Thank goodness cause I hate putting tire chains on!

Power:
Wow! With that little 25hp Yanmar diesel and wider clearing width I can really go! The engine never lugged like the previous 22hp Kawaski gasser - I didn't have to slow down to prevent the engine from lugging like my previous tractor. I only had to slow on snowplow drifts via sheer volume of snow so the impeller could digest it.

Conclusion:
The 54" snowblower performs well, I recommend it. Especially with a diesel SCUT or CUT, it is a powerful combination. My only issue is I MISS MY CAB!! - from my old tractor (had a FEMCO cab, similar to Curtis soft side cab, with heater, lights, fan, wiper, etc.). The swirling wind nailed me full-face with blown snow a couple times last night & it hurt! I re-discovered I'm not 30 years old anymore, onward to put on a cab. And yes, I'm gonna get one with a heater.

Questions welcome, here are some action photos with my oldest boy operating..........

 

[Jtschnel]

I would've like to have gone with a 54" for my 1026R but needed less width due to the number of sidewalks I do for relatives and neighbors. I've only had a chance to use it once so far but it was much more satisfying to use than my previous X485. Plus I've had a heated cab put on the 1026R.

I looked at a few cabs. I really liked the look of the Jodale Perry cab but was quite put off and concerned by the company's responses to questions and requests for information. So much so that I was concerned about response should something go wrong or even just needing replacement parts.

I also looked at Curtis but ended up going with a Tektite cab. There are always small things you'd like to see different, such as a little more foot room in the brake area, a multi-speed fan for the heater, interior light, low profile LED bars for exterior front and back lighting instead of the smaller ones included, and a downward angled fuel filler arrangement, but the construction is very solid and the company has been very responsive. I'm very happy thus far, although I was surprised how noisy it is inside the cab.

Happy snow work! Me, I can't wait for a 12-15" snow fall!

 

[dakotagun]

looks good. had my 54" on the gravel drive/road this weekend - had to wear ext.cold gear, tried out a new set of ski goggles (not as nice as a cab, but lots cheaper). we had a freezing rain come down first, and I feared I wouldn't get the 2305 back up the incline to the garage, so decided to put on chains for the first time. worked great. (if you weren't wearing cleats on your boots, you're on your backside in seconds - who knew gravel could be so slick!?). thanks to some posts/tips on here, chain install went OK even for a newbie. haven't looked, but probably have the poly blades too, but haven't posed an issue for me yet.
btw - temp was -29 actual, thing the wind chill topped out more than -40. daily high is supposed to get above zero on Wednesday...

 

[DeereMann]

Addendum:

Yesterday we had light snow @ 0 degrees F.......poly impeller seemed to blow snow as far as my previous steel impeller did, so in my experience it's ok so far. We will see how it holds up hitting snowplow ice chunks & such. My steel impeller had bent blades that I had to resurface with a hand grinder.

 

[hgl1tbn]

Here is my poor man's snow blower cab. Just make sure the hood from your snowmobile suit is under the head band and the neck is snapped closed. By lifting your chin slightly it will usually clear right up and then putting your chin back down when the snow comes back at you it sure saves on the ice cold blast of snow back on your face. It is made by UVEX.