New snow

[Boss 302]

Looked like we got another 4 inches today, now the ice begins.

 

[Hilbilly]

We had -20* F the last two mornings with highs of -5. Tomorrow they say will get up to +40 with snow and/or rain. Somewhere between 1 and 12 inches. They don't know. I've never seen such a winter.

gg

We've also had a really strange winter. Over the matter of a couple of weeks we went from a low of -35*C (-31*F) to a high of +10*C (+50*F). From beautiful fluffy snow to wet slop and heavy rains. Crazy weather!

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

This is my first winter in north central Washington, so I really wasn't prepared for the snow. The first few were 1-2 inches, no big deal. Then another 4 and a few days later a full blown blizzard starting Christmas night and through the next few day with temps on either side of Zero and winds steady 20-25 with gusts to 43 . I don't know how much snow we got, but my tractor was down with a bad starter so we ended up hiring a bulldozer to clear the road that was drifted over with 3-4 feet for nearly half a mile. During the first week of January we got about 7.5 inches followed by over a foot with some drifting 2 days later. Tractor was fixed, but it took me three days to get my half mile of driveway cleared wide enough to allow Fed-Ex and UPS to make deliveries. We are now in a cycle of highs in the mid 30s lows in the upper 20s for the last 5 days and forecast for the next 10 days with no more new snow in sight

Next winter will be different, I will have a cab tractor, a snow blower, clothing suitable for the near zero temps and of course we wont see more than 2 inches of snow at a time and the temps and wind chills won't drop below 10 degrees.

 

[metalbender]

How do you get out with the road totally blocked, snowmobile? I picked up an older Skandic SWT just for that reason.

 

[Hilbilly]

This is my first winter in north central Washington, so I really wasn't prepared for the snow. The first few were 1-2 inches, no big deal. Then another 4 and a few days later a full blown blizzard starting Christmas night and through the next few day with temps on either side of Zero and winds steady 20-25 with gusts to 43 . I don't know how much snow we got, but my tractor was down with a bad starter so we ended up hiring a bulldozer to clear the road that was drifted over with 3-4 feet for nearly half a mile. During the first week of January we got about 7.5 inches followed by over a foot with some drifting 2 days later. Tractor was fixed, but it took me three days to get my half mile of driveway cleared wide enough to allow Fed-Ex and UPS to make deliveries. We are now in a cycle of highs in the mid 30s lows in the upper 20s for the last 5 days and forecast for the next 10 days with no more new snow in sight

Next winter will be different, I will have a cab tractor, a snow blower, clothing suitable for the near zero temps and of course we wont see more than 2 inches of snow at a time and the temps and wind chills won't drop below 10 degrees.

Now you have to decide what kind of snowblower to get: standard rear facing, inverted or front mount. I would say inverted is no good because of the drifting snow you mentioned. So it's either rear facing (the cheapest option) or front mount. Front mount also has several options. You may want to do some reading on this forum. There are a LOT of opinions regarding what is the best system. Good luck.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Now you have to decide what kind of snowblower to get: standard rear facing, inverted or front mount. I would say inverted is no good because of the drifting snow you mentioned. So it's either rear facing (the cheapest option) or front mount. Front mount also has several options. You may want to do some reading on this forum. There are a LOT of opinions regarding what is the best system. Good luck.

Price is going to be the deciding factor, so standard rear mount is what we will end up with. Priced a factory front mount that runs of a mid PTO and it was three times the price of a generic rear mount. We don't get enough snow here to justify that price. We just want a blower for those rare years like this one (according to statistics) when annual snowfall can get to be too much to just plow. Average snow is about 48" during the snow season. we have already had that amount and still have a month and a half to go.

 

[check]

Over a foot today in Toronto, some places will be getting 2 feet. Only less than 6” up here in God’s country.

In town, major highways were closed, and lots and lots of people stuck! Wife drove the kid to work this morning. Got there Ok at 7 AM, but then whamo - traffic dead stopped almost everywhere. Got stopped in traffic, taking 4 hours to get home. Her 4Runner would have made it easily, including up and down a couple of hills. But then there was everyone else, with their 2-wheel drive, front wheel drive minivans and small sedans with not enough clearance.

Nonetheless, she enjoyed the trip home tremendously, repeatedly telling me on the phone about how her4runner was on it’s “wild and reckless way”, passing many who were stuck.

Even up here, I finally got enough snow to really use the blower - yay!

Montreal, and the East Coast are now getting hit with it.

 

[Hilbilly]

Price is going to be the deciding factor, so standard rear mount is what we will end up with. Priced a factory front mount that runs of a mid PTO and it was three times the price of a generic rear mount. We don't get enough snow here to justify that price. We just want a blower for those rare years like this one (according to statistics) when annual snowfall can get to be too much to just plow. Average snow is about 48" during the snow season. we have already had that amount and still have a month and a half to go.

I think that's the reason most people go that route. Plus the standard blower is more versatile than an inverted blower and you can still have the FEL available for bucket work or plowing.

I just priced out 74" Farm King blowers and the difference between inverted and rear facing is substantial. Rear facing = $5,100 CAD after taxes and inverted = $8,954 CAD after taxes. I bought an 84" Farm King inverted blower a year ago and it was $7,000 including taxes and $500 shipping. That's almost $2,000 less for a larger blower. Prices have really gone up.

 

[grsthegreat]

Because steel has gone absolutely nuts. The supply house wants $750.00 for a 4”x4” x 10’ long gate post 1/4” thick steel.

when i built a fence about 3 years ago that same post was under $200.00

 

[Yogi05]

Up to 50cm here. (Eastern Ontario including Ottawa).
That's about 20 inches in english.
Got to use my rear mount blower for the first time. The PTO clutch is out of whack but I found
out if I shut the tractor off, engage the PTO, I can restart the tractor and use the blower.
Worked as I expected/hoped.
The farmer up the road has been doing snow removal for me for the last 20 yrs @ $15 a pop
but he passed away suddenly in October.
I had this tractor given to me this summer with a FEL and snow blower so I lucked out in more ways
than one.
Wasn't so lucky losing a friend, but it happens I guess.