Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Plowing with blade or blowing?

[Knapmich]

Which is better? I find different methods for types of storms, Have a old Willys Cj2A with plow, MF backhoe to push the banks back, but I just

bought a Honda 1332 snowblower last year and I can paint the tree tops with this thing!

So is blowing snow better? no piles? What;s the opinions out there?

 

[Looking4new]

I prefer to blow it.

 

[Fallon]

Plowing is faster but can leave you building canyon walls if things don't melt. Generally a plow, especially a back blade will be a lot cheaper. Generally you plow going forward with a plow but are reversing & straining your neck with a blower (or paying double the price of a 3pt blower for a front blower & mounting gear).

 

[Looking4new]

My front mount blower with the gearbox and drive shaft from the mid mount cost me $6,000.oo CDN. My back and neck won't handle twisting around backwards and also trying to use my peripheral vision isn't as accurate as using both eyes and facing the direction I am going and blowing, but to each his own. I had the money, so that is the route I went with.

 

[oosik]

I've been clearing my driveway for 32 years and much prefer a rear blade. You are going forward and its a lot faster. I only used the blower when the canyon walls got to tall to blade snow over them. I sold the blower when I got the new, bigger Kubota. I HATED the blower - took the better part of three hours to completely clear the driveway. My neck/shoulders would be stiff for days after looking backward and blowing the snow. PLUS - not matter which way the chute is pointed, the snow always comes back on you.

 

[vtsnowedin]

A blower is lifting the snow rather then just shoving it aside so it uses more fuel. A front mounted blade is faster and cheaper as long as you have a way to push the banks back when needed.

 

[Wolfy]

I was wondering the same thing. But my dad sold me a retired pickup with a snowplow cheap. It is really hard to outdo a pickup plow for speed.

 

[JJZ 109]

Depends on the snowfall for me. If it's not that deep, I'll scrape up and pile it with the skid steer. If it is deep, a 73 inch Erskine blower takes care of it.
If I start to get any "canyon walls" (great description, by the way) then it's strictly snow blower if I can't pile any higher. Just blow it over the top of the banks. Sometimes I even hog into the banks and blow them further out into the yard.

 

[HEC]

It all depends on the amount of snow for me too . I have a 84 inch rear mount on my open station M5700 and that will go through anything Maine weather can throw at it . The only problem at 72 I can't twist and turn anymore so I would end up standing up while blowing and my wife was having a fit . ( I can see why but it had to get done ) I have a B2650 with a cab and front mounted blower for this winter so I will see how that goes , at least I will be warm now , even if it takes a little longer I don't care . I am sure a front mounted plow would be so much faster as it takes me about 2 hrs. with the M5700 blower to do a big storm . I have a big area to take care of and space is limited due to trees in some areas so a blower works great for me .

 

[rayclar]

plowing is faster if you don't have too much snow. Anything over a foot is quicker with a blower, cleaner neater no banks etc. etc. etc.

 

[bellweather]

I use both. Rear blade is fast with 6" or less, blower is much better for deeper snow. Once those canyon walls solidify, my driveway becomes narrower and narrower with each pass of the blade, until it's like a bobsled run.

 

[Thomas]

I try both like the plow setup better.
Do you get much drifting etc.,how long your driveway...less raking stones etc. come spring clean up.

 

[Knapmich]

My sentiments exactly!! I have this new Honda and I am Amazed on what it can do, But I don't like being out in the blowing snow with the Honda

The Willy's affords the heat, lights, for a quick job before it freezes, The backhoe, I use it sometimes to get the ice off after I can't get to

it,either because I am tired of dealing with the snow/ice or I am somewhere else when the weather event happens. the strait blade plow in slush

events works the best.

 

[skyhook]

Power angle frame mounted blade in front,
and a rear "pull" blower on mine.
Push the snow with the blade to one side, then drive back with the blower, driving over
the banks I just made, works good for me. No more looking back either.

 

[CJONE]

I do both, I plow with a 8' snowpusher and have pushed over 2' of snowfall with no issues. I also have a 84" twin auger rear mount blower that I use to blow banks back with. It will do my driveway with a foot of snow in about the same time it takes to plow it. 2 passes wide open in reverse and I am done with the drive, I use mirrors so no turning around. The pusher is faster than the blower for parking lots but the blower is more fun. CJ

 

[JerryK]

I use a small homebuilt pusher on the front of a JD garden tractor for light snows up to about 4", pushing the snow the complete length of my drive in piles at each end. I use my rear blower for this somedays too for this... depending on how I feel. Push the snow all the way to the end, then fire up the blower to clear it out. I live in a woods, and with the amount of snow we get, do not have enough treeless area to pack away a lot of snow if I just bladed all winter. Neighbors that do, usually start pushing their drives 50' or so wide at the start of the season, and usually in the spring they are down to a drive that they can still get in and out with. But then, when all that snow melts, they have to put up with all that melt/mud for quite a long time. Since they had all that bare ground, and also drove on it, the frost 'drive' they have made is quite wide. Using the blower, I just clear about 12'-14' on the drive, plus a larger area in front of my pole barn. The snow beside the drive usually keeps frost out just a few feet away from this cleared spot, so my water/mud problem is usually not that bad come spring. The heavy blown snow piles are usually at least 20' away from the drive, if not more. Those take awhile to melt, but are far enough from my drive that they just seep into the ground. I have plowed a lot of snow in the past. I think plowing is more 'fun', and faster. But it has its down sides, too... With a blower, I can go help move the drifts back for the neighbors if they need it. Forgot about drifts.. plowed drives, with their piles of snow adjacent to the cleared drive, attract deeper drifting. Say you have a 12' wide blown drive with three foot on the level snow on the sides you have X amount of area that can possibly drift full. A plowed drive, even if only 12' wide, usually has higher piled snow at the side from the snow you plowed with your angled blade. So, these piles would be higher that the 3' level ground snow, and give you more area that could possibly fill full of drifted snow. That's best case, cuz usually you plow wider that 12' so your packed banks don't hem you in later in the season. Sorry for the rant....

 

[Rockgod]

I would rather blow it out of the way. No snow banks!

 

[NHbotanut]

I have a front power angle plow & a rear blower. As others have said, plowing is faster but blowing is permanent. Storms up to 6" I plow. Anything over I use the blower.

 

[SulleyBear]

Plow till you need more room to pile the snow, then in two minutes you drop the blade and install the blower and then you move back the piles......

Repeat as necessary.......

If you pile the snow in the right locations, it is easy to blow the piles back. But trying to always use the blower results in some problems when you have tight driveways, close parallel drives, etc. L shaped parking area, large areas where you are reblowing the snow because the parlking area is more than 50 to 75 feet wide and on and on.

Much easier to plow and strategically pile snow and then move back the banks as needed. In many situations the visibility is near dangerous when trying to blow the entire driveway parking area because of circling winds, etc.

This experience comes from plowing at least 15 residential driveways each snow for over 20 years.....

I watched a neighbors teen ager blowing snow towards the stucco home last winter. I told him that was a very bad idea, not only could he break windows (which he did, $1,899 worth one day) but he also pelted the house with ice chunks and the stucco repair and repaint set mommy and daddy back another $3,900 this spring.

When plowing snow, you need to be intensly focused on the area immediately in front of the plow where you are pushing and piling snow. When you are blowing snow, that area just grew to about 50 feet at a minimum......

 

[SulleyBear]

And then there is the neighbor who was completelely shocked when he crushed a neighbors garage door panel in so far he ripped the door tracks from the inside wall. When I asked him what happened, he said he never thought that pushing snow towards the garage door with a FEL could cause such a problem......

Yes, I said TOWARDS the door with a FEL......

Stupid is as Stupid does........