Power-Trac snowblowers

Highridge · Feb 18, 2005

Does anyone have any experience with the Power-Trac snow blowers? (48" or 60")
I'm planning on getting one if I go with a PT (probably 1430)and wonder how they handle. That attachment is quite pricey though. How does it compare to the power-sweeper on snow?

Thanks

TanSprFarm · Feb 18, 2005

I used it once in Jan. My report follows
"Used it for the first time today! We had 6" to 8" of very dry powder (10 to 12 deg. f) The blower went through it easily and discharged about 40 ft more or less. I think a little wetter snow would go further and a real wet snow less. I was surprised how fast you could go before it loaded the engine much. I could do about 5mph easily. Overall I am happy with its performance. Couple things I plan to change. There is no fast way to change the angle of the chute deflector. (the top of the deflector) It is helpful to direct the snow closer to the machine in some cases. I am going to add a push pull actuator from a JD blower I have. The guage wheels from the factory could not swivel 360deg. So if you back up in the float position they jam on the back of the blower housing. Sooner or later I will rip the tires off. The bracket is too short. I used 4x4 spacers so now they swivel but its tricky to get the cutting edge of the blower at the right height. I plan to add a couple "hockey pucks" right behind the cutting edge so I can just drop it and go. Okay, a couple modifications and it will be great, but for the cost of this implement I must confess I am a little annoyed. Fortunately, it blows snow great."

Highridge · Feb 18, 2005

Which model do you have?

RegL · Feb 18, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Does anyone have any experience with the Power-Trac snow blowers? (48" or 60")
I'm planning on getting one if I go with a PT (probably 1430)and wonder how they handle. That attachment is quite pricey though. How does it compare to the power-sweeper on snow?

Thanks )</font>

I don't know how big an area you have to clear, but if you get the 1430 and 18 cu. ft. bucket, you might want to try that for for a couple storms before laying out the big bucks for the blower. I clear 6 driveways and was going to purchase either the blower or blade. The big bucket worked so good I decided to spend the money on other attachments that I could make money with allmost year round. That blower is kind of expensive to have sitting around waiting for a snow storm.

Highridge · Feb 18, 2005

I agree, the 60" is a lot of $$$
It might be smarter to go with the sweeper so it can be used for snow and dirt. I wonder if it works on leaves on grass?
The driveways that I plow (including mine) a fairly long. I wouldn't mind using a bucket, the snowblower/sweeper would do it faster/easier.

I plan on building a shed for my new tractor. When it snows, I'll need to be able to plow through, say, 7 inches to get to the driveway. We don't normally get more than 4-8" in one storm, but we did get a blizzard this year. Plowing a path from my shed with a sweeper might be easier on the lawn.

Highridge · Feb 18, 2005

I went and watched the Power-Trac movie and the sweeper throws the snow pretty good. How does it handle in wet-heavy snow?

TanSprFarm · Feb 18, 2005

I have the 425 with the 48" blower

MuncyBob · Feb 24, 2005

I have used the bucket for snow removal in short runs....if you need to use the bucket on long runs have a lot of time to spare! The plow or blower would be the way to go!...speaking of the blower....can it handle small debris/stones without breaking anything? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

TanSprFarm · Feb 24, 2005

RE: handle small stones. I have a parking area by the barn that is stone (2A modified). I managed to ingest some stone with no problem. Like their other attachments it is built like a tank and the impeller to housing tolerance is fairly wide. That probably sacrifices some performance but saves on wear and tear when it eats a rock. If I hit a big stone, might jam it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MuncyBob · Feb 25, 2005

Interesting that you mention an area by the barn...exactly the area I was thinking of using the snowblower...could use something to create paths to the manure pile making access with a wheel barrow easier.