grsthegreat
Super Star Member
my front loader mount will lift as high as my loader arms can lift, but thats because its fed by rear hydraulic lines. front mounted units that power off of mid pto's cant lift very far up.
Snow Attachments Pro/ cons and issues with front-mounted Snow Blower for Compact Tractor
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Dmacleo
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HA that would work but not sure they make one for the GC series LOL
man could I clear a bank nicely with that unit, don't want to move to maine and be my friend do you ? LOL
metalbender
Veteran Member
Sweet. I looked at the rear pump/ hyd blower idea. If you have to blow it from that high, thinkin you need a bigger tractor. I do enjoy watching vids from Europe, where they have mega snow chompers.
grsthegreat
Super Star Member
i dont ever need to go that high, but when i clear the snow that sheds from barn roof it needs to go pretty high. if i dont clear it it melts and runs into barn, and the horses cant get in or out. 
when i used to have to clear this with rear blower, i would have to use bucket to bring down some snow, then turn around and blow it. took about 4+ hours per side. with the front blower i raise unit up and drive until front wheels touch snow, back up and lower and go forward again. maybe have 30 minutes per side at most now.
when i used to have to clear this with rear blower, i would have to use bucket to bring down some snow, then turn around and blow it. took about 4+ hours per side. with the front blower i raise unit up and drive until front wheels touch snow, back up and lower and go forward again. maybe have 30 minutes per side at most now.
grsthegreat
Super Star Member
idaho snow is bad enough. actually my 45 HP is probably a bit underpowered for this setup. 55HP would probably be better, or 75 even. but i got a great deal on this tractor back in 2011. and it really has been a great tractor. for normal 6-8" snowfall days, this unit just speds along nicely and throws white junk far away so the wind doesnt simply blow it back onto the roads. when the snow is too wet, or early in season i run an 84" plow. is alot faster than blower. but leaves those pesky berms. and i truly hate berms.
Dmacleo
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work it until it screams is my motto 
BrkMstr
Silver Member
I don't have a problem with the banks, I lift the blower and move into it, when the front lifts I back out move forward and repeat - we should be pretty close to the same temps, I'm not dealing with a lot of slush / frozen stuff, we stay pretty cold, so the banks drop when I undercut them - the blower set up is nice unit it cuts in well and moves it easily, at least twice a season I have to move back the road banks as the plows do not follow the contour of the road, neighbor is surprised how well the blower cuts it and moves it back as they are pretty high....
Dmacleo
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ok thats is helpful, thanks
Rustyiron
Super Member
It all comes down to your snow amounts and conditions. Where are you?
If you get a whopper 6" snow once a year, you're wasting your money. If you get 6" 3 times a week that's a different story. Blowers are a neat tool for the right conditions and don't get me wrong I have both, plows and a blower but plows just like blowers have their place in snow removal. It's your conditions that matter.
A guy in the middle of a wind blown field can get blown shut 6' deep with a "small" snowfall. grsthegreat has snow sliding off his barn roof ie; concentrated to say the least :laughing: and need's it way away for the next snow. These are just 2 "conditions". What's yours.?
crazyal
Super Member
Since nobody asked how close are you to other houses (or other things that would restrict you from blowing snow in that direction)? IS it wide open and do you get lots of wind coming from multiple directions? Before I got my front mount blower I used a 2 1/2 ton 4wd dump truck with a 10' plow. By middle of January the banks got so big I had to borrow a tractor with a loader to push them back. It's not an issue now as the blower will throw the snow over a 6' bank. But at the same time it doesn't make snow banks like a plow. I have almost no use for my loader in the winter. In fact about 75% of the winters I've gone through I've left the blower on for the entire season.
I will caution about leaving 4" of packed snow. Rain will turn that snow into slush if you get a January thaw. The plunging temps that follow will turn it into a skating rink. Your location will make a difference of course but for me, I just keep the blower high enough to skim over the gravel. Once the driveway freezes I raise the shoes so I'm not allowing it to build up any further.
A snow blower is slow and a front mount might actually be even slower since you loose power if the PTO power has to go out the rear of the tractor then through a gearbox that changes it to go to the front. But you will not struggle to see both corners and with HST you can just set the pace that allows you to keep the PTO speed up.
I will caution about leaving 4" of packed snow. Rain will turn that snow into slush if you get a January thaw. The plunging temps that follow will turn it into a skating rink. Your location will make a difference of course but for me, I just keep the blower high enough to skim over the gravel. Once the driveway freezes I raise the shoes so I'm not allowing it to build up any further.
A snow blower is slow and a front mount might actually be even slower since you loose power if the PTO power has to go out the rear of the tractor then through a gearbox that changes it to go to the front. But you will not struggle to see both corners and with HST you can just set the pace that allows you to keep the PTO speed up.