Snow Pronovost 3 Pt Snow Blower

[Acolar]

Anyone with a 3X20 Series JD running a Pronovost 3 pt snow blower?
Considering a Puma 72 or 74 and/or a Pronovost Group 1, P-680 or P720-74

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ihuntbear]

most of the contractors around here use them .They are tough but heavy and pricey.if your using it for driveways a lot of the guys have 78" normand's on a 45 hp machine.they can move a lot of snow.around here they are 4000.00 to 4500.00

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Anyone with a 3X20 Series JD running a Pronovost 3 pt snow blower?
Considering a Puma 72 or 74 and/or a Pronovost Group 1, P-680 or P720-74

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

If you've got the wallet for it, go with the P720-74....

Bang for the buck, you cant beat the Frontier SB1174 aka Blizzard B74. My Dream blower is the Bervac SA74....

 

[OtterBrookStables]

If you've got the wallet for it, go with the P720-74....

Bang for the buck, you cant beat the Frontier SB1174 aka Blizzard B74. My Dream blower is the Bervac SA74....

I have the SB1174 on my 4120. Very well built and works great - no complaints. It was around $3K with hydraulic chute.

One point - the OP mentions that the intended tractor is a 3X20. You'd need at least a 3520 to effectively run this blower, and that is probably marginal. Heavy, deep snow and blasting out bankings takes a lot of HP/torque. IMHO, I think the SB1164 would be a better choice for the 3X20 series.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

One point - the OP mentions that the intended tractor is a 3X20. You'd need at least a 3520 to effectively run this blower, and that is probably marginal. Heavy, deep snow and blasting out bankings takes a lot of HP/torque. IMHO, I think the SB1164 would be a better choice for the 3X20 series.

Definetly not...I wouldnt reccomend anything LESS then a 72"ish blower for a 3x20... Regardless of size....I know that in normal snow, my 3520 doesnt even break a sweat.. in wet heavy spring snow, you can tell theres a blower out back, but nothing out of the ordinary. If I had a 3120, I'd still have a SB1174.
Heck my FIL runs a P-720-72 on his 955 and he's never complained about it, when I was shopping for mine he told me point blank to get nothing smaller. My dad runs a similar sized blower (lucknow) on his 29 horse Kubota with no issues either. Both live up home in "The County" so snowblowing is pratically a hobby up there (but not this year, LOL)

I have a friend at work who just got a 2320 and the SB1154, I told him to buy the 64, but he didnt listen...2 weeks after using it, he came to me and said "too bad I cant upgrade to the 64 now..."

I dunno what it is, but alot of people here on TBN are scared to use "properly sized equipment"...everybody seems to reccomend small, be it a tiller, box blade, snowblower, etc.... This is especially true of snowblowers...I wouldnt be afraid to run a SB1184 on my 3520...the beauty of snowblowers especially is when you only have 6" of the fluffy stuf, you can take a full width bite...if you have 10" of wet heavy stuff, take 60" worth of bite...not to mention, with a hydro you can take a full bite no matter what and just adjust ground speed to match the load.

 

[OtterBrookStables]

Definetly not...I wouldnt reccomend anything LESS then a 72"ish blower for a 3x20... Regardless of size....I know that in normal snow, my 3520 doesnt even break a sweat.. in wet heavy spring snow, you can tell theres a blower out back, but nothing out of the ordinary. If I had a 3120, I'd still have a SB1174.
Heck my FIL runs a P-720-72 on his 955 and he's never complained about it, when I was shopping for mine he told me point blank to get nothing smaller. My dad runs a similar sized blower (lucknow) on his 29 horse Kubota with no issues either. Both live up home in "The County" so snowblowing is pratically a hobby up there (but not this year, LOL)

I have a friend at work who just got a 2320 and the SB1154, I told him to buy the 64, but he didnt listen...2 weeks after using it, he came to me and said "too bad I cant upgrade to the 64 now..."

I dunno what it is, but alot of people here on TBN are scared to use "properly sized equipment"...everybody seems to reccomend small, be it a tiller, box blade, snowblower, etc.... This is especially true of snowblowers...I wouldnt be afraid to run a SB1184 on my 3520...the beauty of snowblowers especially is when you only have 6" of the fluffy stuf, you can take a full width bite...if you have 10" of wet heavy stuff, take 60" worth of bite...not to mention, with a hydro you can take a full bite no matter what and just adjust ground speed to match the load.

Gotta disagree. You said it yourself - properly sized. Straight from Frontier: the 74 spec calls for a minimum of 30 PTO HP, and the 84 calls for a minimum of 35 PTO HP. Your 3520 has 30 PTO HP - right on the edge for a 74. You'd have to baby an 84 big time to make it work - way oversized for your machine. Heck, I can bog down my 4120 with a 74 in the heavy stuff. But - I can work that blower hard with plenty of power in nearly all situations - no partial bite, no bogging at all. Another point - the wider you get, the more cumbersome they are. My 4120 would take an 84, but they are freakin huge and in the way if you leave them on all winter like I do. I agree that your buddy should have gotten the 64, though - it calls for a min of 20 PTO HP. I think the 74 and 64 are the sweet spot for most people. I guess I am guilty of wanting properly sized/matched equipment for my tractors, but to each his own.

 

[Nuru]

Hmmm, the 3520 has ~30 HP at the PTO, so with a SB1164 the 3520 should throw snow further than with a SB1174 would. I am considering a SB1164 myself, but if I could, i would go for a SB1174, but the SB1164 deems to be the optimum vs the larger unit, based on their specs.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Gotta disagree. You said it yourself - properly sized. Straight from Frontier: the 74 spec calls for a minimum of 30 PTO HP, and the 84 calls for a minimum of 35 PTO HP. Your 3520 has 30 PTO HP - right on the edge for a 74. You'd have to baby an 84 big time to make it work - way oversized for your machine. Heck, I can bog down my 4120 with a 74 in the heavy stuff. But - I can work that blower hard with plenty of power in nearly all situations - no partial bite, no bogging at all. Another point - the wider you get, the more cumbersome they are. My 4120 would take an 84, but they are freakin huge and in the way if you leave them on all winter like I do. I agree that your buddy should have gotten the 64, though - it calls for a min of 20 PTO HP. I think the 74 and 64 are the sweet spot for most people. I guess I am guilty of wanting properly sized/matched equipment for my tractors, but to each his own.

I'm gonna agree to disagree with a little of what you say.. I still maintain that the 74 is properly sized for a 3x20, I hear what your saying with the advertised specs, but I dont use those specs as a end all/be all.....BUT I will say, I DO agree with your point about an 84" would be "freakin huge" physical size wise..like you, I keep mine on from T-Giving till spring...it would be a pain when manuvering around the vehicles, etc... the 74" is the Goldilocks of blowers for my tractor...not too big, not to small... I never once wished I had or needed more power. With any attchment I have, I've always been suprised at the power this tractor has...

Hmmm, the 3520 has ~30 HP at the PTO, so with a SB1164 the 3520 should throw snow further than with a SB1174 would. I am considering a SB1164 myself, but if I could, i would go for a SB1174, but the SB1164 deems to be the optimum vs the larger unit, based on their specs.

What makes you think that? Distance the snow is thrown is a direct relation to the tip speed of the fan... In this instance, the 64 and 74 are identical, both have 24" diameter fans. Both spin at the same 540 RPM, so all things being equal, they should throw the same distance.
You'll throw less snow with the 64" because the fan on it is 24"x 6 3/4" deep, the fan on the 74 is 9" deep.... Wish you were closer to me and we had snow, I'd let you come over and try mine out....after 5 mins of use, you'd be sold on a 74...

http://www.deere.com/en_US/ag/media/pdf/frontier/snow_removal/DSFE41080_Snowblwr_3pt.pdf

 

[OtterBrookStables]

I'm gonna agree to disagree with a little of what you say.. I still maintain that the 74 is properly sized for a 3x20, I hear what your saying with the advertised specs, but I dont use those specs as a end all/be all.....BUT I will say, I DO agree with your point about an 84" would be "freakin huge" physical size wise..like you, I keep mine on from T-Giving till spring...it would be a pain when manuvering around the vehicles, etc... the 74" is the Goldilocks of blowers for my tractor...not too big, not to small... I never once wished I had or needed more power. With any attchment I have, I've always been suprised at the power this tractor has...
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I hear yah Spud! My 4120 seems to have endless power as well - continues to amaze me. But in my barn yard I need to pile snow into bankings and then blow them into a small opening in a field. Even with my 4120, I use all the power I have to blow than much heavy snow. You can always slow down and take small bites, but that's just no fun. I know this may be an extreme case, but an 84 would only make things worse. So I'm with you - the 74 is the sweet spot!

 

[OtterBrookStables]

Hmmm, the 3520 has ~30 HP at the PTO, so with a SB1164 the 3520 should throw snow further than with a SB1174 would. I am considering a SB1164 myself, but if I could, i would go for a SB1174, but the SB1164 deems to be the optimum vs the larger unit, based on their specs.

Spud's comments are spot on - the 74 and 64 are both 540 rpm units with the same size fan, so they will launch snow the same. If you've used one of these, you know that really isn't an issue anyway - the throw snow very well. The point is the one Spud mentioned - the 74 will throw more snow than the 64. The 3520 is right on the edge for the 74, but Spud is proff that it will handle it. Another plus for the 74 is the discharge chute - it is 12" on the 74 vs something like 8 or 9 on the 64.