Snow Snow removal options

[DiezNutz]

According to DiezNutz it costs about $75 for a 50" length. So lets say $90 for the 60" that I need. If it would last 2 or 3 winters it would be worth it. One year, not so sure.

Actually, the $75 block I was referring to was big enough for my 60" bucket, same size as yours.

I realize they are all overkill for such a small driveway, but so is my B26 for only an acre of land. I am purchasing this equipment now because I am able to wright most of it off through my business. That won't be the case in another 5 yrs or so. I am also going to be moving further north, with a much larger piece of property. So I am trying to take advantage of the savings now along with the fact that the price of tractors has been, and continues to climb rather quickly

You realize you didn't tell us that at first.

It may not be quite as fast as having a blower, but a FEL w/blade combo is a lot faster than just a FEL.

Exactly. I don't really understand the "FEL is too slow" comments... it makes me wonder if some folks don't realize you can push a whole lot of snow a long way with a FEL, before you have to scoop/dump it. I usually take it about halfway down with the FEL pushing in front, and finish up with the blade in back. Anything less than a foot, I'm done in two passes - once out, once back.
No matter what you're using, you need to keep up with it... don't wait until there's 18+" of snow on the ground.

 

[fredhargis]

When you say it wore out quickly, approx. how long does it last? Did it have to be changed each season? According to DiezNutz it costs about $75 for a 50" length. So lets say $90 for the 60" that I need. If it would last 2 or 3 winters it would be worth it. One year, not so sure.

No, quickly to me did not meaning wearing out nearly that fast. I started with about a 3.5" strip, and lost maybe 1/4" a year on smooth asphalt. Bear in mind I'm not in deep snow country, but I probably shoveled the drive 15-20 times a year. The stuff I had was 1/2" thick, but you might be able to get by with something thinner. We (at work) had to buy it from a specialty plastics vendor, it's not common to find it in larger pieces just anywhere. I can't imagine you not getting at least 3 years out of a piece, probably much more.

 

[Mr. Ace]

Unless you get crazy amounts of snowfall in your jurisdiction, try the FEL for a season and see how it works out. There are lots of users on this site that get by great with just a FEL for snow removal. No need to shell out a ton of $ on a blower unless you really need it, or just want one for the fun of it. I think you will be fine with the FEL, especially since you only have 100'. Even if you get an occasional 20" snowfall, you can still get by fine with the FEL, as long as you don't wait for the entire accumulation to end before attacking. Good luck

 

[Gordon Gould]

I think the method you use would be a function of four things -

How much driveway you have?
How much snow you get?
How much money you want to spend, and
How much you value comfort?

Thats wraps it in a nutshell.

If you are trying to get ready ahead of time for when you go up north then I would go up north and find out what people need for equipment in that area. There is a huge difference between the needs of someone in the Buffalo area versus someone near Albany.
Or just get the front blower and heated cab and be ready for any thing.
A tractor seems to big for your present drive way I would use a walk behind blower for that.

 

[Carl Bert]

I found a front mount single stage snow blower, on Ebay last night, for my John deere GX345. I picked it up today. Just hope it works as good as it looks. I will try it out this winter along with the B26 FEL and then maybe I will have a better idea which route I want to take. Thanks guys, for all the input.

Oh yeah, I looked into the Pronovost/Hardy front mounted snow blower for the B26, that runs off the rear PTO. From what I can tell, it requires 35 to 55 HP at the PTO to run it, and the FEL needs to be removed, which mine can't be. Again thanks

 

[montelatici]

We had a tremendous amount of snow in Maryland this past year. I handled it with the FEL of a BX24. Don't think you need to spend thousands of dollars for anything else. It takes a little time to lift and drop the snow to the side, but the main roads are blocked anyway so you have a lot of time before the main roads are cleared enough to move with even SUVs. That's my experience anyway.

 

[easygo]

Around here a lot of people use riding mowers with front blower and they get by very well. Now that you bought the blower for the GX345 I don't think you will have a real need to start up the B26 all winter unless you get your car stuck in the driveway.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I found a front mount single stage snow blower, on Ebay last night, for my John deere GX345. I picked it up today. Just hope it works as good as it looks. I will try it out this winter along with the B26 FEL and then maybe I will have a better idea which route I want to take. Thanks guys, for all the input.

Oh yeah, I looked into the Pronovost/Hardy front mounted snow blower for the B26, that runs off the rear PTO. From what I can tell, it requires 35 to 55 HP at the PTO to run it, and the FEL needs to be removed, which mine can't be. Again thanks

Where do you live in NY? I lived in NYC for 5 years and we got very little snow. On the other hand I know there are places in NY state that get a bunch of snow.

 

[longshot47]

As mentioned earlier, conditions and terrain dictate what works best. Mounting/dismounting convenience is also a factor.
Dry powder, almost any depth, I like the power-angle front blade with skid shoes. Heavy wet, -loader / back-blade [best bet].

 

[radioman]

Just like the other poster said- where in NY you live? At my rental house, a walkbehind blower works perfect. Where I live, a blower is a miserable piece of contraption!!!!! Even with a cab for walk behinds!!! I have too curves, hills, cars to worry about, I rather not use a rear blade. I have a rear blade, but after a year I stopped using it. Its works good, but too much rear looking. I got a truck plow and modified it to go on my FEL arms and now I am a happy camper. No blowing snow, it quickly clears the snow and no looking back all the time.