Snowblower Snowblower, between these two

[GreenMtns]

I use a Puma 64. It is a great snowblower. But if your tractor is 72" wide you would need 4" wings on each side just to cover your tracks and you would be feeding even more snow into the smaller fan. This would require an even slower move over the driveway.

Given these facts you will be better off with the Blizzard. You would end up wishing you had purchased it anyway. And a little bigger is much better than too small.

When you start the season blowing snow, shorten up your top link to tilt the blower back. This will cause it to ride on the back of the shoes and raise the cutting edge about 1 1/2" off the ground. Leave it like that until you have built up a snow base. Then you can lengthen the link to bring the cutting edge down to the surface. Then you will have a nice clean drive. And I always have thought that the skid marks the blower leaves were way better than the stones the blades push all over the lawn.

Good luck with your purchase. Have fun blowing snow

 

[Northland]

As everyone suggested I would buy one that covered my rear tire tracks by a few inches. $2200 doesn't seem llike a bad price for that size of blower.

As someone who has been using a rear blade and bucket in an area that has a lot of snow I'd say that a blower is way better then a blade if you get a lot of snow.


It has been snowing here for many days, a lot, so I am going to buy a snow blower. It takes me 2 1/4 hours of pushing to get my driveway and area around the house cleared. It's not fun after 1.5 hours.

I just found a Woods SS60 120 miles south of me. It's 4 or 5 years old.

Hopefully my WR Long valve kit and hoses (ran to the back of the tractor) will work to power the hydraulic chute. I use the valve kit to power my bucket grapple but since the snow has come I took the grapple and hoses off my tractor for the winter.

I think this would be worth $1400 at most though?



Woods model SS60 3 point hitch snowblower. Stored inside. Hydraulic chute. Good Shape. $1700 OBO

 

[Freds]

Thanks again. It will be the Blizzard.
I just need to talk myself into spending the money now, but they will only be more $ next year when I start thinking about it again.
I'd like to rig up my guage wheels to it if they can support the weight. I don't like the trenches skid shoes leave on a light implement.

Last year it didn't snow until January, but when it did I was plowing every day. It got harder and harder to find a place to push it to. My driveway and parking area was starting to look mighty small

 

[canoetrpr]

Northland - the Woods sure does sound nice.

I would encourage you to look one sizes up if you can find it though. I know like me you have been musing about going up to a bigger tractor some day and it will be a heck of a lot cheaper if you don't have to switch implements .

You might want to price out a 68" Meteor or something similar in your area with a manual chute rotator. GIven that neither of us hava a cab I'd say hydraulic rotator is not terribly necessary.

I paid $1800 +7% GST for my 68" Meteor - Kubota orange. It is a nice unit and I am very happy with it.

 

[Manitou]

Northland........ I was just looking in the Manitoulin paper and there is a 6 ft blower with a hyd. chute for 1200 dollars . I phoned the guy and he just lives up the road from me. He didn,t know the make off hand. I can go and look at it anytime. Garry

 

[Northland]

Northland - the Woods sure does sound nice.

I would encourage you to look one sizes up if you can find it though. I know like me you have been musing about going up to a bigger tractor some day and it will be a heck of a lot cheaper if you don't have to switch implements .

You might want to price out a 68" Meteor or something similar in your area with a manual chute rotator. GIven that neither of us hava a cab I'd say hydraulic rotator is not terribly necessary.

I paid $1800 +7% GST for my 68" Meteor - Kubota orange. It is a nice unit and I am very happy with it.

thanks for the advice canoetrpr-your are a smart guy in that you think like me

I would go as big as 72" but no bigger since it wouldn't allow me to do the finesse work I do now; like ripping up my deck with the rear blade/FEL.

I didn't think I'd need the hydraulic chute rotator either given I was going to be driving backwards anyway but if it came with one all the much better.

I checked around here and a 60" Meteor is CDA $1800. A 60" Buhler (made in Winnipeg) sells for US $1895 at my dealer in Northern Michigan so the Woods SS60 with hydraulic control made sesne if I got it for $1400 or so.

 

[Northland]

Northland........ I was just looking in the Manitoulin paper and there is a 6 ft blower with a hyd. chute for 1200 dollars . I phoned the guy and he just lives up the road from me. He didn,t know the make off hand. I can go and look at it anytime. Garry

Garry-yes, please do go check it out for me. If you think it's in good shape and a good deal let me know and I will drive down on Saturday and pick it up. Let me know the guy's contact information and I will call him or have him call me toll-free at 1.866.894.4406-anytime

thanks,

Marko

 

[canoetrpr]

I agree Northland. Nothng bigger than 72". To be honest I hadn't quite contemplated a grand L when I purchased my blower or I might have gone 72" myself. Although the price difference between the 68" and 72" was a fair bit as I can recall.

All of that said, today I tested my little L3400 workhorse out with a 5x5 round bale on the 3PT. My boarders are going to go with round bales for some of their hay.

Worked like a charm. Lifted it effortlessly. Mahana (another L3400 owner here) had pictures that showed it would (heck he's even lifting rounds on his FEL) but I didn't realise how effortless it would be until I tried it today.

The tractor has been able to handle everything I have thrown at it - so there go any real reasons to look at trading in

 

[GreenMtns]

Hopefully my WR Long valve kit and hoses (ran to the back of the tractor) will work to power the hydraulic chute. I use the valve kit to power my bucket grapple but since the snow has come I took the grapple and hoses off my tractor for the winter.

Hi Northland

You should be good to go with the W R Long hydraulic kit on the back. As you can see from these pictures, that is about a standard rear QA setup. I use the same QA set that runs my grapple in the summer to power my top link to tip the blower back and forth, but it would also rotate the chute or tip the top.

Moving snow will be a lot easier and a lot more fun this year.

 

[SkunkWerX]

you want the blower to be at least a little wider than the tractor.

Yes, agree with Hazmat and others. The blower footprint SHOULD at least cover your tracks, otherwise you are driving over snow that has not been blown/cleared.

Wider footprint and bigger fan = more efficient operation.