Snowblower Snowblower help

[TBrown]

Strange topic in the beginning of summer, I know, but my plan is to do my research and look around during July, make my decision by mid-August, and have my tractor ready to go for winter by mid-September. Last year we got snow in late October here, and I really don't want to get caught with my pants down and have to make a knee-jerk reaction.. buying what's available as opposed to what I need/want.

My thoughts are to equip my Mahindra 2015 with a cab and 3pt mounted blower. Mahindra is going to have a front-mount blower available soon, but I like the idea of having the loader available if I need it.

As far as the cab goes, I believe only Sims is currently manufacturing a cab for my tractor, but I'll check with my dealer before ordering. The only options I plan on getting with the cab are the glass rear window and the rear wiper, no heat. My reason for this is that my brother has a cab for his Bobcat, and last year he plumbed in the heater. Now he fogs up terrible, the defroster keeps the front fairly clear, but he cant see out the sides or rear. Am I making a mistake ? The tractor will be kept inside when not in use, so the glass shouldn't be frosted up when I get in it. I'm not worried about the cold, I've been clearing the drive for years with an open cab Bobcat and walk-behind snowblower, so I'm fairly thick-skinned (and thick-headed, but that's another story).

The snowblower manufacturers I know of are :

Pronovost (Puma)
Loftness
Lucknow
Woods
Erskine
Blizzard (Rad Industries)
Agrotrend (Meteor)

Would anyone care to rank these in terms of quality for me ? Are there any others mfgrs out there ? Are any of the ones I listed rebadged versions of others ? Other than adjustable skid shoes, what makes one better than another ?

All offer a 60" model, some offer a 48" model, and some a 54" model. I think I've dicounted getting a 48", as it would be barely wider than the rear wheels of the tractor. Would I be better off with a 54", or should I go with what appears to be the standard - 60" ? According to the charts on the manufacturer's websites, I should have the ponies to run a 60", but I wonder about the end-of-drive clog the snowplow leaves me most mornings, 2 feet of dense hardpack. Would I be able to punch through it easily with the wide blower ?

I plan on getting a set of remotes added to my tractor and getting the hydraulic chute rotator option on the blower, but I see some mfgrs offer an electric rotator ($$$). Is there any advantage to an electric rotator over the hydraulic ?

 

[SpinyMouse]

You beat me to it. I wrote a similar post last night, but decided to think about it some more before clicking the "send" button. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

I have about 300 feet of gravel driveway, live in central New Hampshire, and have a Kioti LK3054XS.

Is a snow blower the best option for me, or could I handle the snow just as well with a rear blade and the FEL? I like the thought of a SB, but if the concensus for this part of the country is for the blade, I might try that this winter. If a SB is the way to go, what brand/size would work best?

I've plowed with an Ag tractor (50hp?) with a plow blade on the front before. It was not very effective as the angled plow kept kicking the front end over sideways. The plow trucks worked much better. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

TBrown, you forgot to add Buhler, Allied, and Farm King brands of blowers to your list.

As for size, the question is not what size can you buy, but how much available PTO hp does your tractor have?

The other factor to consider is how much snow do you get each year?

If you want a 60" blower, I would think you'd want at 18 or 19 pto hp available if you live in a moderate snow fall area. But if you live in an area like Buffallo NY that gets dumped on in huge quantities then you probably would need 22 to 24 pto hp to run the same size snow blower without straining down your tractor.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

SpinyMouse, I've used blades, front blower and rear blowers. I've never bothered with a FEL for snow removal.

Front blowers are easiest, rear blowers are just as effective at half the price but a little hard to use. Blades work if you don't get big snowfalls.

I currently use a 60" Farm King blower on the back of a TC24D and find it is pretty well suited for my snow amount. I think if we got a lot more snow then the tractor might be slightly undersized for that size blower. I'm in a moderate snow area not a heavy snow area.

Blowers can be used on gravel, but you should set the skid shoes up just a little bit. It also helps if the gravel drive has been groomed BEFORE the winter so you don't have ruts and high spots. I have blown on gravel without throwing a lot of rock out. My drive is paved, but if the snowfall is heavy I do go out and blow my next door neighbor's gravel drive because he works nights and his wife is home with a 2yr old girl. As long as you don't try to scrape the gravel drive clean with the blower, you won't have any real problems.

 

[ByronBob]

Hi Bob,
I live in the belt your talking about. With a good wind it's wild here. I don't know where Florence N.Y is so I can't speak for that situation but here's my problem. I have a FEL for my 650 feet of driveway because I didn't have a blower. With the blower it'll work but with drifting and 5 feet of snow in January almost every year you need to MOVE that snow out of the way. The locals told me from the get go to move the snow out into the yard far away to allow for drifting and piles ect. The FEL is awesome but takes some time. Hence the blower option. The blower is faster but you begin to get tunnels down the driveway and it's almost like building a wind break. With longer driveways like mine you not only need a blower to get out quicker but also the FEL to move snow out from the driveway. I too am looking for a blower (rear) mount to have both options available for whatever mother nature feels like doing. Because I have a BX2230 I'm thinking 48" for power limits but it's nice to have 2 weapons in your holster.

I am looking to others opinions here also because I'm shopping too. Never too early to think about snow because before you know it it's here /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[shvl73]

I think your pto hp might be on the low-end for a 60" blower in deep snow & hard pack. It'll probably do it, but slowly. I have the 64" Blizzard for my 2810hst, with about 22 pto hp. I can blow an average storm at a quick pace. Anything deep or wet & I have to slow to a walking pace. I have the skids set for the higher of the two & it works great on my gravel drive. I also cleared a path around the field so we could walk the dogs, no problem. The Blizzard is good quality, I've seen others that were not as well made, but did not note the brands so I am unable to offer a comparison. Also, the 64" just covers my tracks, but I found that to be completely adequate & don't think I'd have the hp to handle wider with any speed. I didn't use the FEL once for snow but left it on anyways. The 3pth mount is considerably less to purchase & I found backing to be real easy. If you leave the FEL on, beware of turns when backing near expensive things, the bucket swings wide. Hopefully you can find some in stock when you go to buy, a lot of dealers don't get their stock in until late October.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I'm in a high wind area as the house sits about 52' above the creek that is 1/4 mile to my west. The house sits on top of a ridge that runs north/south. The house also runs north/south with a garage that runs east/west. So the house acts as a wind break on top of the ridge, but the wind comes around the side and finds a dead air spot and I can easily get a 2' drift in that dead spot if the winds are blowing when we only get 3" of total snowfall!

What I have found is that I have to constantly move the blower chute to work with the wind. My drive starts out running parallel to the road, then does a hard right turn and connects up to the road. So my goal is always to get the snow over to the road side of the driveway because the wind will then continue to carry it into & potentially over the roadway.

If I used a loader I would end up with mounds on the road side of the driveway which could trap more snow. Or I could pile it on the windy side of the driveway, but risk having it then blow right back into the drive?

I do find, that no matter what I do, if the snow is dry and blowing, I end up blowing the snow drift out a couple of times until the wind finally settles down. Only about 25 miles to the north east of me is the starting point of the Lake Michigan snowbelt, they get 12"-to-18" drops of on days when it is sunny and 80-degrees where I live!

 

[SacandagaBrad]

I have a TC24D with a Woods SS52 on the back. My PTO is 19.5 HP and when going through the banks that have been packed by the plow, it bogs down. Snowblowers take a lot of power! I have HST on my tractor, so slowing down while keeping the RPMs up is not a problem. I am not familiar with the Mahindra 2015 to know if it is gear or hydrostatic, but if it is gear, I would definitely stay on the smaller side while still being able to cover your tracks.

I really like the rear blower and FEL, and you will really like the hydro or electric chute control! I've said here before, it was the best $500 option I bought (for remotes and controls). You will also like the heavy weight of the unit compared to a walk behind, there is little if any climbing up on the hard pack, it just bites right through.

I'm not sure why you're concerned with snow in Florence, NY. It's not like it ever snows much over there /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

One other note, whatever you end up with, check the shear bolt on the drive shaft. My Woods came with a Grade 8 when it should have had a Grade 5 (a whole other story told here on TBN!), and it stopped my machine cold in its tracks at 2400 RPMs.

Good luck

Brad

 

[DieselnHooters]

One other brand not mentionned is Normand,manufactured up here in Quebec,its the most saught after up here,I would be surprised if it wasnt available in your area,might be the most expensive too. My little Ford 1310 is 17HP at PTO and handles the 60'' blower with no problem even in the hard-pack left by the plow,you just have to rev it up some. I rotate the chute by hand ,no big deal, cabless!!!! On your cab-tractor ,I would go with hydraulic remotes instead of an electric driven rotator, they cost about the same and tose hydraulics are multi-purposed , an electric motor might break down. As for shear-bolts,when in doubt ,go for the lowest grade,they cost pennies and can be replaced in a matter of seconds unlike a torn down transfer-case.

 

[755inNY]

<font color="blue"> But if you live in an area like Buffallo NY that gets dumped on in huge quantities </font>

Buffalo, NY snow falls have been over rated. Syracuse has beat them the last 2 years at least. In the Florence area, the snow really dumps. Right off the end of Lake Ontario where the ground rises up to form the Tug Hill Plateau and the snow falls relentlessly. Some of the best snowmobile riding is up in that area from July 1st to June 30th /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Jeff