Snowblower PTO speed

[hazmat]

<font color=blue>Still, do you think I will at least need chains??</font color=blue>

Don't know. My 2wd garden tractor with turf tires required chains for plowing. I'm hoping my TC w/ R4 and 4wd doesn't.

Snowblowing should be less traction intense than plowing. Ie the blower does all the work, not the tractor wheels.

If you've got a steep driveway or frequently Icy conditions, you'll want the chains.

 

[B7500]

"If you've got a steep driveway"
Yes I do...300ft of uphill. (See attached)

 

[hwp]

Very nice property. Does your tractor have 4wd? If so that may be enough. If not, you will need chains. I have turf tires and 4wd is enough for my needs but I don't have much of a slope to contend with. Also, is that a gravel surface? If so I would be very leary of using a snowblower on it unless you use casters to keep the blade up from the surface, otherwise you will pick up stones and hurl them great distances, and someone could get badly hurt.

Have you solved the PTO speed puzzle yet?

 

[kevincook]

I'd get tirechains for that driveway. My concern would be icy conditions and not the deep snow. R4's or Ag's are likely to just slide right down that hill, turf tires would be better but I don't think I would take any chances.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tirechains.com>http://www.tirechains.com</A>

 

[frank_f15]

your front blower will run off your mid pto. it will have no effect on the rear pto. there should be different levers to engage each. do u reallt think u need to leave the bh on for weight? can't u use something else a little less obtrusive for weight?

 

[B7500]

Hello Frank_15,
I do not have a seperate lever for my mid PTO on my B7500. I only have one lever. It allows me to switch my rear from slow to fast. That is where I'm confused. I've never had my BH off and didn't want to mess things up. I thought the added weight would help with traction.
Thanks for your input.
-T

 

[snowman]

Tawoo;

I've got a B7500 with a front blower. Have used it for the past two winters, although not much snow last winter.

I put chains on my rears. However, they're really not beneficial on a paved driveway. I have slight slope on my driveway and the tires will spin if I'm in two wheel drive; four wheel drive is a must.

Regarding the speed of the PTO when blowing, I usually run it at 2500. Generally, the heavier and wetter the snow is, the easier the chute will get clogged up, so you want it to have a good force to shoot out.

A suggestion - I had a terrible time when I first got the blower with it clogging up in the chute. The chute has two wires running up the inside that I guess act as some type of guard in case objects get caught up and flung out. I just bent those stupid things as far out of the way as possible (I didn't unscrew them, because they appear to also help brace the chute) and I almost never have it clog up now.

Regarding the rear PTO running with the mid PTO (the blower runs off of the mid PTO), I notice that the rear PTO does turn when the mid PTO is engaged.

One think I did that you may want to do is put a back blade on in place of the back hoe. That will add additional weight. In addition, it does an excellent job of scraping right down to the pavement so that you don't have snow melting and freezing on the pavement. It's also great when there's not enough snow to blow, but you still want to clean the driveway off.

I think you'll be happy with it. I have a 600' driveway and a 50x40 turnaround; takes me a half hour to clear.

 

[B7500]

Thanks snowman for the advice and your experience with your B7500 snowblower. It looks like I have no choice but to take off my BH because running the PTO at the higher speed would not be good for it.
I will have the dealer mount my new snowblower and I hope to watch him do it. Is the process very hard to do? How long does it take to install and remove?
Thanks,
-Terry

 

[B7500]

"Have you solved the PTO speed puzzle yet? "

Huh, I think so..I must shift my rear PTO to High (960) which at the same time operates my mid PTO at 2500.
-Terry

 

[snowman]

Terry;

Regarding mounting the snowblower, it's not hard.

There's actually two parts. I have a MMM, and the front latch for the MMM above the front tractor wheels needs to be removed each year so that the plate to hold the snowblower can be bolted on. That's just a matter of unbolting and bolting; not a big deal. Do watch the dealer, if this is what he is going to be doing, simply because things are always easier to do once you've watched someone else do it.

Once that actual hardward is bolted on the tractor, it's just a matter of sliding the blower into the pin slots, and then hooking everything up. It's not as easy as hooking up a 3pt impletment though, because there's no real play. It always takes me awhile to line things up and push it around - about a half hour.

You should also make note of the hookup of the hyrdaulic hoses. They plug into the FEL controls, but there are only two blower hoses versus four FEL hoses. The first year I hooked it up myself, I had not marked them when I took them off at the end of winter so it took me awhile to get the setup right. I knew they were wrong simply because the blower won't move up or down if you have the hoses plugged in wrong.

I did my whole changeover from the MMM to the blower last Saturday, including putting the chains on the tires. Diesels full and treated and lights are all cleaned and bright - just waiting for some snow.