I haven't posted in awhile so I thought a review of my new 72" Puma snowblower might be a good way to get active again.
I have a fairly small parking area but I wanted to try and keep my logging road (1/4 mile) and landing open. The snow fall for the last few years here in Maine has been huge, like back when I was a kid (late 60s early 70s). By the end of last February we had more than 6' in the wood and the banks around the driveway were over 14'. I had to use my loader several times last winter to move snow to the back of my property because I ran out of room to keep my driveway clear. My wood cutting extended well into the summer because I was over whelmed with snow for most of the winter and couldn't get back at it until the frost was out of the ground in the spring.
My hope was with this new thrower I would be able to keep the wood processing going all winter and I'd be able to better manage the big piles around the drive.
I looked at several brands before taking the leap but gravitated towards the Pronovost Puma largely due to the price. After hands on inspection I could not see why anyone would pay more for any of the others. The steel in the Puma is as heavy as any, the fan is better than most the adjustable skids are included. The price was so much lower than some of the others I felt that I might as well take chance because if I didn't like the machine I could undoubtedly sell it for a very small loss next year.
My Kubota L3130 is a hydrostatic drive and I believe that this is one reason that I'm so pleased with the performance of the Puma. The 25 hp PTO it at the lower-end of the recommended range for a blower of this size but so far I haven't had any problems. Two week ago we had a three day blizzard, 24" of snow that ended with pouring rain. It was a snow removal nightmare.
I had no trouble at all. If my PTO speed dropped below 500 rpm I would just back off the foot peddle a little and it would pick right back up. Slow and steady and you'll cut a 6 foot swath in two feet of heavy wet snow with no problem. I've had one issue; I have to be carful as to which direction the chute is pointed because I can easily throw snow into the highway from up by the barn(40'+). That was never an issue with my walk behind.
As you might expect I picked up a couple of stray pieces of firewood when I did the landing, it's amazing how quickly a small stick of beach can shut down the entire operation. I have broken two shear bolts one for the auger and one for the fan. Both were a quick and easy fixes and I was back to work in no time at all.
The "front mount" verses the "rear mount" debate was not an issue for me in the least. I knew that I was going to want the use of my loader/pallet forks for my woods operation so a front mount was out of the question. I'll be clearing the road in the morning and tipping over trees that same afternoon. I can say that having to turn around while blowing is not a big deal; in fact its no deal at all. I went with the manual chute adjustment and wouldn't have it any other way. Because the blower is so close to you when mounted on the rear and you're already facing away from where the controls would be, it is faster and easer just to reach out with my right hand to adjust the chute without taking my left hand off the wheel or my eyes off the road.
You will want to invest in a nice pair of ski goggles and some waterproof clothes because you get covered when the snow is dry.
Needless to say I won't be selling my new blower anytime soon. The blower has so far preformed fantastically.
I have a fairly small parking area but I wanted to try and keep my logging road (1/4 mile) and landing open. The snow fall for the last few years here in Maine has been huge, like back when I was a kid (late 60s early 70s). By the end of last February we had more than 6' in the wood and the banks around the driveway were over 14'. I had to use my loader several times last winter to move snow to the back of my property because I ran out of room to keep my driveway clear. My wood cutting extended well into the summer because I was over whelmed with snow for most of the winter and couldn't get back at it until the frost was out of the ground in the spring.
My hope was with this new thrower I would be able to keep the wood processing going all winter and I'd be able to better manage the big piles around the drive.
I looked at several brands before taking the leap but gravitated towards the Pronovost Puma largely due to the price. After hands on inspection I could not see why anyone would pay more for any of the others. The steel in the Puma is as heavy as any, the fan is better than most the adjustable skids are included. The price was so much lower than some of the others I felt that I might as well take chance because if I didn't like the machine I could undoubtedly sell it for a very small loss next year.
My Kubota L3130 is a hydrostatic drive and I believe that this is one reason that I'm so pleased with the performance of the Puma. The 25 hp PTO it at the lower-end of the recommended range for a blower of this size but so far I haven't had any problems. Two week ago we had a three day blizzard, 24" of snow that ended with pouring rain. It was a snow removal nightmare.
I had no trouble at all. If my PTO speed dropped below 500 rpm I would just back off the foot peddle a little and it would pick right back up. Slow and steady and you'll cut a 6 foot swath in two feet of heavy wet snow with no problem. I've had one issue; I have to be carful as to which direction the chute is pointed because I can easily throw snow into the highway from up by the barn(40'+). That was never an issue with my walk behind.
As you might expect I picked up a couple of stray pieces of firewood when I did the landing, it's amazing how quickly a small stick of beach can shut down the entire operation. I have broken two shear bolts one for the auger and one for the fan. Both were a quick and easy fixes and I was back to work in no time at all.
The "front mount" verses the "rear mount" debate was not an issue for me in the least. I knew that I was going to want the use of my loader/pallet forks for my woods operation so a front mount was out of the question. I'll be clearing the road in the morning and tipping over trees that same afternoon. I can say that having to turn around while blowing is not a big deal; in fact its no deal at all. I went with the manual chute adjustment and wouldn't have it any other way. Because the blower is so close to you when mounted on the rear and you're already facing away from where the controls would be, it is faster and easer just to reach out with my right hand to adjust the chute without taking my left hand off the wheel or my eyes off the road.
You will want to invest in a nice pair of ski goggles and some waterproof clothes because you get covered when the snow is dry.
Needless to say I won't be selling my new blower anytime soon. The blower has so far preformed fantastically.
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