Snowblower size on Grand 30 series

[moship]

I am considering purchasing a front snow blower for a L3130. There are two models listed. One is 60 inches wide and the other 72 wide. The tractor has turf tires and the overall width is just over 60 wide, so I thought a 72 wide unit would be the way to go. My local dealer insists 72 is too big and the tractor does not have enough HP even though Kubota recommends either one for this tractor. Both snow blowers have the same fan diameter, but obviously the auger is longer on the bigger machine. With the same size fan I thought I would just have to slow down the travel speed a bit with the bigger unit. So why would not a 6 foot blower work?

So what snow blowers is everyone using on the lighter HP L30 & L40 Grand series tractors? Any regrets with the blower size?

Does anyone have a used L2174A or L2185 blower for sale?

 

[Couple of Achers]

It is going to depend on how much snow and what kind of snow you get where you live. A lighter type snow under 1/2 foot or so, your L could more than likely handle the larger blower. The snow we received last week in SE MN, 16" with 30 mph winds, with drifts almost as tall as my rear tires, your tractor I'm afraid will not have the necessary hp. I have the L2195 (newer version of the 6' wide L2185 you mention) With the blower fully raised, I still could not get to the top of the drifts. And drifts are hard pack snow. I have a L4740, which for argument sake is 49hp. I had to go slow, and could still hear the engine working at times. The L3130 is for argument sakes, 32 hp. and the actual pto hp is only around 24-25 hp. Six feet wide and taller than the blower is a lot of snow to move and requires hp. Once I got through the first pass then I could take less than full passes and move right along but even then in heavily drifted areas, and where the plow had piled it up I am glad I have every one of those horses. From what I have experienced with the front blowers, I think I would have to agree with your dealer. But again, it really depends on where in the country you are located and what kind of winters you have.

 

[Groo]

I can't speak to a tractor mounted snowblower, but I have thought long and hard about putting wings on my walk behind. for those light snows that are still to heavy for the push-broom and would get old quick with a shovel, I would end up releasing the clutch to build up enough snow so the fan would have something to "bite" or it would end up just dribbling out the chute.

I say get the big one and slow down for the heavy stuff. :thumbsup:

 

[moship]

Thanks for your input and I agree large drifts can be an issue for any compact tractor. Last year we had several major storms that dumped 18 to 24 each time. At the time I had another tractor (JD) with a rear mounted 60 inch snow blower that had no trouble going through any of the snow. Even after it sat for a few days and became crusty and more compacted. This tractor only produces 18 HP at the PTO, so I thought I would be safe with the this tractor. Drifting here is typically not an issue and if needed my neighbor can always help with his front end loader.

Thanks again for sharing your experience and I look forward to hearing from others especially those with the smaller L30's.

 

[brandoro]

With the hydrostatic drive wider is better, you can slow way down for the heavy snows but still be able to push enough snow into the fan for it to work well in the lighter snows. Not being able to drive the tractor in the cut of the blower is a pain too, my old 3pt blower was not quite as wide as this tractor. I like the wider one much better, you can work the blower right up beside things without worrying about hitting anything with the tractor.

 

[leonz]

Another option is the front P.T.O. attachment kit offered by Pronovost

It would allow you to mount a normally rear mounted 72-inch 540 R.P.M. snow blower up front and use a reversing gearbox to bring the RPM down to 540 RPM for your L.

My other question is whether a solid ribbon auger is available for their front mount blower- they can be ordered as an option for the Pronovost blowers for example.


As the tractor is a hydrostatic drive you can crawl through the drifts where needed The only issue I have with it is the reduced ground clearance for the front mounts.

Is a rear camera like the Cab Cam and or additional mirrors and a suicide knob out of the question in buying a 72 inch rear mounted blower?

 

[bitseeker]

I would not want the blower narrower than the tire's tracks. As far as power to move packed drifts, I can atest that a BX23 with a 4' front blower will get through the 5' high packed drifts that build in front of my garage at least once each winter. It is a little slow going, but there is enough power.

With the power you have and a 6' blower you would have more power per foot of width. As others have said, having more snow to feed the blower makes the ejection work better for fluffy snow and low depths.

 

[rpraymond]

I have a L3430 w/2185 front mounted blower. I've had drifts as high as 4' or so and I've just eased into them and never had a problem. If I tried to push my way through quickly I could overload and stall the machine but with a little patience it has always worked fine.

 

[Couple of Achers]

If a 72" width is questionable for your given horse power, and your rear tires are just over 60" wide, another thing you could consider would be to get the 60" blower and add a wing on each side. Even something as simple as a 2x6 bolted flat ways to each side would give you a 63" wide blower.

 

[AceDeuce]

You the operator, not the width of the blower, controls how much snow the blower ingests. Only the on the first pass does the width of the blower matter, and as others have mentioned with an HST you can creep into deep or tightly packed snow very slowly to mitigate that. After the first pass you can adjust the width of your bite based on how much power is needed to move the snow and how fast you want to go---just listen to the engine. You CAN'T do this as easily if the blower is narrower than your tractor though! Bottom line: Go for the 72".

 

[TGReaper]

I can not add much as my blower is a 3 pt. mount.Having said that I use a 60 inch Buhler on a BX 2200 and with the hydrostatic I have no power problems.

Dan

 

[Couple of Achers]

A couple other considerations. The L2174 is 62" wide and your tractor is 60".
So either one of the blowers will cover your tracks so to speak. So you are only talking a difference in width of 10". So I suspect either would work for you. All though looking at the saled brochure here, they don't recommend the L2185 blower until you get into the L4xxx series of tractors. One other thing to consider, before buying either is the storage of the unit when not in use. The under carriage/quick hitch assembly, if I remember correctly, is around 10 feet long and needs to be put on and taken off the tractor on a hard flat surface. And once put there, it is impossible to move. I'm fortunate enough to be able to park a trailer over the top of mine so I don't waste an entire garage stall just to store that thing. They are an awesome blower.

 

[moship]

Great comments from everyone.

• 
  Adding wings or I believe Kubota calls them drift cutters (L2177) sounds like a viable option. According to Kubota they add 5 to the cut. I will have to measure the widest part of the tires again.

rpraymond Thanks for sharing your experience using a very similar combo. What type of tires do you have? Do you use tire chains with it?
Comment about width only being important during the 1st pass is dead on and easily overlooked. Thanks for the reminder.

Couple of Achers Thanks for all your comments and obviously you put some time into researching this.
o Thanks for correcting that the L2174A is 62 wide.
o Newer sales literature shows both the L2174A and L2185 for the L3130. Older literature shows a smaller unit (maybe 54? and the L2174A. When I called the local Kubota dealer they were the ones to tell me about the L2185 and I have seen it first hand in the sales literature. I have no idea how to post the page to show you.
o Great point about the under carriage.

Can the under carriage (w/o blower) be left on the machine with the FEL in place? I don稚 really care about ground clearance, but leaving in place would be nice. Then again does anyone know if it will work with the backhoe under carriage in place? It would be a really big pain to have to remove this.

Thanks again for all the great comments and keep them coming.

Anyone have a lead on a used snowblower?

 

[leonz]

The underframe mounting kits are space hogs and they are heavy for any tractor.

If you want a used snow blower you could browse through the rags like tractor house, iron planet and the others to search for one.

Another option is the Bercomac motorised snowblower as it does not require an underbody frame using a winch cable that raises and lowers it.
It is a 2 stage wide blower used on AtV's and UTV's. the money is about the same with what ever they give you for the lift set up that you can use on the L-even using a 2 volt winch like the ones on the RTV 900's


For the money involved even a used blower in good condition would cost you less money, the thing is the hydro transmission is the perfect tool for a wider blower as you can simply travel slower to make the first pass and or to widen the path in chunks working from side to side.


An even wider blower is possible as the long as the three point hitch weight limits followed with the purchase in mind simply because the rear P.T.O. is operating at 540 R.P.M.,
where the tractor is simply traveling slowly in reverse still chewing on the snow load being 21 or more pounds per cubic foot with the wieght of the snow compressed on the snow load.

The thing is the open auger cuts and moves the deep snow and floods the impeller, it does not convey a limited amount to the impeller as a solid ribbon auger would do.


The only other viable option is the use of a Beilhack/Schmidt single stage snow blower using a single stage drum or fan snow caster for the rear mount which will quickly remove the snow load using the integral wing and high speed single stage auger or impeller.

 

[kevinj]

With 30 horses I would go with the 5'. I have a 6' on a 3940 and and am a bit short on power in heavy snow but in most snow it does fine.

 

[Jay4200]

So what snow blowers is everyone using on the lighter HP L30 & L40 Grand series tractors? Any regrets with the blower size?

Your L3130 will run a 6' blower no problem. If it starts to bog down, slow your ground speed down. Your blower has to be wider than your wheel track, so you really have no choice.

JayC

 

[Couple of Achers]

Can the under carriage (w/o blower) be left on the machine with the FEL in place? I don稚 really care about ground clearance, but leaving in place would be nice.
Yes, you can leave the under carriage and it will not interfere with the loader operations. I do it all the time during the winter when I need to use the loader. But it is not something I would do all year around. Because, the ground clearance is greatly diminished and you have to remember the quick hitch is sticking out the front of the tractor. I have hit dirt piles with it as well as poked a trailer tire with it while loading the trailer from the side. Each time I felt the resistance and saw the trailer moving so I was able to stop before I wrecked anything. But it is something you have to constantly be aware of. As a safety precaution, I also chain the quick hitch in the up position just in case the cyl. would leak down with I am traveling around. I would have no way to know that in the cab and it will touch the ground when it is all the way down. So then your ground clearance would be zero.

Addendum: As an after thought, I guess I should have prefaced this reply with this. I have a L4740 with a LA854 loader. I guess I can't guarantee with your L3130 with a shorter frame and your LA723(assumption), that it doesn't interfere. I would find it hard to believe Kubota would not have engineered it properly. I'm sure someone here can verify this.
Good luck with your decision.

 

[rpraymond]

I have ag tires, no chains and have never had a problem with traction. When I was working I liked the 6' blower because I could make one pass and be on my way. You won't have any problem with a 6' unit.

 

[Couple of Achers]

Anyone have a lead on a used snowblower?

For what is worth, I searched on and off for 2 years trying to find a used
L2185. In that time, I found one that was half across the country. I finally gave up and ordered the L2195. Here is what I surmised. When compared to other pieces of equipment, very few of these large blowers were/are ever sold. I suppose price is the main reason. By the time you get all said and done with all the pieces you need to make it work. It is 3x the price of a 3 pt blower. So the used market was, and probably still is, non-existant. Maybe you will have better luck than I did locating one. If you do, let us know.
One other thing to be aware of. I'm just full good news. Don't be surprised if you can't even find a new one. With the weather the way it has been this Dec. in some parts of the country. I'm guessing the supply chain will be very lean.
Again, good luck and be sure to post your decision. And of course, we demand pictures of any new equipment.

 

[crazyal]

I would go for the wider blower unless you have a narrow driveway. The 6' wide will just give you more options. You may have to go slower but you will be blowing more snow so the end result will not mean more time.

The sub-frame is heavy, it's a pain to store during the summer time, and reduces your ground clearance. I wanted to be able to use a rear PTO driven sander without having to remove the blower so I went with the Kubota option. I think I might have looked into a front blower powered off of the rear PTO if not for the sander.