Snowblower??

newtattoobob · Nov 9, 2005

I am thinking of putting a snow blower on my L3400DT before winter. Do I have to get a rear mounted one or can I get front mounted? Does anyone have expierence with a blower on a L3400? I assume it has to be easier and faster than the FEL. Thanks Bob

ccsial · Nov 10, 2005

The L3400 does not have a mid PTO so I think your limited to a rear blower.

I have run a rear 60 inch blower on my 1910 for years. This year it will be mounted on my L3400 HST. I added the rear remote option to control the chute angle. I also added rear work lights mounted on the ROPS.

The blower is quite fast and it throws the snow well away from the edge of the drive so there is no build ups to deal with. My drive is tree lined so a blower is the only way for me. I used a blade for the first few years here and it was frustrating.

I prefer the rear mounted blower simply because of the ease of taking it on and off. I don't find it difficult to run it backwards. I try to keep the tractor upwind to minimize the snowman effect.

RayMunising · Nov 10, 2005

Erskine makes a commercial quality front snow blower that runs off the rear PTO. www.erskineattachments.com They've been around for a loooong time and have a very good reputation. I'm considering the L3400DT in combination with the Erskine FM-601 for our 1100' driveway in Munising MI (250" snow/year). I'm thinking the L3400DT with 29hp PTO and a 60" Erskine would take care of just about anything Mother Nature dishes out. The only thing that I'm wondering about is if the lowest speed on the L3400 of 1.1mph is slow enough when dealing with 3' of snow on the ground. Of course the HST would address that issue.
Hope this helps,
Ray

HEC · Nov 10, 2005

Hi Ray: The back up speed on my M5400 was 1.7 with abt 50 pto hP and was way to fast with the 7 ft. blower even for 8 inches or so ,you may be ok with 1.1 I don't know, we get very hvy. snow where I live also.The m5700 I have now has creeper gears so I should be all set now.The hst would sure be great for the snowblower for sure.
Good Luck

RayMunising · Nov 10, 2005

Hmmm. You certainly had enough power. Since there's no creeper option on the L3400 I better figure on the HST. Thanks for the info HEC! You probably saved me from making a big mistake!

ZackaryMac · Nov 10, 2005

If I could add my 2¢ worth here...
I have a B6100HST, with 4' rear snowblower. My tractor is rated for only 11hp at the PTO, and because I have HST, it's fine. I can feed it into the snow however slow/slower required. If you're going to do a lot of snowblowing, look very seriously at HST. No clutch slipping or engine bogging to handle the snow.
I don't have a FEL, but I imagine it would work excellent with this too. I mow a lot with mine and again HST is the answer. When I upgrade to a bigger tractor someday, it'll be HST, without hesitation.

ccsial · Nov 10, 2005

I agree with getting HST. I used my blower for years with the gear 1910 and I often had to drive slower than I should have because the next gear was too high.

The other advantage is I can blow at slow speed in reverse and then come back the up the drive at high speed without all the shifting. I only blow in one direction because of wind.

This will be my first winter with HST and I am really looking forward to it.

RayMunising · Nov 11, 2005

Thanks for the HST advice. It certainly addresses the speed problem and the point about trading off power for speed is well taken. Go as slow as you need to with HST. Ok, HST it is. I'll have to do a little more thinking. Maybe going back to my original thought of a B7800 with a Kubota front blower would work out for the best.

None of this is helpful to the orginal poster though /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I'm afraid I've taken over his post /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif He's already got a gear tractor. What should he do? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif