snowblowers
- Thread starter torreyth
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PineRidge
Super Member
You may want to consider a front mounted blade as a cheaper alternative to a front mounted snowblower..
TMcD_in_MI
Gold Member
You must live fairly close to me, and got a whole big bunch of snow around Christmas. $3600 is a lot of money, but I bit the bullet and got one for my John Deere, and I couldn't be happier. I have used everything on my 800 foot driveway, and this new blower is the best.
I really liked plowing with a truck and plow because it's fast and nice and warm. But if you get a lot of snow, the snowbanks build up and unless you have plowed a pretty wide swath, you soon have to push them back. We had to hire a big front end loader one winter. Then, with the huge banks, when the wind starts honking, you get huge drifts. More than one night we got up at two or three o'clock and plowed before the drifts got too big to get through. With a blower, the snowbanks are greatly reduced, and you can pretty much work your way through any size drifts eventually.
You can tell I'm a fan of snowblowing even though it's slower. If you have plenty of room to put the snow, a blade can work just as well for less bucks. There are definitely a lot of people using one who make it work for them.
Good luck with your decision.
Tom
I really liked plowing with a truck and plow because it's fast and nice and warm. But if you get a lot of snow, the snowbanks build up and unless you have plowed a pretty wide swath, you soon have to push them back. We had to hire a big front end loader one winter. Then, with the huge banks, when the wind starts honking, you get huge drifts. More than one night we got up at two or three o'clock and plowed before the drifts got too big to get through. With a blower, the snowbanks are greatly reduced, and you can pretty much work your way through any size drifts eventually.
You can tell I'm a fan of snowblowing even though it's slower. If you have plenty of room to put the snow, a blade can work just as well for less bucks. There are definitely a lot of people using one who make it work for them.
Good luck with your decision.
Tom
Thanks for the input, Tom and Mike. The CFO thinks I should bite the bullet and get the blower. Tom, I am on Duck Lake just southwest of Traverse City and yes we did collect a ton of white stuff just before Christmas. The FEL helped, but it cannot go around curves very well.
TMcD_in_MI
Gold Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Tom, I am on Duck Lake just southwest of Traverse City and yes we did collect a ton of white stuff just before Christmas. The FEL helped, but it cannot go around curves very well. )</font>
I'm up in Harbor Springs. I have used a FEL to move piles of snow, and to scrape the driveway down, but it would take me a lot of back and forth tractor work to clean out my long driveway after a big snow. Fill the bucket, dump the bucket, fill the bucket, dump the bucket... Of course, it's always possible that I'm just the world's worst tractor driver.
I agree with you about the FEL not being very good at going around curves. I think you will find a front mounted snowblower to be pretty similar though, if you are trying to blow around the inside of a tight corner.
Hope we don't get the freezing rain storm they're predicting for Saturday night and Sunday.
Tom
I'm up in Harbor Springs. I have used a FEL to move piles of snow, and to scrape the driveway down, but it would take me a lot of back and forth tractor work to clean out my long driveway after a big snow. Fill the bucket, dump the bucket, fill the bucket, dump the bucket... Of course, it's always possible that I'm just the world's worst tractor driver.
I agree with you about the FEL not being very good at going around curves. I think you will find a front mounted snowblower to be pretty similar though, if you are trying to blow around the inside of a tight corner.
Hope we don't get the freezing rain storm they're predicting for Saturday night and Sunday.
Tom
dicker
Silver Member
Hi
I use a JD 4310 with an FEL and a 6 ft back blade to move snow. I find it a lot easier than a blower.
Richard
I use a JD 4310 with an FEL and a 6 ft back blade to move snow. I find it a lot easier than a blower.
Richard
TMcD_in_MI
Gold Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I use a JD 4310 with an FEL and a 6 ft back blade to move snow. I find it a lot easier than a blower. )</font>
Hi Richard,
It's really interesting how there are such different opinions on this. Would you elaborate on your statement a little bit? Why is the FEL and back blade easier for you than a blower? Do you have a big or small driveway? Do you have to deal with a lot of snow, or not so much? Inquiring minds want to know. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Tom
Hi Richard,
It's really interesting how there are such different opinions on this. Would you elaborate on your statement a little bit? Why is the FEL and back blade easier for you than a blower? Do you have a big or small driveway? Do you have to deal with a lot of snow, or not so much? Inquiring minds want to know. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Tom
dicker
Silver Member
Good Morning
While I realized that there is probably no perfect way to remove snow as there are too many variables, these are the things that I like about an FEL and a back blade.
1) Not too much blowing snow to dodge.
2) Although some may argue, I think that it is faster.
3) Where I live, the snow gets very wet and heavy from the highway plows where the driveway meets the road, and that is easier to move with the FEL.
4) I have about 300 ft of gravel driveway and over the years I have broken a couple of house windows. Flying stone can be very dangerous. Now, I rake the grass in the spring.
5) I find that later in the year when those piles of snow have gotten hard and icy, the FEL is easier to use than a blower.
6) The cost of a back blade was much less than a blower and I can also use it to do landscaping in the summer.
Now, to compare apple to apples, before I got the tractor, I did use a walk behind blower. However, after a couple of snowfalls, I never did find the need to purchase a blower for the tractor.
Richard
While I realized that there is probably no perfect way to remove snow as there are too many variables, these are the things that I like about an FEL and a back blade.
1) Not too much blowing snow to dodge.
2) Although some may argue, I think that it is faster.
3) Where I live, the snow gets very wet and heavy from the highway plows where the driveway meets the road, and that is easier to move with the FEL.
4) I have about 300 ft of gravel driveway and over the years I have broken a couple of house windows. Flying stone can be very dangerous. Now, I rake the grass in the spring.
5) I find that later in the year when those piles of snow have gotten hard and icy, the FEL is easier to use than a blower.
6) The cost of a back blade was much less than a blower and I can also use it to do landscaping in the summer.
Now, to compare apple to apples, before I got the tractor, I did use a walk behind blower. However, after a couple of snowfalls, I never did find the need to purchase a blower for the tractor.
Richard
