I finally got the Toolcat and
Quickattach 2420 high-flow blower into tougher conditions.
Our cabin community received over 4’ of snow, then it rained, then it froze, and a week later we got up to start moving snow. By the time we started working it, it was 2’ - 3’ of densely packed snow with an ice layer on the ground.
Some of the snow was so dense it hurt to kick the face of the banks.
The machine handled it great.
It was slow going, especially the first pass, which had to be a full width bite. For the first pass, we had to raise the blower up, take off the first layer, move ahead until the front tires started to get buried, back up, lower the blower, then take another pass. Sometimes 2 passes, sometimes more.
Once the first pass was cut, it went a lot faster because we could take full-height bites limited to the width the machine could handle.
The plows on pickups and UTVs were rendered useless by this storm. People couldn’t get their UTVs 5’ out of their garage.
The blower does not have shear pins, and instead uses hydraulic bypass valves on the auger and the fan. I just back off when the bypass triggers, and it starts blowing again. I tripped the bypass many times until I learned to back off just before it trips. Even then, I'd sometimes overdo it and trip the bypass, but it doesn't really matter. I can't imagine doing this job with a blower that uses shear pins.
The chute only clogged a couple times working at 30-32 degrees F, but it clogged a number of times when working warmer snow at 38-40 degrees F. We also learned to back off at the right time to keep it from clogging.
As for traction, the 2-link square-link chains on all 4 wheels worked well. For most of the job, I had all the traction I needed. Part of the job requires blowing going uphill, and the chains handled it fine. It's of course slower going up, but sometimes there's no choice.
My only traction problem was side-hilling on ice. The chains don't have bite at 90 degrees to the direction of travel. If I were to do it again, I'd get chains with crossbars that run in both directions (like the hexagonal chains used on loaders/tractors), or get v-bar studded chains.
Crab steer was handy working close to drop-offs or clearing uphill-side banks on curved corners. It keeps the Toolcat's wheels in the cleared area while the blower chews into the banks. I didn't use it a lot, but it saved me a lot of trouble in the cases where I did use it.
We didn't get the Toolcat stuck at all during this job, but I was *really* glad to have the winch on the back just in case. We're working alone, usually at night, in a remote area.
I finished off by removing a pile of previously blown snow that was ~6' high, eating away at it a little at a time from the top down.
Great machine.