Toolcat Blower

[mike123]

I used my Erskine blower today for the first time on 50 residential driveways. All I can say is WOW and why the **** was I using a walk behind blower all these years.
The Toolcat is the best thing that ever happened to my business. I was using a bobcat with bucket in storms last year and I have to say there is no comparison. With the all-steer, and 18 MPH travel speed I have cut my time by 30-40% and I have a very tight route. Even if you are just going down the street there is a ton of time saved!
Anyway, the blower was awesome and I said good-bye to the bucket.
I will be adding another Toolcat in the very near future.
Mike

 

[BrianSouthernMD]

mike123,
That sounds great. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif They look rugged while still being compact for good maneuverability. Did you get the Erskine Hydraulic Snow Blower Model ES2000 running at standard 18GPM OR the Model ES2400 running at high-flow 26 GPM? And did you get the 61, 73, 79 or 85-inch width of snow cut?

 

[mike123]

Went with the 79 inch High flow!
Sure glad I went with the wider unit, easy to see the corners and the banks won't cave in on the wheel wells.
Mike
P.S. People think this machine is way over priced, good thing I listened to the guys at plowsite - it's defiantly a bargain.

 

[timm9]

Mike,

Did you expericence any "plugging"? I got my first blower late in the season and felt it did not operate as well as expected. I had to carry a folding army style shovel to keep the shute clear. The dealer (which has been a real pleasure) is working on trying to find out why. My second Blower was delivered last week but as of this date, no snow to try it out.

Timm9

 

[dylan]

Hi Guys
What is your procedure for residential drives when using a front blower like the toolcat?

On my drives (reverse blower on a tractor) I back down the driveway and then pull and blow the snow out.

Do you find you need to do a lot of back dragging to remove snow from between buildings and such?

Do you have any pics of it in action? I'll try to post some tommorrow.

Cheers Dylan

 

[mike123]

I only used it once Tim and the snow was light ( 2 inches of dry) but it blew great.
I piled a windrow and drove over it a few times to pack it down, then I went through it at a good speed and the blower didn't even know the pile was there.
Like I said it was light and dry snow but I was impressed.
Now I am trying to figure out how to build this back drag for the front of the blower. We have lots of small drives where the snow drifts bad right up at the garage door.
You have any advice?
Mike

 

[mike123]

I won't be back draging much, just need it for the little pile the blower leaves in front of the garge door when I stop.
I have a few houses with detatched garages set back in the yard, the drag will come in handy there too.
Mike

 

[AKslider]

The Provonost PXPL blower with the deployable back scraper blade is awesome. Could it be adaptable to the toolcat? Check out the video!! Provonost PXPL Snowblower

 

[timm9]

Mike,
From what I understand, there is an "option" for a rear hydro unit on the Toolcat. I was wondering if you could attach a back blade similar to a daniels "pull plow" off the rear receiver hitch.

Timm9

 

[mike123]

Yes I have studied and restudied the pronovost setup. I called them and even offered to pay for help.
Too bad they don't make smaller blowers or hydro units.

 

[mike123]

I have pull blades on 2 trucks and I thought about it for the Toolcat but the way the Pronovost blowers are setup would be ideal.
Timm, there is a guy from your area that posts on plowsite that has done some fabricating to the Erskine. He was going to post some pics a while back.
Mike

 

[timm9]

Mike,

Not sure who it is on plowsite that has done fabracating to the blowers. The only thing I have been wanting to do is add some vertical "uprights" mounted on the outside of each extreme end of the sides of the blowers. I think this will help when the snow is very deep, causing the snow above the opening of the blower to roll/fall in front of the opening of the blower. This would save time when the burms get up to the 4 to 7 foot range. I just got my new MIG welder but have not had time to make anything up yet. Plus, the cost of steel has gone through the roof. It used to be people would give you scrap, now they want big dollars! I used to buy my counter weights (850 lbs) for $200.00. I'm scared to even ask what they cost now.

Timm9

 

[mike123]

I paid 260.00 for scrap plate steel - 750 lbs

 

[timm9]

It's been a while since I've been on but thought I should post the resolution to my blower(s) plugging "issue". After the second blower arrived, and after we finally received snow, the second blower plugged just like the first one.

The dealer was, and has been "top notch" about the whole thing. They even sent a regional rep and tech to my place (almost 2 hours away) to do trouble shooting on both blowers and both Toolcats. Turns out the pumps were mismatched to my units flow/pressure. They even delivered the "corrected pump" Blowers in the middle of a snow storm!

I'm happy to report that not only are the blowers functioning properly, They really did an excellent job during the very heavy storms that hit us in March. Each one of my drives logged over 250 hours in march alone and the Toolcat/Blower combo was unstoppable even with burms in the 5 to 7 foot range.

If any of you are thinking about a Blower/Toolcat combo it's the "ticket". I will tell you that I'm trying to figure out how to get another one this summer for the upcoming winter season.

 

[dsb5610]

Timm9,

What model of blower are you using? I have an SB200 (66"). Used it one time and it appeared to be very capable but there was not enough snow to give it a good workout.

We don't get the snow you do so I will probably swap mine for an attachment that will get more use.

dsb

 

[timm9]

DSB,

I have two of the SB200's and after correcting the mismatch on the pump, they have worked great. The most important thing is that the pump is properly matched to the flow/pressure of the specific unit.

timm9