Unbelieveable - small rant on snowblower

[canoetrpr]

Boy this has been a real bummer. Sorry to hear of your troubles SR. I feel your pain.

I did not quite realize that there might be difference in oomph in the 60" Meteor vs 68" Meteor which is what I have. The latter seems well sized for my L3400. I might as well check out what my gear box is rated for.

Honestly, with the trouble you have had with it, I would be inclined to move to something better. I haven't had any trouble with my Meteor but if I did I'd be taking it back to the dealer who I bought it from and he happens to be stand up guy and I'm pretty sure he would take care of me.

If they are going to cheap Italian made in China gear boxes then its not surprising that they are falling over.

 

[canoetrpr]

Was just looking at the specs and there is no question the 60" is quite a bit lighter weight than my 68".

The 60 weighs in at 285 LB and the 68 at 460 LB! The height and fan diameter are the same and only the width is 8" more.

I believe that you are correct that your dealer undersold you on the blower.

Like I said, these are not Provonost quality but a LOT of people use them around here and have not had problems with them.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Like I said, these are not Provonost quality but a LOT of people use them around here and have not had problems with them.

They are KNOWN around here to be a lemon of a blower.....it fills a market niche though... There really wasnt alot of them around until a big dealer dropped Pronovost and went to the Meteor for the sole reason of Cost...really to better put it, his Margin is alot better on these...they're selling those blowers for big bucks, if you shop around you can buy a nice Pronovost or Blizzard for the same price or cheaper. And in todays time, they are selling them, combination of tight times and a big forecast of snow means they are selling like hot cakes...

 

[escavader]

They are KNOWN around here to be a lemon of a blower.....it fills a market niche though... There really wasnt alot of them around until a big dealer dropped Pronovost and went to the Meteor for the sole reason of Cost...really to better put it, his Margin is alot better on these...they're selling those blowers for big bucks, if you shop around you can buy a nice Pronovost or Blizzard for the same price or cheaper. And in todays time, they are selling them, combination of tight times and a big forecast of snow means they are selling like hot cakes...

If i recall your from AROOSTOOK COUNTY.Iheard the salesman at the largest CENTRAL MAINE place tell me they dropped PRONOVOST FOR METEOR because of cost.Ialmost bought one,but i got a heck of a deal on one of the last PUMAS on the lot last spring[before all the prices skyrocketed.]Iactually paid 700 dollars less for the 54 puma then the slightly ssmaller METEOR.I think the Pronovost is usually a higher priced unit,this is why they switched ,to compete with another dealer nearby selling the METEORS..

If i owned a new METEOR now,id have a sick feeling in my gut [seeing these pics]wondering if it was to happen to me.Ifeel real bad for the poster.
Iwonder if a different gearbox from a different blower could be installed?
ALAN

 

[stumper120]

hello, i was googleing around and found this site. i have the same 60'' meteor 1 year old and just had the same thing happen to my gearbox yesterday. wonder if i can get a warranty claim on it. also what is the procedure for removing the gearbox ?

 

[escavader]

hello, i was googleing around and found this site. i have the same 60'' meteor 1 year old and just had the same thing happen to my gearbox yesterday. wonder if i can get a warranty claim on it. also what is the procedure for removing the gearbox ?

OOH MY GOODNESS,this might blow up into a large scale problem.What horse power are you running at your pto?Welcome to TBN even if it is under your bad circumstances,im sure he will be back on soon to help you out
ALAN

 

[canoetrpr]

Would also be very interested to know what PTO hp stumper was running.

As for SRs problem - if the gearbox really is rated to 20 hp then his dealer really did him no good and I would take it back to the dealer if I were him and and ask them to make it right at least on a good deal for a trade up to a more appropriate blower.

It sure seems like there is a big difference in weight between the 60" and 68" models. I am quite sure that the gear box on my 68" is reasonably matched to my L3400.

As for other Meteor owners like me - I don't think there is any reason to have sleepless nights. Most of our blowers have been doing just fine over the years. We know that they are not Provonosts - but like I said - its hard to find a dealer around here who stocks much more than the Meteors. We do get a bit of snow up here in Canada and the rest of our blowers don't seem to be self desctructing like SRs unfortunate situation.

I'm dissapointed to hear that even if SRs blower's gear box was rated to 20 hp, that it really fell apart with a L3400 - rated at about 29HP at the PTO. I might have expected it to have a shorter lifespan but most engineers overbuild things anyway - so a 1 year lifespan even under the circumstances is not right.

You can only tell so much from the weight, but the 60" blower definately sounds like a lightweight that no dealer should really be selling.

 

[stumper120]

i have a b2710 kubota and it is rated at 20 pto hp. i remember looking at a
68'' meteor and it definatly had a bigger gearbox on it. it had a splined input shaft instead of a keyed shaft. you guys are a great..

 

[canoetrpr]

Sure enough in stumpers case the tractor was not over powered for the blower at all.

Sure has the sound like the 60" ones don't hold up well at all and I think that new buyers would be fore-warned to spring for a better blower.

I'm certainly not loosing sleep as my 68" Meteor has done me fine so far. I've it a fair number of logs of firewood that my dogs steal out of my wood pile and keep leaving for my blower to find. I've broken several shear bolts this way but the blower is fine.

That said, if I were to do it again, I think I would spend the extra for a Provonost. My experience has generally been that I am better off spending for higher quality implements. My Woods stuff cost me a whole lot more than the off brand stuff and is top notch in build quality. I have a Kodiak landscape rake and the welds on the brackets that attach the guage wheels to the rake came apart after about 10 uses. Good thing I have taken up welding as a hobby If I would have to do it again - that rake would have been a Woods or equivalent. Since I have it and am enjoying welding, I'll just beef up the brackets.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Sorry, been away from a computer for a few days, no online access at home and I used some vacation days

Stumper, really sorry to hear about your blower. Take some pics please I'd love to see what it looks like and what exactly broke. I'll do a second post in a minute on how to take things apart so folks can simply skip it if they want to.

Canoe, the L-25J gearbox is rated at 15Hp not 20!

Ok, an update for any that care. So I've rebuilt my blower for the 2nd time (3rd gearbox). As I mentioned long ago in this thread not having a clear driveway is not an option b/c of my son's medical condition. And yes getting someone to plow in a pinch could probably be done but not in a timely manner and the last time I had the drive quoted for plowing it was like $175 a whack!

So I've got 3 different gearboxes. All manufactured at different times and of different colors. 2 made in China and the 3rd I forgot to look before I installed it.

I've been riding my dealer's ear on the phone for days. I've been polite, but firm. I've explained my thoughts and told him what I've found out about the gearbox HP rating etc. He says he's contacted Meteor and they want to see the blower. He says bring it in and they'll see what they can do.

While that is a start it's not like I can just throw the blower in the back seat of my car and bring it to him. So now I've got to pay him more money to have a tech come out w/ a truck to bring my blower in. This is all in the hopes that I'll spend a little more money to hopefully recoup at LEAST the cost of one of the gearboxes. Nor can I be w/out the blower for days on end. Sure I've got the FEL to clear w/, but clearing a 2,200 foot driveway w/ the FEL blows goat. I've done it, it sucks and takes for ever.

On a side note I've been looking at other blowers. If anyone is looking for a new blower I suggest you contact Josh at Erskine. I couldn't afford a new one right now but Josh was very helpful, really worked the price hard trying to help me and the blowers look wicked heavy duty and nice. And they have rear-pull types. How sweet is that?!

I'll post more as the story unfolds.