KennK
Silver Member
Last fall I purchased a WoodMax SB-60 rear PTO snow blower for use on my John Deere 3320 for use on my 600 feet of of gravel driveway in northern Wisconsin. Our snowfall over the past few winters was 61, 49, 53, 83, 96, and 73 inches (oddly, this winter we've only had 17 inches so far as we approach the end of January).
After the first snow accumulation I drove up/down the gravel drive with my pickup to pack down a base, and then when we got the next few inches of snow I had my first chance at using the snow blower. It didn't go well - the skid pads started digging through the base - likely because the initial base was not thick enough. The only way I could blow snow was the let the blower hang (skids in the air) and manually control the height to minimize touching gravel. It didn't go well.
We let the next few small snows accumulate, and finally on a somewhat warmer day (mid 20's F) used the pickup to pack down another base. This base looked much nicer - thicker.
Last weekend we had about 3-1/2 inches of snow. With some apprehension I headed out again with the snow blower. This time it worked amazingly well!! The skids floated along the base as I'd hoped, and there was no digging down to the gravel. Because the tractor has a hydrostatic transmission (not sure if that's the right word) the forward/backward pedals are on the right side, as are the PTO arm lift and chute rotation controls, so I had to rotate my body/neck to the right side. I found it best to start on the right side since I had the best view of that corner I could better gauge my location. I cleared the entire 600 foot length, drove back to the starting place, and was able to see the left cleared edge, and did it again. Three passes and the driveway was done.
I had the skids on the as-shipped height, which is less than 1 inch high. I'd flipped the cutting edge over as suggested in the WoodMax manual. I put the diamond type tire chains on the rear tires. Boy do they buck as I drive along!! I should have purchased the Euro-type. I'll get them at some point.
I have to say that I'm somewhat surprised by how quiet the snow blower is. It has a nice soft rhythmic sound that gets slightly louder as it enters heavier snow - like the stuff off the road plow.
When I was done I was a bit covered with snow, but oddly my glasses were pretty clear, and my 60+ year old arthritic neck was OK. I think the breaks driving back to the starting point helped with that.
When done I parked the snow blower in the sunshine while I used a broom and the clearing tool to clean it up. The sun helped a lot. I found that there enough play in the PTO driveline that before starting the tractor I can rotate the auger a bit to be sure that it is not frozen - just to be sure I don't shear a bolt for that reason.
Oh, one last thing ... I was concerned about how to lube the drive chain. I ended up using WD 40's Chain Lube spray (love their folding tubes!!), and I had my wife sit on the running tractor, apply the parking brake, raise the snow blower a bit, and turn on the PTO driveline. There is a small opening above the chain toward the front, and I was able to carefully stand to the side of the snow blower and spray both the top and bottom "layers" of chain as it rotates. It actually felt pretty safe - I made sure nothing was hanging down (hoodie ties ...).
After the first snow accumulation I drove up/down the gravel drive with my pickup to pack down a base, and then when we got the next few inches of snow I had my first chance at using the snow blower. It didn't go well - the skid pads started digging through the base - likely because the initial base was not thick enough. The only way I could blow snow was the let the blower hang (skids in the air) and manually control the height to minimize touching gravel. It didn't go well.
We let the next few small snows accumulate, and finally on a somewhat warmer day (mid 20's F) used the pickup to pack down another base. This base looked much nicer - thicker.
Last weekend we had about 3-1/2 inches of snow. With some apprehension I headed out again with the snow blower. This time it worked amazingly well!! The skids floated along the base as I'd hoped, and there was no digging down to the gravel. Because the tractor has a hydrostatic transmission (not sure if that's the right word) the forward/backward pedals are on the right side, as are the PTO arm lift and chute rotation controls, so I had to rotate my body/neck to the right side. I found it best to start on the right side since I had the best view of that corner I could better gauge my location. I cleared the entire 600 foot length, drove back to the starting place, and was able to see the left cleared edge, and did it again. Three passes and the driveway was done.
I had the skids on the as-shipped height, which is less than 1 inch high. I'd flipped the cutting edge over as suggested in the WoodMax manual. I put the diamond type tire chains on the rear tires. Boy do they buck as I drive along!! I should have purchased the Euro-type. I'll get them at some point.
I have to say that I'm somewhat surprised by how quiet the snow blower is. It has a nice soft rhythmic sound that gets slightly louder as it enters heavier snow - like the stuff off the road plow.
When I was done I was a bit covered with snow, but oddly my glasses were pretty clear, and my 60+ year old arthritic neck was OK. I think the breaks driving back to the starting point helped with that.
When done I parked the snow blower in the sunshine while I used a broom and the clearing tool to clean it up. The sun helped a lot. I found that there enough play in the PTO driveline that before starting the tractor I can rotate the auger a bit to be sure that it is not frozen - just to be sure I don't shear a bolt for that reason.
Oh, one last thing ... I was concerned about how to lube the drive chain. I ended up using WD 40's Chain Lube spray (love their folding tubes!!), and I had my wife sit on the running tractor, apply the parking brake, raise the snow blower a bit, and turn on the PTO driveline. There is a small opening above the chain toward the front, and I was able to carefully stand to the side of the snow blower and spray both the top and bottom "layers" of chain as it rotates. It actually felt pretty safe - I made sure nothing was hanging down (hoodie ties ...).
