Snowthrowers (again).

[fredhargis]

This will be my first winter with the tractor (2920) and 3PH thrower I bought. As I look at the thrower and think of the aspect of driving my 500 foot drive backwards, I'm trying to think ahead of what I might have done different. I'm also wondering about the thrower itself (Kubota). The shoes look awfully small, I'm worried they might not hold the thrower up off teh gravel enough to keep from throwing rocks through the neighbors window (or breaking a shear pin). They aren't very tall either, leading to the same or other problems. Should I have a new set made tahat are somewhat taller and maybe slightly longer/wider? Any other tips? BTW, I went with the 3PH unit because I may need to also use the FEL. We don't get a lot of snow around here, but I do get hellish drifts...last year some of them were 5' deep and I would cut through about a 10'-12" length of them. I was using a Bobcat 743 then and had no trouble, but I sold it to change to the 2920. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[rekees4300]

Any other tips?

I'm in the same boat as you except my gravel driveway is 900'. Ordered a Frontier rear blower 3 weeks ago and waiting for delivery. Anyway it has adjustable slide plates and I'm hoping they will raise the blower enough to avoid most of the gravel. Been thinking about installing caster wheels if the plate adjustment is inadequate. There are a few threads here at TBN with pics of blower/caster projects members have done.

 

[leonz]

snow blower etc.

I'm in the same boat as you except my gravel driveway is 900'. Ordered a Frontier rear blower 3 weeks ago and waiting for delivery. Anyway it has adjustable slide plates and I'm hoping they will raise the blower enough to avoid most of the gravel. Been thinking about installing caster wheels if the plate adjustment is inadequate. There are a few threads here at TBN with pics of blower/caster projects members have done.

A few thoughts about your snowblower;

you should visit the www.mcmastercarr.com web page and look at wheel casters and also visit the Cyclone Rake home page to see the heavy dual pneumatic casters and buy a pair to mount on the snow blower using angle iron bolted to the shell of the auger.

yuo should use short fine threaded grade 8 bolts to to secure the angle iron to the blower body and fine thread nylock nuts and flat washers.




the bigger issue is the top link of the snowblower, you will be running the blower in the "float" position most of the time and you will want to follow the contour of the roadway If the blower has a slotted connection link you wil be able to clean easier and the pneumatic casters from cyclone rake will help with that a huge amounting turning reducing skid wear and housing wear.

 

[rekees4300]

leonz thanks for the info. Not sure what you mean by "slotted connection link". My tractor's top link is the basic manual screw type. What blower cleaning is needed?

Here are 2 caster examples I found here at TBN.

 

[Kanook]

Mypersonal experience has been that after the first few snowfalls that a frozen base builds up on the laneway and the pads are no longer necessary. Mind you, if you reside in an area that gets snow but the milder climate doesn't allow the base to form then those casters could prove benificial. A hydraulicly operated chute rotator is a definite plus on those back up blowers.

 

[flyingcow]

Driveway 650ft, been snowblowing it for yrs. For me, only way to do it.

 

[fredhargis]

Those pics of the wheels look like a really good approach. The Cyclone Rake wheels are fairly expensive, but if they can be made to fit (width) I'd bet they would be a good bet. I like the idea bout the rear view camera as well, but I did add a steering knob after reading some opinions about them in another thread.

 

[bitseeker]

The left picture is my caster design. Our winter temperatures do not freeze the ground hard to the surface most days. The shoes were not effective and the gravel was beating up the blower housing. The casters solved that problem.

Driveway is now paved.

 

[leonz]

leonz thanks for the info. Not sure what you mean by "slotted connection link". My tractor's top link is the basic manual screw type. What blower cleaning is needed?

Here are 2 caster examples I found here at TBN.

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Edit:
Fred please check the Mcmaster catalog too as I think this is where they came from- but all you need is some time at a welding shop to weld the angle iron together and attach it to the blower housing with the nuts and bolts.

If the blower has a flat housing it wil be easy to install too.



=================================================
Your blower may not have one but:

It is slot machine cut below the top pin reciever on the mounted implement where the top link and pin is placed instead of the rigid top point.

You unthread the top link to attach the top link to the upper rigid mount
or slightly below it where the slotted or drag link is located.


Which is what is on most flail mowers and brush hogs to allow the mower to follow the ground contour easily.

 

[rekees4300]

Which is what is on most flail mowers and brush hogs to allow the mower to follow the ground contour easily.

leonz, okay I understand what you are saying about the top link now. I don't know what the Frontier blower has for a top link design. Will just have to wait for delivery, see what it has and do some experimenting. The top link may have to be shortened so the cutting edge of the blower is slanted upward to reduce gravel intake if the skid pad adjustment is too short.

Will make a decision about the casters depending on first winter results. Don't have any neighbors within gravel range so a few projectiles aren't a big concern. But if the gravel pickup is excessive then will reconsider the casters.

Investigated the rear view cameras and decided not to buy at this time. My lane has steep slopes on its sides so I have to be careful not to get too far off track. Not sure looking forward at a small screen to determine what is going on behind the tractor would be prudent.

I did order a steering wheel knob so thank you for that tip.

 

[flyingcow]

A mirror works really well, I use it once i make one pass. Just keep spot checking from time to time.

I do roll my blower back, with aid of the top link, it will help ride and not pick up so many rocks. But it can get noisy at the first few passes. Mind you I previously had a 9ft Lucknow. About 2400lbs, was a little touchy the first storm or two. But we get deep cold so stuff freezes up quickly. I'm anxious to try my 7 1/2 ft.

Also, hyd control for turning the discharge chute, and a one for the top of chute so you can keep the discharge close works great.

Good Luck.

 

[number two]

We purchased bitseeker's caster set-up awhile back when he sold it-thank you bitseeker,very happy with the results.Sure helps with those early and late season dumps when the ground isn't frozen.Remove it after the drive is frozen good.Have a 1200 foot drive plus parking areas.As others have mentioned,a shortened top link may very well keep you out of the gravel when the ground is soft.Larger skid shoes would also help spread the weight when dealing with an unfrozen drive.
When shopping tractors before our last purchase,I noticed the JD front snowblower had an adjustable top link-very attractive!Wish Kubota had that.Good Luck!

 

[Rob-D]

We purchased bitseeker's caster set-up awhile back when he sold it-thank you bitseeker,very happy with the results.Sure helps with those early and late season dumps when the ground isn't frozen.Remove it after the drive is frozen good.Have a 1200 foot drive plus parking areas.As others have mentioned,a shortened top link may very well keep you out of the gravel when the ground is soft.Larger skid shoes would also help spread the weight when dealing with an unfrozen drive.
When shopping tractors before our last purchase,I noticed the JD front snowblower had an adjustable top link-very attractive!Wish Kubota had that.Good Luck!

Which blower was that the 59" Deere or the Frontier for the 4x20 series?

Thanks,
Rob

 

[number two]

The 59













The 59"blower Deere with the cable chute rotator.2007.














'

 

[leonz]

snowthrower saga continues

leonz, okay I understand what you are saying about the top link now. I don't know what the Frontier blower has for a top link design. Will just have to wait for delivery, see what it has and do some experimenting. The top link may have to be shortened so the cutting edge of the blower is slanted upward to reduce gravel intake if the skid pad adjustment is too short.

Will make a decision about the casters depending on first winter results. Don't have any neighbors within gravel range so a few projectiles aren't a big concern. But if the gravel pickup is excessive then will reconsider the casters.

Investigated the rear view cameras and decided not to buy at this time. My lane has steep slopes on its sides so I have to be careful not to get too far off track. Not sure looking forward at a small screen to determine what is going on behind the tractor would be prudent.

I did order a steering wheel knob so thank you for that tip.

===================================================
I just missed you as I logged on as you went off the site

You can mount the monitor on the right fender and not
worry about having to look forward and that issue.

 

[scesnick]

Well, I am a self proclaimed expert at snow blowing.. lol. We got 22 ft. of snow last year and my driveway is 2.5 miles long ( yep 2.5 miles) I have a 64" Ber Vac blower that I used on my little Yanmar 2000. Sold the little tractor and got a Kubota MX5100 and now the 64" blower is a bit small but functional.

With a 500' drive I don't think you are gonna get any major neck cramps. If you do have a neck issue just geta swivel seat so you can swivel a few inches and you should be fine. You are only traveling 2 MPH anyway.
As far as the blowers feet digging into the gravel, as someone stated earlier, after a few snows it will build a nice packed base. But until then adjusting your top link so the rear of the blower is touching the ground /snow and the cutting edge is pointing up just a bit will work just fine. I know in my situation caster wheels would not work well at all. Top link adjustment is critical to get your blower to work correctly.

You don't want to "Machine Gun" alot of gravel regardless of the situation. gravel will quickly file down the very edge of your fan blades and the gap between the blades and the fan housing will become larger and this will drastically reduce your throwing distance.
There is a thread on here somewhere about this and lining your fan housing with a polymer type plastic to reduce that gap.

After last season, I hope my blower sits in the garage all winter !!!

 

[rekees4300]

Well, I am a self proclaimed expert at snow blowing.. lol. We got 22 ft. of snow last year and my driveway is 2.5 miles long

You DA MAN! More than an mere expert ... I hereby proclaim you to be a Jedi Master snowblower!

Seriously thanks for the insights about the top link and potential gravel damage to the fan housing :thumbsup:

 

[KU Gator]

Prolonged backing with the Kubota I find not to be that bad because with the reverse pedal being where it is, you can pretty easily sit sideways in the seat and just look to the right. The only problem I have is when doing that, it is easy to push against the FEL control with your right knee which dumps the bucket. You feel like you can't steer and realize you are backdragging with the bucket. You can lock it so that isn't a problem, but then have to unlock it when you need it.

 

[rekees4300]

I did order a steering wheel knob so thank you for that tip.

Got the steering knob installed and should have gotten one a long time ago. Makes steering easier, faster even with power steering. Will be an advantage with the rear blower for sure. Had to search long and hard but did manage to find a green one at BIC Warehouse!