Rear versus Front mounted snowblower

[check]

Which is better? Well, I just looked at both at the local Kubota dealer, and the rear (B2789) snowblower for my BX25 looks FAR superior to me. It is hugely more sturdy, and a lot taller than the front mount (BX60?) model. Also, it has 4 blades on the second stage, and costs about 1/3 of what the front mount costs. As well, I now have a BXpanded.com bucket expander on my FEL which I want to leave on for the winter, so I am more than happy to put up with the inconvenience of having to drive backwards when snowblowing. But even so, I was amazed at how beefy the B2789 is, and I am wondering how the two compare in terms of performance. (I am sure the rear mount will handle deeper snow just because it is so much taller, but what about speed and throwing distance?)

Any feedback or ideas would be much appreciated!

 

[MMagis]

I'm pretty sure there's already more than one thread discussing this topic. If you do a search you could spend the next two weeks reading. It all comes down to preference.

 

[ITHINKICAN]

If you send some snow to Houston - I will do the research and let you know

 

[Von]

I had a rear 60" blower on my B2710 when I got it, used it for two seasons. Then someone here on TBN wanted to swap a front blower for a rear blower, because he wanted to use his loader to clean out his horse stalls. I am so glad I made the swap, going backwards sucks! plus the front throws the snow farther as it is spinning quite faster than the rear blower. Front PTO 2500 RPM's rear 540RPM's. Plus you have down pressure with the front, something you don't have in the rear. More to the front, hence the more $$ for it.

 

[montelatici]

I had a rear 60" blower on my B2710 when I got it, used it for two seasons. Then someone here on TBN wanted to swap a front blower for a rear blower, because he wanted to use his loader to clean out his horse stalls. I am so glad I made the swap, going backwards sucks! plus the front throws the snow farther as it is spinning quite faster than the rear blower. Front PTO 2500 RPM's rear 540RPM's. Plus you have down pressure with the front, something you don't have in the rear. More to the front, hence the more $$ for it.

Yeah, the thought of going backwards to blow snow gives me the creeps. Whoever thought of putting a snow blower on the rear to drive backwards must have been a sadist.

 

[keyman1808]

I never used the rear blower but my front blower works awsome. Best attachment I got for snow removal. Handles drifts and piles from the plow with ease. Now there are guys out there who will tell you the rear is the only way to go but because it works better than the front. I will tell you it cant work much better. Used mine last year after a storm. 12 inches of heavy wet NE snow with slush underneath. Worked perfect and threw it far too. Yeah rear is cheaper but but I have kids everywhere around my house and I would hate to have one not paying attention and me not looking because my nech hurt and they get chewed up. So I like to watch where I am clearing without a neck cramp. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Qapla]

... Well, I just looked at both at the local Kubota dealer ...

If I were to ask the local dealer to show me either, he would look at me and shake his head. I am quite certain that none of the dealers in the area have ever stocked one.

Guess I'll have to leave the responses/suggestions on this one to others.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

Hey, if you got the money....go front.

If you got half the money....you can afford a rear blower.

 

[check]

Hey, if you got the money....go front.

If you got half the money....you can afford a rear blower.

Actually, I'm more concerned about the apparent wimpiness of the front blower I saw. (I made a video of the two side by side which I will try and post later.)

Also, there is a new wrinkle, which I frankly have a hard time believing. I phoned up another dealer closer to my home, and he said there are actually two rear mount (51") models, namely the Kubota B2781 and the Kubota B2789 (the latter of which only costs $1663 Canadian or about $1600 U.S. right now), but get this - he said the B2781 is the same blower as the B2789, but it comes without the 3 pt hitch kit so you can mount it on the front OR the rear! (For the front you would of course have to get the quick hitch and PTO, which would add significantly to the price.) If this is true then of course sturdiness becomes a non-issue, so I'll have to check this out further.

Meanwhile, JDGreenGrass, I see that you and Leonz are having a great discussion on another thread about your rear (green) blower versus his Pronovost Puma blower, and I found that thread very informative. I also see that Pronovost rear blowers are very popular, so I am now also wondering how they compare to the Kubota B2789. (The Pronovost PUMA seems to require at least 17 PTO HP, whereas by Kubota BX25 only has 17.7, but on the other hand Pronovost also makes a smaller "Lynx 52" which looks to be more appropriate.) Anyone tried the Lynx? I am wondering how it would compare to the Kubota B2789.

Finally, the hydraulic chute rotation option on Kubota rear blower is over $700, so I'm wondering what people's experience have been with the manual chute rotation.

Great forum, guys!:thumbsup:

 

[leonz]

And why would you not want to use a Pronovost Group One P540 or Lynx in a lower gear?

Lower gear= full width cut and higher power per foot of hungry snow blower-add a pair of the dual pnuematic casters from cyclone rake and a $99.00 USD back up camera from J.C. Whitney mounted on the right fender and viola!


About the gear driven units you need to look more at the mounting for the cranks and the size of the work or drive gearing and whether the gear teeth are stamped or cut.

A worm gear driven unit is much easier to move as the threads are smaller and the gear type may have issues with built up ice if it is left out doors.-
remember that the blower will be a magnet of snow and ice when it is shut down and outside simply due to the heat generated by the friction of the snow being cast, the chain drive and the gearbox for the blower itself.


Hydraulics are hydraulics and as long as the cylinders are mounted properly to make use of the linear movement of the cyclinder and the mount has good welds its not an issue.

I personally think the RAD-kubota Blowers have too thin low strength steels and we have had members on the board and on plowsite that have had the side walls tweak and twist where this does not happen with the Pronovost units.



Edit: the Lynx was new last year but the quality is the same as all the rest of the Pronovost familys line of snow blowers and farm equipment.

 

[mrhoyt]

CHECK, I have been having the same concerns and wanted a better front blower than the factory 50" for my BX25, thinking front blower, rear blade. Feedback from Messick's was that the "main concern would be the weight on the BX front hitch. Even though the blower would mount up, the BX hitch is built lighter (82 lbs) vs. the B-series hitch (190 lbs).
BX2750D snowblower - 286 lbs.
B2781A snowblower - 475 lbs."

 

[RoyJackson]

Yeah, the thought of going backwards to blow snow gives me the creeps. Whoever thought of putting a snow blower on the rear to drive backwards must have been a sadist.

Not really...rear PTO's have been around for a lot longer then mid-PTOs (at least in the USA) and are still more common. Not every tractor has a mid-PTO. My 4400 is the first tractor I've owned with a mid-PTO (although there was a mid-PTO option and kit available for my older 670 and 790).

Rear blowers are a lot more versatile (fitting on any tractor of the rated category) so you don't have to replace them when the tractor is sold or traded off. And, of course, you still have use of the loader when a rear blower is installed.

 

[JJZ 109]

Rear blowers are a lot more versatile (fitting on any tractor of the rated category) so you don't have to replace them when the tractor is sold or traded off. And, of course, you still have use of the loader when a rear blower is installed.

That was my main reason for sticking with the 3 point blower. I already had it from a previous tractor and it would work on whatever I bought. It also doesn't really have a ton of hours.
In fact, my B3030 sat on the dealer's lot with a front mount blower and I had it removed and replaced with a loader. I can pretty much sit sideways inside the cab and look back without too much neck strain so it isn't all that bad.
There are plusses and minuses for both ways, I suppose. I'd have to agree that the front mounts probably do a little better job of throwing snow, but the rear mounts may be able to handle a little deeper stuff. You just go with what works in your situation.

 

[check]

OK, so here are photos of the Pronovost Lynx 52 versus the Kubota B2789 (51"), and they both look very sturdy but the Kubota is about $600 cheaper after tax. (Both with manual chute rotation - just ignore the hydraulics on the Kubota photo - it was the only one I could find.)

So the question for me is, whose is better for a weekend cottager like me (thus minimal long-term wear and tear), and if the Pronovost is better, by how much? (I.e., is it enough to justify $600 more money for the Pronovost, which I could maybe use instead to buy the hydraulic chute rotator for the Kubota?)

I am also planning to have a look at the Pronovost myself (once I find someone close by with and in-stock model), which will also tell me a lot.

 

[leonz]

about your snow blower shopping;

1. look closely at the impeller housing The portion of the impeller housing which is partially shrouded by a weldment which covers a greater percentage of the open impeller housing.

Using the Descartes coordinants measure using the impeller shaft as zero in a grid of 24 by 24 it would be a line from +Y12 to -X18

Where the Kubota-RAD blower is +Y12, -X24 or greater which is much less in area to efficiently keep all the snow fed into the impeller in the housing and directed out of the chute rather than being blasted out front while advancing.

2. The 4 bladed impeller of the Pronovost Lynx has a a large prominant lip on each outer edge to improve the impellers abilty to throw the snow out of the impeller housing with out spillage.

A. The above its a potato, potatoe issue I suppose


3. The thickness of the sidewalls and welding on the interior and exterior to add strength and the steel thickness of the impeller housing is also key in you decision to purchase a blower as side wall stresses will be very high per square inch when removing any existing snow banks as they will be 50 pounds or more per cubic foot.


4. If you add a snowblower impeller kit from Clarences Small Engines for $30.00 either unit it wil be even better..

 

[crazyal]

If I were to ask the local dealer to show me either, he would look at me and shake his head. I am quite certain that none of the dealers in the area have ever stocked one.

Guess I'll have to leave the responses/suggestions on this one to others.

Did you tell him with that kind of attitude he's loosing potential sales?

You can keep those Hurricanes, I'll take the snow.

 

[Rob-D]

Did you tell him with that kind of attitude he's loosing potential sales?

You can keep those Hurricanes, I'll take the snow.

Ditto, there's something about living in the country and having a big storm shut down everything around you, nothing but white. Sometimes we even lose power, although now we have solar. There's a peace to it, we light a fire in the Tulikivi, throw a couple of potatoes in and life is good. I used to think I wanted to retire to a warm place and it's nice to get away for a month in the winter but there's a beauty here that you can't get when you don't have four seasons. Now we have all the colors of fall and the harvest. Then we get to start our tractors and play in the snow, how can you beat that!

Rob

 

[crazyal]

I know eaxactly how you feel. I realized that most of my stress over snow was having to get to work, home, or somewhere else. After I moved intot he country and have lots of extra vacation time so i never have to go to work the only stress was keeping my driveway clear and if the 77 IH loadstar was going to keep running all season long.

Now with the Kubota and the front mount blower I'm hoping that things will return to when I was younger and snow was relaxing. There's nothing like having a nice warm fire going while looking out the window at the glow of a light through the snow. Waking up in the morning to a fresh snowfall, everything white is also nice. Then of course once you clear it there's the feeling of acomplishment with visual proof you got something done.

 

[check]

There's nothing like having a nice warm fire going while looking out the window at the glow of a light through the snow. Waking up in the morning to a fresh snowfall, everything white is also nice.

Or sitting in the hot tub catching big, fluffy snowflakes as they come down. And seeing all the evergreens loaded with snow....

 

[JDGreenGrass]

Or sitting in the hot tub catching big, fluffy snowflakes as they come down. And seeing all the evergreens loaded with snow....

You nailed it right there.

THE most beautiful sight in the world....Evergreens loaded with snow. I call them "sugar coated."

Beautiful.:thumbsup: