B2650 snow removal options

[David97]

I plan on buying a new B2650 before years end, i was going to buy a front mounted snow blower but have been thinking about the quick attach 60" bucket and 60" quick attach snow blade option. I see very few people with that setup on youtube most have the blade mounted to the bucket. The front mounted snow blower is about the same price as a loader and snow blade!

I like the appeal of using the bucket and then quick attach the snow blade. I live in VA so we don't get tons of snow average yearly snow fall is around 22 inches. My driveway is gravel and around 1,000 feet long with a slight hill in the middle. The trouble is it always drifts closed and i get drifts around the house in front of the garage etc. I figured a snow blower would be great to get rid of the drifts. My neighbor has been plowing my road for me with a similar tractor to the 2650 he's been using a rear blade but always gets stuck in the drifts he uses turf tires. I don't know how much of a differance the front plow would make over the rear blade i will be using R4 tires and a ballast box.

I feel like small tractors are better off with a snow blower since they don't have a lot of weight to push the snow. We had a snow storm one year that we got 33 inches and the drifts where even higher my neighbors tractor couldn't even get out of his own driveway. I don't want that to be me!

We have winters where the ground is not frozen as well or it's frozen in the AM but in the PM is a muddy mess.

I know a plow is quicker but i like cold weather and look forward to using my new tractor.

 

[davesl708]

Congrats on the new machine. I use a bucket exclusively. Handles 200ft of drives. I considered a snow blower but we get about as much snow as you do maybe less. Decided the blower would be just another piece of equipment to maintain.

 

[tman1020]

Currently and in the past I have always used a rear blade and the front loader bucket. It has always worked well. I would like to have a snowblower for those times when you do get a huge snow. But I would not want to do without my front loader so I would just get a three point mounted to the back. My friend runs a front mount snowblower and he loves his but he does not need his front loader through the winter months. I use my front loader all year long. Snowblowers are cool but for me I think it would sit around more than get used in they are pretty pricey. Plus the one time I did use one I broke a shear bolt within the first five minutes of using it. What a pain in the cold.

 

[GPintheMitten]

With the quick attach, it will be easy to switch from front plow to loader bucket for drifts. I think I would go that route for your climate.

 

[nybirdman]

With that little snow a blower is a waste of money.Go with either a front plow or maybe a good rear blade.

 

[vacman]

I have a 300' drive that tends to get drifted over as well. I have always used a rear blade along with my bucket. The blade works well for a normal snowfall. If I can't plow before we get drifted in, I will end up scooping snow one bucket at a time until the drive is clear. Once it's clear, I dress it up with the blade. A front blade should work really well for most snowfalls, even better than the rear blade. If you encounter big drifts, just dig it out like I do. The only year I wished I had a blower was winter 2013/14. We got a lot of snow here and it never melted. The driveway got narrower each time it snowed. A couple of times I ended up going out on days when it wasn't snowing so I could dig out the windrows to make the drive wider. I had turf tires on that tractor but my next will have R4s. I will see how well it does before I decide if I need a blower or not.

Good luck.
John

 

[Will_C]

If I had plenty of money and lots of snow, I'd have a snow blower. I deal with a medium amount of snow, and make do with a FEL bucket and rear blade. I like the idea of SSQA bucket and blade-probably will have it if I ever buy another tractor.

Will

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

.... I had turf tires on that tractor but my next will have R4s. I will see how well it does before I decide if I need a blower or not.

Good luck.
John

The R4s will suck in the snow compared to the turfs

One of the biggest advantages of a blower is the lack of ridges and the resulting drifts. Plowing a drift makes a ridge which makes a bigger drift, which gets plowed into a bigger ridge, which makes a bigger drift.....you get the idea

 

[beckmurph]

I have been looking at blade options also.

In eastern Kentucky we go several years with just small snows in the 1-2" range. Then 6-8" snow falls will happen. So a front or rear blade suits my needs.

I have used a rear blade for the last 5 years with fairly good results. I don't have a rear blade at present and have been looking around.

The QA front blade by Kubota has my interest.
Pull two levers, back away from bucket, hookup to blade. Easy peezy. The 5' blade is about $1650 and 6' is around $1750. This is manual angle. No hydraulics. Includes skid shoes.

A LandPride 6' blade or Woods 6' 3pt hitch is around $1000.00 with skid shoes.
The biggest concern with 3pt blades on the Bxx50's is the telescoping stabilizers. When pushing to the rear the stabilizers are apt to bend. Some reports of bent stabilizers on this forum. I priced one other rear blade and it was around $750.

ANBO also makes a QA front blade, but I don't know their price. :2cents:

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[varmint]

I would vote, early and often, for the QA loader bucket and a plow. You will want hydraulic angling, (not required, but believe me, you will want it) best accomplished with a rear remote and some hoses, or a third function (pricey-er?) Put some weight on the back, get some turfs with chains, and don't get too greedy with plow width- 60-66"?? I don't know too much about a B2650 (other than it looks like a great little machine) but maybe others will chime in here. I run with a 78" plow, which I kept from a bigger L3130 and now have on my L3400, and while it works, I would be happy with 72" plow, too. You shouldn't have to deal with more snow than we do here in Northern Maryland, so the plow will be fine- and quick and easy. Mid ptos, frame mounted snow blowers all cost money, require servicing, and a tractor without a loader is half a tractor- at best.

 

[beckmurph]

I don't think there is enough clearance on the drive tires for chains, without spacers.
BUUT, you could put chains on the steering tires with no problems.
And that is my plan for right now.

ANBO 72" blade is far more than Kubota's.:shocked:

 

[varmint]

I get the sense that putting front chains on, especially without back chains, is a bad idea. But some wheel spacers are easy to add, and bingo, chains work. (we're talking about inner fender clearance, right?)

 

[beckmurph]

I get the sense that putting front chains on, especially without back chains, is a bad idea. But some wheel spacers are easy to add, and bingo, chains work. (we're talking about inner fender clearance, right?)

Yes inner fender clearance is the problem.
Kubota spacers are $300 and chains rear chains are over $175. Plus my rear tires are loaded.
I want to take the easy and cheap way.:dance1:

 

[David97]

Thanks for the input guys.

I guess the snowblower really is not needed where i live so i will go with the quick attach loader and snow blade. I just don't know if the tractor is large enough to push much snow. I was going to get R4 tires since i will mostly be mowing with it do they tear up grass if your in 2wd how do they do in snow? Turf tires look to tame! My dealer said i have to get kubota insurance as well is that only with the 0% loan?

 

[Coyote machine]

Here's what I run with: Loaded R-4's on all wheels. Aquiline MPC chains, (on REAR wheels ONLY) and a HLA Series 2000 7' all angle snowplow, with crossover valve, to dampen shock to the loader arms. I usually have my backhoe on, which serves as 1000+#s of ballast.
A blower would be a waste of money, (IMO), and would render you loader-less, so 2 strikes against you in your area.
Mid-mount blowers for front end use are not only expensive, but unwieldy, difficult to install/uninstall, etc.
My plow is on and off in minutes with QA and two quick coupler connections on the loader torque tube, run off my loader joystick's trigger switch, through a diverter valve. I allows me two pairs of rear remotes, AND a pair of hoses, (mentioned), going to the loader's torque tube.

So I would NOT recommend using just front chains; that can cause drivetrain issues because the front wheels turn at a different speed than do the rears, and there is an allowance for slippage of the front wheels as they turn corners, etc. This is compounded when in 4WD. It is further compounded by the lack of additional traction on the rear wheels that don't have chains to even out traction issues.

Add ballast to rear, chains on rear, front all angle plow or manual angle one, and keep your loader usable with your bucket. All set for most winters.

 

[beckmurph]

R4's in two wheel drive don't tear up my "yard",
unless I make a sharp turn.

Pulling a 6' blade of snow uphill was the only
problem I had with my B3200.

You shouldn't have that problem pushing snow. You tires would be on the cleared section.

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[Rustyferrious]

When I bought my BX25D I also bought the BX2763A hydraulic front blade. As far as I can tell, none of the hydraulic blades mount on the QA rig on the FEL. They have their own hitch that mounts to the tractor frame - same as the snow blower, sans the PTO - requiring removal of the FEL arms. The manual blade mounts to the the front QA, where the bucket normally mounts. If I had an enclosed cab - I would have preferred the blower myself, but with the tractor plus all the other implements I got, i maxed out my budget. Plus a cab would have been too tall for my overhead doors. I would not want to be blowing snow without a cab, that's miserable enough with my 24" Toro - so I got the blade instead. I'm going to practice the swap this week - the dealer went over it with me but I have not tried it yet. I can see where I might want the FEL for clearing high drifts and piles, plus I will be using the forks quite a bit - so I'm hoping it's not a big hassle to swap one for the other.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I have R4s. They came on the tractor that I bought used with 110 hours. I would have chosen turfs if I bought new. In truth, either style will work, and each have advantages. Turfs with chains are great in snow. In mud or the woods R4s are better.

 

[newtattoobob]

This will be my third winter with my b2650 with the qa blade on the fel. I live in northeast ohio and we get a lot of snow. I think it does a great job. I like the blade on the fel because I can switch back to the bucket if needed and I can stack the snow with blade. I bought chains last year for all four tires (r4 no spacers needed). I don't think they are needed unless you are dealing with hills or ice in your driveway. The only time I have trouble with the blade is when the snow gets deep on the sides of the drive. Then I'm not able to throw the snow to the side. But this will happen with any blade when the banks on the side of the drive get higher than the blade.

 

[varmint]

Yah, high side banks require special treatment: I just raise the blade, say to 18" off the ground, and plow off the top of the banks, then take a second lower pass- that buys me some snow room. Not being able to have a cab means no snowblower for me, and I don't think I would want one, anyway, since the blade works so well for a reasonable investment, with very little upkeep required.