Please help my neck....

[Got2BTru]

You guys are a HOOT...next winter I intend on replacing my 8' snow push with a snow blower...but I am NOT getting one that I have to drive backwards...my driveway is 1400' from the road to the house...I'm looking to find as many MFGs that make the rear PULL FORWARD and then I'll make a decision this summer and pull the trigger. I originally wanted the mid-mount PTO with the FRONT mounted snow blower, but they were just WAY too expensive!

 

[oosik]

I plowed my mile long driveway, again, yesterday. No joy - no joy at all. I got it all cleared OK. It was the worst kind of snow - wet & heavy. Even at 10K+ pounds it pushed the Kubota around with a full rear blade. Turns a fun romp down the driveway into a real job.

I would not have plowed it - there was only about 6" of unplowed snow. The neighbor came over and asked if I would plow his. So while I got all bundled & everything going - might just as well.

This is the time of year when we normally will start getting rain. At least, there won't be so much snow to become gumbo.

 

[MaineGuy1]

Main problem with a puller blower is that you need to drive thru the snow first.
OK when nice dry snow and not too deep.
I have a CUT and there times with wet 'snowman' snow that my wheels never make it to the road surface and only leave compacted lumps that nothing cuts thru.
IMHO only a real heavy tractor can take advantage of those style blowers.
12 inches of wet stuff would IMHO spell disaster for a cut pulling a puller blower, shucks even 5-6".

That 19 hp PTO would be fine in light fluffy snow but that is not always what mother nature gives us.
Also most CUTs don't have all that much clearance.

A couple around here I have seen being used. 2 feet of snow is no problem for them. They can slowly cut through the plowed snow at end of road or just move it with bucket. 5 to 6 inches of wet stuff is a cake walk for them.

 

[MaineGuy1]

i looked into the pull style blowers also, but with the type of snow i move and the amounts, i could not drive over the piles towing a blower. I go thru piles 24 plus thick. When i clean up the building that shed and block horses out of their stslls, the snow csn be 4 feet deep

Not sure why your tractor would have problems driving over 24 inches of snow. My tractor is only 36HP and drives through that stuff like it's not there.

 

[MaineGuy1]

You guys are a HOOT...next winter I intend on replacing my 8' snow push with a snow blower...but I am NOT getting one that I have to drive backwards...my driveway is 1400' from the road to the house...I'm looking to find as many MFGs that make the rear PULL FORWARD and then I'll make a decision this summer and pull the trigger. I originally wanted the mid-mount PTO with the FRONT mounted snow blower, but they were just WAY too expensive!

I am getting an inverted blower next season, I already spoke to my dealer about the setup. Meteor and Woodhouse (Sundown) make some affordable ones.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Not sure why your tractor would have problems driving over 24 inches of snow. My tractor is only 36HP and drives through that stuff like it's not there.

My thoughts too. I'm at 7100 lbs with filled rears, FEL, bucket and box blade. Most of the time I don't have to use my diff lock either. I have routinely driven through snow deeper than my tractor clearance, and not had any issues. 3 feet plus is not a problem, but I'm also on level ground, which helps, maybe these guys are on steep slopes, which changes everything.

 

[oosik]

I still find that my heavy tractor plus heavy rear blade works best for me. I have a large valley in the driveway. At times, it means plowing down into the valley rather that up out of the valley. Only a minor inconvenience. The heavy, wet snow I plowed a couple days ago would have been a problem for any type of blower.

Besides - the heavy duty Rhino 950 rear blade is a much more universal implement. Probably even a little cheaper than a quality blower also.

 

[MaineGuy1]

I still find that my heavy tractor plus heavy rear blade works best for me. I have a large valley in the driveway. At times, it means plowing down into the valley rather that up out of the valley. Only a minor inconvenience. The heavy, wet snow I plowed a couple days ago would have been a problem for any type of blower.

Besides - the heavy duty Rhino 950 rear blade is a much more universal implement. Probably even a little cheaper than a quality blower also.

A blower works best for people that run out of places to put the snow. Happens a lot around here.

 

[LouNY]

I'll second the back blade.
I have a plow truck with a sander that I mostly just sand with.
On my tractor I have the FEL with the bucket and I have an 8 ft hydraulically angled SSQA blade and a 10 ft rear blade.
Much of the time I like the front blade as its easy to see what I'm doing.
Most of my driveway has a bank with 3 to 12 foot of drop off the side that I plow to, so no issue with the banks getting to high.
This year I have only used the front blade for a couple of storms.
We got a warm spell mid winter that thawed the driveway completely and it got quite a few wheel ruts in it which has made it rough for plowing.
The front blades are catching and tripping and jumping and jolting the tractor or truck.
I have been using the rear blade as it doesn't jump or jolt the tractor near as much an the jolting on the FEL bothers me, I worry about it causing damage.
The heavy rear blade pulls over the ruts with much less bouncing and jolting.
The front blade is nice when I push the snow banks back and over the drop offs as it's easy to see where the front tires are and how much they are starting to drop and the tractor will back out even if I get a front wheel over a bank a bit. I also will turn the rear blade around and push banks over while backing up at times.
I keep contemplating getting a blower, if I do I think I would prefer the inverted ones so as to blow while traveling forward.

 

[shooterdon]

On another thread, leonz mentioned the Bercomac. It is SSQA mounted blower with a Honda engine. Having another engine is a PITA but being SSQA is great. No PTO issues, easy on/off, can put bucket, grapple or forks on when needed with out having to remount loader frame, keeps access to 3 pt, and drives forward. At $6k for a 54" it is not too pricey.

 

[metalbender]

Sounds like a neat diy project to me.

 

[Cougsfan]

Not sure why your tractor would have problems driving over 24 inches of snow. My tractor is only 36HP and drives through that stuff like it's not there.

You obviously live where it is flat, MaineGuy. Try going up just a moderately steep incline with only 6" of a large flaked, warm, wet snow on top of ice with any horsepower tractor and you may wish to re-evaluate that statement.

I have heard that the Eskimos have around 100 different words for snow while we 'domesticated' folks always try to get by with just one catch all word. I can see incredibly different characteristics between various snow falls, with different densities. moisture content, compactability, grain size, stickyness, temperatures and so-on. And its characteristics often change once it sets on the ground a while. Sometimes I find a deep snow very easy to plow while other times a half that much snow can a very difficult task. It sometimes makes some of these snow related discussions difficult when we are all are speaking in our overly-generalized language.

 

[Agvg]

People drive on that all the time, if it is proper ice with snow on top real chains do work well.

 

[OrangeAgain]

When I bought my open-seat Kubota L275DT in 1983 I also bought what I call a 3PH, drive through the snow, V-snowblower. I knew I didn't want a backup type snowblower.

I still have the tractor and blower. I don't know the manufacturer of the blower and rarely have I seen any like it. It's a V-shaped scoop with about a 12" auger in the center. I drive through snow, the scoop directs the snow into the auger and then out the chute. Depending upon the PTO RPMs and the type of snow, it throws snow 10'-20' out.

The L275DT has nice ground clearance. The only time I have issues is if the snow gets too heavy and I try to drive through it. If the belly of the tractor is lifted up by the snow, I lose traction. If the snow is heavy (wet) the blower gets clogged up. I have a Kioti RX7320PC with FEL and back blade which I use when the Kubota / blower isn't going to work well.

The blower has had no issues all the years I've had it. I don't understand why this blower design isn't more popular even on the used market.

 

[Agvg]

There have been a lot of very bad designs on older V blowers, totally hopeless on wet snow but more modern designs works good, here I live they are popular because of simple design and low price compared to a two stage.

 

[OrangeAgain]

Does any design snowblower do well with wet, heavy snow? Our March snowstorms in Vermont are known for wet, heavy snow.

 

[DHD]

Does any design snowblower do well with wet, heavy snow? Our March snowstorms in Vermont are known for wet, heavy snow.

In Maine we get heavy wet snow too.
I do not think my Frontier SB1164 is any better than many other 3 point snow blowers when it comes to heavy wet snow, but it does a much better job with heavy wet snow if I operate it at max. allowable PTO of 540 (engine rpm 2600) and I slow my ground speed so as not to feed too much snow through the snow blower.
In normal snow conditions (not heavy wet) I'll operate my snow blower below 540 rpm PTO with engine RPM 2000 - 2200.
Some folks have modified their snow blowers for increased performance by reducing friction through the snow blower chute and decreasing the gap between the impellers blades and impeller housing.
These modification can increase the distance snow is thrown and decreases the clogged snow blower chutes from heavy wet snow.
One attempt to reduce friction in the snow blower chute is to line the chute with UHMW PE.
Here is a thread about using UHMW PE to modify a snow blower.
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/345899-b2782-snow-blower-modifying.html
I hope this helps

 

[mikester]

i love my Woodmaxx SB 60 and loader combination but my neck is hating it. Anyone have any ideas on how to snowblow with a rear mount without killing your neck?

Get a heated glass cab, an HST tranny, and a bigger PTO HP tractor. If you can clear snow wearing a T shirt and do it in a shorter amount of time then you will have less problems.

 

[MaineGuy1]

You obviously live where it is flat, MaineGuy. Try going up just a moderately steep incline with only 6" of a large flaked, warm, wet snow on top of ice with any horsepower tractor and you may wish to re-evaluate that statement.

I have heard that the Eskimos have around 100 different words for snow while we 'domesticated' folks always try to get by with just one catch all word. I can see incredibly different characteristics between various snow falls, with different densities. moisture content, compactability, grain size, stickyness, temperatures and so-on. And its characteristics often change once it sets on the ground a while. Sometimes I find a deep snow very easy to plow while other times a half that much snow can a very difficult task. It sometimes makes some of these snow related discussions difficult when we are all are speaking in our overly-generalized language.

That is true, but if you have any attached snowblower you would have this same problem, the blower doesn't get rid of the ice so you would still be slipping. Get chains then. My point was an inverted snowblower will take care of most snow on the ground without a problem.