Snow Snow plow or blower

[neilben]

I'm looking for a front plow or snowblower for a Kubota G1900. anything available out there?
NeilB in Southern MI

 

[oosik]

If you ever get much more that two feet of accumulated snow - I'd be looking for a blower.

 

[finn1]

A plow is generally faster as long as you have a place to stack snow.
A truck mounted plow is faster than a tractor mounted plow.

Blowers are preferred in severe snow conditions, and wher snow stacking isn’t practical because of space limitations.

Southern Michigan doesn’t typically fit my definition of an area with severe snow conditions.

 

[atsah]

Front mounted blower is the way to go IMO..

 

[CalG]

I have a "like new" G2546B 46" blower that is surplus to my needs.

It is made for G series tractors. Has the G2549 Quick Attach Frame. Including Operators and parts manual for both.

Located in S. Vt, distance is an issue.
If it's something of interest, We should talk. ;-)

 

[the old grind]

Welcome to the forum!:welcome:

Please don't plow snow from over gravel. In a dozen years you'll likely have virtual 'curbs' that will deter proper drainage. (we want 'away from' d-way/pad not 'along' or 'onto'.) If you're new to a property, you might observe Spring melt to be sure you don't exacerbate the inevitable ruts of thawing. I changed a fair bit of procedure after doing so in my first five yrs here.

(19 yrs experience with a 550' gravel driveway to guide my advice. Box blade pulls away from buildings, and FEL bucket scoops and dumps where the melt will drain away from what I drive on.)

btw, what finn1 said. I'm ~1/3 up MI's lower P (~43d parallel) and it rarely snows more that a foot deep South of the 45th. A properly fitted blower is a luxury, but can pay for itself in a Winter or two for time saved, and also allow 'skimming' off a foot at a time.

What CalG has to offer, .. check into LTL shipping rates. Not fast, but cheap & it's not Wintry around here this week. And nuthin' beats 'factory bolt-on' gear when you swap attachments in variable weather.

 

[TerryR]

Please don't plow snow from over gravel. In a dozen years you'll likely have virtual 'curbs' that will deter proper drainage.

What? Why not? What are you supposed to do if you have a gravel driveway in show country?

If the ground is frozen before it snows there's no issue with a properly set blade. It will skim over the surface.

If it's not frozen, you can try to keep the blade high, or just live with it. If your blade gets into the gravel it will take a lot less than a few years to have too much gravel on the sides. Just grade it back in the spring.

I've been managing a steep quarter mile gravel driveway for 22 years in the mountains of NC, and I plow it every time it's too deep to melt off before the next storm with no problems a little spring grading won't fix.

 

[the old grind]

What? Why not? What are you supposed to do if you have a gravel driveway in show country? If the ground is frozen before it snows there's no issue with a properly set blade. It will skim over the surface.

Uh, maybe it doesn't snow in Michigan like it does in NC, say not as often or as deep. IMO MI is hardly 'snow' country' or 'cab country' either.

Maybe we don't ever get another 6" of 'lake effect' snow in March after the ground has been thawed and the frost has heaved it up & soft for rut forming.

I looked for posts about gauge buttons to minimize gravel pickup. I found none, so you win. :thumbsup: It seems that precise bucket leveling is the standard, and I'm probably a klutz who's just not good at it. I even have to use 'Edge Tamers' I'm so clumsy. That and my driveways is <600ft long.

Maybe our ground doesn't freeze perfectly flat and sat that way every time it snows.

Plowing is always easy, and gee, who isn't an expert at keeping their plow's lip that perfect distance above the surface to be plowed. Same with blade or blower, right?

 

[LD48750]

Uh, maybe it doesn't snow in Michigan like it does in NC, say not as often or as deep. IMO MI is hardly 'snow' country' or 'cab country' either.

Maybe we don't ever get another 6" of 'lake effect' snow in March after the ground has been thawed and the frost has heaved it up & soft for rut forming.

I looked for posts about gauge buttons to minimize gravel pickup. I found none, so you win. :thumbsup: It seems that precise bucket leveling is the standard, and I'm probably a klutz who's just not good at it. I even have to use 'Edge Tamers' I'm so clumsy. That and my driveways is <600ft long.

Maybe our ground doesn't freeze perfectly flat and sat that way every time it snows.

Plowing is always easy, and gee, who isn't an expert at keeping their plow's lip that perfect distance above the surface to be plowed. Same with blade or blower, right?

Well I've lived in MI my whole life (70+ years)and only remember 1 or 2 winters when a blower *MIGHT* have been needed but never having had one, I got along without it.

Last 30+ years I maintain my drive & private gravel road & neighbors drives (over 1/2 mile) with just a truck plow &/or the front or rear plow on one of the tractors.
We just don't get enough snow to justify a blower.

As for picking up gravel, I was using a pipe on the bottom of the plow but found that a piece of 2" or 3" angle iron bolted to the cutting edge works GREAT & is EASY to take off or put on.

Also have found that the York rake does a pretty good job of removing light (under 6") snow.

 

[chim]

Since we built here there have been Winters without snow, blizzards with over 20" of snow and everything in between. I've used a 5' manually angled front blade, 5' and 6' rear blades, a 64" rear blower, FEL's and last year an 8' plow with power angling (thanks to 3rd remote) modified to fit the L4240. A few big snows were handled with a 5' rear blade only. Took some time, but it got us opened up. Our driveway is about 100 yards long and until my BIL got his L4740 I did their 100 yard driveway and a few shorter ones.

For the last several years I also have been doing a couple parking lots at church. The 8' front blade is by far my favorite snow implement. The rear blower will be sold with the L3200. I don't mind looking back to use it. The biggest problem was doing the parking lots. I couldn't blow the snow far enough to get it off the lots. After being blown from one area to another it soon became too dense to handle. The FEL with sides added was OK but still much slower than the blade.

 

[Thomas]

If you get lot snow also snow drifts blower.

 

[the old grind]

Guys, in the midst of my recent bombast & baloney, I hope you all got the hint about 'Edge Tamers' for FEL snow removal. Edge Tamer - Move Snow With Your Tractor Loader Bucket – R2 Manufacturing (six out of five stars :laughing

I was having fits always wanting to finesse bucket angle to spare 'gravel pickup', and the FEL is my choice because I have to carefully place the snow I move, lest it flood me out in the wrong places every Spring. Three 'Small ETs' on my 60" bucket means 'within 15^' bucket angle works vs ' +?- ~5^ precision needed without 'em or . My plowing time is reduced considerably w/o the 'trial and error ' adjustment with every pass. IMO, It's not as simple as lip height.

Oh, and I suggest that 'Southern Michigan' is a bit 'generalized' when it comes to annual snowfall 'consideration'. Furthest SE Monroe County rarely gets the lake-effect dumping expected once or twice/yr in (extreme SW) Berrien county. ('Moss' would know about that)

Get the (a) blower!! You'll pay for it one time and thank yourself every time you get >3" of snow. (btw. trust Mr CalG's advice and offering! He's 'old-school'-smart, and 'old-school honest'.) One only has to watch a few youtube vids to see why a snow blower is THE ultimate. I suggest that a Kubo G1900 with blower is a potentially powerful 'snow weapon'. Sucks that I don't have my own.

 

[Scrambler82]

When I lived in New England (NE), some winters had more snow than other but the main problem with smaller areas is WHERE does the snow go !

A Blower will help to alleviate this problem of where, far better than a Plow.

If I had stayed in NE I would have had a Snow Blower mounted to the FEL, if possible, but just in front would do the trick.




The Old Grind,

That Edge Tamer is a great idea.
I have trouble digging the FEL in the ground when trying to move brush piles and these should do the trick, thx !

 

[CalG]

I have four tractors, three snow blower attachments, (two front and a rear), two tractor mounted multi angle front blades, 1 rear scrape blade, and 1 York rake and a FEL with Edge tamers.

Blades are good for wet snow, and very light stuff. The blowers get called on the most. Smaller equipment is really handi around buildings etc. But, the smaller tractors won't push much snow in front of a blade. When the snow gets deep, It sure is fun to watch it get blown well over the banks never to be seen (or dealt with) again.

Don't forget to read the "Similar Threads" listed at the end of this thread. We have all been good at contributing thoughtful comments on this topic.