I would just as soon have rear facing especially if doing any back and forth. A push back blade works well that way too.
I totally agree with with you,
for short distances.
Of course
short is relative, for some it might be 20' and for some it might be 100' or 200' or 500'. I would happily drive back and forth for a several hundred feet, using a rear facing blower and use a push blade or front mount plow for other areas. I suspect this arrangement is the
best for your needs, conditions and equipment. That is the
most important consideration. MY conditions and equipment are not the same as
yours. Therefore
our needs are
different. It sometimes seems that people think
their way is the best or only way to deal with snow. We live in different parts of the world, have hugely different conditions and equipment, so there is no best solution that fits everyone one and every condition.
A rear facing blower is the least expensive option, the inverted is more $ and the front mount is the most expensive.
It is important to note, that the difference in price gets a LOT bigger with the size of the tractor. For my tractor, where I live, a
new rear facing 72" blower is about $4,500 CAD, an inverted blower is in the range of $6,500 and a front mount blower is in the range of $18,000 CAD and up, depending on whether or not your tractor has a mid mount PTO. If not, the cost goes up. Yes, you can get a front mount blower that runs from the rear PTO, with a subframe or hydraulic power pack but I don't think they are a lot cheaper than the frame mounted front blowers, plus that ties up both ends of your tractor.
So back to the same old issue. What is the best solution for one person, is not even close to the best for the next! Your needs and conditions are different than mine and both of our needs and conditions are different than most others. My setup could be the worst combo for your needs and yours could be the worst for mine.
I may arrange supply of the snow blower shown in the pics. It blows to the either side. I'm dealing with the Lithuanian factory which produces them. They are pretty well made, fit big range of tractors, work good. Let me know if there is an interest.
Main tech specs: weight 430 kg; working width 2,25 m; tractor power required 45-110 hp.
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As Airbiscuit stated, this is an old design concept and does not work well, in my opinion. This design depends on the blower
housing, funneling the snow into a
blower fan. I have an 84" inverted blower, with an auger that is
full width and
powers the snow into the
fan but sometimes the fan will not keep up to the amount of snow the augers push into it, so I have to slow down. This design will be the opposite, especially with wet or heavy snow. The housing may not be able to feed the fan fast enough or the snow will stick to the housing, instead of being powered into the fan.
