2520 with 54 Snow Blower

U2DEERE · Nov 7, 2013

I just bought a 54" front mounted snow blower for my 2520. I will be using it on a gravel driveway. I have heard of people cutting a slit is PVC pipe and sliding it over the scraper edge. I have also heard of fastening a metal pipe between the skid shoes in efforts to leave more gravel on the driveway versus running it through the blower.

I was wondering if anyone has pictures that they could share of how they did either and the size of pipe used wehn doing either.

MacTractor · Nov 7, 2013

Curious, Is it a rear blower?

I am asking as I have a 54" SB1154 blower for my 2320 and ran alot of gravel through it last year. I am contiplating the pipe as well as even putting wheels off of the back of it instead of the skid shoes to make it easier to push when o the ground..

U2DEERE · Nov 7, 2013

My is front mounted.

CinderSchnauzer · Nov 7, 2013

MacTractor said:
Curious, Is it a rear blower?

I am asking as I have a 54" SB1154 blower for my 2320 and ran alot of gravel through it last year. I am contiplating the pipe as well as even putting wheels off of the back of it instead of the skid shoes to make it easier to push when o the ground..

I have a rear 60" SB on my 3320. I just shorten the top link a bit so the scraper front of the SB is off the ground and the unit rides more on the skids. By the time I use the SB it has usually snowed a few times, the ground has frozen and there is a bit of a base from plowing, but picking up rocks has not been a problem so far.

topstoy · Nov 10, 2013

U2DEERE said:
My is front mounted.

Keep us updated with what you come up with. I am thinking of getting a 54" as well some day.

Runner · Nov 10, 2013

Here is a thread I started regarding gage wheels I made up for my 54 inch blower. Had a chance to use it this last winter and these worked very well to keep the blower off the gravel.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/196581-gauge-wheels-jd-54-inch.html

kevinwak · Nov 10, 2013

In the process of trading in my frontier SB1154 rear blower for the JD front mount. I just cleared our first snow with the rear blower. Hopefully next week I get to pick up the front unit and drop off the rear one. The first blowing of the year sounds so rough with rocks.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

CampHamp · Nov 12, 2013

U2DEERE, I have the exact same setup (2520 and 54") and I have a gravel driveway (400' and sloping). This will be my first season, so I cannot offer any experience yet but I'll explain what I am trying...

I had some 3/4" PEX pipe lying around, and since it is more elastic than PVC, I don't think it will crack. I cut it with a utility knife and went slowly for the first pass to start a straight guide groove, then I took 4 more passes to get through (I used a vice). I pounded it on with a rubber mallet and it clamps on very tightly. There was still a little room before the bolts, so you could probably do 1" and still have it completely seated. You might even go bigger than that and just have the pipe seam hit the bolts, I guess, but it feels very secure on the blade when its seated against the rail edge.

I just took off the BH and FEL today and put on the blower and ballast box and gave it a spin (not along the gravel, though). Chains will go on my turf tires tomorrow. I'd recommend that you lower the blower before engaging the PTO because it seems to stress the shaft much more when lifted high - it makes a lot of extra noise when up as well.

Looking forward to hearing about what you do and how it works out...

Mercmaniac · Jan 4, 2014

I have a 2520 with 54" blower and I replaced the cutting edge with an 1 1/4" steel pipe. I welded 3, 1/4"x 1 1/2" tabs to the pipe to bolt it to the blower using the original holes for the cutting edge. This mod has worked great for me!! It rolls right over sod and my gravel driveway and does a better cleanup up without leaving as much of a layer as before. This is the 3rd season using it and the pipe is starting to wear a flat spot. After this season I will flip it and have another few years to run it again.

topstoy · Jan 4, 2014

Nice! Too bad you couldnt have bearings on the ends of the pipe so it could rotate and maybe not wear a flat spot. Some day I hope to add a blower to my 2520. Your cab is nice as well. Is there any heat in it?