B2910 & Snowblower

littlediesel · Jan 17, 2003

Is anyone using a B2910 with a snowblower? If so, how do you like it and how much did you pay for it?
Also, how difficult is it to install/remove?

Thanks..........Jon

Rick Jay · Jan 17, 2003

Jon,

I have a Woods SS60 painted Kubota orange on my B2910. I bought it at the end of last winter season. So far, it's worked really well. I've only used it twice this winter so far. Both times were 8"-12" of heavy snow.

For light snows I use a small lawn tractor with a blade. For the heavier snows, I use the Kubota.

I don't mind the rear mount, but then again I have a fairly small area to clear. In my situation, I wouldn't want to be without my front end loader. I usually use it in conjuction with the blower.

There was a bit of a learning curve in adjusting the top link so that the blower scrapes the paved driveway, and then shortening it so that it leaves about 1" or so of snow when doing the public sidewalk area in front of the house, so as not to dig into the lawn.

There are other blowers out there cheaper than the Woods. My dealer, however, only sells Woods and I like to support him as much as possible, and he gave me a pretty good deal at the end of last season.

Now that I have the chute rotation handle positioned adjusted properly, it shouldn't take any longer to change the blower than any other PTO driven 3 pt. accessory.

I've got a Woods HBL-72-2 rear blade on order and my plan is to start using that for the lighter snowfalls instead of my smaller lawn tractor. With the snowblower and blade on dollies, I should be able to swap from one to the other in the garage in less than 10 minutes.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

~Rick

B_Childress · Jan 19, 2003

Jon,
I have a B2710 with Kubota subframe/male quick hitch & a Kubota front mount 63" snowblower. It works great. When I get ready for snow season it takes me about 30 minutes to remove the FEL, attach the male quick hitch to the subframe and attach the snowblower. Probably could be done faster but I'm still a novice and only do it once a year. If you leave the male quick hitch in place its about 5 minutes to install/remove just the blower.

I bought my B2710 as a package including: R4 filled tires, FEL, Herd rear sander, snowblower & subframe/male hitch so

I'm not sure of exact price, but I think about $3,200- $3,500 is in the ball park for blower/subframe/male hitch installed.
Barnett

littlediesel · Jan 19, 2003

Thanks guys for the great comments!!

I am tring to decide whether to spend $3000 for the front mount or $2000 for a 3pt mount. I prefer using a front mount blower than a rear mount , however, I don't prefer the higher price.

I just started looking at the front blades that attach to the FEL. Northern Technologies makes a blade that attaches to the FEL after removing the bucket. It looks pretty good.

Jon

Rick Jay · Jan 19, 2003

Jon,

I forgot to mention that I paid about $1950 or so for the Woods SS60. I've heard of others on this group paying much less for other brands. As I said, my dealer sells Woods, the color matched the tractor and it looked like a rugged unit.

If you decide on a 3 pt. hitch mount, you might be able to negotiate a better deal in early Spring, if you can find a dealer that has the unit you want in stock.

In Fall of 2001, I inquired about the price on the Woods SS60 and was given a price of $2200. I asked again in January 2002, now the price was $2400. Mind you, we had very little snow, so demand wasn't that great in our area. Well, come April, I notice the SS60 still sitting in his lot, and asked if he wanted to move it. That's when he gave me the price of $1950. I had seen a comparable price from other dealers on the 'net, so I knew this was probably as good as it was going to get. The price included delivery, but not tax.

If you're going to be doing a lot of snowblowing, I would recommend a cab. I would love to get one, but I might have clearance issues with our garage door. In my spare time (yeah, like any of us have that in abundance) I hope to make a real lightweight, removable shield to keep the snow out of my face. For now, I just wear goggles, dress warmly and try to blow with the wind.

If you don't mind the rear mount, $3500 should cover the better part of the snowblower and a Curtis soft-side cab.

~Rick

hayden · Jan 26, 2003

I've got a rear snow blower on my 2910 and it works great. Although it'a kind of a pain to be working backwards all the time, I prefer it to sacrificing the FEL for a front snow blower. I do a lot of snow blowing and snow pile shoving so having both is key.

Other suggestions that are generic to snow blowers are:

- Watch out for rocks, branches, and other things that will jamb and break sheer bolts. This won't be a problem on a paved drive, but on a dirt road it's a challenge.

- Get the top link set correctly to clean the road surface but not dig in. I use my hydraulic top link extensively, but I have a very up/down irregular dirt road that I clear.

- Give serious consideration to remote chute rotator of some kind. Mine is electric, and I've seen hydraulic too.

- Get bundled up in warm, water-proof clothes. I'm buying a cab next time.

John_Mc · Jan 27, 2003

Re: Topic drift: Hydraulic toplink drift?

<font color=blue>- Get the top link set correctly to clean the road surface but not dig in. I use my hydraulic top link extensively, but I have a very up/down irregular dirt road that I clear.</font color=blue>

A bit of topic drift here... Have you noticed that your hydraulic top link drifts over time, or compresses much when you put a load on it? I've had that problem with mine since it was installed (it's more noticable with the side link than the top link). No obvious signs of leaks. I'm thinking I may still have some damaged seals, though. It's a real pain when you finally get things fine tuned, and then it changes. Is this normal, or should the hydraulic links really lock things in place?

John Mc

Bird · Jan 27, 2003

Re: Topic drift: Hydraulic toplink drift?

John, my hydraulic cylinders seemed to hold everything in place indefinitely 'cept when I accidentally bumped a lever./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif