In theory which blower would be better

[Hooked_on_HP]

I have 2 snow blowers. I have not used either one yet. I have a 5'6" McKee with a 24" 3 blade impeller on my (29hp) Ford tractor that operates at 540 rpm's. If I did my math correctly this blower will have a discharge velosity of 38 mph. On my Kubota (21hp)I have a 52" with a 16" 4 blade impeller that operates at 1100 rpm's. The discharge velosity on this comes out to 51 mph. Acording to the math the kubota should be the best blower. Am I missing any thing here. It will be interesting to see which one does better. Maby one will do better in wet snow and the other better with powder. We will see if the math lies if it ever snows here.
Bill

 

[bigtiller]

I suspect it will be like leaf blowers. The mph has little meaning without cfm figured into the equation.

 

[crazyal]

Is that 29hp at the pto or engine HP? A 5'6" blower could tax a smaller engine if you get a large dumping of wet snow. I would also expect the higher velocity to help prevent the chute from plugging but it will require more HP than the same size running at 540. Lots of variables so no one answer will be right other than "the tractor with the cab".

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

The tractor has 29 pto hp. Neither has a cab. The Ford is a rear mount. I am not sure where Kubota rates hp on F series.The Kubota is a front mount on a F series.
Bill

 

[leonz]

Hello Bill,

I hope you have the lawn genie tucked in for the winter.
I did not have the ability to dethatch this fall as I had to leave the
genie at my dads place and I need to replace the 30 year old
dethatching blades- 64 four of them when the time comes.
I will be buying them from flail master when the spring wanders in.


About the snow casters I have uploaded a photo that will solve all your snow problems HAHA.

The issue is exactly like bigtiller said about leaf blowers; it is more important to regulate
the forward or rearward speed of the tractor to prevent the impeller from plugging as the open
auger assembly will force the snow quickly into the impeller flooding it rather than presenting
the impeller with a regulated flow like a solid auger would.

Slow and steady wins the snow casting race with either unit; but the larger the impeller fan the better.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

The lawn genie is put away. I only used it once this year. The F2100 I got has a grass collection system on it and I can mow about 1/2 hr quicker with the Kubota with a 1' smaller deck. I will probably be getting rid of the Lawn Genie along with some other attachments when spring comes.
Back to the blowers. The ford is a gear drive and the Kubota is hydro. I would like to be able to throw the snow about 20'. The parking area I have is that wide and I can only throw the snow 1 direction.
Bill

 

[Dave M7040]

In my experience you are overlooking one fan parameter which is the width of the blades. If the fan cannot get rid of the snow delivered to it by the auger(s) the blower plugs up and you have to slow down or stop for the fan to catch up.
Dave M7040

 

[Ed L]

I had a 76" Meteor on the back of my NH 2120, also have a 59" front blower for the 955 Deere. While the Meteor would move more snow (it should, its a larger unit) the Deere would cast it futher hands down.
I offed the Meteor due to back problems, backing up all the time was killing me.

Ed

 

[90cummins]

I have a Ford 1720 SSS and have used both a 3 and 4 blade snow blower.
When I was looking to purchase a new snow blower I was in the same situation, how big & which one to buy.
I also calculated the velocity & area of the fan to help my decision.
While your math may be correct in this instance speed works against you.
You need sufficient speed to throw it 20 or 30 feet not atomize it & throw it into the next county.
I would bet on the Ford that operates at 540 because it has twice the torque available to ingest, accelerate and throw the snow out the discharge.
The 4 blade (my current snow blower) discharges the snow much smoother & appears to be more efficient but 24” of snow or snow that is plowed at the end of my driveway by the state would bring it down to its knee’s for lack of HP during the first full cut. That problem was solved 2 years ago when I installed a turbo on my Ford which solved the HP problem.
The 3 blade impeller is less efficient than the 4 blade but the HP used to accelerate the snow to 51 mph will in my opinion overload the Kubota.
My bet is that the Kubota running at 1100 rpm will struggle.
Tim

 

[Dave M7040]

In my experience you are overlooking one fan parameter which is the width of the blades. If the fan cannot get rid of the snow delivered to it by the auger(s) the blower plugs up and you have to slow down or stop for the fan to catch up.
Dave M7040

 

[Dave M7040]

If you want a blower to throw snow a long distance laterally you need one with a rotating drum as shown in the photo. Eliminating the chute from the path of the snow eliminates a lot of friction. There have been small blowers with this feature in the 1970's such as a walk behind by Gravely. I dont know the current market. The rotating drum design is found on more commercial units because it adds to the cost but I think a creative person could modify a blower to build in this feature.

Dave M7040

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I have a Ford 1720 SSS and have used both a 3 and 4 blade snow blower.
When I was looking to purchase a new snow blower I was in the same situation, how big & which one to buy.
I also calculated the velocity & area of the fan to help my decision.
While your math may be correct in this instance speed works against you.
You need sufficient speed to throw it 20 or 30 feet not atomize it & throw it into the next county.
I would bet on the Ford that operates at 540 because it has twice the torque available to ingest, accelerate and throw the snow out the discharge.
The 4 blade (my current snow blower) discharges the snow much smoother & appears to be more efficient but 24 of snow or snow that is plowed at the end of my driveway by the state would bring it down to its knee痴 for lack of HP during the first full cut. That problem was solved 2 years ago when I installed a turbo on my Ford which solved the HP problem.
The 3 blade impeller is less efficient than the 4 blade but the HP used to accelerate the snow to 51 mph will in my opinion overload the Kubota.
My bet is that the Kubota running at 1100 rpm will struggle.
Tim

You could be right. But Th blower on the Kubota is made by Kubota specifickly for this mower.
Bill

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I hope the Kubota does as well as I am hoping. The front mount will make my life a lot easier. here are some pics.

 

[Looking4new]

IMHO front mount blowers are safer and easier on the body. (No twisting around to see where you are going.)
They are also more expensive.

 

[ericher69]

I have 2 snow blowers. I have not used either one yet. I have a 5'6" McKee with a 24" 3 blade impeller on my (29hp) Ford tractor that operates at 540 rpm's. If I did my math correctly this blower will have a discharge velosity of 38 mph. On my Kubota (21hp)I have a 52" with a 16" 4 blade impeller that operates at 1100 rpm's. The discharge velosity on this comes out to 51 mph. Acording to the math the kubota should be the best blower. Am I missing any thing here. It will be interesting to see which one does better. Maby one will do better in wet snow and the other better with powder. We will see if the math lies if it ever snows here.
Bill

Kubota hands down!

Wet snow (slush) will be a pain for any open auger blower...

The rear blower front blade would be good for this task

 

[ruffdog]

In my experience you are overlooking one fan parameter which is the width of the blades. If the fan cannot get rid of the snow delivered to it by the auger(s) the blower plugs up and you have to slow down or stop for the fan to catch up.
Dave M7040

I agree....I have seen pto blowers that only have a 2" deep impeller while others have a 6" or more impeller depth. If the impeller diameters are the same, the wider blades will blow much more snow. Try a simple test. How much air does it blow out the chute at operating rpm?

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I agree....I have seen pto blowers that only have a 2" deep impeller while others have a 6" or more impeller depth. If the impeller diameters are the same, the wider blades will blow much more snow. Try a simple test. How much air does it blow out the chute at operating rpm?

The Kubota puts out a lot more air. I might finally get a chance to try them out later this week :thumbsup:
Bill

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have 2 snow blowers. I have not used either one yet. I have a 5'6" McKee with a 24" 3 blade impeller on my (29hp) Ford tractor that operates at 540 rpm's. If I did my math correctly this blower will have a discharge velosity of 38 mph. On my Kubota (21hp)I have a 52" with a 16" 4 blade impeller that operates at 1100 rpm's. The discharge velosity on this comes out to 51 mph. Acording to the math the kubota should be the best blower. Am I missing any thing here. It will be interesting to see which one does better. Maby one will do better in wet snow and the other better with powder. We will see if the math lies if it ever snows here.
Bill

What's your definition of "better"?

All other things being equal, in general, the higher the tip speed the farther the throw. Similarly, the bigger the immpeller diameter, the larger the through putfor the same rpm and on and on.

Your case has different impeller diameters, different impeller blade counts, different impeller speeds, different widths, etc.

So what do you mean by better?