Loader mounted snowblower

[L47TLBwannabe]

Saw this the other day at the dealership. Wonder how well it performs versus a pto powered snowblower.

 

[metalbender]

The ones for quads seem to work ok from what I see on the tube. Specs are 25 hp for the 72 inch. At about 10k CDN, it's pricey.

 

[shooterdon]

I looked at getting one. Cost killed it for me. My pull blower was $4000

The FEL mounted blower should be easier to use and great for attacking mounds and drifts of snow.

Another downside is the relatively low HP. Having another engine to deal with is a negative.

 

[L47TLBwannabe]

I looked at getting one. Cost killed it for me. My pull blower was $4000

The FEL mounted blower should be easier to use and great for attacking mounds and drifts of snow.

Another downside is the relatively low HP. Having another engine to deal with is a negative.

Yeah the h.p. seemed low to me and just about all the driveways in town here are gravel so for the time being I'm just using the loader and maybe my box scraper I just have to get some shoes made up for it to prevent it from digging in.

 

[chim]

Without seeing it up close, it looks like the bottom of the SSQA plate needs to be quite low to get the blower level. Seems like it could be a bit troublesome to have the curl/dump adjusted. especially on uneven terrain. Do you need to have the FEL in the float position? That's a lot of weight on the blower.

 

[TractorNH]

It would no doubt be slower than a rear mounted PTO blower. The key to snowblower speed is the impeller size and that one looks pretty small due to it being sized for a small engine. With the smallest PTO snowblowers you should be looking at a 18-20" impeller diameter and an impeller depth of at least 8". The impeller diameter dictates how far it will throw the snow and the impeller depth dictates how much volume it can handle, thus how fast you can go.

 

[PILOON]

OK, had a 48" blower and rigged it for front mount.
I chain drove it with a 15 Hp Wisconsin after fabricating mounts.
It was awesome and did what I had envisioned until it swallowed a hidden old starter hidden under the snow.
Disaster!
Trashed lots of parts, so it is now scrap.

Now I'm back to a rear blower c/w back up camera for convenience. Very happy!

 

[mikester]

I made an SSQA 3PH adapter with a hydraulic motor to drive the PTO and ran a 60 inch rear blower on the front. It ran well in dry powder snow, had to go slow in the heavy wet stuff. I used this setup on my open station tractor. The blower sticks way out up front which has its good and bad points. Keeps the operator out of the snow a little better but you lose on overall maneuverability. If you have a lot of elevation changes it is prone to digging in more. I could run my boom on float and adjust the blower angle of attack with the bucket controls.

I now run a bigger rear PTO blower on my new cabbed tractor.

I have some pics of each posted here
Snowblowers – Front and Rear PTO Driven Conversions for my Tractors – Part 1 – Divergent Stuff

 

[mikester]

I made an SSQA 3PH adapter with a hydraulic motor to drive the PTO and ran a 60 inch rear blower on the front. It ran well in dry powder snow, had to go slow in the heavy wet stuff. I used this setup on my open station tractor. The blower sticks way out up front which has its good and bad points. Keeps the operator out of the snow a little better but you lose on overall maneuverability. If you have a lot of elevation changes it is prone to digging in more. I could run my boom on float and adjust the blower angle of attack with the bucket controls.

I now run a bigger rear PTO blower on my new cabbed tractor.

I have some pics of each posted here
Snowblowers – Front and Rear PTO Driven Conversions for my Tractors – Part 1 – Divergent Stuff

 

[PILOON]

I rigged a 48 inch to front mount driven by a 16 hp Wisconsin with awesome results, until I hit a hidden car starter that simply trashed the blower,
(twisted auger, blown gear box and bent shaft)
Absolutely not economical to repair.
Unknown to me, the augers were rust welded to the shaft on that older 'previously owned' blower.
LOL, my present blower is very 'greasy'

Observation:
Front mount proves to be fairly awkward to tightly maneuver in tight situations due to angles etc.
Rear, while hard on 'stiff neck is easier in tight spots plus a back up camera works great.(but I still look when up close)

Now if U want the ultimate blower, a cabbed, heated O turn diesel powered Kubota with a shaft driven 60 blower is simply the best of the best.
Great for parking lots and any tight places.
(I just last week helped rig such a blower, and WOW , shirt sleeve comfy with AM/FM entertainment to boot, visibility par excellence)

 

[DarkHelmet]

I had a Berco for the front of my SxS and hated it. The blower is driven by a belt from the motor and I always had issues with it. It was either slipping or burning and the motor would bog down in anything but very dry snow. I now have a mid PTO driven front blower from Mahindra (also a Bercomac) and it's not even a comparison. The PTO driven works flawlessly vs the headaches of the independent gas motor driven blower. Unless they've improved how the power gets to the blower, I'd stay away from it.

 

[Buggs67]

Saw this the other day at the dealership. Wonder how well it performs versus a pto powered snowblower.

I like the setup on the JD in the 3rd pic better. Doesn't stick out so far and uses a PTO (I assume). I have 1/3 mile of gravel so I'm sticking with the quad mount 50" plow, rear blade and FEL. And occasional help from the neighbor w/7' plow on his old Dodge.

 

[PILOON]

I had a Berco for the front of my SxS and hated it. The blower is driven by a belt from the motor and I always had issues with it. It was either slipping or burning and the motor would bog down in anything but very dry snow. I now have a mid PTO driven front blower from Mahindra (also a Bercomac) and it's not even a comparison. The PTO driven works flawlessly vs the headaches of the independent gas motor driven blower. Unless they've improved how the power gets to the blower, I'd stay away from it.

That is why when I DIY'd a front blower I used chain and sprocket system as I anticipated slippage.
At that the chain stretched some and I had to design a tension device.
With 16 hp driving a 4 ft blower it was awesome.