Need Advice on Front Mount Snow Blowers

[oldnslo]

Rscotty
I have no experience with rear pull but would that be an option for the tractors and snowfalls , drifts etc. that you get under “normal” conditions. Should help save the neck and pocket book both and also allow keeping loader for drifts.

 

[dstig1]

Does the broom work on deep snow? Like 12-18” drifts?

I built a broom as we often get snows in the 4" and under range, and it works great for those. On the rare occasions we get 8-10" it is not very happy, nor am I. But that is rare for here. Maybe once a winter. And if I can catch it partway and do it in stages rather than all at once, that helps too.

So short answer: no. But we don't get snow like that either...

My (lengthy) broom build:

Sweepster Rotary Broom - rebuild and modification

I'm going to start this thread a bit ahead of time so I can actually get input along the way rather than just showing finished pics as there are some areas I am less certain of. I have started taking apart bits of it but probably won't get seriously into it until Spring/early summer when it...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[bigtiller]

With a 1/4 mile driveway I would buy a warm cab with a tractor underneath.

I have 31 pto hp powering a 24" tall by 60" wide snowblower. It does great until I get to the wind-packed 24" deep drift. It might be 40 foot long and that is when I wish I would have bought the next bigger sized tractor.

Front mount is the way to go.

 

[hayden]

I'm a big fan of snow blowers, but it very much depends on your situation. They remove snow more slowly than a plow, but they do a better job and they really get the snow out of the way rather than just creating huge piles that fall back into the space you are trying to clear.

A couple of years ago I went through the same thing you are, wanting to switch from a rear pto blower to a front mounted blower. The rear blower was fine when I was younger, but now I want to comfort of facing forward most of the time.

A snow blower needs a lot of power. It's by far the most straining implement I have, with the engine always struggling to maintain RPM. And a hydraulic powered unit will add a bit more to that because of power losses in the hydraulics.

As a rule of thumb, the hp available in hydraulics is 1hp for every 1 gpm @ 1500 psi. Double the gpm and you double the hp. Double the pressure, and you double the hp. I'll guess that your 16 gpm front port is 1500 psi, so can only deliver 16 hp. Maybe a bit more if it's 2000 psi. That's not nearly enough. You want to tap every horse the tractor has, and the only way to do that is off the rear PTO.

I rejected the idea of a frame and drive line. These couple to the PTO, then have a gear box that connects to a shaft that runs forward to the blower mount, then another gearbox or joint for a final shaft to the blower. They get the power to the blower with minimal loss, but the frames a big and heavy, and now quick to install or remove. And the frames I have seen have to be removed if you want to use your loader. That was all very unappealing to me.

Instead I went with a hydraulic unit nearly identical to grsthegreat. It's an Erskine 84" blower with their HP25 25 gpm hydraulic power pack that is PTO driven. I bought mine used for about $6500 which is around half what they are new - maybe even a bit less. But it turned out to have a blown pump, so I had to get a new pump, and clean all the crap out of the tank. But after that it worked great. I also added the optional cooling fan after finding the parts on Surplus House or something like that. All in it was about $8000, so still not bad.

I love it, but there have been a few learnings.

This was discussed elsewhere here on TBN, but for me the cooling fan was essential. When worked hard, and mine works really hard, the hydraulic oil heats up. With the cooling system is stays at a perfect temp. Snow clearing for me is about 1 to 1.5 hrs. If it will take you a lot less time, then the system may not have time to get hot, but keep an eye on it.

The 84" unit is a touch too big for my 57 hp PTO, and in heavy or deep snow, I am moving VERY slow. First pass is the worst because it's truly 84" wide, and subsequent passes are faster because they are not a full swath. 70 hp would be a beautiful thing with this size blower.

The whole unit is steering-challenged. Front tire chains would help a lot, but I have gotten pretty good at brake steering, and also knowing when to stop, back up, and realign. I no longer think I'll both with front chains.

I don't know if it's standard or optional, but mine has power chute rotation and deflection which is essential for me to be able to direct snow where I want it.

Plan on running at max rpm all the time. There is a big difference is how far the snow gets thrown.

Erskine makes good products, and I highly recommend.

 

[grsthegreat]

I think erskin and quickattach are same company. At least the units look exactly the same. Mine also uses auto hydraulic rotation and deflection. A must.

i like my setup because when my buildings shed I have 4-6’ piles of snow that block horses out of barn. What used to take me hours with a bucket takes me minutes. I raise the blower up a few feet, take off top. Back up and lower to ground, blow next layer. HST is also a must, as I would hate to be shifting gears doing a front blower. And not having shear bolts is a game changer

i run chains on all 4 tires. Mainly for plow, but I blow about a mile of trails thru trees for sleigh and to exercise dog. I wouldnt try that without chains

 

[dstig1]

You don't have 57 PTO hp...You have a 57 Hp engine. You have 50 PTO hp. I have 45 on my L5240.

A blower would be great for me on those occasional big snows we get, but the broom sweeps the driveway clean which is super nice as we are on a big hill and winter time can be fun getting up the drive.

I do watch the temps on my tank as I have no cooling. I have never seen it get above 150 even after a 2+hr session. Most of the time the fluid stays in the 100-120 range, peak. I just shoot the tank with an IR gun when I get out or am done, making sure to hit below the tank fluid level.

 

[JohnDeereJoey]

Hydraulic blowers love power. Get a correctly sized PTO pump and reservoir. You're looking at 3/4" hose or a bit larger....

I should of included "correctly sized blower motor" to this sentence.

Yep, the hydraulic motors on the at least some brands of blowers are sized to the application.

 

[wolc123]

I would forget about the front mount blower and get a front mount plow instead. My father in law does about 5 miles of mountain roads with an open station Kubota about that size with a big V-plow on the front loader.

He liked that a lot better than the pickup truck with plow that he used prior. The v-plow is about 9 ft wide and can be angled either way or v’d in or out. He gets all the roads done in two passes with that, where it took 3 or 4 with the pickup truck plow.

It attaches easily in place of the loader bucket with the quick attach. It easily handles snows up to 5 ft deep. He suits up in coveralls, face mask, Mickey Mouse boots and heavy mittens. The tractor has chains on all (4) tires and loaded rears. It takes him half the time to do the 5 miles of roads with that as it did with the pickup.

I don’t have a picture of his V-plow, but this is his tractor:

:

 

[Jerry/MT]

This winter a couple of storms have got me thinking again about a front mount snow blower for the Kubota M59.
We used to move snow with a back blade on the old JD, but I'm afraid my days of looking over my shoulder are done. Last time it took months to get my neck working right again. It's time for a change.

For a couple of years since we quit using the blade, we have used the FEL on our TLBs to get the bulk of the snow off. That works. Our FEL tractors are large enough and powerful enough - but a loader bucket isn't the best tool. By the time we get the snow off, it also tears up our quarter mile of mountain driveway more than I like. Or else it leaves too much compacted snow to drive and walk over all winter. The driveway is just rough dirt and gravel with occasional rocks and some struggling grass. It doesn't profit from the bucket abuse.

I know nothing about snow blowers. I don't even know if that is a possible solution, maybe not. The Kubota M49 SSQA loader bucket and front tire width are both 7 feet... Does going larger or smaller make much difference? The M59 came with front hydraulic outlets 16 gpm controllable on thejoystick. So I'm looking at a hydraulic drive in that range and SSQA if it is to be an attachment for the M59.

The other option would be to buy an older smaller 20 hp tractor that has a front PTO and a permanently mounted front snowblower. I know of one in excellent shape at about the same price as a new SSQA for the M59.
Which way would you go? Attachment for the larger M59? or a small dedicated sub compact? Neither has a cab.

I'm a newbie on snow blowing, so any advice is appreciated.

rScotty

I would think a blower that had a minimum width of the rear wheel track width would be the size you were looking for. I doubt a 16gpm pump would work for it to be hydraulically powered. You could put a pto powered pump on it with it's own reservior built on a three point carrier. It would be a pretty expensive proposition.

A front mounted blade would be a cheaper alternative and you would only need an auxiliary valve to pivot the blade. The blade would need to be wide enough to match the rear track in the angled position.