New pull type blower

DHD · Feb 18, 2015

Jay4200 said:
What, you're not supposed to have snow bunch up in front of the blower?

That's a snow blower ?

I thought it was a rear blade.

kco · Feb 18, 2015

CDN Farm Boy said:
Nice back blade Dave, especially the way you braced it with the angle iron. Where (what brands) have you seen 1/8" back blades? I can't imagine any manufacture using that thin of metal. All of the ones I've seen are 1/2" or thicker, that included Normand, Pronovost, Lucknow, Martin, Bervac, and another cheap one I can't remember. The vast majority of them are bent from catching curbs, manhole covers, or rocks buried in the snow bank while pushing. And they all have additional bracing on the inside corner that your's doesn't. BUT....they were/are being used in commercial setting not private and with mostly in-experienced operators. That being said, I've bent a few and I've been blowing snow for 30 yrs.

You guys in Montreal must have very laid back customers to take 5 min a drive. 200 drives at 5 min each would make it a 16 hr run for the driver (that's only 12 drives per hr). Here in Ottawa, Our regular drivers are expected to produce 25/hr, supervisors are contracted at a minimum of 30/hr and there are a couple of us that regularly average 40-45 per hr and that's including driving between them. I've had several runs where I was under a minute per drive with perfect conditions.

My experience has also shown that pull blowers are approx double the cost of a comparable conventional blower. Neighbour on the next road just bought a new 8' Martin conventional for $3800 CDN, same thing as a pull type was $6500 with the orbital motor for rotation

I think the increase for a pull-type may be more in the range of 25-50% Cdn Farm Boy. I have attached a US Lucknow price list I found while researching in 2011. The 78" single auger model with hydraulic chute rotator is easiest to compare with the standard blower at $3,930 and pull-type at $4,940 (26% more). A 72" standard with chute rotator is $2,960 with the pull-type $3,870 + $209(for cylinder) = $4,079 (38% more).

My 2011 Meteor 75" pull-type was $3,788 + $598 (rotator & fittings) = $4,386. I noted in a previous post that I recalled the standard model was $700 cheaper, but I may have recalled incorrectly. From the Lucknow prices it seems $1,000 difference would be more likely. Assuming that the pull-type would be 4386/3386 = 1.295 or 30% more expensive than the standard blower.

Did the neighbour's $3,800 for a standard model include the hydraulic orbital motor? If not it would add $600 (2011 price) making the total $4,400. So the pull-type would be 6500/4400 = 1.477 or about 48% more expensive. Another possibly option is adjustable skid shoes which adds $119 (2011 price).

CDN Farm Boy · Feb 18, 2015

kco said:
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I think the increase for a pull-type may be more in the range of 25-50% Cdn Farm Boy. I have attached a US Lucknow price list I found while researching in 2011. The 78" single auger model with hydraulic chute rotator is easiest to compare with the standard blower at $3,930 and pull-type at $4,940 (26% more). A 72" standard with chute rotator is $2,960 with the pull-type $3,870 + $209(for cylinder) = $4,079 (38% more).

My 2011 Meteor 75" pull-type was $3,788 + $598 (rotator & fittings) = $4,386. I noted in a previous post that I recalled the standard model was $700 cheaper, but I may have recalled incorrectly. From the Lucknow prices it seems $1,000 difference would be more likely. Assuming that the pull-type would be 4386/3386 = 1.295 or 30% more expensive than the standard blower.

Did the neighbour's $3,800 for a standard model include the hydraulic orbital motor? If not it would add $600 (2011 price) making the total $4,400. So the pull-type would be 6500/4400 = 1.477 or about 48% more expensive. Another possibly option is adjustable skid shoes which adds $119 (2011 price).

I stand corrected. I hadn't looked them up in a while but double was what I'd surmised when I was tractor shopping 4 yrs ago. I just took a look at my dealer's website and as you state, found they are not quite as far apart as I'd remembered. Normand 82" standard is $7200 and pull type is $9250

But on the other side of it, a Kubota 64" conventional with hyd rotation is $3000 and a Normand economy pull-type with hyd rotation is $5600

The $3800 was what he paid including the orbital. I questioned why he didn't go for the pull type (he's got a 2000' lane and does a couple neighbours with similar length) and he gave me the $6500 number

CDN Farm Boy · Feb 18, 2015

fishhead said:
hey, CDN (or others), any opinion on Smyth?

If I remember, the one Dad had growing up was a 72" Smyth conventional. It did the job it needed to but nothing fancy. I've seen some of their new ones at the dealers and they are nothing special, I'd guess middle of the pack at best. I think Smyth still have round discharge chutes where most others have switched to square. Personally, I like the way the snow comes out of a square chute better, it seems more compact and flatter that I can tuck it under trees etc better. Square is also easier to work with if you are looking to convert a fixed or manually adjustable chute to hydraulic.

Regardless of the brand or style of blower, one thing that I know that without question is I'll never be without both hydraulic rotation and deflection, even on my B3300 with 64" Kubota.

In all honesty, If you exclude Normand and Pronovost, I think most of the rest are relatively equal excluding some of the cheapest ones and any of them should easily last a lifetime of personal use.

flyingcow · Feb 18, 2015

I'm not sure of fan diameter. I'm not near the unit. But its a big 4 paddle fan. It'll throw the snow a longgg ways.

flyingcow · Feb 18, 2015

Dave M7040 said:
When comparing blowers I would look at the fan diameter as a bigger fan will have a higher tip speed and thus throw further.
Lack of throw distance seems to be a common complaint.
Overall weight of the unit is a good indicator of value for money.
Dave M7040

These luck nows throw the snow great. Big 4 paddle fan.

PILOON · Feb 18, 2015

Cdn farm boy:
I stand corrected on driveway clearing time and bow to yours.
You are right, back in and drive out simply can't take more than 1 min or 2.
(never timed them but in fact 1-2 is a reality.)

fishhead · Feb 18, 2015

CDN farm boy
really appreciate your feedback, you are bringing up issues that most of us would not think of till we owned something for a while and it began to irk us

on another note, with regard to throwing distance , has any one seen the Pronovost accelerator or like products- basically speeds your pto up by 40%

Accelerator for PUMA-48, PUMA-54 (25 HP) PUACC-4854
Accelerator for PUMA-64, PUMA-72 (45 HP) PUACC-6472

tcartwri · Feb 19, 2015

Keep in mind that you don't always want to shoot the snow into the neighbors back yard...

flyingcow · Feb 19, 2015

tcartwri said:
Keep in mind that you don't always want to shoot the snow into the neighbors back yard...

True. I have 50 acres. No problem. But the throwing distance is a plus to brag about. Its how fast the fan gets rid of it, which usually translates into distance. Even where I'm at I keep the flapper on the chute down a bit. Keeps the dust down and visibility better. Closer to main road I turn it down so as to keep visibility for motorists.

check · Feb 19, 2015

flyingcow said:
True. I have 50 acres. No problem. But the throwing distance is a plus to brag about. Its how fast the fan gets rid of it, which usually translates into distance. Even where I'm at I keep the flapper on the chute down a bit. Keeps the dust down and visibility better. Closer to main road I turn it down so as to keep visibility for motorists.

I agree. Who needs to throw the snow 30 feet anyways? At best, you might have to throw it from one side of the driveway to the other if you can't blow in both directions. Also, I really like the suggestion of lowering your chute deflector so the snow doesn't go so high up in the air, and therefore there is less wind blow back. I tried it this past weekend and it works great!

CDN Farm Boy · Feb 19, 2015

fishhead said:
CDN farm boy
really appreciate your feedback, you are bringing up issues that most of us would not think of till we owned something for a while and it began to irk us

on another note, with regard to throwing distance , has any one seen the Pronovost accelerator or like products- basically speeds your pto up by 40%

Accelerator for PUMA-48, PUMA-54 (25 HP) PUACC-4854
Accelerator for PUMA-64, PUMA-72 (45 HP) PUACC-6472

You are welcome. I've gained lots of valuable info from people on here, I feel it's only fair to give back what I can.

I've never heard of the accelerators before. I guess Pronovost uses higher rated gear boxes that can handle the additional RPM. I'd be cautious about using one on another brand of blower for fear of over-driving the rating of the gearbox. I find most blowers have acceptable distance as they are as long as you aren't running the biggest possible blower you can on your tractor. Both my Kubota 64" on my B3300 and the 92" Normand inverted on Case 120 Maxxum I have at work throw the snow plenty far if I want them to.

flyingcow said:
True. I have 50 acres. No problem. But the throwing distance is a plus to brag about. Its how fast the fan gets rid of it, which usually translates into distance. Even where I'm at I keep the flapper on the chute down a bit. Keeps the dust down and visibility better. Closer to main road I turn it down so as to keep visibility for motorists.

I agree. The other side of distance from higher fan speed is the ability to pack the snow tighter in areas with limited room. With the deflector tipped way down, you can pack the snow much tighter than you could by pushing with a blade or bucket. Try packing a double wide driveway into a 4' swath all season, makes a huge difference.

The biggest thing with higher fan speed is actually the blower's capacity. You can usually drive faster to put more snow into the auger if you need to but the fan speed for a given blower is limited by the RPM of the PTO. For a given size of blower and the same tractor, a larger fan diameter will be more efficient and move more snow than a blower with a smaller fan. Similarly, a 4 blade fan will be more efficient and bog down less than a 3 blade fan as each blade will handle less snow.

check said:
I agree. Who needs to throw the snow 30 feet anyways? At best, you might have to throw it from one side of the driveway to the other if you can't blow in both directions. Also, I really like the suggestion of lowering your chute deflector so the snow doesn't go so high up in the air, and therefore there is less wind blow back. I tried it this past weekend and it works great!

Count me in on the over 30' group. My lane is wide open and it's always windy here. I clear the lane about 16' wide and want the snow as far away as I can get it to help reduce any potential drifting occurring from the blown ridge. I also have a stretch across the front of my drive sheds that I often blow the snow OVER the shed and out of the yard.

Tractor Tom · Feb 19, 2015

A pull type Blower would be a waste for me, I regularly get 4' - 6' drifts all the time. A pull type Blower would be useless. Even a regular Blower needs help with big drifts.

skyhook · Feb 19, 2015

Rear pulls are not for the little machines, you need a good "L" or above with weight.
Having pulled those banks down like you have, there would be no problem for a rear pull and
the proper tractor to drive through that. With a front blade about 1 1/2 feet up, no problem.
My L4200 would have ate that for breakfast. Sadly, it's sold.

MossRoad · Feb 19, 2015

ericher69 said:
Not so!

Here is an example of a fairly small Kubota B series with front mount blower handling 24"+ of snow with zero issue!

http://youtu.be/BGa_VbKfK8I

Obviously the travel speed is slower as it has lower PTO hp than a bigger tractor but handles well regardless

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