PTO Leaf Blowers?

[Buffalo Turbine]

Buffalo Turbine has been manufacturing High Velocity and High Volume Blowers for spraying and debris maintenance since 1945 and Carries the Only Turbine style PTO blower available on the market.

The best investments are the ones that allow you to enjoy the benefits many years down the road and it is american made. Buffalo Turbine Debris Blowers are an officially licensed product of the PGA Tour, The prefered Track Blower of the NHRA, the Official Debris Blower of the IHRA and the best part is the Blower that you would purchase is the exact same blower used for all of these organizations.

By the Way , American made since 1945.

Please let us know if we may assist you in any way.

 

[CTMassey]

Thanks all for your input!

The idea of spending $2,500 - $3,500 on an attachment I'll only run for about 2 - 4 hours a year strikes me as a poor investment. So, I was hoping the result would be that of finding a less expensive model. This is a pretty simple device, just a PTO driven fan in an enclosed cowling. But I guess no one makes them for less money.

My brother-in-law and I have been researching them for a couple weeks now. It seems agrimetal has the "local"market. Proline looks like a great blower too and in the same price range.Giant vac's are a little harder to find..( there is a dealer in colchester,ct) but you have to order it. I do have a friend with a Buffalo Turbine and he says it is incredible.......Goffs in torrington has a used one for a good price if you check out their website....I dont have the PTO HP for it though....It is a lot of coin for a seldom used tool, but in my case, it will be a joint venture, and we both take care of our father-in-laws property as well so it will be used on 3 properties.......keep us informed..!!

 

[cttractor]

My brother-in-law and I have been researching them for a couple weeks now. It seems agrimetal has the "local"market. Proline looks like a great blower too and in the same price range.Giant vac's are a little harder to find..( there is a dealer in colchester,ct) but you have to order it. I do have a friend with a Buffalo Turbine and he says it is incredible.......Goffs in torrington has a used one for a good price if you check out their website....I dont have the PTO HP for it though....It is a lot of coin for a seldom used tool, but in my case, it will be a joint venture, and we both take care of our father-in-laws property as well so it will be used on 3 properties.......keep us informed..!!

Giant Vac used to be headquartered in South Windham, CT and I once paid a visit to their facility 20 years or so ago. They've since been sold to an out-of-state concern and I no longer see or hear much about them. They had a good reputation, but were never cheap.

I just looked at the Buffalo Turbine site after learning about them from the rep that posted a response to my thread question. They appear to have only one PTO model, the "Cyclone PTO". But, their brochure for it gives little useful information. I want to know the CFM output, the air speed MPH, etc. In other words, I want to be able to form an opinion about how its design performance compares to other units. There is also no pricing, not even a MSRP. It's awfully hard to get excited and consider any product when there's insufficient information available for it.

 

[TimberXX]

Does anyone know of a blower for tractors between 18 and 25 hp?

I would wonder if someone can fab one from an old commerical push blower, and make it PTO powered.

Would the tractor rip it apart?

 

[cttractor]

The Cyclone PTO I mention a few posts up is for a PTO output of 20 HP. There are others from Agrimetal and Giant Vac in this HP range.

 

[TimberXX]

Sorry for not making my post clear, I was looking for more reasonable priced units in the 20 hp range.

I would pay 1000 for a nice blower, but 2500 plus is too much

 

[cttractor]

Oh! Well, I'm with you all the way on that. In fact, that's the reason I initiated this thred: I couldn't find any reasonably priced 3PH PTO blowers. I wondered if other members might know of some units I'd not heard of that work well and are priced right.

 

[cttractor]

BTW, one feature mentioned for the Cyclone PTO unit that has some appeal is the remote nozzle rotation control. But again, no information is given about how it operates, how you control it from the seat, etc.

 

[freddyr]

I went from 8hrs a week leaf time down to 2hrs with my giant vac 2000! When u get older its alot nicer sitting on a kubota then using a push blower.:thumbsup:

 

[RoyJackson]

Oh! Well, I'm with you all the way on that. In fact, that's the reason I initiated this thred: I couldn't find any reasonably priced 3PH PTO blowers. I wondered if other members might know of some units I'd not heard of that work well and are priced right.

Probably not too surprising since an implement like a debris blower is designed more for commercial and construction work then a homeowner. Same thing applies to a 3PH broom...

I have seen these leaf blowers on Craigslist...not a common item though.

 

[cttractor]

I went from 8hrs a week leaf time down to 2hrs with my giant vac 2000! When u get older its alot nicer sitting on a kubota then using a push blower.:thumbsup:

WOW! If that's the case, it must be even nicer sitting on a JD than pushing a BLOWER

Probably not too surprising since an implement like a debris blower is designed more for commercial and construction work then a homeowner. Same thing applies to a 3PH broom...

I have seen these leaf blowers on Craigslist...not a common item though.

You make a good point! Probably not much of a homeowner market for these things.

 

[RoyJackson]

You make a good point! Probably not much of a homeowner market for these things.

Yeah...you might keep an eye out on Craigslist and websites for used commercial/construction equipment. Also, used golf course and estate equipment.

 

[cttractor]

Yeah...you might keep an eye out on Craigslist and websites for used commercial/construction equipment. Also, used golf course and estate equipment.

I know about Craig's List, obviously, but didn't think about golf courses -- thanks!

 

[RoyJackson]

I know about Craig's List, obviously, but didn't think about golf courses -- thanks!

There is a search engine called "Search Tempest" that pulls from CL. It can expand your search area considerably.

 

[cttractor]

There is a search engine called "Search Tempest" that pulls from CL. It can expand your search area considerably.

Great tip! Double thanks on that one!

 

[CTMassey]

another idea which my brother in law had as a set up was his push blower ratchet strapped to his carry-all. If you invested in a 12-14 HP push blower in the $1000-$1500 range, you could mount it on your carry-all and at least take the grunt work out of it..

 

[cttractor]

another idea which my brother in law had as a set up was his push blower ratchet strapped to his carry-all. If you invested in a 12-14 HP push blower in the $1000-$1500 range, you could mount it on your carry-all and at least take the grunt work out of it..

This is true, and not a bad idea. The appeal to me of the PTO driven approach is two fold:

1. I could get a blower as powerful as my tractor can handle, which would be much more powerful than any pushable blower; and

2. I could avoid adding another engine requiring maintenance to my fleet of equipment.

On the other hand, I've been stranded without a blower because of the price and your suggestion would at least get me in the game, wouldn't it.

 

[CTMassey]

It does have its downfalls, you can only blow in one direction, it can only get as close to the ground as the carry-all will allow, and not near the power of a PTO blower. You do have the option of removing it quickly to get into tighter areas if needed. Like anything else its a cost thing. Were supposed to try out his neighbors Agri-metal 2500 today on both our tractors to see how they handle it(if I get out of work early enough), though I'm leaning towards the Proline.....

 

[cttractor]

It does have its downfalls, you can only blow in one direction, it can only get as close to the ground as the carry-all will allow, and not near the power of a PTO blower. You do have the option of removing it quickly to get into tighter areas if needed. Like anything else its a cost thing. Were supposed to try out his neighbors Agri-metal 2500 today on both our tractors to see how they handle it(if I get out of work early enough), though I'm leaning towards the Proline.....

Please let us know what you learn. What part of CT are you in?

 

[CTMassey]

Please let us know what you learn. What part of CT are you in?

I worked all day and missed the trial, but my bro-in-law hooked it up to his JD 755......I think he said his PTO HP is only around 18....the agri-metal 2500 specs recommend 25 PTO HP but he said his tractor handled it no problem. Hes impressed with the unit (again) in general. Time to research dealers..!! Were in Litchfield county....