Well, here we go. I bought a lightly used Erskine snow blower that is front mounted on my loader's skid steer mount, is hydraulically powered, and includes a PTO powered hydraulic power pack. So come along for the ride to see how well it works.
New, these seem to go for around $15k, and I got this for $6500. I had to drive 8hr each way to get it, but I think it will be worth it.
The big issue with this arrangement for a blower is getting enough power to it. Sizing the hydraulics I think is the key. The power pack is 24 gpm at a pto speed of 540 rpm, and it can develop up to 3000 psi. In rough numbers that's 48hp which is a good match for my tractor's 50 pto hp. So the power pack should be able to extract all the power my tractor has available. Then the blower motors are sized for 22-25 gpm, so at 24 gpm I'll be driving it at the upper end of it's speed rating. In theory, this is set up as a perfect match for my tractor. This will inevitably be lower net power vs the push-behind pto driven blower I've been using, but I'm willing to give up some power so I can work facing forward instead of in reverse. Worst case, I just slow down a bit. Now we get to see how all this matches up to reality.
So far I just have the equipment laid out in my shop. The hydraulic hoses are set up a bit funny from the previous install, and look like it as powering something else in addition to the blower, including an extra return hose fitting. I have removed all that so it can be connected as intended.
Stay tuned.