Snow Blower Sizing - Opinions Wanted

[Woodstock Walt]

Hi all, I'm hoping to get some opinions and input regarding which size of snow blower would be best for my application.

I'll be using my Mahindra 5155 which is rated at 55 horsepower engine/47 horsepower PTO. It's width is 78" at the rear tires. My bucket is 78" wide, but I'm considering purchasing and using an 84" snow pusher on the FEL.

I'm intending to purchase a WIFO Inverted PTO-driven snow blower, and am torn between the 78" model or the 84" model. The 78" model has a minimum required horsepower rating of 50 HP (unsure if this refers to engine or PTO power), and the 84" requires 60 HP.

I maintain about 1 mile of 16'-wide private road. Our storms range from 3" of light powder to 24"+ of wet, heavy, heart attack snow. Thus far, I've been using an 8' snow plow on the FEL and am tired of chasing windrows, fighting the keep the tractor straight with an angled blade, and pushing banks back.

Questions-
-Would 47 PTO horsepower be enough to turn an 84" blower with decent efficiency?
-Being a pull-type blower, am I better off buying one that matches the width of the tractor (78"), or one slightly wider than the tractor (84")?
-Knowing that the blower may be used in combination with a 84" snow pusher, how would that affect your decision on which size blower?

Any thoughts or input would be appreciated!

 

[lpakiz]

I have a 72" wide front mounted blower on a 54 HP Massey.
If you have a hydrostatic drive, you are fine with the wider unit, as you can just match ground speed to the depth of snow. Works like a charm on my set-up.
In fact, I wish I had at least a 78" or even the 84", as the infinite drive speeds can match the load, plus the front mount doesn't want to turn well, and if it does, the rear wheel will cut across the un-blown snow.

Almost the same if you have a generous selection of gears that can match ground speed with the load, but you might be shifting a lot between drifts and different "loads".

In other words, it's not the HP nor the width of the blower, it's the ability to match your travel speed with the load.

 

[Citydude]

I have a 74" inverter with 32hp at the PTO and it does a great job.

 

[shooterdon]

I have a 74" inverter with 32hp at the PTO and it does a great job.

Mine is also 74” with 32 PTO HP. I have not used it on deep wet snow.

 

[Woodstock Walt]

I have a 72" wide front mounted blower on a 54 HP Massey.
If you have a hydrostatic drive, you are fine with the wider unit, as you can just match ground speed to the depth of snow. Works like a charm on my set-up.
In fact, I wish I had at least a 78" or even the 84", as the infinite drive speeds can match the load, plus the front mount doesn't want to turn well, and if it does, the rear wheel will cut across the un-blown snow.

Almost the same if you have a generous selection of gears that can match ground speed with the load, but you might be shifting a lot between drifts and different "loads".

In other words, it's not the HP nor the width of the blower, it's the ability to match your travel speed with the load.

Thank you, that's good advice! That was one of my thoughts on the 84" blower, where it has more potential to bog down the engine I'd have to adjust my gear selection to match the load more frequently than with a 78". My tractor is gear driven with 12F/12R speeds, which I think would be adequate for the varying conditions.
So, you do feel like your 54 HP Massey could handle an 84" blower as long as your were able to properly match your speed with the load?

 

[leonz]

Hi all, I'm hoping to get some opinions and input regarding which size of snow blower would be best for my application.

I'll be using my Mahindra 5155 which is rated at 55 horsepower engine/47 horsepower PTO. It's width is 78" at the rear tires. My bucket is 78" wide, but I'm considering purchasing and using an 84" snow pusher on the FEL.

I'm intending to purchase a WIFO Inverted PTO-driven snow blower, and am torn between the 78" model or the 84" model. The 78" model has a minimum required horsepower rating of 50 HP (unsure if this refers to engine or PTO power), and the 84" requires 60 HP.

I maintain about 1 mile of 16'-wide private road. Our storms range from 3" of light powder to 24"+ of wet, heavy, heart attack snow. Thus far, I've been using an 8' snow plow on the FEL and am tired of chasing windrows, fighting the keep the tractor straight with an angled blade, and pushing banks back.

Questions-
-Would 47 PTO horsepower be enough to turn an 84" blower with decent efficiency?
-Being a pull-type blower, am I better off buying one that matches the width of the tractor (78"), or one slightly wider than the tractor (84")?
-Knowing that the blower may be used in combination with a 84" snow pusher, how would that affect your decision on which size blower?

Any thoughts or input would be appreciated!

There are more than a handful of things you need to consider.


1. with any rear implement you need ballast weight to create adhesion to do work

2. if you do not have snow chains and liquid ballast in the rear tires already you may need them to maintain adhesion

3. you have a front end loader already that you could mount a very wide 7 foot wide hydraulic driven snow blower on it and have enough flow to handle it using a snow blower with a rotating impeller drum that bypasses chute and spout entirely quickly discharging heavy wet snow

4. you would need a PTO powered hydraulic power pack large enough to run the snow blower and the tractor should have enough lift capacity to carry the power pack.
5. you need 2 hydraulic hoses long enough to reach the snow blower from the rear of the tractor and a case drain hose to keep the hydraulic motor on the snow
blower cool and reduce the pressure behind the shaft oil seal to 15 P.S.I.G.

6. the only thing you need to match up is the 7-foot width of cut on the snow blower with the correct size power pack to run it off the rear Power Take Off

Pronovost has 80 different snowblower models ls that can be powered by hydraulic power using a hydraulic powerpack mounted on the three point hitch.
The P-860TRC has a rotating impeller drum that discharges the heavy wet snow without plugging to the left or right without using the chute or spout.
The other thing is the tractor is still able to run well without bogging down from plugging as the snow blower is operating up front and eating all the snow.

If you have the snow blower mounted on the loader you can get rid of deep snows in one pass and not have to move it a second time or stack it somewhere AND the pull type snowblower will never do that for you or clear a 4+ foot drift if you have them.

 

[Torvy]

My wife said size doesn't matter, was she telling lies? Doesn't matter anyway because it not about the size of the dog in the fight, it the size of the fight in the dog.

In other words, sell whatever tractor you have. Buy the biggest snowblower on the market and then buy a new tractor big enough to run that beast. Odds are, you will be compelled to move South or global warming will come to you.

I chose the move South option. Just missed 4.5 days of work due to a wee bit of ice here and there. Took the free day to drive 2.5 hours out to my property and order a new trailer.

OK, enough kidding around. The HP rating is talking about the PTO. Both of those exceed your tractor. Will they work? Most likely. Will they damage your tractor? Probably (especially over time). Will it be covered under warranty? Not a chance. Using equipment rated beyond the capacity would be considered negligent or abusive. You will find a hundred stories here about guys who regularly abuse their equipment and brag about it. Same guys often spend a lot more time than necessary replacing parts (or paying somebody to do it for them). Of course, telling you that part is not cool.

You can more likely find another brand/model that is sized wider but requires less HP. Good luck, I don't miss living up north this time of year.

 

[lpakiz]

"So, you do feel like your 54 HP Massey could handle an 84" blower as long as your were able to properly match your speed with the load?"

That answer is a very definite YES, because I can vary the speed from literally a few feet per MINUTE to about 3-4 MPH, just by pressing or releasing the pedal.
I can creep into frozen snow 4 feet deep, until it projects over the top of the blower and discharge chute. Then I need to back out and try to knock it down. But the hydrostatic is just perfect for doing this. Its really nice when you have varying depths of drifts, with maybe 50' of no snow. As soon as the blower catches up, mash the hydrostatic down until the next drift.
Your 12 speed will work, but you will either shift a lot, clutch a lot or just go slow.
As far as traction, (different deal altogether when you need to drive thru the snow before you blow it) the first time I used it was in about a foot of snow. No weights, no filled tires. I worked in 2-wheel drive for quite a while before I spun a rear wheel. That's when I realized I wasn't in 4WD.
If you can't push the blower, you have too much snow in front and need to let the blower digest it.
Not sure how a pull-type blower would do with traction.
I do leave the loader arms on, raised up to just fit under the door and then I have a hydraulic-rated ball valve to lock them up there so I can use the hose ports (and joystick) to raise the blower and swivel the chute. I love my setup and wouldn't be without it.

 

[Woodstock Walt]

Not too interested in a FEL-mount hydraulic blower. I agree that there are many benefits to them, but frankly they're more complicated than I'm looking to get into. I also occasionally swap out my snow removal implements for logging implements between storms, so simplicity is better for me. I think I'll be alright traction-wise, I've got loaded rear tires and studded aquiline chains. I've been pushing an 8' plow without braking traction.

Torvy, call me what you will, but I'm not too concerned about damaging my tractor with a 6% oversized snow blower (on the 78" model, 84" would be 26% beyond rated capacity). I agree 26% might be a bit of a stretch, but 6% over on the 78" model is not concerning to me. If it was a rototiller or stump grinder, something like that I would definitely stay within the rated parameters.

But for a snow blower, I agree with Ipakiz that the only real drawback to an oversized snow blower would be the need to travel slow enough to let it work. In other words; an oversized snow blower working at slowly at 100% capacity or a smaller blower working faster at 100% capacity - the load is the same as the tractor will only put out it's rated PTO HP. If it bogs down, just need to use a lower gear. If it's too much blower for the lowest gear, well that would be the sign that it is too oversized.

 

[Torvy]

Torvy, call me what you will, but I'm not too concerned about damaging my tractor with a 6% oversized snow blower (on the 78" model, 84" would be 26% beyond rated capacity). I agree 26% is a bit of a stretch, but 6% over on the 78" model is not concerning to me. If it was a rototiller or stump grinder, something like that I would definitely stay within the rated parameters.

The 78 is probably within the margin of error. The problem could be though that any PTO problems would be blamed on using an implement beyond scope for your tractor.

I really try to stay well within specs on my equipment. Sure, I know there is some fudge factor, but if it ever went to court, the numbers are what they are and you would lose.

I also would not underestimate the effects of torque from a snowblower on the equipment. You also get the added benefit of cold weather operations. Metal doesn't like being simultaneously hot and cold.

Probably the same risk as speeding. 7 mph is not as safe but unlikely to get a ticket. 26 over and you have significantly higher risk and no escaping justice.