Snow Blower Sizing - Opinions Wanted

[airbiscuit]

The price on the WIFO Inverted is more than competitive with some other brands from what I could find.

The specs and weight is what sold me.

But after it arrived, was even more impressed with the actual build quality.

Could be mistaken- but am not aware of another Inverted in this size class that is comparable for the delivered price in the US.

These are imported to USA, but WIFO has been designing and building tractor implements in Canada since 1967

Rear Pull Snowblowers seem to run $1,500 or so more than traditional snowblowers. Worth every penny in my opinion (I sold my 3pt blower for $800 more than I paid for it, so that took some of the sting out of it). I think US dealers don't stock them because of that, but if they had a demo on the lot, they'd sell a bunch.

That WIFO unit looks like a pretty good implement and a pretty good value. Their web site is useless for finding a dealer.

As more TBNrs buy inverted blowers, more myths are dispelled, and more people buy them.

 

[fishhead]

I think that rear pulls are very good. Like I said never see my neighbor having a problem. We get very deep drifts and he blows right thru.

What doesn’t work is how much they cost…. We get only 20 or so feet of snow each year. And on track for the snowiest winter ever here at 40 feet. And I still cannot justify double the cost….

If money isn’t a limited factor, the only downside is dropping the blower down close to something and pulling forward. I blow in a couple areas so the my livestock are not able to walk over top of the fences when the snow piles up. Backing up to get those areas is more convenient for me.

I think that justifying the cost is dependent on how and how often you use a blower. Many who are used to the old fashioned push blower or find blowing slow with a front blower consider them as a tool to use after other options such as blades, plows etc are no longer useful. In that context of rare use only when things get deep i think a pull blower is harder to justify. If you consider it your main tool and use it as a scraper that makes slushy snow and ice chunks go away, removes small amounts of snow at the same pace as a blade etc then it is much easier to justify.

Too, if you are in an area of infrequent but big storms maybe they are tougher to justify. In my personal case we get tons of smaller storms, freezing rain slush etc. With time you can use an inverted to do almost all of your clearing. I start and end the season when temps are warm and thus the driveway is softer (advice of a paving contractor) by blading - I also have issues with falling rock in those seasons so a blade is just easier.

I don't know if the fact that until recently the only inverted were made by companies that designed them as commercial units with an eye towards speed and efficiency of use rather than cost or there is something inherently more efficient about that configuration but I have found blowing speeds are higher and I can get away with blowing at higher speeds and can blow way wetter slushier stuff than other blowers I have used.

 

[fishhead]

This thread made me look them up. I wasn't sure if "WIFO" was an abbreviation for something, I had never heard of these guys.

me too

 

[stumblinhorse]

I think that justifying the cost is dependent on how and how often you use a blower. Many who are used to the old fashioned push blower or find blowing slow with a front blower consider them as a tool to use after other options such as blades, plows etc are no longer useful. In that context of rare use only when things get deep i think a pull blower is harder to justify. If you consider it your main tool and use it as a scraper that makes slushy snow and ice chunks go away, removes small amounts of snow at the same pace as a blade etc then it is much easier to justify.

Too, if you are in an area of infrequent but big storms maybe they are tougher to justify. In my personal case we get tons of smaller storms, freezing rain slush etc. With time you can use an inverted to do almost all of your clearing. I start and end the season when temps are warm and thus the driveway is softer (advice of a paving contractor) by blading - I also have issues with falling rock in those seasons so a blade is just easier.

I don't know if the fact that until recently the only inverted were made by companies that designed them as commercial units with an eye towards speed and efficiency of use rather than cost or there is something inherently more efficient about that configuration but I have found blowing speeds are higher and I can get away with blowing at higher speeds and can blow way wetter slushier stuff than other blowers I have used.

I am not sure I follow completely. But I think of myself as an expert on snow removal from a home/ranch. I have removed snow myself for a lot of years. And I have always lived in areas that received enough snow where removing it by hand or on foot was impossible.

Until you get into an area that the piles of snow along side the road are so high or the side is limited by fence or terrain, plowing is the fastest most efficient means of snow removal. I plowed exclusively for a lot of years. It goes quick and the equipment required is less. I plowed a lot snow with a simple atv with hand operated plow. Only issue I ever had was one storm that was 90” in 2 days. But in the last few years more snow has pushed me to get a blower. I just would be spending too much time trying to push back snow to make room for more snow.

If I lived in an area that allowed me to stick with plowing I would. So much faster. But I need to blow. Pull or push blowing to me comes down to cost. I could not get a 84” pull blower in my price range. I definitely think pull forward blowing is faster just from a normal driving position perspective. I can blow backing up almost as fast. And a 540 84” blower is gonna blow as fast as it can pulling or pushing. I blow backwards at about 2 mph. I can plow much much faster.


So my advice, plow if you can, it is faster and cheaper equipment wise. If you can afford a pull forward blower get that, but if you can’t then a push blower works just as good for less money.

 

[Rustyiron]

I'd like to see a simple to mount wing for tractors become available.
There's a member here that did a really nice job building one for a 30-40hp JD compact. He usually jumps on yearly to show new members. He's also got a couple of videos...I think on YouTube.
One day I'll cob something together.

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[fishhead]

I am not sure I follow completely. But I think of myself as an expert on snow removal from a home/ranch. I have removed snow myself for a lot of years. And I have always lived in areas that received enough snow where removing it by hand or on foot was impossible.

Until you get into an area that the piles of snow along side the road are so high or the side is limited by fence or terrain, plowing is the fastest most efficient means of snow removal. I plowed exclusively for a lot of years. It goes quick and the equipment required is less. I plowed a lot snow with a simple atv with hand operated plow. Only issue I ever had was one storm that was 90” in 2 days. But in the last few years more snow has pushed me to get a blower. I just would be spending too much time trying to push back snow to make room for more snow.

If I lived in an area that allowed me to stick with plowing I would. So much faster. But I need to blow. Pull or push blowing to me comes down to cost. I could not get a 84” pull blower in my price range. I definitely think pull forward blowing is faster just from a normal driving position perspective. I can blow backing up almost as fast. And a 540 84” blower is gonna blow as fast as it can pulling or pushing. I blow backwards at about 2 mph. I can plow much much faster.


So my advice, plow if you can, it is faster and cheaper equipment wise. If you can afford a pull forward blower get that, but if you can’t then a push blower works just as good for less money.

I guess what i was trying to say is that for smaller storms I'm getting done as quickly blowing as i would blading. i wouldn't be down to 2 mph till maybe 10-12 inches and at that depth my rear blade starts becoming slower too with the additional handling needed. Sounds like your storms may be bigger but less frequent. Plowing would be an issue for my drive as a good chunk of it runs thru a narrow valley and eventually where to put snow is an issue. That area rarely melts in the winter. I do my own drive and 5 neighbors with our joint road and the drives themselves would be a royal pain with a plow- with a blower its just bye-bye.

Each situation is different and what works best for one often does not for another. For my situation a plow or push blower would not work as well, produce as nice of a product or be as easy to use.

 

[mikester]

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!

This video will help you

 

[CobyRupert]

Horsepower requirement is a rate. …of how many pounds/minute of snow you’re lifting and throwing.

The pounds/minute (hp) of snow being thrown is a product of:
Snow density (wet vs. dry) x snow height x blower width x forward speed x overlap %..
These are the major factors that will determine how much horsepower a blower requires at any given moment.

For some reason, of those 5 factors, we only talk about the width.

A nice rounded number horsepower rating slapped on a sales brochure makes a lot of assumptions about the other factors that may not apply to your situation.

If blower is rated for 30” of wet snow at 2.5 mph using 60 hp, then it can handle the same snow at 2.0 mph with 48hp. That’s just math. …ahh, but they don’t really tell you what that “60 horsepower requirement” is, do they?

 

[Rustyiron]

That's him what a sweet little rig. Thanks