snow pusher vs. rear 3pt blower

[chim]

Not to derail the thread but how thick of plexiglass are you bending? I am going to build a cab and this will change my design.

I've never bent anything but small pieces of plexiglass, and for that I heated it. The plexi I've used was on the brittle side and cracked easily. Although it is more expensive I like Lexan. As a test I took a piece of scrap about 1/2" wide and bent it till it was folded completely in half and it didn't crack.

At work we have forklifts that sometimes need to go between the different buildings. To keep the operators (mostly) dry I bought sheets of Lexan. It is easily bent, cut and drilled and is tough as nails. To direct the water so it wouldn't be dripping all around the operator we ran it through the hydraulic press brake to turn the edges up on the side and down on the back. The bends were easy to make on a press that will do 1/4" thick mild steel 10 feet long. They did spring back considerably. Bent to 90 degrees, they sprung back to maybe 60 degrees. Good enough for our needs, but if you need a full 90 degrees I'm not sure how that would work.

After seeing how tough and nice to work with the Lexan was I bought some to do the one area on my cab that wasn't automotive safety glass. That is the part that is under the front windshield and has to be coped to fit around the hood. I originally used strips of heavy plastic material pieced together. That was the strips they use for drive-through refrigerator doors. Seemed like a good idea initially, but it became dirty and discolored.

 

[Kubotafan]

I like Lexan.

I had mentioned that I used Plexiglas, but it may have been Lexan. One will yellow more than the other in the sun because of UV radiation. I used which ever one they said did yellow as quick.

 

[varmint]

Lexan not only will stay clear in uv better, it won't shatter like plexi if something impacts it. Costs more, though.

 

[hutchman]

Yes, thers no way the remotes on my tractor would handle it. I'm going to bold face copy a newer model and what others manufacturers have done ... PTO pump with large hydraulic tank on the 3pt with hoses going up front. Might do electric for chute control.

The blower is a 6ft MK Martin and it really is for a lower horsepower tractor but that didn't bother me since I planned to modify it anyway.

Correction ... it's a 60" (not 6ft like I previously said - I also need to make 4" wings on each side so it clears a path wide enough for my rear tires). The new models have two hydraulic motors (one for auger and one for blower). Instead of butchering it to never be used as a rear 3pt ever again (in case I ever want to sell it), I'm leaning toward using an Ag PTO motor. I've been lusting on Surplus Center and I think something like this will work:
9.59 CU IN PTO DRIVE MOTOR

... that way it will be just like being PTO driven but will be on my FEL!

The biggest PTO pump I can find that does 540RPM is 9.9 CU In. and puts out 21 GPM:
9.9 CU IN PRINCE HC-PTO-1A PTO PUMP 54 RPM

... I want to move snow like this:

MK Martin Loader mount

Some crazy PTO redirection thing

 

[nybirdman]

My BIL has one similar to the one in the second video,made by Lofness and it's for sale.Located in Northern NY:$2500 off of a L3300 Kubota.Would work on the OP's L3901;maybe a little modification required.
A new one sells for up to $10,000,his has had very little use(only 170 hours on the tractor when he purchased it last summer).
PM me if interested.