Snowblower width for a 50 Pto HP tractor

[GreenTime]

I have a Kubota L5740 and am thinking of buying an Erskine rear pull snowblower. Debating between a 78" and 90" width. Located in North Dakota and for clearing snow in a well protected farm yard with trees all around. I'll also have the loader and a snow bucket up front. Both widths fall in the manufacturer's HP recommendation. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[joeyd]

It looks like the wheelbase on that is about 76". A 90" snowblower would overhang by 7" on each side, if you have the pto HP for the 90" I would lean that way. If you have to manuver around tight spaces you might take the overhang into consideration though. I use a rear push snowblower and I don't have as much overhang, my front wheels rub the berm when I am following the road edge on some turns.

 

[RidgeHiker]

I have a 72" on my 46.5 PTO HP Kioti. Was considering an 84". Glad I chose the 72" for the following reasons:

- With a loader out front and the blower in the back the tractor is long. So easy to hit something with the loader or blower when turning, maneuvering around things, or coming close to things. More width accentuates the problem.
- We get both wet and dry snows. So easy to clog a snow blower with a wet, heavy snow, especially when dealing with berms at the street. More width means more snow means more potential for clogging. In wetter snows I often am only cutting into the snow with a portion of the blower anyways.
- Same with more potential to break a shear bolt.
- At least for my situation 12' with two passes is plenty.
- Easier to store a smaller snow blower. Easier to handle.

 

[JJT]

I'd go with the 90" unit. I've been using a 78" on a 30pto hp tractor for 25 years. I wouldn't want anything smaller. My tractor is 72" wide.

 

[Farmer495]

I ran 78" rear push on 42 PTO HP and was ok power wise. I have same size on 64 PTO HP now and have power to spare, but gear drive so can only so slow.

I will assume you are hydrostat, so less concern on width as you can go as slow as you want, having said that, you likely will want to be moving at a decent speed to allow momentum to keep you moving. As long as it's width of the tractor or wider it's decent, I'd likely pick the 78"

I'd think the WEIGHT of a 90" might be a concern.

Also, if you get deep snow you can't drive through, the rear pull might simply be a nice counterweight for loader use.

 

[hayden]

Interesting to hear other comments.

I have the same tractor (L5740) and for the past 15 years have been running a 74" rear PTO blower. When the snow is 12" deep, the tractor power is maxed out. Smaller snow falls are much less of an issue.

As of about a week ago I have a front mount 84" blower and in the same 12" of snow I have to crawl along. 1-2 mph max speed. It's very slow going, and definitely under powered for that amount of snow. In lesser snow falls, it has enough power and the extra width is a dream, so it cuts both ways.

I think it really comes down to how much snow you want to remove at a time. With 6" of snow the wider blower I think will be fine, though 90" I think is really pushing it. In 12" of snow, you will be moving really slowly.

 

[Cycledude]

My LS XR4155 is rated at 55 horsepower, the PTO is rated at 46 horsepower and it has no trouble running a 72 inch rear blower, it has never plugged, this is my second year using it, I did shear a pin this year for the first time and believe that was caused by a rock or rocks getting into the blower. A wider blower would probably work ok but like others have mentioned it would become a problem when turning in tight quarters.

 

[sd455dan]

my 50hp pto tractor ran an 83 inch standard style blower for several years.
It was about perfect power wise.
Actually with a 76 inch tire width the 83 inch blower width was about right as well

 

[RalphVa]

My 12 hp gasoline engine Gravely drove a 30 inch snow blower.

 

[metalbender]

One thing to watch for is the fan dia and depth. On a 90" the fan might be too big and give poor performance with limited pto hp. PO on the place I live had a Massey 1105 driving a push type 84 inch. The body of this Allied blower was three ft high and the fan was huge and deep. Guy said sometimes it was all the 100 hp could handle. My current blower is also 84 inch but only 24 inches high with a much smaller fan. The 1742 Massey complains when I work it a tad hard.