Snow Attachments Why all the different snow blower brands?

[Wyld Bill]

I have been doing research on snow blowers today during the snow storm.
Ok why are there so many snow blower manufactures?
So far I have:
Argo Trend
JRW
LuckNow
Lull
Allied/Farm King
buhler
Woods
RAD
Pronovost
BerVac
Schulte
IFE

Oy Vey!
They range from $1800 to $8000 depending on the brand, model, how the shute truns, etc.

If the tractor I am getting is 60" wide should I get a 60" wide blower or a wider one?
What is with the PTO horsepower rang all over the place. The tractor I am buying is only 21HP at the PTO. I almost backed out on purchasig the tractor because I looked at Woods snow blowers first & the 60" is rated for a min of 25 HP @ the PTO. Then some other brands say you can use thier 72" with a PTO HP of 20
Some snow blowers wiegh 285# & some weigh 600#

My local dealer has two left over 60" blower for $1995 with tax. One is a AGRO TREND, the other is a JRW whichhe said is pretty much the same. Is this a good deal? Are these good blowers or junk?

 

[IH3444]

Because there is sometimes alot of snow to be blown......no one company has been able to handle all the snow.

 

[shvl73]

All I can comment on is my Blizzard B64 by RAD. Good solid unit works great with the pto hp almost the same as yours. 64" would be a good width for your tractor. Wider would be of no benefit for me as it would still be one pass down the drive and one pass back. Wider will most likely need a slower ground speed to keep up with the snow intake.

 

[Wyld Bill]

All I can comment on is my Blizzard B64 by RAD. Good solid unit works great with the pto hp almost the same as yours. 64" would be a good width for yor tractor.

Yeah the Blizzard is a perfect example of,.. Huh??
It is a 64" but it says it works with a 20-40 HP tractor/16-35 PTO HP
But the Woods 60" says 25-45 PTO HP. I e-mailed them & they said under 25 HP PTO & it won't work for you.
Weird. Maybe Woods drivetrain has a lot of drag....or the guy that e-mailed me back is a major drag.

How much for BLizzard about $1940?

 

[Wyld Bill]

All I can comment on is my Blizzard B64 by RAD. Good solid unit works great with the pto hp almost the same as yours. 64" would be a good width for your tractor. Wider would be of no benefit for me as it would still be one pass down the drive and one pass back. Wider will most likely need a slower ground speed to keep up with the snow intake.

What range are you in & what speed are you going in a good snow storm (6"-12")??

I wanted a 2815 or 3215 but I'm getting a good deal on the 2615.

 

[shvl73]

I honestly don't recall the cost, as it was almost 5 years ago. I think it was about $1800.00. I would get as much input here as possible as to size/power and also discuss with the selling dealers. Snow moisture content will be a factor, as well as design. I really didn't know what I was looking for at the time and relied on my dealers input. I did look at some others and some seemed crude and lightweight. If you're on a dirt drive, I would think skid shoes would be a must have item. Some don't include them as a standard item.

 

[shvl73]

What range are you in & what speed are you going in a good snow storm (6"-12")??

I wanted a 2815 or 3215 but I'm getting a good deal on the 2615.

I operate mostly in mid-range. Our tractors are close in power. As far as speed, I guess, a slow walk in heavy snow, average walk speed in 6-12" snow, if dry. Less than 6" of snow, almost a run. I have my skid shoes all the way down for max clearance and I don't break shear pins or pick up gravel.

 

[Wyld Bill]

I operate mostly in mid-range. Our tractors are close in power. As far as speed, I guess, a slow walk in heavy snow, average walk speed in 6-12" snow, if dry. Less than 6" of snow, almost a run. I have my skid shoes all the way down for max clearance and I don't break shear pins or pick up gravel.

WHo sells Blizzard around Maine NH?

My driveway is tar then stone dust so rocks shouldn't be a problem.
What is the space with your shoes all the way down?

 

[shvl73]

WHo sells Blizzard around Maine NH?

I'm not sure exactly. The dealer I bought my set up from is no longer with Mahindra, I haven't been back.

My driveway is tar then stone dust so rocks shouldn't be a problem.
What is the space with your shoes all the way down?

I just measured, it's about 1".

 

[JerryK]

A snowblower should be sized at least a few inches wider than the wheel track, but adding wings to a slightly narrower blower will accomplish the same thing. The important rating on a blower, is how much HP the blowers gearbox can handle. I think they usually fall around 25/50/etc hp. Snowblowers blow snow, and what blows the snow is horsepower. You can run a 100" snowblower [if you can lift it] with 10 PTOhp, you just are not going to be able to go very fast. What snowblower equiped tractors really need, is the ability to go slow enough that the availible HP can get rid of the snow. That's why a hydrostatic xmission really shines blowing snow. You can keep the groundspeed feeding the snow into the blower at the proper rate. Normally, when you are blowing snow, the tractor is rarely ever bogged down. The fan in the blower is blowing the snow out with very little effort, or fuel usage. But start trying to back up faster, and jamb more snow into the unit than it can get rid of, and you quickly start loosing RPM's, blowing distance, and since you are working the engine, you are wasting diesel.

 

[Lindy]

So far I have:
Argo Trend
JRW
LuckNow
Lull
Allied/Farm King
buhler
Woods
RAD
Pronovost
BerVac
Schulte
IFE

Another common brand in my area is Meteor.

I wound up buying a used Agro Trend C-60. Seems to work really well, and I saved myself a bunch of $$.

 

[jimb1724]

I know i did a lot of research as well. i ended up with a puma 54 by provonost for my small kioti. i was concerned about the pto hp as well. as it turns out i could have gone to a 60 or 64" with no problem. the 54 is as wide as my bucket and just barely wider than the wheels, but it does a great job. i think the most important thing in blowers is the size of blower drum (stage 2) and the 4 blade fans work better than the 3 blade units. i have a long gravel driveway so i keep the top link shortened a bit to keep the auger blades from digging in.... then go back over the driveway with the bucket to scrap it down.... just gives me more seat time.... good luck with your search and decision.
jim

 

[Kendrick]

i have a 45 hp with a 74" blower I would love a 80 or bigger. I will be putting wings on it as soon as i can start fabing. the only time its a problem is wet snow. i have seen bogging, usually when i forget to clear out the blower before lifting. 1500' of drive for me and all gravel. only time I had an issue with gravel is when my scoop picked it up. my skids are maxed right now but may get shortened soon.

 

[pat32rf]

Before you buy anything, figure out how often you will have to rotate the chute while doing your driveway, then buy a blower to suit. I have to swing mine about 3 times while going the full length due to the driveway due to being on the side of a hill with wind coming from different sides in different places. Still trying to add a power chute rotator.
I bought mine used, it was designed for about 20-30hp and the guy used it on a 40hp gear drive. Beat the crap out of it. I rebuilt it and used it on a 20hp Bota, then a 30hp JD, both HST. Most of my snow for the past few years I've done with a back blade as it has been too wet to blow, or too light and powdery to get any distance when blown. If we do get a bad storm with drifts however I will use the blower.....

 

[tessiers]

I have a 60" Agro Trend on a 29hp tractor. If you are blowing just the snow fall you will be all right with a little less HP, but I furrow my snow to the side with a snow plow and blow it all in 1 pass and I could actually use a little more HP. I guess it depends on how much and what kind of snow you are blowing.

 

[Tig]

I run a 50" Buhler on a 43" wide hydrostatic tractor with 13 PTO HP. It works fine. Once up and back clears my laneway.

 

[Wyld Bill]

Another common brand in my area is Meteor.

I wound up buying a used Agro Trend C-60. Seems to work really well, and I saved myself a bunch of $$.

Yeah I had that one on my list but forgot it.

What did you pay for your blower??

 

[SPYDERLK]

I think theyre just trying by trial and error to make one that works well. If theyd go back and look at the MTD Model 317E, made circa 1996 it would give them a head start. 8HP, 26width - - will walk your legs off keeping up thru a foot of wet snow. Throws 40'. It does 4 passes on my 1mi drive in an hour on 5 qt gas. Im near dead.
larry

 

[Lindy]

Yeah I had that one on my list but forgot it.

What did you pay for your blower??

I was able to buy my Agro Trend C-60 (60") used for $900. It's in very good condition. It'll throw the snow a long ways with the deflector adjusted upwards.

I'm running it off my B3030 (30 HP gross, 23 PTO). Seems to run just fine even in deep snow. No problems at all.

 

[Rara Avis]

PRONOVOST!!!
designed and built by Canadians...for snowy conditions...