Inverted Snowblower ..Yes or No

[OperatoringEng]

I am using a rear pto snowblower on my B3000 and was wondering who uses the inverted snowblower and why?. Can you use it on gravel driveways..?
Is it worth the added expense.?
I do a pile of driveways in a community in Pa. both gravel and paved

 

[Tommieboy]

I'm considering inverted as well. Yes, they can be used on gravel. They appear to be gaining in popularity according to my local Kubota dealer(Eastern Ontario). I've got almost 1 km of gravel driveway and not relishing the idea of facing backwards. I think if you don't get major dumps of over 2ft at a time inverted should be ok, or just stay on top of it before it gets too deep.

Lots of Youtube videos showing they work well, a bit more expensive than a conventional blower but you're looking forward and don't have snow blowing to obstruct your vision as you do on a front mount.

Funny how inverted blowers are the standard in Scandinavian countries yet not overly popular here.

 

[RCW]

I don't, but at least one long-term member here does....I'll be darned if I recall who for sure...

I'm thinking Dave_eng, but not certain.

Whether Dave or not, that member has been around for some time, and are quite experienced.

I'm betting they see this in time.

 

[bucktail]

I've never owned one, but from what I know from driving through snow, the taller and more narrow the tires, the better it should work.

 

[chuck99z28]

Snow blowers on gravel doesn't work for me. But my drive is hilly and has loose gravel. So when it "digs in" it tries throwing gravel and sounds like it is destroying itself. Then the shear pin breaks.

If your gravel is solid enough that it doesn't scoop when floating over it or if you drive is flat and never causes a dig in -- then it probably works fine. I wouldn't know though.

I can't plow either, without making a big mess of the driveway. I find back dragging the FEL works best without moving a ton of gravel.

I'm considering laying down a bunch of rock dust (crusher run) and mixing/packing it in with the existing gravel to get a more solid base.

 

[Kurtee]

Put the blower in front of the tractor and forget the inverted relic. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I was not impressed with this type 50 years ago.

 

[Dave_eng]

I have used a 90" inverted for 14 years. First behind a Nuffield 465 2wd and now behind a M7040.

Before that I had a traditional 3 pt double auger blower by McKee.

It is important to have a rear blade on an inverted blower. It avoids the need for shoveling in front of garage doors that happens with both front and rear traditional blowers.

You back up to the door and drop the blade, drive forward a few feet and then back the blower over the pile and get rid of it. For two of my brothers who life nearby, I have garage door remotes for their places. I open their garage doors and drop the blade just inside the door and then there is absolutely nothing left to shovel and any build up is avoided.

My blade is hydraulically raised and lowered by many just hang the blade on short chains and rely on gravity. I like being able to put down pressure on the blade as I use it for grading my gravel driveway.

I also blow long hiking trails through our farms and added hydraulic level controlled wheels to avoid digging up the sod before the ground freezes.

We are in a cold snow area and all the contractors clearing driveways and lanes also use inverted blowers.

Inverted blowers are not perfect but none of the other designs I have used over many years were either.

Dave

 

[OperatoringEng]

Right now with my rear-mounted snow blower, I lengthen the top link to bring the front of the snowblower box up a little so I don't get gravel. I would guess that this could apply to the inverted blower as well.

 

[Tommieboy]

I went from considering inverted to buying inverted. I bought an MK Martin this winter and am using it on my L4060. I have a .5 km gravel laneway with a steep incline of about 12 degrees. The blower works perfectly even blowing uphill. There are no issues with driving over the snow before blowing it, the blower gets it all into the chute leaving a nice even path behind the machine. I have no snow blowing onto the windshield and being able to leave the bucket on is a bonus.

 

[countryx]

Congratulations! The L4060 with inverted MK Martin sounds like a great setup and the positive report on the performance is interesting and helpful. I also had seriously considered exactly the combination you have, though in the end I went with a front mount snow blower. Glad to hear that you are happy with your inverted setup!

 

[B737]

Right now with my rear-mounted snow blower, I lengthen the top link to bring the front of the snowblower box up a little so I don't get gravel. I would guess that this could apply to the inverted blower as well.

Wouldnt shortening the top link make the rear lip less aggressive, by raising it up, think of rotating a square?

^^ Edit: never mind, your post makes sense, i had to think about it some more!

by next winter i will have adjustable rear links and have been thinking about how I will use them with the blower.

For OP, as far as rear facing pto blower, I find having the bucket indispensable during snow events. Turning around over your shoulder doesnt feel like a big deal (for me). I do about mile or so of gravel and prob a half mile of paved.

the set up is kind of long though, i think about 15 feet overall.

 

[bmblank]

I'm assuming inverted = a pull type snowblower. I just got one with my new 3901 and it's awesome. It does have it's drawbacks.
I was all in for the pull type cause after several years of blowing with a 3pt pusher I was tired of turning around and driving backwards. I'm not really old or anything, but I take terrible care of myself, so that looking over my shoulders for a few miles every time I want to snowblow is pretty rough.
I went with a 3pt still so that I could still use my forks. i'm intending on using forks to move baskets of firewood, which is especially important in winter.......
I like it a lot. Driving forwards is awesome. I would not say it is good for cleanup, though. It does not work well for pushing banks back. But, that's where the bucket comes in. Having the bucket/forks available without having to take anything off makes it worth it.
The front blower is great, no driving backwards, nothing in front of the blower, so it's able to go all the way up to banks and whatnot. But that basically makes this $24k tractor into a snowblower for the entirety of winter. I'm in Michigan, I can't give up my tractor for that long.

 

[MoCo]

The increasing popularity in Canada of inverted rear PTO operated snowblowers might be explained by the fact that the leading manufacturer MK Martin is in Ontario, and their snow-pusher buckets by a sister company HLA are justifiably popular.
It is a real project to install a front-mounted blower and that rules out using the tractor for anything else in a 5-month winter. I don't understand the argument that any snowblower digs into gravel, since they all have adjustable skids (much better than a rear blade). Perhaps that's an issue where the snow melts throughout the winter. Up here, you want the snow to pack to protect the gravel and keep it in place. The drawback is that the blower skids leave behind some snow on each pass and by spring you have a rutted mess. So to avoid that you have to remove some of that snowpack before it melts. But that applies to every blower.

 

[Dave_eng]

The increasing popularity in Canada of inverted rear PTO operated snowblowers might be explained by the fact that the leading manufacturer MK Martin is in Ontario, and their snow-pusher buckets by a sister company HLA are justifiably popular.
It is a real project to install a front-mounted blower and that rules out using the tractor for anything else in a 5-month winter. I don't understand the argument that any snowblower digs into gravel, since they all have adjustable skids (much better than a rear blade). Perhaps that's an issue where the snow melts throughout the winter. Up here, you want the snow to pack to protect the gravel and keep it in place. The drawback is that the blower skids leave behind some snow on each pass and by spring you have a rutted mess. So to avoid that you have to remove some of that snowpack before it melts. But that applies to every blower.

Larger tractors do not have mid pto to drive front mounted equipment

Don't forget Smyth Welding as a manufacturer of inverted blowers in Canada

Smyth Welding

I mounted trailer wheels on my inverted to control operating height.

Dave

 

[B737]

I mounted trailer wheels on my inverted to control operating height.

that is slick!!

 

[bmblank]

I mounted trailer wheels on my inverted to control operating height.

Oooh. I like that idea...

 

[MoCo]

Thanks for the suggestion of Smyth Welding.
Please send more details and photos of your trailer wheel adaptation. Very impressive. Princess Auto parts?

 

[Dave_eng]

Thanks for the suggestion of Smyth Welding.
Please send more details and photos of your trailer wheel adaptation. Very impressive. Princess Auto parts?

I want to be clear that the design is mine but the actual welding is done by people with much greater skills than mine.

Here is the basic design

I like to use Princess Auto hydraulic cylinder tangs to make the hinges. The holes thru the 1" plate are in exactly the same place and square and it avoids the difficulty of drilling large diameter holes through thick pieces.

In the following photo two tangs are being attached to a stiffener piece to make one hinge.

The two hydraulic cylinders are from Princess. 1" bore and 4" stroke. $120 each

The wheels tuck in between the main blower and a rear blade made super heavy duty for grading gravel.

If more detain would help just ask.

Dave