Debating purchase of a used BX2830 snowblower

[ejb11235]

I have an opportunity to purchase a used BX2830 snowblower for $5300.

This includes the blower, the quick hitch, and the PTO shaft, so it's presumably a complete unit ready to bolt onto my BX tractor. I was told that it was used one winter.

I'm curious what people think of the price and any thoughts about the blower itself. My sense is that this is a good price, but not an absolute killer deal. I haven't contact a dealer yet to get a quote on a new unit, but MSRP on the blower alone is $5,000.

This would be a somewhat extravagant purchase for me given the amount of snowfall we get. On the other hand, after a big dump, I'm pretty sure I'd break into a big smile and say "hell yeah I'm glad I bought this." On the other hand, I'm not hell bent on getting this.

[EDIT] p.s. I need to read the sticky thread on snow removal.

Thanks!

 

[Russell King]

What else can you use a tractor for? You will be able to do a lot of work with a tractor that you would normally ignore. If it has a FEL and or a backhoe on it that is a really good price. Even without those it seems like a reasonable price but you don’t say how old it is.

I would recommend getting a tractor with a FEL instead of one without the FEL. They will be easier to sell in the future if you don’t find that you enjoy having the tractor.

I would recommend you look at it and take someone with you that owns or knows about tractors with you.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[ejb11235]

What else can you use a tractor for? You will be able to do a lot of work with a tractor that you would normally ignore. If it has a FEL and or a backhoe on it that is a really good price. Even without those it seems like a reasonable price but you don’t say how old it is.

I would recommend getting a tractor with a FEL instead of one without the FEL. They will be easier to sell in the future if you don’t find that you enjoy having the tractor.

I would recommend you look at it and take someone with you that owns or knows about tractors with you.

Good luck with your decision.

The BX2830 is a snow blower. I own a BX23S and have put just over 200 hours on it. I've updated my initial post and the thread title to make that clear.

 

[Henro]

The BX2830 is a snow blower. I own a BX23S and have put just over 200 hours on it. I've updated my initial post and the thread title to make that clear.

All depends on how much money you have to burn.

When I saw your location, my first thought was who needs a snow blower there?

Of course toys and needs are different, and I get that for sure.

Myself, I would probably wait a couple days for the snow to melt and use the money for something else...IF my funds were limited.

The price you quoted for the used unit VS a new unit does not make sense to me. I would imagine the drive shaft would come with the blower if bought new, but don't know. So you get the used blower and a quick hitch for a couple hundred more that a new blower would cost? That would not sit well with me ....

 

[chim]

A snow blower is fun sometimes, depending upon the application. Given a choice I'd pick a front blower with a cabbed tractor IF there were no parking lots to do. I had a rear blower for several years. Although backing into the snow wasn't an issue for me, a front blower (at much more cost) would have been nice.

For driveways / lanes where the snow could be blown clear in one pass it worked fine. I had trouble doing parking lots. The lots were too large to toss the snow off in one or two passes, so re-blowing the snow was necessary. Re-blowing once isn't too bad, but 2 or 3 X and the snow became too heavy for it to work well.

About 6 years ago I modified an 8' power angle Fisher plow for the L4240 that had been on a pickup. Best snow tool I've had so far.

EDIT TO ADD: Make sure you get all the parts, pieces and doodads. I'd bet finding missing parts gets expensive fast.

 

[ejb11235]

All depends on how much money you have to burn.

When I saw your location, my first thought was who needs a snow blower there?

Of course toys and needs are different, and I get that for sure.

Myself, I would probably wait a couple days for the snow to melt and use the money for something else...IF my funds were limited.

The price you quoted for the used unit VS a new unit does not make sense to me. I would imagine the drive shaft would come with the blower if bought new, but don't know. So you get the used blower and a quick hitch for a couple hundred more that a new blower would cost? That would not sit well with me ....

My place is up in the mountains, so we do get snow some winters. It's a lot less than it used to be, due to climate change.

The snowblower itself is sold separately from the BX2810 front hitch and the PTO shaft. The hitch is about $1,000 new.

 

[ejb11235]

A snow blower is fun sometimes, depending upon the application. Given a choice I'd pick a front blower with a cabbed tractor IF there were no parking lots to do. I had a rear blower for several years. Although backing into the snow wasn't an issue for me, a front blower (at much more cost) would have been nice.

For driveways / lanes where the snow could be blown clear in one pass it worked fine. I had trouble doing parking lots. The lots were too large to toss the snow off in one or two passes, so re-blowing the snow was necessary. Re-blowing once isn't too bad, but 2 or 3 X and the snow became too heavy for it to work well.

About 6 years ago I modified an 8' power angle Fisher plow for the L4240 that had been on a pickup. Best snow tool I've had so far.

EDIT TO ADD: Make sure you get all the parts, pieces and doodads. I'd bet finding missing parts gets expensive fast.

This is a gravel driveway and gravel roads. Lots of places to throw snow in one pass with no risk of damage. I can and have moved snow with just my front end loader. It's not great but it works. I just like the idea of not having to rely on the HOA to plow the roads ... like if it doesn't happen, I just fire up the tractor. This is a rural HOA, with two private roads (BTW, I'm the president of the HOA, but it's not my responsibility to line up plowing, thank god.)

 

[Russell King]

The BX2830 is a snow blower. I own a BX23S and have put just over 200 hours on it. I've updated my initial post and the thread title to make that clear.

Oh sorry for the confusion on my end!

Living in Central Texas, I have zero experience with a snow blower and even less knowledge about one! If we get snow or ice, we just wait a few hours or maybe a few days and it magically goes away!

 

[ejb11235]

Oh sorry for the confusion on my end!

Living in Central Texas, I have zero experience with a snow blower and even less knowledge about one! If we get snow or ice, we just wait a few hours or maybe a few days and it magically goes away!

Well I appreciate your thoughtful reply anyway, even if it doesn't apply to my situation. It was kind of you to take the time to respond.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

there's been a lot of posts about the front 'quick hitch' / snowblower setup with the 'dog clutch' parts wearing out/failing very,very fast. might be worth the time to search and read. I recall the 2 parts are $600 +-. other s will know for sure...

other possible options
1) a snowpusher. SSQA ,easy to swap from bucket to SP
2) a gas powered snowblower, SSQA mount. pricey from a dealer( think ATV snowblower....), cheap if you're handy and have 2, 24" walkbehinds, a 14HP 'offshore' engine and some steel......

The 'problem' with the QH SB is once it's on, best be on for the season, as it's not 'user friendly' to go back to SSQA.

Hopefully you'll have a LOT of time before NEEDING a snowblower !!!!!

 

[ejb11235]

there's been a lot of posts about the front 'quick hitch' / snowblower setup with the 'dog clutch' parts wearing out/failing very,very fast. might be worth the time to search and read. I recall the 2 parts are $600 +-. other s will know for sure...

other possible options
1) a snowpusher. SSQA ,easy to swap from bucket to SP
2) a gas powered snowblower, SSQA mount. pricey from a dealer( think ATV snowblower....), cheap if you're handy and have 2, 24" walkbehinds, a 14HP 'offshore' engine and some steel......

The 'problem' with the QH SB is once it's on, best be on for the season, as it's not 'user friendly' to go back to SSQA.

Hopefully you'll have a LOT of time before NEEDING a snowblower !!!!!

Interesting about the quick hitch issues ... I haven't heard about that, although I haven't done any research on it either.

The DIY gas-powered snowblower isn't something I had thought of, and am not really set up to build something like that. But interestingly, I did actually do something like that with a wood chipper ... I have a small towable gas powered wood chipper, and last winter I took the axle and tow hitch off it and mounted it to a 3PH carry-all. It was fantastic!

I was thinking about the mounting and dismounting of the quick hitch too ... I already deal with a similar situation swapping the backhoe and the 3PH, so I know what that feels like.

Thanks for your comment. I can see my interest in the snowblower receding. As cool as it would be, $5K is a lot of money, and it's another thing that has to be stored and maintained. With a box blade, landscape rake, two buckets, and a wood chipper; I'm starting to see my limit coming into view.

 

[Spam Bot]

I think that the price is a bit steep for a 48" snowblower. The BX2830 is the commercial version, and if you think you'll be snow blowing multiple times a month, it might make sense. I would think that you could get away with a BX2816 snowblower with a hydraulic motor for turning the chute for a lot less money. As for the hitch, you will need the BX2810 & BX2811, plus a driveshaft for either snowblower. I believe the hitch itself costs upward of $ 1,500. I have used residential snowblowers for over 20 years without any problems, except when I pick up a rock or other object that stops the snowblower dead in its tracks. If that should happen to you, usually it will damage the chain as far as the drive unit is concerned. If the augers, fan, or front gearbox are damaged, the damage is the same for both residential and commercial units. The commercial unit features a gear reduction box on the rear, which replaces the chain drive. If you damage this component, the repair will be significantly more expensive. The only reason for going for a commercial unit is if you were to get a BX2822, which is a 55" wide unit. A BX2816 is a 50" wide snowblower, 2" wider than the commercial unit that you are considering. The case on the commercial unit is built out of a heavier gauge of steel, but unless you plan to run into trees, I don't see that as a significant reason to buy a commercial unit.
I recommend that, regardless of the unit you purchase, you strongly consider the hydraulic chute turning option, as the manual chute rotator can wear out quickly in cold weather conditions. If you decide to buy used, get copies of the installation manuals so you will know that everything you need is included with your purchase. I bought a used hitch and driveshaft last week, and the three brackets for mounting to the BX23S tractor were missing. I noted that before paying for the unit, the seller made an appropriate dollar deduction to compensate for my having to buy them new from the dealer.

 

[nbryan]

except when I pick up a rock or other object that stops the snowblower dead in its tracks. If that should happen to you, usually it will damage the chain as far as the drive unit is concerned.

These blowers have a very effective set of shear bolts that have protected my very similar B2782B 63" blower for 7 winters now. Countless times something or other has jammed hard in one or the other auger blades or the blower and snapped another shear bolt.
I've never suffered chain reduction drive or auger worm gear drive damage.
Spent a tidy sum on those specialized auger shear bolts. But also getting way better at cleaning up blocks, sticks and rocks come late fall.

 

[ejb11235]

I think that the price is a bit steep for a 48" snowblower. The BX2830 is the commercial version, and if you think you'll be snow blowing multiple times a month, it might make sense. I would think that you could get away with a BX2816 snowblower with a hydraulic motor for turning the chute for a lot less money. As for the hitch, you will need the BX2810 & BX2811, plus a driveshaft for either snowblower. I believe the hitch itself costs upward of $ 1,500. I have used residential snowblowers for over 20 years without any problems, except when I pick up a rock or other object that stops the snowblower dead in its tracks. If that should happen to you, usually it will damage the chain as far as the drive unit is concerned. If the augers, fan, or front gearbox are damaged, the damage is the same for both residential and commercial units. The commercial unit features a gear reduction box on the rear, which replaces the chain drive. If you damage this component, the repair will be significantly more expensive. The only reason for going for a commercial unit is if you were to get a BX2822, which is a 55" wide unit. A BX2816 is a 50" wide snowblower, 2" wider than the commercial unit that you are considering. The case on the commercial unit is built out of a heavier gauge of steel, but unless you plan to run into trees, I don't see that as a significant reason to buy a commercial unit.
I recommend that, regardless of the unit you purchase, you strongly consider the hydraulic chute turning option, as the manual chute rotator can wear out quickly in cold weather conditions. If you decide to buy used, get copies of the installation manuals so you will know that everything you need is included with your purchase. I bought a used hitch and driveshaft last week, and the three brackets for mounting to the BX23S tractor were missing. I noted that before paying for the unit, the seller made an appropriate dollar deduction to compensate for my having to buy them new from the dealer.

This is great advice. Since I posted my initial thread, I've done a complete 180 on my desire to have a snowblower. You may be familiar with this story ... I'm at the dealership and make a point of checking out the "discount garage" or whatever name they give to the collection of used equipment. "What's the story on that snowblower" I ask the salesman. He tells me the history, quotes me a price. It's less than the new price. "Oh that's a pretty good price", I say, as my excitement grows ... my thoughts turn to my every growing collection of implements and how I was lucky enough to stumble upon a great deal on a bad ass snowblower.

Fast forward after I've done a bunch of research ... I read the sticky thread here on snow moving options. I start thinking about the maintenance. I start thinking about the space this thing is going to take up. I start thinking about how little snow we get. And return time and time again to the picture I took of the unit ... trying to figure out if it comes with the brackets that get installed on the tractor that the k-hitch connects too ... wondering how much those cost.

I don't need a snowblower. A snowplow might be useful, so now I'm more thinking about the pros and cons of an SSQA snowplow vs a k-hitch mounted snowplow. The smart money though is probably on a 3PH mounted rear blade.