Hydraulic Front Snow Blower

[dj2016]

I’m new to the forum and was hoping for a little help.
I'm getting real close to pulling the trigger on a new L4060 with a cab and FEL. I'd like to add a Kubota 74" front snow blower but I'm afraid of the price, but more so that it won't perform well in all snow conditions especially the wet heavy stuff. After reading some information here about blowers that attach to the FEL I became interested and started hunting a few down. In the last couple of days I've had lengthy conversations with staff at Cheyenne Mfg and Quick Attach and both boast how much better a hydraulic blower is over a PTO unit. I was most impressed by the Quick Attach which they say easily mounts in place of the bucket. They tell me that the blower works right off the tractors hydraulics which in turn drives a power unit on the blower. They felt that their 73” unit would work on the 4060 and the best hydraulic connection would be to have a 3rd function added on to the new tractor. Since I don’t have much hydraulic knowledge does this all sound right? Does anyone have one of these units? It almost seems to good to be true.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Several things you need to know.
It's not Cheyenne Mfg its Sheyenne Mfg:
http://www.sheyennemfg.com/index.php?p=ct

Get the SSQA from Kubota for the loader.
It sounds like a blower that could work.
Make sure you get the Mid PTO Option on the tractor as that is what powers the Hydraulic pump that powers the blower and controls.
It uses the tractors hydraulic fluid but not it's controls.
I also think your going to need to get a large 3 point ballast box to help manage the weight on the loader arms.

 

[skeets]

Just MHO but that looks like a real nightmare to put on and take off, for my money I would go with the big K, they designed it for their tractor,, again just MHO

 

[rjcorazza]

I made a cursory investigation into hydraulically powered blowers and could not find any that worked within the rated flow of my 4060. They seemed to be mostly designed for skid steers. But again, I didn't thoroughly look into it.
If there is any type of front mount blower in your future definitely consider spec'ing a mid pto.
You didn't ask, but I have to say my preference is keeping the SSQA loader / blade available and using a rear mount blower. The bucket up front and blower in the back worked awesome for the 35" NE blizzard last year - also my last season with an open station tractor. This winter I will be in a T shirt listening to the Eagles and Beach Boys.

 

[dj2016]

Thanks for the feedback, sorry for the spelling error my bad.

Both companies are similar in their function, both work off the tractors hydraulics and both connect via the tractors quick release’s on the loader. Sheyenne Mfg. powers theirs with a PTO pump and there is equipment that you put on the tractor that stays on all year. However, if I understood correctly with the Quick Attach all you have to do is drop your bucket and put the blower in it’s place. Then attach the blower hydraulic lines to the 3rd function on the tractor, plug in the provided electric controller (pistol grip) for the chute and your ready to go to work. The staff at QA asked that I confirm the PSI and flow rate of the hydraulics for the new tractor to confirm the blower will work. Their blower works at 11gpm and 2500 psi. They also have some type of a hydraulic boost motor on the blower which is custom sized for the tractor. It seems to easy, that’s why I’m suspicious and asking for help. I’m hoping that someone out there might have one to see if this is all correct.

 

[BAP]

3rd function hydraulic will not run a hydraulic motor. You would have to have a rear remote that was made for hydraulic motors. I would question if the Kubota would have enough hydraulics to run the snowblower very well or even for very long. It takes a lot of hydraulics to continuously run a hydraulic motor well without overheating the hydraulic system and ruining something.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The GPM in that model is 9.8, no not enough to run a blower motor, but the sheyenne mfg model uses a Mid PTO power pump to run the hydraulic blower motor, and uses the tractor hydraulics to run the controls for the blower.

DO NOT go with the Quick Attach Brand model as you do not have enough GPM to run it.

 

[dj2016]

Thanks guys for the input, I was afraid the Quick Attach unit was too good to be true.

When I spoke to the Sheyenne rep. he mentioned that his blower is PTO driven preferably from the mid mount. The thing I was a little leery of was their mid PTO pump, hoses and filters stay on the tractor all year long. Plus the Sheyenne was also about 25% more expensive than the QA unit. How about the Land Pride FEL snow blower, or is it going to be the same issue as the others that the 4060 can’t handle it either?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Thanks guys for the input, I was afraid the Quick Attach unit was too good to be true.

When I spoke to the Sheyenne rep. he mentioned that his blower is PTO driven preferably from the mid mount. The thing I was a little leery of was their mid PTO pump, hoses and filters stay on the tractor all year long. Plus the Sheyenne was also about 25% more expensive than the QA unit. How about the Land Pride FEL snow blower, or is it going to be the same issue as the others that the 4060 can’t handle it either?

No, none of anyone else's design will run on your tractors hydraulics, the smallest unit takes a min of 11gpm, and yes it's that big of a deal that close will not work!

 

[Kennyd4110]

There are companies that make rear mounted "power packs" that run off of the rear PTO so they don't have to stay on all of the time. This could power any regular "skid steer" style hydraulic blower.

Here is one from MIE:
http://www.miemachinery.com/hydraulic-power-units

Here is a front blower, but powered mechanically direct from the rear PTO:
http://www.erskineattachments.com/attachments/front-mount-snowblower/

 

[WFM]

I'd love to have a front mount snowblower. But I realize my pockets aren't quite that deep. Even a new remount is $2300. bucks or so. I bought a WoodMaxx chipper and see they offer a snowblower now. But its more of a want then a need. BUT today I go to look at a used snowblower. My neighbor bought it 4 or 5 years ago. He said it came from a car dealership and had big castors mounted on it so it would not dig into the ground. He paid $350. bucks. Would sell it to me for the same. Too good to be true ? I'll find out today and snap a couple photos.

 

[torch]

Hydraulic motors are not a very efficient method of transferring power. A lot of the energy is converted to heat. Not an issue if you have a big machine with lots of surplus power available perhaps. But a direct mechanical drive off the PTO is a more efficient choice for a smaller machine with limited power.

 

[adventure bob]

The issue is that most hydro blowers are made for skid steers and really good hydraulic flow. Farm tractors just don't flow as much as a skid. In nearly all cases of hydro "quick attach" blower, you have to have a mechanism to get up to skid steer flow rates. That's usually comes in the form of a pump/sump on the PTO. Some like SM use your tractors sump but push it through a pump to get the flow required.

Someday someone will put a bigger hydro pump in our tractors then all of the skid hydro attachments will be available for the fronts of them. Sweepers, blowers, seeders... I would have loved to simply go pick up a big bobcat snow blower that I could get off and on easily with the connection of a couple of lines and the quick attach.

 

[WFM]

No pics....but I did go and look at the used snowblower. 5', white and red in color. It was single stage with a big drum that turned towards the center paddle on each side. I had a Bolens 16 hp garden tractor I bought back in 1989. I had a single stage blower for that. It looked like it except a lot bigger. It did have a manfacture tag that I couldn't read. So it was factory made. But..older and pto shaft was missing. No rotator crank , just more work then I'd want or have the time to get it working.