Snow blower question

[Bearcatrp]

Never owned one for the tractor. Found a good deal on a 3 point snow blower. My question is, are there some king of shoes to lift it so I don’t pick up gravel in my driveway? Or is there an adjustment to leave 1/2 inch on the ground? When I had my walk behind snow blower, could adjust the bottom plate to leave a half inch on the ground. It’s a land pride SB1051. Also, is the PTO shaft telescopic or required to cut to length? Thanks.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

1) snowblower 'should' have shoes or skids on it, same as walkbehind.
2) PTO shaft 'may' have to be cut to size. Test FULL range(up and down) MANUALLY ( do NOT power up PTO ) turning the PTO shaft( engine off...to be safe...). Most ,if not all, snowblower manuals will have 'hot to' section on sizing the PTO shaft.

 

[bobnic]

\ Also, is the PTO shaft telescopic or required to cut to length? Thanks.

All PTO shafts are telescopic. They have to be in order to accommodate the change in distance that occurs when the implement is raised and lowered. They must be cut if they cannot collapse enough to accommodate the full range of implement movement.

 

[torch]

They must be cut if they cannot collapse enough to accommodate the full range of implement movement.

The flip side is that the previous owner may have already cut it to suit his machine. There is also a minimum overlap requirement to ensure things don't come apart or twist when extended. If the shaft assembly is too short you will have to buy a new one.

Check by mounting things with the shaft separated. (IE: one half to the tractor PTO and the other half to the implement). Raise and lower the 3ph attachment to find the range of adjustment while holding the half shafts side by side. Mark the outer tube at the inner tube's end at each extreme. Make sure the inner tube will not bottom out inside the outer tube, plus a little margin for error, at the shortest length while maintaining a healthy overlap at the longest (say 4 to 6").

And remember, if you later decide to add some sort of 3ph quick attach mechanism it will quite likely shift the attachment back further and you will have to do this again.

 

[Bearcatrp]

Thanks folks. Do have a quick attach on the 3 point. Am on the fence on getting it as not allot of snow these past years. But they are calling for allot of snow this year.

 

[Sawdust&Shavings]

Thanks folks. Do have a quick attach on the 3 point. Am on the fence on getting it as not allot of snow these past years. But they are calling for allot of snow this year.

The year you don’t get it, is the year you’ll get 69” of snow and then all you can do is shake your head. Decision, decisions…good luck with that

 

[Dustball]

Thanks folks. Do have a quick attach on the 3 point. Am on the fence on getting it as not allot of snow these past years. But they are calling for allot of snow this year.

I hope you're not relying on the (Old)Farmer's Almanac?

This is from the NWS-

 

[Bearcatrp]

Thanks folks. Am hesitant as my lowest 6 discs are fused to turning around becomes an issue. NWS came out a week ago predicting more snow this year. We had an abundance of rain this past summer. If we get that moisture we had this winter, we will get allot of snow.

 

[sagor]

If you can't twist around to work backwards with a standard 3pt blower, I would recommend against it. There are 3pt blowers that face forward, so they follow the tractor path forward. They are less common, and usually cost a lot more. But, you don't have to look back all the time except to set up the start of a run. The best option is a front mounted blower, but then that gets complicated if there is no standard design for your model. That said, I believe most of the BX series does have a front mounted blower system. I use one on my BX25 and would never go back to a rear running 3pt version. I had one before with a different tractor, and it kept hurting my neck.... The front blower is one of the reasons I bought the BX25 in the first place.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I made a gas powered, SSQA 48" snowblower 5 years ago, used ONCE. Then disassembled as not enough snow since. I do have a Craftsman rider/ BERCO snowblower, works great.
BTW no idea why I got italics...maybe pfat phingers ?

 

[Bearcatrp]

That’s folks. Yeah, turning around all the time would be an issue. Have seen the pull behind snow blowers but don’t think I have enough tractor (height) to get through say 4 feet of snow. They do make a front snow blower that mounts on front of frame. FEL would have to be removed. Haven’t removed mine yet. Think I’ll pass on the snow blower for now. Appreciate the responses.

 

[William1]

Thanks folks. Am hesitant as my lowest 6 discs are fused to turning around becomes an issue. NWS came out a week ago predicting more snow this year. We had an abundance of rain this past summer. If we get that moisture we had this winter, we will get allot of snow.

NWS also predicted this was going to be the worst hurricane on record. If anyone could be accurate with predictions, they should go to Vegas and play roulette. I expect my 10% cut.
Me? I am near positive about what happened yesterday.
Every November, I put skid shoes on my FEL They stay on until March. That ensures no snow.....

 

[Hoserman]

Never had a rear PTO blower. The one I had for my old Kubota GR 2110 (front mount) worked well but was a royale pain to put on and take off. I don't have a lot of road or drive to clear, so I have a Cub Cadet 32" 3X walk behind and that critter is a snow eating beast. It has been a game changer for me.

 

[torch]

The best option is a front mounted blower,

Not sure I agree with that as a universal assessment. I have both and prefer the 3ph mounted blower overall.

Yes, the front blower minimizes looking behind. But there are some significant disadvantages too:

1. Cost. A front mounted blower will cost roughly twice as much after adding in the specific mounting hardware.

2. Availability. Pretty much limited to Kubota due to the required mounting hardware; generally only available for current models. Used examples are rarer than a used FEL.

3. Lighter construction. This is not universal, but certainly tends to be the case for smaller tractors. The 3ph can take the weight of thicker steel.

4. Poor steering in deep snow. Any blower will have a rudder effect in deep snow, but the steering wheels have a lot more leverage against a 3ph mounted unit. Putting that rudder forward of the steering wheels means your first pass better be a straight line.

5. Vibration (specific to the B7100 but may be the case with other models too). The forward PTO spins at something like 2,500 rpm instead of the sedate 540 of the rear PTO. It's like sitting on a vibrator.

If you have a cab, some people report a back-up camera can be used with a 3ph blower. I haven't tried it myself but it could be an option.

 

[chim]

I ran a rear blower on an L3200 for a few years and one year on the L4240. When I sold the L3200 the blower was included because it wasn't good for the bulk of what I clear.

It did work very well for driveways and small areas. Fortunately looking back didn't cause me pain. The problem was with parking lots. The blower worked best when the snow only needed to be blown once. The width of the parking lots was such that the snow needed handled several times. Each time it became denser and more difficult.

The L4240 now has an 8' Fisher power angle blade on a custom SSQA mount and works great.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I hope you're not relying on the (Old)Farmer's Almanac?

Last time I looked into it, they had a better track record than the NWS.

 

[Blue2Orange]

The land pride mode I purchased with the BX had two options for shoes. Just went with the plate skid shoes that were on the blower v. change over to the disk style model. Driveway is blue stone gravel. Until I have hard packed snow surface I position the cutting edge of the blower to ride angled upwards and a good couple inches above grade. Shoes are set at max height all season. Old blower had similar skid shoes. They worked fine. The disk one look better for asphalt or pavement.

Ran a 3pt mounted snowblower for +20 winters. No cab. Just manual shut rotation.

Switch from blue to orange and stuck with a 3pt snowblower. Simple with QH to attach and remove. Cost difference between 3pt and front mounted blower was way too much.

Hopefully no back issues will develop. OP, you need to be able to swivel your butt and twist your shoulders around to see where you are going for maybe long periods of time. Something you need to consider with your noted back issue. Was, am considering some side mirrors for the BX.

Old tractor had ROPs mounted light to see in the dark when using the blower. Headlamps on the BX2380 might get blocked by a front mounted blower. Basically either way you might want to consider ROPs mounted lights if needing to snowblower in the dark.

 

[torch]

Old tractor had ROPs mounted light to see in the dark when using the blower. Headlamps on the BX2380 might get blocked by a front mounted blower. Basically either way you might want to consider ROPs mounted lights if needing to snowblower in the dark.

Good point about the lighting. Even if the headlights aren't blocked by the blower itself the light may just be reflected back by blowing snow. High mounted floods are somewhat less affected that way. When the wind is howling I often turn off the tractor's headlights and rely on the cab roof mounted scene lights.

 

[nbryan]

Thanks folks. Do have a quick attach on the 3 point. Am on the fence on getting it as not allot of snow these past years. But they are calling for allot of snow this year.

If you DON'T get one, it will snow TONS.
And vice-versa.

 

[torch]

Ever try to buy a snowblower during a blizzard?