Snowblower

[Boots]

Does any one have any experience with 3 point snowblowers? I see so many different designs, I suppose they all work to some degree or another, are some better suited to hard drifts, some to fresh snow?

I found some with 2 augers(Intenational, JD), 1 big auger(Loftness), one that has big metal paddles (Lundell), and some with just 2 big fans, (Wildcat and way too expensive for me). Any better than the other? Any have reliablity issues?

Finally, I see some Shulte blowers that can be purchased with a skidsteer attach instead of a 3 point (same blower), you change out the pto shaft and put on a hydraulic motor to operate the blower. What would be the possibility of modifying a used 3 point model to mount on a front loader and use a hydraulic motor to run the thing? Some of the Schulte blowers didn't take huge gpm motors (10-12 gpm) to run either. It seems it would really make things easier to blow going forward instead of back. Is there a better place to start this thread? Thanks for your thoughts

 

[Steve Frazier]

There are many manufacturers who have specifically designed blowers for skid steers, I have an Erskine (same as Quick Attach) on my machine. You've placed this in the Ag section, so I'm assuming you're thinking of using a compact tractor to run it? I'm not familiar with the pump output on that type of machine, but keep in mind, the higher the pump capacity the better the blower will work. My blower runs at 33 gpm.

 

[BIGBEN2004]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz-YKdvM9RE

Here is a blower on the back of a Fendt tractor which would be perfect since they can turn the seat around and have a transmission that is similar to a hydrostatic so you can set your speed perfectly. We have a Red Devil for our tractors but it doesn't have enough speed to keep up with the snow and tends to start plowing which is not good to do with a snow blower since we already bent a auger on it doing that. It is only rated for around 90 Hp. and the smallest tractor we have is 145 Hp so we are over doing it.

 

[Boots]

Kind of funny seeing what people from other parts of the country think are compact tractors. I guess we do have a 20 horse lawn tractor, but the tractor I was thinking about using for blowing snow is 86hp a Ford 7710,(great tractors, we've got 2, bales hay at 2.5gph). We also have a Ford TW25 140hp, but it doesn't have a loader.

I think the 7710 has somewhere around 17-20 gpm hydraulics. One website shows blowers for normal flow hydraulics on a skidsteer, but I have heard that high flow hydraulics really perform far better on skidsteers, so 17-20 may not be not enough flow for a hydraulic run blower,

What are the advantages of one auger or 2? What is the advantage of 3 or 4 blades on the fan? Some of the blowers I saw didn't have a cutting edge on the bottom, and others did? How much is the cutting edge used?

 

[Steve Frazier]

I'd consider a compact tractor to be up to about 50hp, around here we see blowers fitted to tractors that size, not the bigger ones.

All the questions you ask will effect production levels. The lower powered blowers will be much slower than a higher flow unit, and the additional augers and fan blades will increase production but demand more power.

The cutting edge serves as a replaceable wear point. Blowers without a cutting edge will eventually need fabrication to replace the worn metal.

 

[cat d9]

here is a link to a real snow blower





https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3296&d=1169072087

 

[greywynd]

A few weeks ago I was over to Ottawa (not a huge drive, about three hours but seem to rarely get there) and noticed they have a lot of farm equipment doing commercial snow removal. What was different than this area though (where they seem to run a lot of front blades on standard (non-loader) tractors) is that a lot of them were equipped with rear blowers. Big difference though, is these blowers were set up to work traveling forward.

So, yea, you have to drive through the snow....unless there's a couple feet or more, most of todays 4wd tractors can do that without issue. The big advantage I can see is visibility....but also gear selection going forward is often more selective than reverse too.

 

[Boots]

here is a link to a real snow blower





https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3296&d=1169072087

What machine is the blower on? Cab looks like a grader, but the length is like a wheel loader?

 

[cat d9]

It ia a Austin Western 99H Motor Grader, it is four wheel drive and four wheel steer, powered by a UD-14a IH diesel, the blower is a Sicard Snow Master powered by an 8DC1125 Buda diesel rated 250hp@2100rpm. There is no blade and no circle as where they would be is where the Buda is mounted.
Here is anothe link



https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3294&d=1169072087

 

[Boots]

I've seen some of the posts from other countries where they use a front 3point on a MFWD Ag tractor for commercial snow removal, how are these blowers driven? PTO linkage to the front? Hydraulic motor? seems like a solid machine.

 

[cat d9]

Boots,
The ones I've seen are driven by a shaft running under the tractor. The Sicard is driven directly from the clutch on the Buda, straight ahead into a 3-1 gear box that brings the power to the center of the blower and turns the impeller, there is another gear box from the impeller shaft that sends power to the left side to turn the augers in front.

 

[Northart]

Meteor Snowblower

Here's a Ford 3000 Farm Tractor (30hp) and a Meteor (Canadian) 75" snowblower with a hydraulic chute rotater.

 

[Boots]

That's great for a 45 hp machine! Love those blue tractors too! Only thing missing is a cab.

I freely admit to knowing very little about snowblowers, but we sure could have used one this year. If you had more hp, would it throw the snow farther and make it go faster? How does this perform in heavily drifted snow?

Still looking to find out the advantages of a single auger or double auger blower.

I have been told that in skidsteers, some brands are more suited to personal use and some more towards commercial use. In 3 point models what brands are more heavy duty?

Thanks

 

[Northart]

Snowblower ?

The more augers you have, the deeper the snow you can handle.

2-3 augers for the deeper or drifting snow.

Generally if you keep after every snowfall. Even pickup plows can keep it cleared if you have room to store the snow. In confined areas like residential, most everyone uses snowblowers.

Somethings to look for in purchase is the heavy duty, roller chain,enclosed gear box, cutting edge, shoes, and the general strength(thickness) of metal used .

The blower paddles sure take a beating if there is loose rock,gravel,ice chunks, wood chips,etc. Look for thick steel paddles.

Shear pins in the drive train for snowblower and tractor,protection, in case you find an solid object. I.E. Stump, hidden yard stuff never put away for the winter. Even newspapers in the plastic roll will jam a blower if caught just right.

Look for the strongest one built rather than the cheapest. It will pay off in future maintenance costs. And it has to be properly sized or matched to the 3 pt tractor for weight and Hp requirements.

Only airport snowblowers really need to throw snow a great distance. A residential snowblower only needs a single auger, a barnyard or farm situation might need a 2 auger , because of more open areas prone to drifting.

It all depends on the situational needs. Again remember it has to be matched to the tractor for weight and Hp requirements. Hope this helps.

 

[Dwan Hall]

It ia a Austin Western 99H Motor Grader, it is four wheel drive and four wheel steer, powered by a UD-14a IH diesel, the blower is a Sicard Snow Master powered by an 8DC1125 Buda diesel rated 250hp@2100rpm. There is no blade and no circle as where they would be is where the Buda is mounted.
Here is anothe link



https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3294&d=1169072087

Do you have any more pictures of that AW grader with blower?

 

[sdPete]

Hydraulic drive snowblower will be limited unless your tractor/skid loader has a BIG pump.

3 pt blowers around here double auger most popular, 3 paddle fan. Farm tractors tend to move faster in reverse than optimal for blower capacity in deep snow, if you can get a track started then take partial width next time to make it work best. We changed blower PTO to 1000 rpm spline, run tractor at low throttle, results in slower reverse travel speed, works fairly well, 145 hp tractor.

The wildcat machines with 2 big fans are animals in snow, eat a full 8' swath at 4 mph - need plenty of hp, and they are Heavy, will digest driveway gravel/rock and blow it far, cement blocks, tree branches, plastic buckets, 4 wheelers (not kidding, neighbor did it), ice chunks, manure in the cattle yard, loose snow, hard drifted snow, and so forth.

Big advantage of a snow blower is ability to get the snow moved far off the road. Around buildings have to plan the operation to get the snow directed to the right place. Once the blown snow lands and freezes there is usually no doing over, it gets really hard.

 

[Countryboy]

4 wheelers (not kidding, neighbor did it)

Cool...any pictures?

 

[Northart]

Snowblower Tractor ?

Forgot to mention an important element. Live PTO is necessary, on the tractor. So you can control the feed rate.

If you don't have live PTO then the Reverse speed is too great and it will not do the job. You cannot inch along in heavy snow or at the end of a run, coming up to a building or obstruction.

Live PTO is , when 540 PTO RPM is constant,or whatever you set it at, with engine RPM, and you still can control the ground speed with the foot clutch.

Some tractors have a 2 stage clutch for ground speed and PTO, and others have independent PTO clutch.

 

[Boots]

Thanks Northart and sdPete, great information. Found a International 2 auger blower, any experience with these?

We don't normally get the huge snows, but we get a lot of drifting. This year we got wet snows but the wind blew so hard it dried out the snow and started it drifting. Even crusted snow dried out and drifted. Way too much wind, we're still trying to bust through the drifts.