What kind of snow blower do I need for this?

[edrrt]

What equipment was your contracted plow company using for snow removal?

A CAT 907m with blower attachment.

Everyone says pto tractor but that will be useless to me in the summer.

The CAT 907M only makes 68hp, 31 gal/ min flow... And it does it in 5 min.

So I would think a little skid steer would be just fine if I have an hour or more for my little postage stamp.

I'm guessing high flow is mandatory? Or can you get ones that will work the same with lower flow?

Are tires really that much better than tracks as I'd like tracks in summer but they may suck in hills in snow?

 

[Welder Dave]

Definitely need high flow with your amount of snow. Much less maintainance and expense with tires over tracks. A tractor with a 3pt. hitch is very versatile.

 

[Delmer]

I think I've seen self contained snow blowers like a smaller version of the municipal version I mentioned above. Or you could make your own. Light four cylinder car engine would be easy enough to fabricobble onto one. High flow would be easier. Yes, you need it. How steep are you talking? tracks would work fine if you're not all that steep and can stay on mostly bare pavement, they suck on ice.

 

[Welder Dave]

Using a (gas) car engine to power a blower would require a governor.

 

[edrrt]

I think I've seen self contained snow blowers like a smaller version of the municipal version I mentioned above. Or you could make your own. Light four cylinder car engine would be easy enough to fabricobble onto one. High flow would be easier. Yes, you need it. How steep are you talking? tracks would work fine if you're not all that steep and can stay on mostly bare pavement, they suck on ice.

I guess it's suggested that "snow tracks" are actually better than tires with chains now?


Vid of tracks vs wheels in snow:

 

[DMiller]

Need a Bigger machine, that CTL will be worn Slick in a Single Season.

 

[KSSS]

The issue with the video is the wheeled version is using typical dirt tires. Snow tires on the wheeled machine makes all the difference as do chains if you chose to do that. However simply using Winter tires would be plenty. Also, the ground conditions as per the track machine make all the difference. If the surface gets shiny smooth. You litterally, wont move with tracks. I have wheels and tracks, my tracks are Camoplast which are better in snow than other tread patterns, yet there are still conditions where tracks are not effective. A wheeled machine with snow tires will always work, and cost less to buy. In the summer you can put the dirt tires back on. I would go with wheels and highflow, I would also go with a high hp machine, but perhaps if you stayed current with the snow fall you could get by with a nonDEF, but still high flow machine.

 

[DMiller]

907M Cat specs brochure 73hp, optional 31gpm at 3400psi Nominal, will not get that in a CTL or Wheeled Skid Steer as sustainable. Spec too light will be broken more than operable or worn completely out in less than two seasons. Articulated Wheeled loader with Chains is the better option, the bigger the better. And as noted above a PTO AG Tractor with Loader attachment and a Snow Blower is far more versatile than a Loader Tractor.

 

[Welder Dave]

The problem with most comparison video's is they can be skewed to what ever the person filming wants. Tires also generally work better if you have bumps and undulating ground. Snow clearing is usually done at the highest speed possible so I think would accelerate wear on a tracked machine. Lots more moving parts to potentially freeze or cause other problems. Who wants to be unplugging and thawing out tracks when it's -20C.

 

[Delmer]

Using a (gas) car engine to power a blower would require a governor.

If you're cobbling an engine onto a snowblower, the governor is a small issue. There are belt driven governors, probably electric governors that would work fine too.

A farm tractor will have a very simple three point hookup and PTO hookup, and transfer all of the power to the PTO efficiently. Get a hydrostatic transmission, or at least a creeper transmission. Torque converter won't work either because the engine needs full speed to run the blower.

I think you can make a skid steer work, even a mid sized, but why would you buy one without high flow? not that rare these days. Regular flow auxilary hydraulics are for grapple buckets, post hole diggers, that sort of thing, any serious power needs high flow. Tracks might work, but are a disadvantage. I wouldn't worry about wearing it out, it's only 120' after all, and working in cool conditions, not like typical skid steer abuse. Hydraulics are durable.

 

[Welder Dave]

If you didn't mind driving backwards a PTO blower would be the lowest cost option. A used tractor around 50hp would allow to use a blower that covers the tires and have plenty of power. Less HP would also work if the tractor was narrower than 6 feet or if you had say a 30 PTO HP on a 5ft. wide tractor and blower. More likely to find a hydrostatic tractor in the 30 HP range but most tractors have a pretty slow reverse gear. It's better to have extra power than not enough when you really need it though. My 43 hp skid steer doesn't have high flow or high pressure (16.8 GPM, 2500 PSI) but demoing a hyd. rototiller was pretty pathetic compared to a PTO tiller on my 38 PTO HP tractor. No comparison at all. I expect snowblowers would be similar. High flow would certainly be better but I think still be pale in comparison to a PTO blower with similar engine HP.

 

[phil314]

The issue with the video is the wheeled version is using typical dirt tires. Snow tires on the wheeled machine makes all the difference as do chains if you chose to do that.

My thoughts exactly. Dirt tires suck in snow. It's dumb to compare them tracks or snow tracks.
I've got a 10 degree uphill driveway that I plow.
Snow tires will run circles around tracks or tires with chains. I've tried them all.

They have much better bite because of the smaller foot print.
They give you more ground clearance because they are taller.
They give you more speed because they are taller.
With them I can plow going uphill.
Before I had to drive to the top (if I could) and then plow down.

 

[edrrt]

My concern with a mini tractor is I don't want to be plowing backwards. I need a cab. I worry they are unsafe rolling over and more likely to tip. I have skids already and tons of extra buckets, blades, and attachments. Plus I can use the skid on one of our other farms in the summer.

I had a tractor and sold it, I thought it was a death trap. Farm has steep slopes. The plowing area has a gentle slope on the drive way but if icy you could slide off and over a steep embankment. In a mini tractor with it's wimpy roll bar I feel like you'd die rolling that down a hill. In a skid steer I feel the operator is really well protected.

Tractors scare me.

 

[Welder Dave]

Getting in and out of a skid steer when it's cold and covered in snow you could easily slip and become seriously injured too. Will you have to move between different farms? If so a tractor is much faster and if the farms aren't too far apart you wouldn't have to trailer a machine. As far as efficiency I just think you get a lot more bang for your buck with a PTO blower. There are some where you can drive forward but it depends on how deep the snow is. My former neighbor had a tractor with big wide low ground pressure turf tires and heavy duty V tire chains and used a pull type blower. He could dig through snow about 2 feet deep. I don't know the brand but it was pretty basic. Just a straight shaft off the PTO with blade like a mower blade to break up the snow and fan behind it to blow the snow left or right. It worked but there are much better blowers available.

 

[DMiller]

My concern with a mini tractor is I don't want to be plowing backwards. I need a cab. I worry they are unsafe rolling over and more likely to tip. I have skids already and tons of extra buckets, blades, and attachments. Plus I can use the skid on one of our other farms in the summer.

I had a tractor and sold it, I thought it was a death trap. Farm has steep slopes. The plowing area has a gentle slope on the drive way but if icy you could slide off and over a steep embankment. In a mini tractor with it's wimpy roll bar I feel like you'd die rolling that down a hill. In a skid steer I feel the operator is really well protected.

Tractors scare me.

Large equipment even down to skid steers and CTLs will roll over too, they are NOT bulletproof and will kill a human as well as any ag tractor.
My last boss lost his brother to a slide off from a loboy trailer side, eerily similar to slipping off a drive onto a steep slope, sudden slide stop ejected him, ROPS cage crushed him as tractor slowly continued to its side.
Do not underestimate the ability of a machine used carelessly or expecting inherent safety to kill or maim you.

 

[ThreeCW]

I guess it's suggested that "snow tracks" are actually better than tires with chains now?

Here is a recent thread that covers tracks, snow tires and tires with chains. You might get a few ideas from this thread are compatible with your application.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/skid-steer-in-snow.70022/

Is your driveway paved or gravel? Running tire chains that are too aggressive (V-bar for example) can damage a paved driveway significantly.

 

[Bumpsteer]

Compact tractor, full cab and front mount blower that runs off the mid pto. No comparison to a 550 rear pto blower, they don't spin fast enough.

Ed

 

[DMiller]

I would recommend a Median Sized AG Tractor, 70-110hp, that gets 1000pto at rear and increases access to other optional attachment. HE Rubber Tire loader gets a Loader, can get a grapple or in this case a blower even forks but remains a Loader, alternate uses are limited. Skid Steer, CTL, net a few more attachments, where could become buried in a 8' snowfall until can dig it out or await a thaw.

 

[Welder Dave]

A lot depends on the particular blower. There are quite a few different makes and styles of blowers. 540 or 1000 PTO depends on the gear box. Some blowers are big rotary units kind of like small versions of railroad blowers. A think a good question to ask is what your budget is?

 

[edrrt]

A lot depends on the particular blower. There are quite a few different makes and styles of blowers. 540 or 1000 PTO depends on the gear box. Some blowers are big rotary units kind of like small versions of railroad blowers. A think a good question to ask is what your budget is?

$20k.

I have been paying about $2,000 a season just to have my driveway plowed and they only do it once a day, at completely unpredictable times So you wind up always having to spend an hour on a snowblower every day anyway. They might plow it at midnight and then by morning you have 6 ft of snow in there.

So it sounds paradoxical but not paying a plow contract would actually save me a lot of time and effort.

10y payback seems reasonable.

And looking at the other heavy equipment I own I'm guessing at the end of that time it's probably going to be worth the same or more than I paid for it.

Added bonus if it's a machine that I can use for other things during summer time.

I figure I can get a used Cat 246/247
machine for around $17k and a blower for around $3k high flow looking at the used market rn.

I found a cheap 247b where the machine looks great but the ASV UC is all chewed up. Everyone talks about how good the ASV undercarriage is on snow but holy smokes does it look expensive to run on anything but snow. Honestly for my purposes it would probably be just fine even in its current condition but looking at how expensive the components are It makes me nervous.

My TL240 has years of use on it and I can't see any difference at all, it looks brand new still.