Snowblower recommendations for 656 Diesel Hydro.

So after getting socked for the third time with a whole seasons worth of snow at one time, we have decided that it might be a wise investment into purchasing a snowblower for our 656, versus spending all day cleaning our half mile driveway of 30" of snow with the old TD-6 crawler and 1979 dodge snow commander plow truck.

I've started doing some research on whats out there for a rear mount, but I don't have any reviews on quality and function. Hoping someone on here may have some experience with some of the brands. I only came up with 2 near the HP range of our tractor near the width of it. Trying to be at least 90" cutting width

Erskine 925RM
Prunovost PUMA-94

HP ranges are really limiting me on what I could get. I think the PTO rating on a 656 Diesel is like 60+ new. When Dad got this tractor 30 years ago it had been dyno'd and pulled almost 90 turned up some. I'm sure its not doing that anymore.

I rather like the Erskine but it only has a manual rotation on the chute and a single auger. I'm not sure if it is an option or not for the hydraulic chute. They also offer a front mount version PTO of that same blower. I'm not sure if it would work on our tractor or not. I really like the idea of that though. I'll probably give them a call to get more information on those ones.

Does anyone else have other recommendations. I've came up with a Woods SS96-2 in my internet search. Its HP range is 80-150. I think that might be a little much.

Is there much benefit to having dual augers?

Thanks for the help.

Your Hydro will let you inch along at whatever speed your tractor can handle, so horsepower will be less of an issue. A snowblower slightly wider than your tire width will be easier to use if your tractor can lift it. An upper auger should not take much power until the snow is high enough to reach it.

yea my tractors rear wheels are currently set to 91 inches. I was hoping to go a bit bigger to open up beyond them. But the HP thing was worrying me. You've given me some hope on that now.

Thanks,

I welcome more Opinions.

There is a guy in the western part of OHIO that is dying with snow blowers now i am not talking heath wise but he bought like three or four blower a couple years ago when we had some pretty good snows thinking he was going to make killing selling them . I saw about a week ago in craigs list that OH he still has them . I am thinking that they are either seven or eight footers . Now i under stand that you want one that is say 90 inches wide BUT you may be better off sliding your wheels in a bit and go with a seven footer . a little smaller but less Hp drag and i believe they had hyd rotators . Any two stage blower will work well. at one time when i was plowing snow commercialy i was going to set up a blower deal as i not onl. y did gas stations fast food places , car lots and such i also did drives and lanes and i was on a couple townships and the county and state call up list . after the the one big storm in 74 not a Blizzard just a BIG dump of snow with wind . The BLIZZARD thing did not really come into play around here till 77 And by 79 hey we did not have that much snow and i am glade that i did not buy a blower as it would have sat and sat and not been used . Now since 78 here only twice now a blower would have been nice but we managed with out it . If you plow WITH the storm and not just set and watch it come down then it will not get ahead of you when you have limited equipment . Yes there have been times i had to call in back up and bring in a half dozen dozers and a few loaders to open up township roads and one time inlisted a friend with a blower that instead of putting it on the tractor that it was made for his 584 he put it on the 1086 and by his stupidity scrapped it out in the first fifteen mins. that still left me with 10 foot snow drifts to deal with on the south side of a Ford dealers lot with only a 3/4 ton pick up Yep he did get one hole thru the lower side of the drift and i had to naw at it . Back in 78 one big farmer bought a BIG blower and i am thinking it was like a ten footer double auger that he put behind his 4-175 White , Biggest tractor in two countys he was working for the state and somehow got a rolled up news paper in there and plum trashed that blower . NOW the next thing have you thought about it is a CAB if it does not have one . You will want a CAB . I know what i look like after my 45 min. to and hour with my HUGE ST724 Ariens snow blower just doing my 75 foot drive and about three hundred feet of sidewalk and the turn around It seams that it really does not matter how you try and judge the wind You end up looking like the abominable snow man. Now last year we had really COLD and a good amount of snow , now this year we have enjoyed a winter of fairly nice winter with above avg. temps and below avg snow fall . Number of times the blower has been uncovered this season 0 , number of times i have used just the kitchen broom to sweep the back steps and walk 1 . The amount of money spent getting ready for this MAJOR SNOW EVEN that we were suppose to have this time about four bucks on fresh gas for the blower . Suppose it will last for the LAWN MOWER . So IF you don't get a blower it will probably hammer ya a couple more times , and if you do get a blower by the next time ya need it the drive chains will be rusted stiff as a board . So if you use what you have and get out there say three times while the storm is doing it's thing and plow with the storm and always push back three times more then ya need so you have room for the next round your good to go . Alway try and plow to the down wind side as this will help from making deeper drifts on the next round . Just my two cents worth .

I got an older 6' blower in the fall of 2014 and it has been very helpful. The snow slides off the roof of the sawmill building and makes a pile and we are in the lake effect area
downwind of Lake Ontario so some years we get a lot of snow. Now that I have the blower I can keep the sawmill open all year. I run it with a Massey 35 which is getting a little
tired or a Farmall 300 which has a bit more power but the 3 point hitch adapter I have doesn't work well with the blower so mostly I use the Massey on it. How much power you
need will depend on how fast you want to go and if you mind having to stop sometimes and let the blower catch up. If you have a 7' blower you'll only be 3-4 inches into the
snow on each side with your wheels and they will chew the edge off the bank pretty well, I think. Also you could put on little wings on each side to bring in that last bit of width.
Zach

Have you considered front mount, i know their more money, and then u should have rear 3 point counterbalance weight, A neighbor has one on the front of a 4430 JD, He can move a lot of snow.

(quoted from post at 11:19:22 01/26/16) Have you considered front mount, i know their more money, and then u should have rear 3 point counterbalance weight, A neighbor has one on the front of a 4430 JD, He can move a lot of snow.

Click to expand...

Yea thats one of the options I was looking at with Erskine.

Do you know what brand/model your neighbor is using?

Don't bother fussing with the front mount. Its
expensive and eats HP. Get the pronovost. They
make the best blowers on the market today. Does
it have a rotating drum? How many blades on the
fan? Kent

Must be talking to me, Yes a green Erskine, Mfg in Erskine Minn.

Can you find a good old "IH 80" snowblower?

Perfect match for the tractor and darned near from the same era.

They were originally available with or without the top auger.

<img src = "http://www.farm-newsequipmentguide.com/images.aspx/id-11247138/case-ih-80-138-p1.jpg">

But chances are u got a gear slow enough to go into it, Slipping the clutch is not good.

He said it was a Hydro Farmall's gearless wonder

I do not know how you guys can turn backwards for that long, my neck would be unbearable.

I have a Lorenz 8 footer on my 706 gas. Haven't had a rear snow fall to use it since I got it a year and a half ago. Did paint it to match my tractor though.

Picture of my blower

(quoted from post at 09:39:41 01/26/16) So after getting socked for the third time with a whole seasons worth of snow at one time, we have decided that it might be a wise investment into purchasing a snowblower for our 656, versus spending all day cleaning our half mile driveway of 30" of snow with the old TD-6 crawler and 1979 dodge snow commander plow truck.

I've started doing some research on whats out there for a rear mount, but I don't have any reviews on quality and function. Hoping someone on here may have some experience with some of the brands. I only came up with 2 near the HP range of our tractor near the width of it. Trying to be at least 90" cutting width

Erskine 925RM
Prunovost PUMA-94

HP ranges are really limiting me on what I could get. I think the PTO rating on a 656 Diesel is like 60+ new. When Dad got this tractor 30 years ago it had been dyno'd and pulled almost 90 turned up some. I'm sure its not doing that anymore.

I rather like the Erskine but it only has a manual rotation on the chute and a single auger. I'm not sure if it is an option or not for the hydraulic chute. They also offer a front mount version PTO of that same blower. I'm not sure if it would work on our tractor or not. I really like the idea of that though. I'll probably give them a call to get more information on those ones.

Does anyone else have other recommendations. I've came up with a Woods SS96-2 in my internet search. Its HP range is 80-150. I think that might be a little much.

Is there much benefit to having dual augers?

Thanks for the help.

Click to expand...

ot sure what the price difference is but if you have a wide front tractor I would seriously consider a 925 FM. It might be more money, but the machine will be a lot easier to operate. You might have to pull in your tires just a tiny bit, but that wouldn't be a deal breaker. Next size up is a dual auger machine and requires almost double the HP.

nice job on fixen it up , however myself i do not think you have enough horse in front of it and even i first rev. with the T/A in the low side your going to be to fast and the other thing you will soon want is a CAB.

Cheat get a set of west coast mirrors and do it like BILLY BIG RIG .
They come in heated .

I have a 7 foot New Idea blower on my 86 hydro. Yes, that blower is an antique by today's standards, but it has been maintained since purchased new in the mid 1970's. I think something about that size is perfect for this size tractor. You do have the benefit of the hydro and being able to crawl with the snowblower, too, just as I have. Would not want to go with anything other than a hydro on a snowblower.............maybe a powershift would function decently, but again, I can crawl at a snail's pace with that hydro!

I have been running a 5 1/2 foot snowblower on my 460 for 25+ winters with no problems. I haven't run into anything I couldn't get through and we get some pretty good snowfall here in west Michigan.

The first snowfall of the year can be the worst. Usually the dirt driveway is not frozen yet and you can blow a lot of gravel into the yard if you aren't careful.

Also, just to pass along some experience, don't try blowing horse manure. One spring I had the great idea of trying to spread out a pile over the barnyard. It worked well for about 30 seconds and then it all went to .... I worked for quite a while unplugging that mess.

Power shift tractors don't come close to a hydro tractor. just not slow enough for that first cut in heavy snow. Puts a lot of stress on PTO and drive shaft etc.
My neighbour took his big CaseIH in and had a creeper gear added this fall. They charged him 12000. and he says its still not slow enough. He could have bought a nice old hydro 186 for less than that and really had something. LOL Kent

(quoted from post at 20:25:47 01/26/16) Can you find a good old "IH 80" snowblower?

Perfect match for the tractor and darned near from the same era.

They were originally available with or without the top auger.

&lt;img src = "http://www.farm-newsequipmentguide.com/images.aspx/id-11247138/case-ih-80-138-p1.jpg"&gt;

Click to expand...

Agree totally on the IH model 80 blower. I have had a model 80 since 1977 and used it on a Farmall 656 gas gear drive most years. In some years I have used it with the Farmall 686 diesel. There is no doubt that the model 80 is a perfect match for the 656 or 686 power availability. If you can't find a model 80 the next best choice would be an 84 inch wide Artsway model. New Artsway units are available all across the USA and Canada. If you want one now I can assure you they are available from the factory. I was at their factory 3 days ago in Listowel, Ontario and there were several dozen of them in different sizes sitting outside ready to be shipped to whoever orders one. They even have rear mount models that you can drive forward through the snow, if your snow depths are less than one foot. Call up Artsway's web site and you can see all the models and sizes they sell. They are good rugged blowers at a very reasonable price and have been around for many years (under the former Agro Tend name).

Oh, that's what happened, the factory use to be in Armstrong Iowa.

We still use one. Great old blowers. They would weight twice as much as todays blowers. Kent

Whats the width of an IH 80?

I think its 88 inches if my memory serves me
right. Kent

Agree, have the smaller 70 here, you can still get parts for them as well.

I've seen several 70's and 80's advertised locally in the 800 to 1500 $ range.