Ford 841 Powermaster (Gas)

Am considering purchase of a snowblower (2-stage, single auger) for our heavy snows in northern MN. My 841 research has PTO HP rated at 37hp 'claimed'. Tractor has live PTO option.

Want to have snowblower a bit wider than rear tires (currently at ~ 6 1/2') so that would mean 7' snowblower. Would prefer to keep tires set wide vs re-setting them narrower.

Snowblowers have recommended hp levels & many of the 7' models recommend 40 or 50 -to- 90 hp.

The 5' & 6' snowblowers generally require less hp (the 2nd stage fan size apparently is the greatest load on the pto).

Questions:

1. Anybody out there run a snowblower on an 841 Powermaster & if so, what size blower & how'd it work? (Or on other similarly hp-rated tractor?)

2. Has anybody run other implements that loaded the pto like the snowblower would &/if so, how'd the tractor & implement perform?

Weight on the 3-pt arms doesn't appear to be a problem.

Thanks alot. Joe

Don't know how much help this will be but I run a feed grinder that (according to the operators manual) requires 40 hp with my 841. It BARELY has enough power. If the hay is a little moist or weedy it really pulls it down. I beleive that it is torque more than horsepower that it is short on. That said, it does do the job and other than the manuals recommended hp I have no way of knowing what it acually takes to run the grinder. Hope that helps.

You should have at least 10 HP per foot of width.

I have not ever used a snowblower on a Ford tractor, but would be interested in hearing how well one worked out for someone.

My neighbor has a small Kubota 4WD tractor and a 3 point snow blower. It apparently has live PTO, as the blower continues to turn when my neighbor changes direction with the tractor. The snowblower is about the same width as the rear tires.

There have been times when my neighbor had to take two passes at a berm of packed snow, as the Kubota seemed to run out of power when he tried doing it all at once. I got the impression that the little Kubota is not very high horsepower. However it is impressive that it can get around as well as it does without chains. My Fords would be impossibly stuck without chaining up.

I wonder if you really have live PTO on a 841, and if you do, I would be interested in learning how it operates. The live PTO that I am familiar with was a variation of the 5 speed transmission and used a 2 stage clutch. With the single stage clutch used in the 4 speeds, it would seem like there would be no way to continue to have power to the PTO with the clutch pedal pushed in. But maybe there is a way I haven't thought of.

I would think that it would be possible to operate a snow blower with a non-live PTO, just not as handy as having live PTO. It would probably be really important to make sure the blower is pretty clear of snow before holding in the clutch pedal very long. And using an ORC would be super important or the tractor would be pushed around by the flywheel effect of the blower.

My experience has been that using a piece of equipment designed for a smaller tractor works much better for me than trying to use something that is too big for the tractor I am using. I don't know how well a 7' blower would work on an 8XX tractor. I guess it would depend on how deep and heavy the snow was.

One thing that impressed me about the Kubota my neighbor has: it can be made to move much slower than my Fords will. I think that would be extremely important with a snow blower, especially if the amount of snow is WORKING the tractor. My guess would be that non SOS Fords would be pretty fast for snowblowing. Could it work? Maybe, but I would bet that it would not be easy, with LOTS of shifting the transmission out of gear to allow the overfilled blower to catch up.

If you decide to try this, please let us know how well it works for you. Good luck!

Joe:

I have never attempted to operate a snow blower with a vintage Ford tractor but can correct some of your information.

The 841 is rated at nearly 48 PTO HP at 2100 RPM.

The 841 has a four speed transmission and DOES NOT have live PTO. The only Ford tractors of this vintage that have live PTO have five speed transmissions, though not all of these do. Tractors with the Select-O-Speed transmission have independent PTO.

Dean

Joe:

I should also add that a 7' snow blower is MUCH too wide for an 841 Ford regardless of transmission, and the reverse gear of the four speed transmission is MUCH too fast for suitable use with a snowblower, especially without live PTO.

Dean

Joe, I just bought a 5' snowblower and put it on a 2000 ford. The dealer told me they put blowers on 28hp and bigger tractors. He also said you want to stay to the inside of the tractor tires for traction reasons. Now I'm finding out that live power or an over and under would be nice, because my tractor is to fast in reverse. I know years ago my Dad used a 5' on a 8n 21hp, but my 2000 [35hp] is stuggling with a 5' without livepower or an over/under trans I wouldn't go larger than a 6' blower. John

Jon:

Ignoring the Howard and Everett, auxiliary transmissions, such as the Sherman, will not make vintage Ford tractors more suitable for use with snowblowers because such transmissions slow the PTO speed as well as the ground speed leaving relative speeds constant.

Dean

Your correct on having enough lift on the 3 point. Oh by the way I have owned an 841 since the mid 80s. Any how I have lifted the front end of cars and trucks with mine with a back blade so yep you have the lift power. As for the front end that might be a another story it is light way to light for something in the 1000lbs area. As for power probably would not have enough for something that big. But and this is what would get you the worse the 841 does not and can not be made to go slow enough for a machine like that.

I use a 6 & 1/ 2 foot loftness on the back of my 3000 that has live pto and a 4X2 transmission. Even in low reverse it is to fast to take a full bite in anything but the lightest snow. After the first pass I can take about 1/3 to 1/2 bites without having to ride the clutch.
I also use a 6 foot pull behind blower on an 861. This work well with the live pto and the super low 1st gear. I have tried this blower on a 640 but that 1st gear was too fast.
I don't think you will be happy with a blower on your 841

Thanks to all who replied to my post about snowblowers for my 841.
As a rookie 'old-tractor-owner' I am not certain of the PTO class. Sounds as though it is an Independent PTO & not true Live PTO. I'll check some things on it today.
If there is no dropoff of PTO when the clutch is depressed, then is it Live PTO?
One feature I know this tractor does have is the over-under transmission which should help if I decide to attach a snowblower. The tractor also has a heavy-duty loader - I use it now for moving snow and I suppose the front weight would help counterbalance the rear wt of the blower.
Also good to know about the rated hp.
Thanks for helping me w/these questions. I am impressed w/the tractor so far, probably will have more questions as the old unit reveals more about itself.