snow blower help

With all the snow and drifting this year I am think of getting a 3 point snow blower .
So I would like to know would my d17 series 1 handle a 8 foot blower or would 6 foot work better ?
Any Opinion on Erskine 960 or George white snow blowers ?
What to look out for?
Thanks Ralph

I would go with the 6 foot so when you get in really heavy snow you?ll have a little extra power

I have limited experience with 3-pt. blowers, but here's my take on it. I had a JD 4010 gas with a JD 7 1/2' blower in good working condition. It was a chore for the 4010 to keep up. Couldn't get a low enough ground speed to keep a steady pace, so was always stopping to let engine RPM's catch up, then bog down into more snow. And our snow wasn't "that" bad!

My blower was the kind you back up into the snow; not the kind you drive through, then the blower blows it. Would sure have been easier on the neck with the 2nd type, but then you have the problem of being limited with how much of a drift you can tackle when needed.

I didn't have chains, but did have salt water in the tires. No pavement - only gassy areas and grass-covered gravel.

We normally get dry snow, and not normally more than a few inches. So maybe sharing what I went through will help you decide what will work best for you.

When buying a used blower, check the bearings as best you can. Also, look for damage on the flighting that could indicate that the previous owner(s) didn't care if they ran more solid stuff through their machine - like rocks, solid ice chunks, limbs/boards, tricycles, the wife's car, etc. Look for any damage. make certain everything spins without any grinding sounds, including resistance from a bent shaft.

Are you connecting directly to 3-pt, or using a quick hitch? Quick hitch will push the weight a little farther back, so will be a little more weight for the 3-pt to handle; possibly also a bit more slop.

What about the chute? Is it hydraulic? Do you have a remote for the chute if it is? Look at how the chute operates. Some blowers use a hydraulic cylinder to turn the chute a specified distance. Others have electric motors or hydraulic motors that can spin the chute most, if not all the way around. ...Ever had snow blasted in your face? Be careful! Mine had a hydraulic cylinder that moved a lever. Attached to the lever was steel cable that wrapped around the chute. Cable must be tight or it will slip.

Well, that's it for me. Hope it helps somewhat.

I have little experience with them but one thing I would do from what I have experienced is somehow make some plexiglass to protect you from being covered in snow

I would second a narrow unit. Just enough so you and the tractor can get through on the FIRST cut. After that you can do half cuts or any size your tractor can keep up with. Dry snow you can dig through. Wet snow you are pretty much toast and is very hard on the machinery. Was mentioned what can get sucked through your blower. Personally I know about one garden hose, an air hose maybe three months old, a spray can of green paint, "was full" and one brick. Now that really raised heck.

The blower should be as wide as tractor. I had a 7 foot blower on a 880 oliver ( about 58 hp). HP was not a problem but ground speed was. The blower could not eat up the snow as fast as my slowest speed.

I have done a lot of snow blowing over the past 40 years, and width and power are considerations. Not sure how many hp your tractor would crank out , but let?s say 40-50 hp. So 6-61/2 foot blower should be ok, provided that your tractor has a slow enough ground speed , while in reverse, at full throttle. You want the snow blower to be no wider than the tractor. So if your Allis tractor has the adjustable rear wheels, I would narrow the tires in as much as possible. Then measure the tractors total width, and get a blower that wide.
Older tractors often only had one reverse gear, and if the snow is more than 4-6 inches deep, or drifted 1-2 feet deep, you will be constantly be on the clutch. But your Allis tractor is well suited for this with your hand clutch. Hope some of this helps.

I've been running a 6 foot blower on a Ford 800 for 30 years. Ground speed in reverse is the only problem. I reduce the rpm on the engine to slow the tractor so that the blower keep up. I just cleared 12" of powder snow with no problems with about 1500 rpm on the engine. If you get wet heavy snow you will need more rpm and be on the clutch constantly to let the snow clear out of the blower. My tractor is light so I had to load the rear tires and use chains for best traction. Be prepared to get snow covered when using the blower. My blower was made by AgriFab and has a manual chute.
Hope this is helpful.
Larry

Get the smaller one. I used dad's rear mount three point blower before getting this front mount. Light snow does not pull nearly as hard as wet heavy snow does, so too much power is about right. Slow ground speed for the tough going, then higher when it's easy so a Hydro or power shift is best if you have either one. This tractor will pull 155 HP on the dyno, and sometimes in power shift first this seven foot blower will make the tractor grunt.

Ground speed is the deal.

How many gears do you have to pick from in reverse?

Moving snow with a blower is all about fitting the bite of snow through the spout. Drive real slow it doesn?t take much hp.

Drive fast and it can take a lot of hp.

Paul

I agree with what the others have said, plus an 8 foot blower is likely to be too heavy. I have a 6' 8" Allied blower that is lighter than a 6' McKee. It works great on my MF 65. You do want a blower that is as wide as your tractor tires, especially when blowing packy snow that will freeze hard afterwards.

I have an Oliver 880 with a 6-1/2 ft blower. That's close to the same hp as a D-17. We just had 9.5 inches of light fluffy snow so, I had some 2+ ft of drifts. In that kind of snow the tractor just plays with it and you can go fast enough that the blower can't take it in fast enough. If you have a foot of real heavy snow, then low reverse with the power booster lever pulled back can make the tractor snort pretty good with a little clutching at times or take a narrower cut. I think the D-17 is a little faster in low reverse that the 880. I would recommend the narrower one.

IMHO blowers are to slow , you have to back up if you don't have a cab you will be cold and wet , if your drive is long they take forever , a rear blade will move more material faster you can push in both directions

There are some situations where a snowblower is the only way to go. My driveway is one of them. If I pushed up snow banks 5 feet high, then I would have 5 feet of snow drifted into the driveway!

I have an 7 foot Allied on my Oliver 1550. Problem around here is the snow is often wet and heavy where a blower doesn't work so well. Because of the building layout I have to plow toward into the wind direction which causes more drifting. Before I got the 1550 I used the blower on a Ford 2000, 6-speed and standard PTO. Not great but it worked in the real snowy winters.

(quoted from post at 07:39:28 02/03/19) There are some situations where a snowblower is the only way to go. My driveway is one of them. If I pushed up snow banks 5 feet high, then I would have 5 feet of snow drifted into the driveway!

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Exactly right! A blower will not put up ridges that catch ever deeper snow banks, like a blade does. And all this talk of getting covered in snow, not so for me. Just have a little common sense on wind direction and turn the discharge spout accordingly. In 40+ years on an open Cockshutt 40 and rear blower it has been a rare occasion I have got covered in snow. Low reverse gear helps but no big deal if you go too fast. The snow will pour over the top or sides of the blower if the fan can't handle it fast enough. Or the tractor will spin just enough to cut my speed in half.

I would go with a 6-7 ft. blower for the same reasons that the others gave. Big difference between powdered and wet heavy snow using a blower. 8 foot in the heavy wet stuff with your limited options on your reverse speed you would have a handful with that tractor.

(quoted from post at 02:44:36 02/03/19) With all the snow and drifting this year I am think of getting a 3 point snow blower .
So I would like to know would my d17 series 1 handle a 8 foot blower or would 6 foot work better ?
Any Opinion on Erskine 960 or George white snow blowers ?
What to look out for?
Thanks Ralph

Click to expand...

A slow reverse gear is more important than power. Once the blower fan is full. Power is wasted and wear is increased churning the auger in snow hard compacted via the tractor ramming the blower into the snow bank.
On Wednsday the blower was full on my Hagedorn while only taking a 18 inch wide cut through 4 to 5 foot high drifts .

THANK UALL for all of the excllent information ! Got a lot to think about I may be better off sticking to
the blade for now we will see .
THANKS AGAIN RALPH

Slow is good if the snow is real deep but I find it sometimes works better to move faster. Also need to finish with a plow because the blower leaves a pile when you stop. Not good when working out onto the road.