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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

how good are snow throwers?

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KURT (mi)

01-31-2004 08:52:56




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As some of you may have heard me say B4 I have a 900 foot driveway. It wouldnt be so bad but on both sides of the drive in parts are pine trees, that dont belong to me, and one of my neighbors put up a fence on one side 600' feet long. This makes it difficult to push snow with my Polaris or Bolens tractor because you have to keep trying to push the snow higher on the sides to get a path to drive down. I am thinking of buying a Simplicity snow thrower but The following things come to mind, #1--$1000, #2--only use it a few times a year in snow that is 6" or more deep. #3--if I pick up one piece of gravel I might jam the impeller, and break the shear pin. Of course a 8HP or 10HP snow thrower will be able to throw the snow over the fence and threw the pine trees. Do any of you guys have snowthrowers either walk behind or on your tractors. Right now I have snow knee deep all the way down my driveway on both sides, I have a 12'-15' wide path to drive down. Give me some experiences with snowthrowers, I have never owned one or used one. Thanks guys.

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Bart

02-01-2004 05:28:34




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
Kurt, Tractor mounted snowblowers are the best but for a walk behind it's Toro or Ariens. The bigger the better. My old Toro is 29 years old, and runs like a top. Just bought a new 10 horsepower Toro on sale. Course I take good care of my equipment and it pays off. Good Luck. Dick in Vermont



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KURT (mi)

02-01-2004 04:37:00




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
Thanks guys, I will probably start looking at snowthrowers this week. I would like to get a reliable name--Simplicity or Ariens. My big concern is that now I have knee deep snow on the sides of the driveway and if we get hit with another big snow 10" or so then I wont be able to get my car or my wifes car out of the driveway. I am getting to old to shovel for hours, Im 35 now. My son is only 3 it will be nice when he is 14 and can shovel, split firewood, cut the grass..etc etc etc.

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mike l

01-31-2004 19:22:49




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
I've only had walk behinds (only 150' drive).All I can say is the more horsepower the better.Had a 5 horse,wasn't worth the time it took to start it.Have a 9 horse craftsman now, like it alot better. Good luck



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RWK in WI

01-31-2004 14:56:31




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
I have snowblowers mounted on 45 HP Ford tractors and several walk behind Ariens snowblowers and some small Toro single stage snowthrowers. I have also used garden tractor mounted snowblowers - avoid these if you can as they are overpriced, lack tractoion, get stuck easily and break down often. Most of my work is on gravel and the only time I have had a rock cause a problem is when one was knocked from a retaining wall into the drive. It was about 6"+ in size. Smaller ones go through the machines with no problem BUT be careful you don't throw toward buildings, windows, or vehicles. If you have need for a tractor then consider a blower for it but if you don't need or want a tractor then I suggest you get the biggest, most powerful walk behind snowblower there is. At least 10 HP but preferably 13. In small snows they can move very quickly in a higher gear but you have the power for drifts or the really deep storm. I know they can easily cost to the $2,000 range but is a one time purchase and will last forever if you take good care of them.

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jh MN

01-31-2004 14:23:14




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
I have had a Ford 14 hp hydrostat garden tractor with a single stage thrower and used it on a gravel drive. The trick was to set the height of the ground skids so that you stay well above the gravel. Once a hard pack of snow is formed then it's no problem, you can let up the skids and scrape er clean. but yes, an occasional stone would get caught in the high speed auger and cause a jolt so violent as to break the snow chute or the scraper. I also have run a snapper with a 16 hp and 2 stage blower. I have never busted a shear pin on the two stage, stones just seem to blow right on through, but again you have to set the skids so that your lawn doesn't become one big gravel field. Ice is the biggest problem causing shear pin breakage on the big auger.

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RayP(MI)

02-01-2004 16:04:06




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 Re: Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to jh MN, 01-31-2004 14:23:14  
We've used a Deere 14hp hydrostatic tractor with a snowthrower (single stage) for over 30 years. Has been excellent. In good conditions, it'll put it 30 to 50' in the air, and as far away - in the wind, into the next county! . Points made above are extremely pertinent: Chains, wheel weights, extra ballast. Set skids to clear gravel until you have a snow pack built up. I even added two skids at the 1/3, 2/3 points under cutting edge to keep off the ground. Hydrostatic is extremely versatile - allowing you to keep blower pretty full to best operating capacity in varying snow depth. Especially when you get into a deep drift, you can slow down to a crawl, and not plug things up. Have gone through numerous shear pins - buy them by the pound. Never done serious damage though, due to foreign objects in the auger. Have worn the auger so much that I had to remove it and weld strap iron around the edge to build it back out - that was fun! Strongly suggest a hydrostatic tractor. (Yeah, I know, easy to spend your money!)

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gcs

01-31-2004 13:08:18




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
A friend of mine has a basic 3 point,back into the snow,6'blower on his tractor, he clears almost 1/2 mile drive,it's the only way to move snow!, He's a maniac with that thing,runs it at 1000 speed pto,shoots rocks out of it the size of a fist,and pretty much abuses the heck out of it,(He's rough on equip.) Hasn't had a lick of trouble with it though. I don't recommend you copy him,it's amazing he hasn't killed someone,but those things can move snow!

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Stick

01-31-2004 17:45:45




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 Re: Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to gcs, 01-31-2004 13:08:18  
I have a 5' 3 point blower for my 9N. No problems with gravel. I too drive over the first few inches to get a good hard packed base, then the gravel stays put. Only problem is the N doesn't have a live PTO, so you sort of have to hit the drifts at full speed in reverse, you can't clutch in and let the blower do its work then keep going. There's an art to it. I generally blade anything less than about a foot deep, it's just easier.

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paul

01-31-2004 10:33:38




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
What Jay said, we have a $700 24" walk behind & a 7' tractor 3pt.

Can't see moving snow in the prairies of MN any other way. :)

--->Paul



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Jay

01-31-2004 10:12:04




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 Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to KURT (mi), 01-31-2004 08:52:56  
I have both - a 32" John Deere walk behind, and a 9' Farm King aka Allied aka Buhler.

I use the JD for the smaller snows, etc. Throwing gravel has never jammed my impeller on my JD, and the Farm King would smash it into dust.

Anyways - my impellers and augers on both machines have chips out of the paint, but nothing serious. They aren't bent or anything. I've had both of them for about 5 years.

If you would jam an impeller, it's just a sheer bolt and a 5 minute job. No biggy.

What I like to do is drive over the first couple of snows and get ice, then you hardly throw any stones.

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Pitch

01-31-2004 14:48:51




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 Re: Re: how good are snow throwers? in reply to Jay, 01-31-2004 10:12:04  
I have a Gravely rider with a 38" blower a 24" walk behind and a 8n with a 7' backblade. The walk behind is just to do the walks and such The 8n gets most of the snowmoving duty cause it is faster than the Gravely. The gravely will move some snow but it is not fast. Anything 24" or less the backblade does.



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