Hydraulic .vs. Manual Lift

[RBE17 0]

What do you guys have to say about your manual or hydraulic lifts? I'm contemplating two different tractors. One has a hydraulic lift, but is considerably more expensive. The other is a manual lift and more in my price range. I will be using this tractor w/ a 48" deck, snow thrower and maybe a blade. Is the hydraulic lift needed for the thrower other than convenience? All opinions are appreciated. Thanks, Steve.

[LPH-5 0]

I got 42" decks and a 36" snow blower and i dont have hydraulic, it probably would be nice but manual works and i can lift them ok. But my wife has trouble with the mower deck (she dont blow snow) so would be ok for her, I probably dont know what i am missing by not having it easier with Hydraulic. I have B110's.. good luck, Floyd

[ibelee 0]

I am a newbie, and definately not smart enough about these tractors yet to give advice, but the main reason I'm going Hydro is for the garden implements. Sure it would be nice for the deck also, but after plowing for 2 hours the other day my arm was starting to get worn out raising and lowering.

[Willy 2]

I have 5 A/C's 4 have hyd I have really grown use to them. If you can afford it and the price is'nt a hole lot more I would consider hyd. It can also be added later if you find one on E-Bay or one of the club members might have one for sale.

[plastikosmd 1,002]

hydros usually run around 250-300 bucks, last couple i bought were around 275. figure that into the price of the cheaper machine. heck i have one i will be sellin when i can get it out of the machine! scott o and after using a hydro..wouldnt do it any other way

[Ketchamized 2]

Steve, I have hydro, and I love it. But, it's slow. I haven't had the opportunity to try the armstrong tractors. I don't think it'd be a problem if you can lift 120-140 pounds (Snowblowers/tillers) with leverage easily.

[MPH 12]

With the use of front or rear counter wts the manual lift is workable for OEM equipment. I now have 2 hydro lifts working and one in need of parts I can't get so far. they WON'T be for sale as long as I have tractors for them. They are nice. Erick, if your hydro on a B-series is slow, it needs some work, mine are very quick.

[Ketchamized 2]

Marty, When my hydro goes down, it is very fast. But when it goes up, it goes medium. It might be fast for some, but for me, it's faster to pull on the armstrong lever. Maybe I'm just impatient. :) Any idea how I could improve on the speed?

[mendon-chalmers 0]

hello, for blowing snow 3 to 5 hours at a time hydraulic is a great option to have. but over extending money is not a great option. I hope you can afford the hydro. if not use counterweights thru the implement lift that helps a lot.

[KraigRG 0]

Steve, I recently converted my B-12 to hydraulic lift and wouldn't trade it for anything when rototilling the garden. That's the main reason I converted mine. Lifting that tiller out of the ground with a manual lift can give a workout, especially without a front counter weight. I haven't used it for any front mounted implements yet. For my front mounted implements (snowblower, blade) I made a simple counterweight out of a weight lifting set I found at a garage sale for $5.00. The dumbell bars fit nicely into the rear lift tube and I couldn't beat the price.:D There's my two cents. Kraig

[John_RI 8]

I have 2 tractors: one is a manual lift the other has the hydraulic lift. I mow with the manual lift tractor and do everything else with the hydro lift, snow blade, snowblower & rototiller. In my opinion, while it's not a necessity, the hydro lift sure is nice for the front & rear implements. John

[goatfarmer 817]

I've never had a hydro lift, so I don't know what I'm missing. My 2110 has the manual lift, and even without a counterweight, I lift a 36" snowblower regularly, with no problems. My 712H has an electric lift, and it's nice for mowing, but I don't like it with a snowblade. Too slow.

[RBE17 0]

Thank you all for the feed back. The tractor w/ the manual lift has fallen through. I'm still working on the on w/ the hydraulic lift. The price differential is significant so it may not happen. Even so, I'm beginning to wonder if I really need the hydraulic lift. Thanks again, Steve.

[HubbardRA 19]

I have one tractor with a hydrolift. The only place that I see that it is really a lot better than manual is with the liftable hitch that I made. I can back up to a loaded trailer and put the ball into the coupler and lift the tongue up off the block with the hydrolift. I pull the block out from under the jack and drive off, even with a full load. This lift will pick up at least 300 lb of tongue weight, and I can flip the actuation lever with one finger.

[94-302-vert 0]

My hydro tractor engine dies and I bought a tractor with manual lift. With the plow blade I can't wait to get the power and conveneince of the hydro lift again. The power, infinite adjustability, etc. Hydro is where it is at IMO...