Jump to content

Unofficial Home of Old Simplicity & Allis-Chalmers Garden Tractors

Tractor mounted Snowblower VS. Blade on snow......


LesH

Recommended Posts

Yes. If you want to move the snow out of the way and clean your drive, use the snowblower. If you want to goof around and waste time, the blade is your tool! (This applies to garden tractor mounted blades and snowblowers...but no matter if your talking about a garden tractor, a farm tractor, or a locomotive, the snowblower will work better in heavier snow than the blade.)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

just look at it like this...a snow blade will move only so much and eventually it will pile up close to where u r cleaning off...a snowblower will move anything and u can throw it away from the area u r cleaning off...if u have to get one, get the blower...but i agree with dan, the blade is a lot of fun!!!:D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Les, It really depends on what you want to do and how much time you have. I find for snow falls of 4 inches or so and less the plow is faster. Anything over 6 inches the snowblower comes out. Some times I will clear my long driveway with the blower and then clear the section by the house again with the blade. By doing that I remove the 1 to 2 inches of snow the blower leaves behind. The problem with the plow is you run out of places to put the snow, the banks get too high, or the snow is too heavy to push. All that said, I prefer to use the plow since it is so much fun. Rick.......
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer a blade...much faster, and cleans down to concrete far better than a blower. That being said, there's a point where the snow needs to get out of the way, and the blade is limited. I push about 5' beyond the portion of my drive and turf that gets traffic during the winter, and if/when that backfills, a run or two with the blower moves the bank back past the blades capability. I only used a blower twice last winter and we get about 100"+/- a year. Our thaws help, where as a couple hours north of me, a blower would see a LOT more use because they hold their snow cover better. It seems I always wear half the snow I blow too...this year I have a cab, so I'll give the blower/cab combo a try out of curiousity. sm00 All this might go out the window for gravel or crushed stone...I've never cleaned up on those surfaces.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can understand that a blade is quick and fast. and on top of that is the fun factor But I like the looks of the finished job no banks just a clean cut thru the fresh snow And for the end of the driveway, where the plow trucks pile it up . Where do you push the snow? Blower cleans it up very neatly So you need two tractors one with blower and cab,the other with blade
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I used to have an Ingersoll I tried using a blade and Ingersoll has down pressure. Scrapped off more grass than anything else when I tried widening out to make room for the snow. Got sick of messing with it and went back to the blower and haven't had a blade since. Wouldn't buy another. Neighbor has one for his JD 585 4 X 4. Tried his blade one time and hasn't used it since. I like blowing the snow out of the way the first time and be done with it. If I had a 4 X 4 Legacy with the glass cab I could consider it fun. Now I just like it done with:D:D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i agree with the two tractor theory...or 3(one with a blade on the back also:D)...when i plow my drive eventually the snow piles up on the sides and then i have nowhere to go with it...with the blower i can throw it a long ways away and not worry about it drifting back in..plus if your shoes and lift rod are set for it, u can "scrape down" and get everything on the drive...i have never had a problem with any simplicity snowblower i have ever had clogging...it will throw slush tubes...when the inside of the chute gets pretty beat up i just take it in the summer and sand it down and repaint it and lube it up really good and it works great...but i dont know why but when plowing i do have a lot more fun watching the snow roll off the blade for some reason........so my advice is get a tractor for each!!!and another just because:D:D:D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

RickS said it best. That's been my experience exactly. And having worked at a Simplicity dealership, I have seen and tried a lot of different things.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:
Originally posted by RickS
All that said, I prefer to use the plow since it is so much fun. Rick.......
i agree ^. blower gets boring after a couple hours. with the blade i can run up and down the driveway in 3rd gear and get it cleared enough to drive in and out. fun seeing how tall i can get a snow mound. clear the banks and deep snow fall with the blower .
Link to comment
Share on other sites

quote:
Originally posted by perry fun seeing how tall i can get a snow mound. clear the banks and deep snow fall with the blower .
Bingo! Get a good freeze 'n thaw, and you can park right on top of one of those mounds ;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Way back when, while living in Upper Michigan, I had a 16 hp gilson with blower, father in law a ford 8n with blade. He laughed at my setup. Then, in late February, he had 8' banks at the end of his driveway and we got 12 inches of snow. Suddenly, my blower looked good to him. My driveway had the 4' banks from the road plow but that was no problem. So I went over and blew his drive for him. Did I rub it in a bit? Yes, but not too badly. I have also blown snow so wet and slushy it was like water, just takes knowing how to do it. Yes, the blade is fun, but for function, blower all the way. I have two tractors and both have blowers on them. As always, jmho. Steve
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have one for each. Plow is good for windy days or low snow but last year I got lucky and had customer blowers to rescue from the wall effect. This year it will probably be the blower mainly. I know some don't have the luxury but when the road plows bank up at the end of my driveway I just ram through it to the other side of the road if it is plow time. Blower is a lot easier though since I had one time last year when I went to bust through and the plow got snagged in ice. Had to shovel out before I could back out to clearing.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used a plow for about five years. One thing I learned early on is that you move the snow WAY back early on in the season. I plowed my driveway and several widths of the plow back onto my lawn on either side to allow room for more snow. One you get a berm of snow along the sides of your driveway, you can no longer push much more snow off. Bought a snow thrower about a year ago and it is MUCH better. I don't really think it is that much slower either but I have it on a 20 hp Sunstar and can walk along at a pretty good clip.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep you may as well asked about Chevy/Ford, Briggs/Kohler, etc.:D. Plowed for many a year before I finally got a blower. Still use the plow for the first few falls to get a layer of snowpack on the drive, then switch to blower for rest of season. I think it is much faster to use the blower, does take a while to get to the top of the learning curve though. And I think it is easier on me too, less bumping and banging.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love to to plow. The T-10 with rear chains, in 2nd at 1/3rd throttle will push just about anything anywhere.


But...I did get a blower last year, with lots of help from the club members. By the time a I got everything and got it all on the tractor, winter was over. So I'm looking forward to some big snow here in central PA. But the best answer is two tractors, and once again with clubmembers help, I got a T-12 hydro.


I repaired the shift-shaft drive/neutral lever with lots more help, but I still need a vickers pump. Guess what? a clubmember is working on that for me right now. I may have two workers before the season is out. The T-12 will plow, and the T-10 will blow. Can't say it enough..You guys are great.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I won't even weigh in on Blower vs Blade, but, plowing with a blade creates a need for a loader tractor, what could be better? John U
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This will be my first year with separate plow and blower tractors, so I guess I'll find out which one gets more use... That said, plowing is exponentially more fun!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use both,I can clear the drive faster with the blade than with the snow thrower. I have to use the blade to clean up after the thrower, but the blower tractor has a cab much warmer.:D:D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the light fluffy stuff, I have a 3 HP MTD that I picked out of the garbage, only needing a belt, that does walkways pretty good. Then my wife don't mind running a single stage , so I got her a Toro CRC 1000 for $50 that needed a little carb cleaning.
[img]/club2/attach/BLT/SnoBloa.jpg[/img]
Then for the heavier stuff, I have a Simplicity 826 as it tosses the heavy stuff fairly well.
[img]/club2/attach/BLT/020608Snoblo.jpg[/img]
Then last year I got a blower for my 7116 for the side lot as there are over 120' runs and I don't have to turn a lot.
[img]/club2/attach/BLT/plowing b.jpg[/img]
And I have less then $1200 in all four.:D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Landlord gets put away for the winter. My Serf is too small for a push blade to be effective. I have the 27" blower on the Serf now. I also have a 21" 5hp MTD blower like Bob's that the wife can operate when I'm not home. On a much larger scope, the runways, taxiways, and aircraft parking areas where I once worked get the snow plowed into windrows, then the blowers come and finish the job. If I had the winter storage space, and a longer driveway, I would have two tractors, one with a blower and one with a blade and I would plow to the center of the drive, then blow it clear.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Only have used a blower on the tractor, and find we work well together. I have an old 3hp Toro snow pup, for the light stuff and clean up if needed. Thinking of finding a blade perhaps, and mount that on the 5212.5 and see what happens. But with lots of snow, blower has done some of the side road so we can get "out" as needed. Keep training the wife, but no luck so far.......LOL :)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...