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Snowblower vs. plow ???


eugenedrago

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Question for you tractor masters... For those of you out there who have or had used both a plow and a snowblower on the old b1's or b10's 700's etc. Do you choose one over the other? If your where only to keep one which would you lean towards. I have a plow on my Garden Mark Squire. I just recently picked up (see show and tell) a B-1 that came with the front mounted snowblower. I was thinking of parting out with it.... Any thoughts?

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I prefer plowing over snow blowing. guess it depends on your driveway conditions. i will only plow with the 46" spring trip blade. The rigid 42" blade is good for dirt.

hours of snow blowing is boring to me. hours running up & down the driveway plowing in 3rd gear is much more enjoyable :D

I do like to have two tractors setup. one with plow and one with blower. i use the blower to blow the snow banks into the woods as they build up.

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I live in town and a blower is the only way to go when you have limited space to place the snow. In the country where you can plow the snow back a bit, a blade is fun, but once those banks freeze they are pretty much there for the winter. I have had two tractors set up in the past, one with blade, one with blower, but never really used the blade here in town so don't set it up any more, just the blower for me.

Steve

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I prefer the blower just so I can get the banks blown back into the yard. I've found with a blade you can only go so deep unless you're willing to drive your tractors up the banks (which is fun as well). I've had a couple winters where the snow has been so deep that I could only move it with the blower.

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cant stop a FDT with chains and weights . my old landlord kicks A^

on the first few snow falls I make sure i push the snow deep into the yard and woods to make room for rest of the season. it builds up quick. it does take alot of time when you have to start moving snow banks to make room

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Originally posted by perry

I prefer plowing over snow blowing. guess it depends on your driveway conditions. i will only plow with the 46" spring trip blade. The rigid 42" blade is good for dirt. hours of snow blowing is boring to me. hours running up & down the driveway plowing in 3rd gear is much more enjoyable :D I do like to have two tractors setup. one with plow and one with blower. i use the blower to blow the snow banks into the woods as they build up.

id="quote">He took the words right out of my mouth. My process to a 'T'. The blade is so much more fun. After all, we're farting around with 45 year old garden tractors...it HAS to be fun, or it aint worth it. ;)
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I have both. The blower is best for all around conditions. The blade is fun if the snow is only a few inches deep and you have space to push the snow to but, after a 6-8" snowstorm (or after several smaller snowstorms), the blade is slow going.

DSCN2431.jpg

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Thanks for the input guys! I realize that there is no right answer per say. Since I don't have a trip plow (can't be angled from the seat) I might lean towards keeping the blower and giving it a shot. I am also thinking that traction might not be as big as a issue with the blower vs. plow. I do admit it's FUN flying down the drive with a plow on!

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quote:Originally posted by steve-wis

I live in town and a blower is the only way to go when you have limited space to place the snow. In the country where you can plow the snow back a bit, a blade is fun, but once those banks freeze they are pretty much there for the winter. I have had two tractors set up in the past, one with blade, one with blower, but never really used the blade here in town so don't set it up any more, just the blower for me. Steve


id="quote">
id="quote">Have you had the chance to get your Wonder-Boy with the plow out on the driveway yet Steve?My driveway is a scant 35' long. It wouldn't make sense for me to plow. That being said, with the way the blowers like to work with a "full hopper" I would plow the smaller accumulations of snow to the center of the driveway, then blow off the windrows. These single stage blowers LOVE to run fully loaded.
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I've found out the blade works better in a heavy wet snow, which normally clogs the blower.

My AC712H gets a blade year round, I have a 2110 that is for snowblower duty only, although the last few years I really haven't needed it.

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I have one of each, blower and plow that is. I use the blower when there is more than a couple of inches of snow on the ground, and I also don't have to worry about piles with it. I use the blade when there isn't as much snow or it is too wet and heavy for the blower.

The non-trip blade is fine as long as your on a surface that is nice and level,and no hidden obstructions.

I once had a non-trip blade in front of a 3416h and hit an unseen rock so hard that I almost went over the hood! Not cool. Love the trip blade,it's much safer in the respect that you won't come to an unexpected dead stop like that.

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My drive is over 200 feet and I use the blower exclusively except right up against the garage and there I have to use my armstrong pusher. 6216 with homemade cab.

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I prefer a blower. I only have to move the snow once and it is gone.... Well at least it's not in my way any more.:) I have a wide yard out her in the country. While I do wind up blowing the snow twice in some spots on the yard, it's better than plowing. There are a couple of spots where I blow ahead and slightly left or right depending on the wind.

Ken

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really in town a blower is best for most things. but i like to blow snow then plow down to the concrete on my neighbors drives that i clear for them. we have a gravel drive so i have the blower set up a little higher for that.

so to me i think both are nice but if i had to choose one it would be a blower.

plowing is more fun without question, im lucky i can plow all i want if i choose too.

now if i could just get paid to do it, that would be the best.

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Hey Tim, I haven't gotten the wonderboy out yet, been busy with other projects, and now it may be snowed in for the winter in the back shed. I may try to get it out over the next couple of days just to play, depends on if I have time. I had hoped to try it and get a video of it, and it still might happen if everything goes right.

Steve

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I have to concur with most of the posts. I have both...the plow is more fun with 3" of snow or less. But more than 3" you I need the blower. If I can have only one, it would be the blower without question.We have a driveway about 1/8 mile long and a large turn around area between the garage and shop.2 weeks ago we just had a snowfall of 16". The blade would go about 4ft. The Kubota with the FEL would have taken most of a day. The 917 with the snowthrower cleared it all in less than 2 hours.

mini-P1010211.JPG

mini-P1010211.JPG.a385bf69f35a2d8ad56e18a7fe3994b6.JPG

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I have both. A 720 with the 52" blower that makes quick work of the deep snow... The 716H with the spring trip 5 position blade is fun and quick; especially since I can send my 11 year old out to deal with the snow. I won't trust him near the auger yet. The manual lift is a bit much for the boy to handle. He pulls on the handle until his butt comes off the seat and then the blade comes up... He needs a bit more french toast with bacon methinks...

After he's built up some banks, I come through with the blower and blow the snow banks into the forest.

For some reason, I can't seem to upload a picture anymore so this will have to do:

http://www.beer.org/gallery3/index.php/Cottage-life/IMG_3430

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As some of you know I am a Englishman, not much snow over in england!! but I am now in nw ohio, and I have just had my FIRST experience with snow fun fun fun. I have the luxury... (oops I nearly forgot, I told she who must be obeyed, "I had the forethought to make sure we had the bare minimum setup of 2 tractors , 1 with a blower and 1 with a blade setup.

deal with the Ohio snow".

I have a about 350ft of drive (stone) to keep clear. Well I learnt quickly that the balance of speed, amount of snow and how heavy the snow is (wet/powder) is critical to blowing snow ( I guess all you "old hands" know this all to well but it was a revelation to me), and that drifts causing different depths of snow in short distances makes for difficult blowing conditions.

So I got the blade out, and this worked great, but ended up with large amounts of snow at the sides of the drive, mmm don't want that freezing and leaving mw with nowhere for the next snow falls to go. so out with the blower and straight down the drive edges and blow all the surplus in to the yard.

Great result, and great fun, and I still have the cab to fit for those cold windy days.

any tips for me from the experienced folks would be gratefully received.

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I have both, but have yet to use the blower. I had the blower on and found the tractor (Homelite T-10) hard to maneuver, I guess that some rear weight would even that out. I have two tractors, but only the T-10 is rigged with front PTO, and I don't know if the plow will hitch up to the T-12; it looks like it should. The ideal situation would be to use the T-10 to blow and the T-12, which is a hydro, to plow. Fun? Plowing...hands down.

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in my opinion, both have their merits. The blade is safer for nearby people, but can be jarring on you dependent on the ground surface.

I think the the blower is way more fun watching the it chew up snow. However, I do find that I get tired of getting pelted in the face with the snow from any blowback if the wind changes. You simply can't be constantly adjusting the blower chute to save yourself from a snow sandblasting in the face. It's also more dangerous than using a blade if you have to blow it towards the neighbors. My car was hit by a rock one time from a DB's blower that was aimed at the wrong direction.

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I have only plowed a few times, but have to say it is fun. The blowing is a lot of fun as well and to me would be the only way to go if I had to choose. Having hydrostatic for blower is important as you can manage the load on the tractor while keeping the blower loaded. You can get away with a lot less traction with a blower as well. I used to have just turf tires and no chains and could get away with it with blower (fairly flat area). Either way, to take what is the most dreaded chore (shoveling) and make it fun is pretty cool!

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