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FDT snowblowers differences, and pro's & con's


ss74nova

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FDT snowblowers differences, and pro's & con's

I have a LL 101 with a 10 hp engine & a 3 belt 36" snowblower. In the future I would like to get a better snowblower with a single belt. I would like to throw the snow farther & not have it clog up as much.

What are the pro's & con's of snowblowers that fit a FDT ?

Does a single belt blower spin faster than a 3 belt ?

42" vs 36" Would 10 hp be enough to run a 42", or would 36" work better ?

Thanks,

Tim

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IMO, you'd be underpowered with 10hp for a 42" so I'd stick with a 36". Note that a 36" will not clear a wide enough track to run 23x10.50 rear tires very well.

I think the differences in FDT single-belt blowers are largely cosmetic, unlike the tillers which changed clutch mechanisms in addition to cosmetics, but perhaps others with more experience will chime in....

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I have found the 36" throws snow best, regardless of hp. That extra 6" of rotating mass that the 42" blower adds in auger, and the load that is added by 6 more inches of auger contact with your snowpack is felt and seen in performance and 'throw'. Other brands use wings on narrower blowers, which would be a benefit to a 36" IMO, as we all know the singles need to be fed quite a bit to work best. I would think the ideal blower is a 36", with 3" wings on either side to give you the width of track of a 42" blower. You are spinning a smaller auger while getting a bit more 'feed' to it, to keep that auger and chute full.

Until a club member hosts our first 'Winter Tractor Games', and we see comparison's side by side in the same conditions, I don't know that there will be evidence of one blower being better than another. I believe the 3-belt has to be the least efficient....every belt/pulley in the assembly soaks up some power.

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Ditto above, with this addition.

The earliest single belt blower had tapered ends, rather than square. I think that added to the amount of snow pushed into a smaller auger. I think that blower throws better than the square ended blowers.

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As a point of discussion, since I don't understand much. Wouldn't the 42" blower auger have more inertia and lug through a bit better? On the other hand, the increased inertia would also require more power to get back up to speed so there is a power tradeoff. I have found the snowblowers take a LOT of power and consume gas ravenously in heavy snow.

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Thanks for the advice everyone. Looks like the 36" single belt would work the best for me. Now if I could just come up with the funds. $

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I have a 42" single belt for my landlord2110, it works great as long as you are at least half throttle and in first gear. My choice would be 12 or 16hp, but i do ok as long as you go slow.

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The 'Best' snowthrower is any snowthrower connected to a hydrostatic tractor!

I have done it with a 12hp (HB212) through a 19hp (7119)they all work great with a 42" single stage, full throttle and as fast as needed to be in the governor.

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Thanks for the input guys.

I use this tractor for snowblowing & tilling only. I have a 10" drive pulley for slower speeds & more power. Based on all the advice over the years on this site has helped me a lot. I always run the engine at full throttle for snowblowing & low throttle for tilling. I use 3rd gear for 1-3" of snow and as the engine bogs down in deeper snow I just keep dropping to a lower gear, so I can see where a hydrostatic would help. I try to keep the auger as full as possible. I did notice when the carb & governor linkage ice up it bogs down & has low power & then the shute starts clogging easier. Sometimes it has a runaway high idle & moving the throttle lever does nothing. Thaw it out in the garage & then it's fine. I have a lead on a winter carb cover from another member. That should help a lot. I'll be able to turn the shute to the left more often & not ice the linkage up. :)

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I would go with a 42" blower. You cover more ground with the 42" in lighter snows. In a heavy snow, you can always take a smaller cut after the first path through. The straight sides also will push easier into snow than the "V" shaped sides.

By the way, I used a 42" blower on a 710 with a 6 speed a number of years, and I got along with it fine.

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Blowers will swap back and forth, hitches do not. You can put a FDT hitch on a RBT blower, or vice versa, but you need the correct hitch for the tractor.

Pulley sizes may vary blower to blower.

There may be variations, but there are basically 3 hitches for the large frame tractors.

The FDT hitch, has 2 pulley's and a built in clutch mechanism.

The RBT hitch for front pto, has 2 pulleys and no clutch.

The RBT hitch for mid pto, has one pulley.

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There is a difference between the blowers for the front pto tractors and the mid pto tractors in the pulley location on the blower head.

The front pto blower has the driven pulley located almost directly in the center of the tunnel and mid pto(7100/900 series) blower has the driven pulley moved about 1 1/2" toward the drive chain side.

You can physically fit the newer style(to the end of Soveriegn production) blower all the way back to the FDT but that little change makes belts fly off and if you put a RBT blower on a 7100/900 but the belt will do a 45 degree angle to the idler pulley. I relocated the idler pulley bracket with great results.

Blowers from the post Soveriegn to present keep the same design and can be adapted but sawzall and mig welder may be required.

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quote:Originally posted by landlord2110

I have a 42" single belt for my landlord2110, it works great as long as you are at least half throttle and in first gear. My choice would be 12 or 16hp, but i do ok as long as you go slow.


id="quote">
id="quote">I always you should run the blower wide open, and adjust speed with the transmission.
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