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John Weber
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2000-12-24          22756


(This is a response to Markus...I couldn't get the reply icon in his message box to work.) I'm also looking for a 3PH snowblower (for a JD 790, 25hp @ PTO) and so far I've found 3 different brands in Michigan: Woods, Meteor, and Erskine. The prices I've found for a 60" blower are: Woods-$2200, Meteor-$1700, Erskine-$2100. The weight: Woods-450lbs, Meteor-300lb, Erskine-500lb. Area of manufacture: Woods- ND, Meteor-Canada, Erskine-MN. Fan: Woods-18", 3blade, Meteor- varying info, Erskines-20", 4blade. So far most of my research has been over the phone so the above info is per salesmen. I'll be comparing them in person after the holidays. If anyone has any experience with the blowers please post. Also, what are the key features to look for in a blower? Fan diameter? Auger-flighting/fan thickness? Gear/chain/drive? Any help would be great. Thanks.



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lsheaffer
Join Date: Jun 1999
Posts: 1082 Northern Illinois
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2000-12-24          22757


I also tried replying to the post about snowblowers, but the reply page would not come up. I handle Allied/Farm King made in Canada. I have a 50" in stock . I also have available 60",73, "85", & 96". I can have a blower shipped directly to you. The factory has blowers in stock , but will be closed next week. check www.buhler.com for info on Allied snowblowers. Feel free to contact me , if you need more information at sheaftractor@coiinc.com or 815-284-3226
....


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RCH
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2000-12-24          22760


John, 9 years ago I brought a 60' rear mounted Lucknow 2 stage snowblower that I use on a 1910 Ford. This is made in Ontario Canada and was ~$1500, which was low-end price wise. There was several design and quality deficiencies that you might want to be aware of since small welding/manufacturing shops knock these things out from component parts. 1) the second stage fan is about 16", to small to throw the snow more than 12-15 feet or less depending on the snow. 2) The shear pin is a quarter inch bolt that connects two lobes on the PTO shaft right behind the front universal which is difficult to access because of the tractor's PTO shield. In addition the hole through these two lobes( it's a casting) is too far from the center of the shaft( you can see the casting starting to 'round off'; it's not through the thickest part of the casting). Consequently, because of too much leverage, the pin would shear too easily. I had a machine shop solve the problem buy drilling a 1/4"hole through the casting closer to the shaft. 3)They had a plastic shoe as a chain tightner on the roller chain that ran he horizontal gatherer- that had to replaced with an idler gear within a month. 4) The chute froze-up with the first wet snow. Lots of grease though 4 newly installed grease zerts, each a quarter of the way around its rotating connection solved that. Also the cable that manually rotates the chute needed a small welded-on guide to keep it in the the groove of the chute. 5) The gear box drain plug stripped its threads and leaked but gun grease in the box has been working for 6-7 years. 6) The hand crank to rotate the chute had to be shortened to fit my configuation. It needs a universal joint in it in order to tilt it up - I can't reach it when the blower is down so I have to stop,raise the 3-point, change the chute direction then lower the blower. I got my eye out for a small U joint to weld in there. 7)I wore a hole in the bottom of the 2nd stage stationary rounded part but that was before I learned to tilt the leading edge so that less gravel is picked-up.The trick is to get a thin layer of hardpack established early, if the weather cooperates, and glide over those rocks. Be carefull where you point the chute, I busted a side window out of my van TWICE over 9 years. 8) I have a 1300' road with a couple of lanes off of it to the house and barn. It takes ~ 75-90 minutes for me to do it. I hire a guy with a plow on a Dodge Dakota for $40 who does it in 30 minutes. With deep, drifting, and repeated snows my blower and FEL is handy the "mow" snow back and make some walkways over the grass between buildings, burning barrels,etc.
Generally snow plowing is faster. And YES,looking backward is hard on the neck. Also, you learn to watch the wind- a snow cloud is like a thousand knives to the face and can reduce visability to zero in an instant. Ski goggles help!

....


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bud in oh.
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2000-12-24          22775


John, I use to own a Woods 74" 3pt blower and it did ok but had it's problems.I went through shear pins like they were going out of style, the fan rubbed the bottom of the housing so bad that it would stick when shut off then shear a pin when thrown back in. When moving heavy snow (deep not wet) the chain drive side would flex in and out so bad I was afraid it was gonna break the back side of blower out. I also had a problem with angle of pto shaft and Woods seemed to be concerned but never followed up on the problem, it would not blow snow very far either. I sold the Woods with my 970 Deere and went shopping looked at the Alied-Farmking but unless you get there bigger blowers they have no gearbox, the gears are exposed instead of running in oil. I came accross Pronovost at the Ohio power Show in Columbus, the auger is balanced, and so is the fan, (which is a 4 blade) the shoot is lined where it pivots with a type of plastic for smooth operation. This blower is very heavy built, mine is a 72" with a hydraulic pivoting shoot, (gear operated not cable) and the industrial deflector, around 800lbs, and 2200.$ 3 years ago it was also 600.$ cheaper than Woods and a much better blower.(this is my 3rd season and have not sheared a pin yet). I got it from a dealer in PA. and they delivered it for free to my Deere dealer, I am glad I came accross this blower and would recommend it to all. budinohio. ....


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bud in oh.
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2000-12-24          22783


John, I for got to say get a four blade and largest diameter fan possible, the faster the blower can get rid of the snow the better the performance. budinohio. ....


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John Walsh
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2000-12-24          22786


I have a JD 4300 with a Lorenz model 530 snow blower, 66" , 520#
Price: $2,084, $50crating, $130 freight from Benson Mn. to Medford, OR.This unit has paddles vs the auger. Less likely to distort, bend, and the wet snow is no problem. I installed a longer arm to turn the chute, using a 1/2 inch socket swivel. The shoes that controls the distance between unit and ground are the key to controlling picking up rocks. I replaced the round dudes that come with the unit. After various choices I found that large surfaces work best. 12" x 24", the ends at 2" are bent at 42 degrees. I set up the shoe very close to the unit, very little ground clearance. The shoe is forward of the unit by only the amount of the bend.
I finally can plow , leaving very little snow, and not spraying the 3/4" minus rock with the snow. ....


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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
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2000-12-25          22795


I had the same problem replying. I thought about starting a new thread but it slipped my mind. Nice to see that JWeb took the initiative. The way I think about blowers is that you want one that covers the tractor's tire tracks, you want one that throws snow off into the distance and you want to get the job done fast. Take all those things together and you probably don't have the PTO HP to run the blower you want. For a given width auger, the fan diameter and number of blades determines how fast you can go in a heavy snow and how far the snow is thrown (you can't go faster than the fan's ability to clear snow off the auger). However, bigger fans take more HP. In addition, a blower should be wide enough to cover the tire tracks, but an even wider one may get the job done faster (if it actually reduces the number of passes required). However, wider also takes more HP. I'd want to make sure that I didn't pay the money to get a blower with high performance features only to find that I didn't have the HP to take advantage of them. The result would be that I'd have to slow down to keep the blower's power demands within the tractor's capabilities, and I probably wouldn't get the job done any faster than with a cheaper blower. Anyway, all these things are tradeoffs. I also wouldn't want to get a narrow blower that would thrown the snow 50' if I really only needed it 30' away. I might find that I had the HP to run a wider blower that would clear the drive in two rather than three passes.

Having said all this, I realize that I'm not clear on the relationship between fan diameter and number of blades. My impression is that they both affect how much snow is taken off the auger and how far it is thrown. However, fan diameter is mainly how much and number of blades is how far. I could be wrong. ....


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Gary Anderson
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2000-12-25          22806


I don't know what is the best but I have a 60 inch Allied blower that works real good for me, seems to run smooth,throws snow 30-40 ft. and i do not find backing a long way too much of a problem. main thing is to get a lot of good lighting aiming behind. i have a cab so do not worry about the snow blast problem. The downside of the Allied is the manuel shoot crank is too short, I will this summer legnten it as this winter is a trial run and has been good as we have had a lot of snow everyother day. I do not know how much of a drawback the open gearset is as I have a lub from a spray can that I coat them with and watch them closely and they seem to stay clean, I think it is dirt that would wear them ou but looks like they can be easily replaced.I paid $1300 for the Allied new and as far as I am concerned does a good job for me. Possibly a power shute would be better and I may add that too next summer. GA ....


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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2000-12-26          22830


There is a lot of good info here already but a few points are missed. The largest blower with the most amount of paddles will win every time. If the blower is three point and your driveway turns add a couple of inches 4-5 for the front wheel track as it follows. Skid shoe's are important and need infinite adjustments not just a couple of settings if possible. Also a good replaceable cutting edge if you have a paved driveway and you want it cleaned to the surface. The tougher snowblowers also use a enclosed 90 degree gear box instead of two open bevel gears to run the augers. Look at the options of a hydraulic or electric rotator and deflector, you might find some day it gets old turning around to work the controls. Provonost is a good blower to compare with as they offer the most designs and options that I know of, that doesn't mean that the others are not good. ....


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Robert in Pa.
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2000-12-26          22835


I have a Pronovost 54" blower I purchased this fall and have used it just a few times so far this winter and it works really well. The newer Pronovost coming out of the factory have skid shoes which was an option on last years models. I paid just over $1130.00 but some dealers were asking $1500.00 to $1800.00 for last years models so it pays to shop around. I have the blower on a B-2100 and it seems to power it well so far. ....


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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2000-12-26          22844


Robert the blower you have is the economy model the Puma I believe, they build it for price and offer against the many makes of them offered. Did you by any chance see their liturature on the full featured line? They even balance the main rotor on those and it's 22" in diameter on the small ones with 4 blades. With the differences we see on the walk behind units we sell between 3 and 4 blade impeller's it does make a difference. ....


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Dave White
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2000-12-26          22847


I have had a Meteor snowblower for a year and my neighbour has had one for a couple of years. Mine has been provided excellent value for the cost. My neighbour still speaks well of his.
I operate my 60" with a B7500 and he has a 60 h.p. J.D.
They aren't great in wet snow but any of the snowblowers I have used haven't handled that type of snow well.
Plows are faster but have drawbacks as well (you need to buy a four wheel drive vehicle and a plow).
I have replaced several shear pins but I would sooner replace that than something more expensive.
Buy something wider than the track of your tractor.
Good luck with your purchase. ....


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Jim
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2000-12-26          22859


I have been distributing snowblowers for 10 years and there are several items that come in to play when determining the performance of the unit
1. diameter & depth of fan. the larger the blower, the bigger the fan.
2. a 4 blade fan is a must
3. the discharge chute. the chute should have an opening as large or larger
than the depth of the fan. Also, there should be no sharp angles close to the base of the chute. this causes a restriction in the discharge flow.
4. an enclosed oil bath gear box is preferred.
5. look beyond the trendy name brand,pretty paint & stickers and look at the construction of the unit.

We sell a blower made in Ontario, it out weighs many other units and sells for considerably less. We also guarantee the performance or will take it back. we have sold hundreds of these over the years and have never taken one back. I also have dealers that are big "Woods" dealers and after the nightmares they've had with the "Woods" blowers, have gone back to selling ours. ....


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Markus Dammermann
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2001-01-03          23056


Thanks for all the information. I ended up ordering an Erskine 600R. It is a 60" rear mounted blower with 18" 4-bladed fan. The blower was delivered tonight and it really does blow some snow! I tried it out in one of the remaining snow drifts and it really blasted the snow over a long distance. The blower weighs 500 lb, but pto power requirement is only 16 hp (minimum). It seems to be really heavy built and has a poly chute liner and adjustable skid shoes. Again thanks for all the good advise. ....


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Dick Zimmermann
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2001-02-11          24092


I recently purchase a new Kubota L3710HSTC tractor (with factory cab), along with Kubota's L2174/L2175 62" snowblower. I have to move quite a bit of snow at my ranch every winter (Silver Cloud Ranch is in North Idaho about 90 miles south of Canada) and for the first time since I live here, I no longer dread having to do that job. Frankly, I'm madly in love with this tractor/snowblower setup. So if I am about to complain about a problem... please put it in proper perspective. The chute is (of course) hydraulic powered through an hydraulic motor. The problem is (I think) that the hydraulic motor is too big and it moves the chute with such speed and energy, the chute either goes full extent to the left or right and when it stops, it stops with the force of a pretty powerful collision. I've discussed this matter with my Kubota dealer, they inturn with Kubota headquarters in Southern California and they came up with a terrible (I think) solution. They have placed restrictors in the hydraulic lines, which indeed as slowed down the chute movement - but - has now delivered a whole new set of problems. Let me cut to the chaise..... I believe that the Kubota L2174/2175 snowblower is not built by Kubota. My suspicion is that the unit is built in Canada and I am trying to determine which of the Canadian manufcturers OEM's the unit for Kubota. Please... if you know.... do contact me and let me know. One way or another, I am going to get this problem resolved and I'm sure the unit will be damn near perfect once the problem is resolved. In advance, many thanks and best wishes to all of you!!!! ....


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Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999
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2001-02-11          24093


Dick, I'm curious; what's the new set of problems with having flow restrictors in the hydraulic lines? ....


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Dick Zimmermann
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2001-02-11          24097


Thanks for writing back. The "wizards" at Kubota told my dealer to place a certain size restrictor (regretfully I cannot tell you the size of the orifice off the top of my head), with the intention of reducing the pressure and thereby slowing down the left to right movemement of the shute. Well, part of the solution worked. The movement slowed down by at least half. But, now two conditions that didn't exist before are now occuring. First I hear a constant high frequency whine from the hydraulic system and second, it appears that the restriction of the pressure is such that at times when I move the handle to turn the shute, the chute will suddenly stop and not continue to move. Then I have to wiggle the control handle to make the chute continue and to go where I want it to go. I know know two things and fear another.... first, I know that the whine I'm hearing is probably putting strain on the hydraulic system and probably causing over heating of the hydraulic motor. Secondly, I know that the control of the lateral movement of the chute is NOT supposed to stop intermittantly. And what I fear, is that a combination of these problems is going to cause damage to one or more components of the hyraulic system, and something will be damaged or destroyed. And of course, one wonders who will have to pay the bill. Will the damage occur while it is under warranty, or 3 days after warranty terminates. Plus, I use my tractor alot (particularly in the winter), and don't want to see it sitting in the dealer's shop. I say that Kubota's fix is a cheap bandaid repair and I want it fixed now - the right way! So, I hope that answers your question. Let me know what you think! Best regards...... dz ....


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Bird Senter
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2001-02-11          24101


Dick, do you know WHERE they put the flow restrictors? If a dealer did it, then I would assume they put them in the hoses to and/or from the cylinder, between the cylinder and valve, not between the tractor and valve. This may be getting a little out of my area of knowledge, but the flow restrictors would be the solution I would expect; however, the additional whine sounds like a pressure relief valve open, and if so, that will indeed overheat the hydraulic oil. And if the restrictors are between the tractor and valve, that's what I would expect, but if they are between the valve and cylinder, then I don't understand how they could cause the effect you mentioned. Some of you guys who know more about this than I help us out here. ....


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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
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2001-02-12          24127


I'm with Bird on this one. If it's the relief valve screaming, and it's screaming all the time, then a restrictor may have been installed in the open centre flow. Prolonged operation when the relief valve is open can damage the pump. However, I can't imagine any circumstances where this would seem like a good idea. Perhaps something else is going on. Even if the relief valve was not opening, all hydraulics behind the restriction also would operate more slowly. However, if the relief valve only opens when the chute is operated, then the restrictor is likely in the cylinder lines, and what is described may be normal. In that case, damage is less likely since the chute ordinarily wouldn't be operated frequently or for long periods. I don't know about the erratic chute movements described. I have a short 2" cylinder on my chute. The cylinder is overkill in terms of power, but the chute moves about the same speed as my loader. The movements also are fairly precise and exact. Small adjustments can be made easily, and the movement stops immediately when the valve is released. I have to have this feature, because my wife gets cranks if I blow snow on her car or her shoveled paths. ....


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