Snow Removal Strategy (neighborhood, garage, eat)

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Most are 2 stage 3 point hitch machines. They can totally destroy a Bangor Daily Newspaper in 0.2 seconds. I have not tried phone books.

Considerations:

Make sure you can easily adjust the discharge chute from the tractor seat.

Make sure there are two shear pins; one on the auger drive and one on the PTO shaft. Not all have them.

I hate shear pins.

Do you snap a lot of shear pins?

... Consider how easily these pins can be replaced in the dark.

I love my 5 foot snowblower. If I ever buy another tractor I'll get one with a midpoint PTO so I can run a front mounted snowblower.

While I don't mind backing, it had occurred to me that this device would require a lot of backing.

I can see the lure of front-mounted.

Are there any that are hydraulic?

It is much easier to move hydraulic couplings than it is to move PTO.

[Cornerguy1]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I hate shear pins.

Do you snap a lot of shear pins?





While I don't mind backing, it had occurred to me that this device would require a lot of backing.

I can see the lure of front-mounted.

Are there any that are hydraulic?

It is much easier to move hydraulic couplings than it is to move PTO.

You may hate shear pins, but you'd hate having to replace components in your tractors PTO housing even more -- much more expensive than a 50 cent grade 3 bolt.

I haven't snapped a bolt on my 7 foot blower in 3 years, but there are 4 extras in the tractor tool box at all times ---- and I try to stay away from phone books, newspapers, etc.

The amount of backing you do depends on the width of blower you choose. A 40 hp tractor will easily handle a 6 foot blower.

Front mounted blowers are fantastic, but many tractors 40 hp and above don't have a mid-point PTO connection so you're limited to a rear mount.

There are hydraulic drive blowers on the market. Generally they are intended for use on skid-steer type machinery. They do require a high hydraulic flow which many smaller agricultural tractors may not be able to supply. They are also damn expensive -- at least twice the new cost of a similar size PTO drive unit.

One thing I would highly recommend for any blower is an adjustable flap for the top of the discharge chute. Some units have a hydraulically adjustable unit while others have a manual flapper. Either way, it's nice to be able to direct your discharge depending on wind, buildings, etc.

[Maineah]

FIL has a 6 foot rear PTO driven snow blower that he never uses. We used to use it all the time. It will really crank out the snow. It's just he (and I ) don't like backing it up the whole time we're clearing. It's great for blowing a tote road out in the middle of the winter if we need to get into the woods for some reason, moving a whole snow bank in one swoop, and if we get over two feet in one storm he will use it. Other than that he has a small hydraulically driven one on the front of a large lawn tractor. That thing throws almost as far as the big blower and is much easier to run than the rear mounted blower. I still just use the front end loader on my 33 HP New Holland. It works fine. I can drop the bucket in the garage and barn and back drag right out of the doors so there is zip for shoveling. Plus it's easy to take the tops of drifts off and move snow banks. Something you can't do with a plow.

[7express]

Originally Posted by Newdaawn

I sure hope that guy that was coming to Bowdoin (today) from Connecticut decided to wait. We have about 8 to 10 inches of new snow and visibility on the interstate is horrible. I think the speed limit was dropped to 45 for most of the day - with good reason.

Yup, I was there. Really did a good job on the roads until I got into Brunswick around 4:15. By 9:45 once the game ended it was clear. Drove from there to Gorham and back here to Bridgeport, CT today without a hitch.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I clear camp roads and my own driveway at camp in the spring. When we have 2 feet of snow with three layers of crust in the mix I find fallen limbs hidden under the snow. Sometimes they go out the chute in pieces, but if they would damage the blower the pin shears. I carry a half dozen of each size. I usually use ordinary nuts on them if I anticipate any sheared pins on an unfamiliar driveway. Otherwise I take the time to put on a Nylok nut. They never back off.

[starwalker]

Well my snow removal strategy for the day is to put on lots of layers and attack with a shovel.

My plow guy's truck is in the shop and the Subaru is still sitting at the FAR end of the drive. With the shovel in it. LOL I had shoveled a path down the drive to get out to work my last day and hoped for Plow Guy to show while I was out.

With more snow predicted for mid-week and our needing to go to Bangor tomorrow for doc, meds and the like, today is the day. Drifts are over my knees at the far end (where I will start, since that is where the shovel it) and about 6-8" at the house end of the drive. It's a long one, but I have shoveled it before many times, with as much snow. At least I don't have to do the actual dooryard; the wind whipping between house and garage cleared that for me, as least to a depth that is no challenge for the Sub. And I excavated the garage earlier on, so I could get in for chicken feed.

It is currently 2 degrees here, up from an overnight low of -22.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by starwalker

Well my snow removal strategy for the day is to put on lots of layers and attack with a shovel.

My plow guy's truck is in the shop and the Subaru is still sitting at the FAR end of the drive. With the shovel in it. LOL I had shoveled a path down the drive to get out to work my last day and hoped for Plow Guy to show while I was out.

With more snow predicted for mid-week and our needing to go to Bangor tomorrow for doc, meds and the like, today is the day. Drifts are over my knees at the far end (where I will start, since that is where the shovel it) and about 6-8" at the house end of the drive. It's a long one, but I have shoveled it before many times, with as much snow. At least I don't have to do the actual dooryard; the wind whipping between house and garage cleared that for me, as least to a depth that is no challenge for the Sub. And I excavated the garage earlier on, so I could get in for chicken feed.

It is currently 2 degrees here, up from an overnight low of -22.

If I were you I'd call another plow guy before I shoveled the whole driveway!!
DW and I cleared 1/2 our deck yesterday and that was enough for us! It had 4 feet of snow on it.

[Submariner]

Saturday I was running low on tractor fuel, so I only cleared a narrow path just wide enough for Dw to get in / out to commute to work. I would really hate to see the tractor run out of fuel and die blocking the driveway. Then when Dw got home from work I made a fuel run and got home after dark.

Sunday after church we had errands to run, and got home as it was getting dark.

So This morning, the tractor's fuel is topped off, my plan was to spend the AM clearing the rest of our driveway. But the battery is not strong enough to turn it over. I leave a trickle charger on it overnight all winter long, thinking to avoid this issue. But the negative temps seem to have an effect. So now I guess I am waiting for Dw to get home from work so I can jump the tractor from her car.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Saturday I was running low on tractor fuel, so I only cleared a narrow path just wide enough for Dw to get in / out to commute to work. I would really hate to see the tractor run out of fuel and die blocking the driveway. Then when Dw got home from work I made a fuel run and got home after dark.

Sunday after church we had errands to run, and got home as it was getting dark.

So This morning, the tractor's fuel is topped off, my plan was to spend the AM clearing the rest of our driveway. But the battery is not strong enough to turn it over. I leave a trickle charger on it overnight all winter long, thinking to avoid this issue. But the negative temps seem to have an effect. So now I guess I am waiting for Dw to get home from work so I can jump the tractor from her car.

Don't be so cheap, get a battery pack.

[Submariner]

I used to have a battery charger that was capable of jump-starting a vehicle. But it died and I have not replaced it.