Snowblowers on Skid Steers......Good or Bad ?

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Lucky

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Messages
8
Hello, I am looking for info and opinions on the use of snowblowers attached to skid steers. Do they work good...easier than plowing with the bucket ? I am thinking of getting one for my L170 New Holland. Give me the scoop !!!!!! Thanks Lucky
 

skidsteer.ca

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2006
Messages
3,853
That's a wide open question but I'll give it a go.
It really depends on your definition of good. Imo the good part is they are supper maneuverable and the operator can really see and hopefully feel what he is doing with one.
The only bad part I see is that speed the blower will throw snow is limited by the capacity of the hydraulic pump on the loader that operates it. More flow or gallons per minute and more pressure expressed it psi means more available hp going though the quick couplers to the blower and the faster it will eat snow.
If your used to a tractor blower, they are faster because you have your full engine hp available at the pto. That being said most people who are told about the skids lower hp, are pleasantly surprised at the performance. Most skid dealers won't mention it though, why confuse the consumer...
To be honest with you I hate buckets for snow, (unless of course you hand me a shovel) it trails off both sides, you have to wait to dump it at the pile. Personally I like a snow blade most of the time because it address these short comings. They really allow you to do a clean neat job quick. also our snows here are usually under 6" and I have lots of room to put it.
Where a blower shines over a blade is when you are short on places to put snow. You can blow it into the trees or over obstacles. They save some time by allowing you to only clear where you need to drive. With a bucket you must push back extra room so you can pile the snow there and give up space as you go.
Blowers do a neat job, maybe not quite as fast as a plow, either are better then a bucket. They out shine a plow if drifting is a concern. Also a blower will work in 3 ft of snow, when nothing else will work
With a blower your travel speed will be slower though. The ideal loader for snow blowing is a loader with a hi flow pump option. Most however don't have the option. If your 170 is not a hi flow machine you will have about 25 hp available to power the blower. Hi flow loaders would be around 40 (guessing) Search how to calculate hydraulic horsepower to plug your numbers in and be sure.
Also if you happen upon a good deal on a used blower there is a rub, It needs to come off a machine with a hydraulic pump within a few gpms of yours. If it came off a bigger machine the cast distance will suffer. If it came off a machine with fewer gpm of flow your loader may overflow the hydraulic motor on the blower and cook it, putting contamination throughout the loader and blower.
This issue can be solved by swapping the hydraulic motor, expect to spend $500 to $800 for the new motor though.
All that being said we'd love to sell you one of ours :)
Call me if you want to talk
Ken
http://skidsteer.ca/contact.html
 

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