What kind of blower to buy?

[pmsfarmer]

For 10 years I have used a 72" Lorenz snowblower on a S570 Bobcat. I want to buy a new snowblower. Any suggestions that won't break the bank? I have a standard flow Bobcat. I'm 73 so probably the last one I will be buying. I have the Bobcat electrical plug. Will other blowers be compatible w/the Bobcat electrical hookup. I want no hassle, no jerry rigging, dependable service with little or no maintenance. Thanks for any advice.

 

[brdgbldr]

Do you have the 7 or 14 pin Bobcat electrical plug?

 

[pmsfarmer]

7 pin

 

[haymaker]

I am thinking about replacing my old 1812 blower that was made by Erskine this year too.
Current Bobcat models are crazy expensive.

 

[schreib69]

Interesting, to me, why you use a snow blower. I got a good price on one for my ASV SR-80 3 yrs ago and had to put some time into it with a new switch and lubing it. It worked perfectly as far as it was designed. However, for my application with a 1/3 mile long lane and with 8 or 10" snows it simply just took too long to do the job. I had to go dead slow or it turned into a snow plow. So, I sold it and made $1000 and went back to plowing. Same age as you.
Suggestion: Get a used one at a good price; they could be out there and you can rationalize dumping it later!

 

[haymaker]

I am blowing snow from the road to my house then on to barns. My driveway is narrow about 900 feet long and mostly downhill. Once the snow gets to a certain height along both sides of the driveway it fills in with drifts with the slightest wind.
The driveway goes through my hayfield. When I plowed the combination of gravel getting into the hayfield and making the path wider as the snow got higher did so much damage to the field I decided to try a blower. The blower works great for me! It does not put gravel into the field and when I have to widen the path from 7 feet wide to about 25 feet wide to keep it open when it drifts from each side I do not do any damage to the field since it doesn't dig in like it did with the plow. I am able to go about half speed blowing snow and it just works much better than a plow for me.

 

[mrbb]

well, I'm no expert so, just my 2 cents here I guess!
, but I think when buying a blower, the main deal/objective is to make sure you get one the right size for the machine, , one that the machine can run off the flow rates of you machine, and then have it it the right width for clearing a path for your machine

not all skids steers have same flow rates or are the same width's, so, that has to be kept in mind


as for exact models to look at stay away from, or price points on them

I gather in some ways you sadly pay for the quality or lack of it , and designs and features they have or don't
I some times thing, when buying things like this, you have to sort of think long term over just cost up front, and also the features, and how they will save you time or add it
more time to do things , more wear and tear you add to machine
so them costs all factor in to the big picture!

I seem this set up in action a few times, and , NOT saying its the one to get

But IMO< it would sure get some looking at , if I was in the market for a blower, and KNEW I was in a snow belt where it would get used a lot, and had a bunch of buildings to get too!

price?? well, doesn't seem cheap, but again, , in the long run, , where does it fall into place? the designer seems to have put some effort into making it a high quality blower, and is from a snow belt where LOTS of use gets to his blowers(he comes from a snowmobile market engineering as well, so, has snow experience to say the least!)
here is a link to them, might be worth looking at >

Snowblower Attachment | muskoxmn.com | Grand Forks, ND

Welcome to the official website of the MUSKOX bi-directional snowblower attachment. Contact us today to save time and money on snow removal!

www.muskoxmn.com

 

[back_bucket]

I've heard good things about the Quick attach brand

 

[pmsfarmer]

Interesting, to me, why you use a snow blower. I got a good price on one for my ASV SR-80 3 yrs ago and had to put some time into it with a new switch and lubing it. It worked perfectly as far as it was designed. However, for my application with a 1/3 mile long lane and with 8 or 10" snows it simply just took too long to do the job. I had to go dead slow or it turned into a snow plow. So, I sold it and made $1000 and went back to plowing. Same age as you.
Suggestion: Get a used one at a good price; they could be out there and you can rationalize dumping it later!

What do you use for plowing? V-plow, hydraulic blade? All I've got is a bucket 72".

 

[schreib69]

Ohhh, man. I used a bucket the first 2 yrs living here in the boonies with my 1/3 mile lane and it DID work; best around the house where lots of maneuvering was required: garage, front door, parking. One is forced to fill it for a 100 ft and then angle it off to the side and repeat for a continuous road. It will work, but plowing is MOSTLY easier.

A neighbor made me a deal on a really old but simple straight edge plow with hydraulics to flip from one side to the other-- about 15° from head on-- ($1000) I still use the bucket a bit around the house but the plow works pretty well on the gravel road as long as it is FROZEN. I don't dare lower it onto the "feet" otherwise-- it will plow ruts under each. Like haymaker implies the gravel kicks out into my hayfield(too!). I really should build some skiis to replace the circular feet for soft tarmac. I have started to just push straight down the road with no side throw to prevent gravel spread during soft "weather."

Now that I spent thousands on blacktop around the house it is easy to use either the plow or bucket there. I have yet to see a good design for plowing gravel that is not hardened by hard freeze. Both in fall and spring I just live with this shortcoming. I would buy a ski replacement for my plow feet in a hot second!