Forums Archive Index > Outdoor Power Equipment > Looking for a snowblower - help -

Author: rallen1

Date: 27 Dec 2006 7:00 am

I am completly lost after crawling the web for snowblowers so I thought I would ask some experts.

Here is my task, I have a 500 ft paved driveway and a 500 foot gravel drive to the barn that has an graveled area about 100x100 in front of the barn. All of this area needs to be cleared at each snowfall. I live in NJ and we have been having 2 to 3 big snows each year.

Currently I am using a Kubota tractor with a 6ft rear blade. Since I have to run this setup in reverse it is killing my back. Each year I decide to get a blower but never go any farther due to the choices and lack of time to sift through all of the data.

I also have a Gravley power unit that is a million years old. The snowblower attachment jammed on the gravel and destroyed the gears. I gave the unit away. I guess that may have been a bad move.

What is your learned advice?

Thanks in advance.

Rich

Author: Majorxlr8n

Date: 27 Dec 2006 7:42 am

Hi Rich & WELCOME!! :D

You have a LOT of area to clear. If you still have the Gravely powered unit, another snowblower attachment or even a plow for it might be one idea.

Do you have a quad? If so you could get a plow setup for that.

Is there a plow or snowblower setup available for your Kubota?

I'm thinking that a walk behind snowblower might be too small for your needs

I can't help but see a pattern here. A front mounted plow (on something: tractor, truck, quad) might be best since you have a lot of snow to clear out...

Just my 2 cents...
Marty

Author: rallen1

Date: 27 Dec 2006 9:15 am

Thanks for the reply Marty. Here is some more info...

The kubota has the standard rear PTO 3pt hitch arrangement. There are blower units that will work off of this but they need the whole setup to run in reverse. There was one unit that was forward pointing but the tractor must go through the snow before the snow is moved. Could be an issue with heavy deep snow. The other issue with the kubota mounted unit is that I am not sure if it would work on gravel.

The gravely unit is way old and it is not completly reliable. I would hate to spend a large amt of money on a blower to end up in sub freezing weather tearing down the carb. I simply don't have the time for that kind of stuff.

I don't have a quad, just a scag mower and I don't believe that there are any snow removal attachments for this unit.

I was thinking of a large cutting unit say 30+ inches with adjustable skids and lighting. I would probably be able to do the driveways in 5 or so passes. The front area would be a little painfull but if the machine had good stearing and drive options, it would be bearable. I would think that the snow removal would be done only once after the storm had finished. Currently, I have to remove the snow a couple of times during a large storm. If I don't the kubota simply can't move it and I have to resort to using the front end loader. That is REALLY painful.

Anyone else have some ideas?

thanks
Rich

Author: ramit

Date: 27 Dec 2006 10:08 am

Rich, welcome to the forum.

Do you have a 4x4 p/u, suv?

an inexpensive but usefull plow....
http://www.agricover.com/index.php/products/category/C24/

Or weld a 2" receiver on to the front of you tractor to use the snowsport blade?

Get a blower for the tight areas?

Or if you got some real cash to dump into it.
http://www.hansonsnowblowers.com/

Author: Majorxlr8n

Date: 27 Dec 2006 11:41 am

Rich - since you are entertaining a walk behind snowblower, here's a few choices from Ariens starting at $1949 up to $2899...
http://www.ariens.com/snow_products/deluxe_sno_thros/1332_le/
http://www.ariens.com/snow_products/professional_sno_thros/1332_dle/
http://www.ariens.com/snow_products/professional_sno_thros/1336_dle/
Other brands to consider are Simplicity, Toro & Honda. I wouldn't consider ANYTHING else due to the amount of use it will get with just one snowfall. You're looking at spending $2k-$3k this way...

Hope that helps
Marty

Author: newjerseybt
Subject: Ariens information sheet

Date: 27 Dec 2006 12:00 pm

Just noticed the Ariens PDF on the 1336DLE differs from the site information sheet for the same machine.

The PDF shows a 120volt starter while the site page indicates a 12VDC starter.

Ariens changes things constantly so you have to watch and ask questions.

I have a 2003 Arien's model 1128DLE. This machine will handle a 24 inch snowstorm easily. Last year I went through 24 inches of plowed street snow for a distance of 150 feet and it never bogged!

Author: krislu

Date: 27 Dec 2006 3:21 pm

Rich- Welcome ! Why not get that Gravely going? I have 3 of them that work mint. You can still get parts and their is a large support network for them. Right now Gravely snowblower attachments are cheap on e-bay. There is alot of people selling and not many bidders. After I refurbed mine there ready to go for another 50yrs. If the carb is the problem they are rebuildable and replaceable ( you can still buy them new). Does it have compression ? Does it smoke ? If you haven't started it in a while put some fresh gas in it and a new spark plug and sand the points alittle bit and see if it starts.










- Kris :)

Author: rallen1

Date: 27 Dec 2006 4:20 pm

Kris, I only found one hit on ebay for gravely snowblower attachments. Where else should I be looking?

On the other side, is there a good place to try to sell the gravely stuff?

thanks
Rich

Author: krislu

Date: 27 Dec 2006 5:11 pm

Rich- I found some auctions:

(E-bay) #

140068302308 ( MA210 snowcannon) most desirable

open reels
260068839848
250064300811
160065867387

32"
1660066431157
110072778335

snowblade
140068297234


If you want to sell there is E-bay (of course) and there is the Gravely classified forumn (free)



http://groups.yahoo.com/group/classifiedgravelyads/

There is also Craigs list and you could post on this forumn as well. Show pictures of your machine where ever you decide to list it. - Kris :)

Author: rallen1

Date: 27 Dec 2006 8:39 pm

Putting the gravely aside for a moment, a couple of more questions;

Is Ariens the same company as gravely?

Will these snowblower units (any brand) work on gravel (packed)? (the gravely jammed on a stone and I believe blew the spindle gears in the blower.)

Rich

Author: ramit

Date: 27 Dec 2006 9:22 pm

Any of the snowblowers with adjustable feet / fixed scraper bar will work on the gravel.

I spent ~ 7-8 years with a 150ft x 10ft wide blue stone driveway.
I just kept the scraper blade up about 1/4 inch, no more. But I would throw a rock every so often. I had a 5/24 Craftsman.
The other 8 years of so was with the driveway, finally blacktopped.

Author: robmints

Date: 27 Dec 2006 9:24 pm

Rich, I'm a big Gravely fan, and I see your point of not wanting a project. Would it work? Yes. Would you need to spend more time maintaining it than you would a new walkbehind snowblower? Most likely, yes.

Honda would be worthy of a lot of consideration IMO. They big thing they have going for them for a person in your situation is the foot pedal on the back that changes the tilt of the machine. You might need to investigate if it would allow you to clear over the gravel and then lower down to clean down to the surface of the drive. They have a wonderful engine, a hydro drive, and tracks. They seem like a well made and thought out machine. Maybe you could get a front mounted blade for the Kub for the light powdery stuff and when you get dumped on by the heavy wet stuff the tractor has trouble with, use the Honda (or Simplicty, or Ariens). One thing about the Honda, if you are tall you will need the handlebar extentions. IMO the Toro you would want they no longer make.

Yes Ariens bought Gravely, but the two wheelers are gone. There is a lot of support for them though. If not through Ariens then through the other users and followers. If yours is old it might have the old cast engine and if you had carb problems you can have trouble in the area of the exhaust. Lots burn valves and crack right there. I would take it to my local Gravely repairman and have him go over it when he wasn't busy and get him to fix what was broken and use it as brush mower, or for snow. But the care and repair needed to get a old one back into shape sometimes needs a little time and test runs. If you got it fixed and it proved dependable in the summer when it was not doing as important a job as clearing the drive of snow, then you might consider using it in the winter.

Most any walkbehind snowblower can be set up to clear a gravel drive. You having both asphalt and gravel would make you a person that might want a larger skid with a "gravel shim" that you could take on and off rather than resetting the skid all the time.

Author: rallen1

Date: 27 Dec 2006 9:53 pm

Thanks for all of the input.

On the other side of this question, is there any brand that I should stay away from? Sounds like nothing is standing out.

Rich

Author: krislu

Date: 28 Dec 2006 7:25 am

Rich- I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I'm just trying to point out a good viable option. The only brand I would stay away from is MTD. If you want to go new stay with Ariens,Honda, Simplicity,and Toro. As Ramit and Robmints pointed out any snowblower with adjustable skids to raise/lower the bucket should do the job. With a gravel driveway you need to have the bucket raised higher than someone with a blacktop or cement driveway. I have a blacktop driveway and I have all of my snowblowers shimmed up a 1/4". I don't set it to scrape clean. My thinking is the snowblower is used for Bulk snow removal not for a perfect all in one pass machine. Robmints' idea of a "gravel shim" is an excellent idea! I don't believe any snowblower has "tooless" adjustable skids and you can't keep adjusting during a storm, it's to much work. Another thing you should do for any snowblower is every fall or before every storm (if possible) smooth out the gravel in your driveway, use your Kubota to level it and pack it down. I have a farmer friend who has to "tune up" his gravel driveway with his large Deere every so often. One more Gravely note, you should verify that the gear is blown, Gravely snowblowers have 2 clutches, one for the auger and one for the attachment as a whole, one of them could be worn and in need of an adjustment or replacement, it's a cheap and easy fix. - Kris :)

Author: dave___in___ct

Date: 28 Dec 2006 7:48 am

Hi...

Kubota tractor...
Compact tractor ?
4-wheel drive ?
Front loader ?
Horsepower ?

A front haudraulic angling snowplow (mounted directly on the loader arms) in conjunction with the rear blade will work well if the Kubota is big enough...

I used a JD 750 compact tractor (17 HP 4-WD) with this setup on a 500-600' gravel driveway + parking area here in CT... Worked well... as long as the snow was not too deep..


Dave...
My sons also plowed 10 other driveways in the area with this...

Author: rallen1

Date: 28 Dec 2006 9:28 am

Kris, this is not my thread, just my question. I say, let it go where the forum wants it to go. I just appreciate having a resource to bounce questions and ideas off of.

For the Kubota, it is a 31hp diesel 4x4 drive with a rear pto/3pt hitch and a front loader. There is a possibility of getting a front snow blade that mounts on the bucket and I believe that there are also some units that replace the bucket and tie into the hydrolics.

Again, I am 49yrs old with a job that because of globalization has me working almost 24x7 just to try to keep from being layed off. Because of this, I was looking for something that is reliable and has reduced maintanence time.

Rich

Author: Majorxlr8n

Date: 28 Dec 2006 9:42 am

rallen1 wrote:
Again, I am 49yrs old with a job that because of globalization has me working almost 24x7 just to try to keep from being layed off. Because of this, I was looking for something that is reliable and has reduced maintanence time. Rich

Rich - working a lot of hours would reduce the amount of time for snow removal. With a walk behind snowblower, your task will be much lengthier in time. I'm thinking that you want this chore finished as promptly as possible(?).

Another thought - do you have someone that can help you if you were to purchase two snowblowers? That could be another option...

What is your budget for a snow removal machine? Lets go from there...

Marty

Author: rallen1

Date: 28 Dec 2006 9:52 am

Marty, my thinking was that with my current setup, I have to clear the entire area multiple times during a storm. The time and back pain are my drivers here.

With a blower, I was thinking that I would only have to clear the area once. Since I would not have to take multiple passes with a blower, I guesstomated that the total time should be shorter.

As a budget goes, I was hoping to stay around 1000. However life expierence have taught me to speck out the size of a machine and then go 20% higher. (And I have all of the gravely equipment to testify to the expense of trying to go cheeper).

thanks
Rich

Author: Majorxlr8n

Date: 28 Dec 2006 10:50 am

Rich - for $1000 you won't be able to touch a NEW 30" machine with lighting. It appears that you're going to be looking in the used category, UNLESS the weather stays warm & Home Depot has 40-50% sales on snowblowers like they had last Feb. Thats a crap shoot.

I didn't find much Gravely stuff on Ebay that is local to NJ. Could be a long wait for something to pop up, and then you still have to get the powered unit working reliably.

I feel a good, used Simplicity, Ariens, Toro or Snapper would be a good choice given your budget, and one should be able to be located fairly easilly.

I hope this helps & doesn't confuse you more...
Marty

PS - YOU HAVE A PM...

Author: newjerseybt

Date: 28 Dec 2006 11:09 am

(Budget up to $1200)

Looks like your caught between a rock and a hard place. The property demands large and expensive ($2600) while you are very limited.

You can't even buy a new standard homeowner 32" Arien's machine for that money as the big box store prices are currently. A new Arien's commercial 32" or better yet a 36" machine can throw 96 tons per hour but is way out of your budget. As the Major said, they are the appropriate machines for your size property.

Maybe a used commercial machine?

I also have a questionable back and the first thing that caught my attention is the gravel portion of your driveway. Even though you can raise the skids to limit rock intake, it is going to suck in a rock once in a while and may cause a shear pin to break which is a pain to change with a bad back.

I am thinking keeping the skids to 1/4" height adjustment over paved and gravel as it is a pain to bend down constantly readjusting skid height.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I was in your situation from day one of living where you are, I would have thought "Meyer's plow" on a full size 4x4 truck with 8 cylinder with that length driveway. Very fast, very comfortable, very warm, expensive
on gas driving back and forth to work when commute is long and carrying a plow as dead weight.

Author: ramit

Date: 28 Dec 2006 11:19 am

Do you have a 4x4 p/u or SUV , jeep?

Author: krislu

Date: 28 Dec 2006 12:14 pm

"Again, I am 49yrs old with a job that because of globalization has me working almost 24x7 just to try to keep from being layed off."

Thanks to NAFTA and GATT alot of people got scr*wed. But that's another subject!



Rich- Here's a guy on E-bay with a next to new Honda 1132 snowblower in Reading PA. Not a bad drive from NJ. Take a look...

Item number: 120068949074

No bidders so far, opening up at $1500.

It sounds to me like getting some sort of blade for your Kubota is what's best for you though.

- Kris

P.S.- If you can post some pics of your Kubota and Gravely stuff. We would love to see it.

Author: rallen1

Date: 28 Dec 2006 12:20 pm

Yes, I drive a f350 diesel. The problem is that it is a crewcab and Ford says that CC can't be setup with a plow. Also this truck series has a week tranie and I don't want to blow that for some snow removal. New tranies run 3k to 4k plus the downtime for installation.

Not an option.

Rich

Author: ramit

Date: 28 Dec 2006 12:25 pm

rallen1 wrote:
Yes, I drive a f350 diesel. The problem is that it is a crewcab and Ford says that CC can't be setup with a plow. Also this truck series has a week tranie and I don't want to blow that for some snow removal. New tranies run 3k to 4k plus the downtime for installation.

Not an option.

Rich

The sports plow doesn't add the weight to the front end with the way it works (compared to a normal plow) and is only ~ $1100.
But again, no getting around the tranny.

Author: dave___in___ct

Date: 28 Dec 2006 6:40 pm

Rich...

"I was looking for something that is reliable and has reduced maintanence time. "

With your tractor... I'll say a hydraulic-angling loader-arm mounted snow plow is the way to go... it replaces the loader bucket...

You have 1000 lineal feet of driveway + other areas to clear...

Keep the rear grader blade attached... can use it going forward for more cleanup... for dragging snow from next to a building... and while leaving it it in the forward position and lowering it while in reverse... pull & push... works great!

It will be expensive if all new... can lower the cost if found used... or perhaps an ingenious dealer can make one from a used truck-plow blade...

This setup is a lot faster than a snowblower... I've used both...


Dave...

Author: rallen1

Date: 29 Dec 2006 9:51 am

I found a new toro unit (1128lxe) for under 1,500. What is your collective opinion of this machine?

Rich

Author: ramit

Date: 29 Dec 2006 10:15 am

I own one and like it very much.

It has a spring loaded scrapper blade.

I find it to work great for not getting a gut full of handle bars when going over un-even surfaces.

BUT with gravel, you may have a problem with a small peice getting stuck between it and the augar housing and making the scraper stick in the up position. This is the one complaint my OPE dealer gets from the collages facilities guys that use it and the 10hp models with the fixed blade.

The spring loaded scrapper blade can be remove and replaced with a fixed scrapper blade that the other models have.

I had a 5hp / 24 with a plastic chute. For about 8 years I used it on a gravel driveway, never cracked or chipped the chute.
A few cracked basement windows.. but never the chute.
The plastic chute will save you some rust from the rocks.
To keep up with the auger housing, I would just dose it with WD40 during the year and for storage instead of constantly trying to keep it up by painting it.

Author: ramit

Date: 29 Dec 2006 10:20 am

Some reviews on the site on the toros.

Toro 1128 OXE Power Max Snowblower 2006 Review

Toro Power Max 1028LXE snowblower review

Toro Power Max 726te snowblower review

Author: newjerseybt
Subject: The 28" snowblowers.....

Date: 29 Dec 2006 12:13 pm

If your looking at 28" models in the under $1500 price range don't forget to look at Simplicity and Ariens. Honda is very nice but expensive.

Home Depot sometimes is not very good at setting up their snowblowers. When they are set up properly they work perfect. Also you need to consider service if you are not handy. If you purchase from a big box store and want service from a local mom and pop, you may have to wait longer. Just something to think about.

If you decide to look at the better line of snowblowers, (commercial)
they can only be found at the local OPE dealer. I do remember a post on another site years ago in which someone said they saw a commercial Arien's machine at a HD. I suspect they were mistaken.

Author: Majorxlr8n

Date: 29 Dec 2006 4:44 pm

Heres a SUPER nice 12hp Wheelhorse garden tractor with a 40" snowthrower with a starting bid of only $800! DEFINITELY worth a look!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280065425602

Marty

Author: Geaugadeere

Date: 31 Dec 2006 1:54 pm

Rallen1

Check out www.tractorbynet.com

It's a great site for those of us with the larger tractors. There are many posts regarding snow removal via the larger tractors FEL, Snowblowers, front and back blades, etc.