Snow blower decisions

[Longbeards]

I am in the market for a 7-foot 3-point snowblower for my 4000 SU. It is just shy of 7 ft wide at the rear tires . I have found several in my willingness to drive distance. One is a single large auger dettson with hydraulic shoot. One is a McKee sno Lander with a movable shoot by hand at the blower not from the seat. One is a single auger John Deere with a turnable shoot from the seat. One is an Arps j91 dual auger with a chute that is moveable with a handle from the seat. There are some other nice ones like Woods and Lorenz but they are only six foot.

 

[Longbeards]

I hit submit before I was done. So my question is does anybody have experience with these snowblowers over another they're all priced the same at 1400. I realize it will take a lot of horsepower it may not always be the best choice however I have a half mile drive and ATV with plow which is insufficient in heaviest snows. My 4,000 (52 pto hp) also has a loader but I am on a steep driveway on the side of a mountain so I would rather not take the chance of getting stuck going back and forth. And for the guys who tell me to just get a 4x4 with a cab - I do not have your funds and I do not play the lottery.

Thanks for any insight on these models.

 

[M Nut]

I'd opt for hydraulic turn on the spout. Much easier
than reaching back cranking when you want to
adjust your path of snow discharge.

 

[Michael Soldan]

How much snow do you get as this will determine the need for dual auger vs single. If you get four and five foot drifts the dual auger is better. We have a single and all I did was raise the blower up if the snow was deep, blow the top couple of feet away and make a second pass going right to the ground. The single auger will handle all the snow as you widen your first cut , usually taking only about half a width. .I had a big yard to clean up as well. I bought my blower new , it is a Lucknow blower made in Lucknow Ontario. It is close to 40 years old and I had all cogs and chains replaced once and the blower painted twice , still going strong and ready for this winter. I ran it with a 584 , about 52 HP

 

[Jo-ker]

I have a Dettson single auger snowblower that my dad purchased in the late 70s, i power it with my Ford 5000. The only problem it gives me is when i get in a hurry with
heavy wet snow.then it has broke the shear pin on the pto shaft. I find the best way to handle first pass in deep snow is to raise the blower and do only 6
inchs deep, then go back for a 2nd pass. Once its opened up, i only take half the width on next pass. Just eliminates any chances of shear pin issues.About 15
years ago i made the shute hydraulic, really slick. Other wise the Dettson has been a bullet proof snow blower.
John

 

[Longbeards]

The dettson is the best condition of all. Probably repainted but even augers look new. Stored in garage. It's a single auger buts it's 2- 3 times the diameter than the john deere single auger. I'm in central pa, we don't get the snows we used to but get one or two 18-20" each year. And the ever so often blizzard. My 4-wheeler maxes out at about a foot. My driveway is entrenched and so I have to push snow a couple hundred yards at a time to get it off. More than 10-12" and I fight it all day and usually end up stuck, tired and ready for Jesus to come back for me. A 6"snow takes me 3 hours with a 60" atv plow. I will continue to use the atv for up to 8" probably so want the blower for the occasional bigger snow and to keep the high banks at bay. The bigger single auger may be a good middle road as I assume the double takes more hp when full of snow?? The Arps has solid augers and looks like it would consume hp to turn those buggers.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Get the one with the hydraulic chute rotation. I have an Allied 85" with manual chute. I used to use it on a Ford 2000 and it was a bit too much for that tractor, especially with standard PTO. But it did work. I could reach the chute crank and turn it while moving which I had to do the way the wind swirls around the buildings. Now I have it on an Oliver 1550 RC. The seat is so high I have to stop and raise it to reach the crank. It's working great this year so far. Only three snow events and nothing more than four inches. High 40s this weekend. Hope it lasts.

 

[JMS/.MN]

I have a McKee, but added a hyd cyl to rotate the chute. Made a simple bracket to hold a standard 8 inch stroke cyl.

 

[Sparktrician]

I have a McKee that I have not used in a few years....lack of snow in southwest ohio. I keep it around as it has already paid for itself when it was needed, and
we figure one day, well use it again.

It is dual auger, and was all manual on the chute. I added hydraulic control to rotate and tilt the chute, used a hydraulic motor with chain to rotate and a small
hydraulic cylinder to tilt the flapper. works good on our deere 4440 or 6400

 

[Motorcraftman]

just start it ocssiona;;y...and don't leave gas in the carb..youll be ok...Larrry

 

[495man]

Hyd chute no question. Had one with hyd chute, now one with hy chute and spout.

No way would I get one with out hyd on it!