Tractor Snowblower Clears a Foot of Snow in One Pass
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- After much anticipation, the heavy snow has finally begun to hit here in Central Ontario Canada. As a result, it's full-speed-ahead for my 40hp Kioti tractor as I'm out clearing snow on today's episode. Check out my winter setup with my material bucket on the front-end loader and 78" MK Martin Meteor snowblower on the rear. Despite the snow measuring up to 12" deep, the power take-off from my tractor proves that the 40hp compact utility tractor size is a great size to run this 78" snowblower. As I'm looking out the back window and watching the snow hit the glass, I quickly remember why it was that I paid extra for the heater tractor cab. Mmmmmm sludge. Have I mentioned I liked coffee? (sludge). The tractor cab also provides me a nice spot to relax and drink lots of that sludge too. As I make my way though the woods the path gets easier and easier to access. After a while of clearing snow I make it to the sawmill shack which was my original goal completing the path which will allow me to skid logs without issue to the sawmill shack in the coming days. Thanks for watching everyone!
Tractor shown in this video: 2012 Kioti DK40se HST
Snowblower shown in this video: MK Martin Meteor 78" snowblower with hydraulic chute
Tractor Tire Chains shown in this video: Trygg Fast-Trac
Sandy, King of the the far north!
Haha atleast king of my castle but not sure about anyone else’s haha
Tip , When in the tractor in winter to keep the widows clear of condensation just try this it works a treat,
Take a peace of kitchen towel pour some on to the towel then rub on the inside of your cab wind.
It will look a bit obscure but it will clear once the condensation start to hit
Thanks for passing along that Tip Gary!
Good morning Sandy.
Good Morning John! Hope you’re doing well
Morning Sandy, drinking coffee and getting ready to snow blowing the fresh snow we got here in eastern Canada.
Can’t go wrong there Roger!
I remember doing this back in the day when tractors didn't have cabs. I don't miss those days.
I can imagine. The blowing snow would get old real quick I’m sure
toughens you!
no cab here in north/central ME - don't want one
Life in the Great White North! I’m happy your sawmill shed has stood up to the snow loads. A testament to your engineering
Thanks Chet! All has been good so far. I’m sure there’s some things I’d do a little different but overall very happy
You always look happy. :)
That thing really shoots the snow out there.
I do like how the snow gets moved right out of the way compared with a plow
That's a good snow removal setup for your application.
Thanks Paul! Seems to do the trick for sure
No bugs !!!
That’s what I’m talking about !
Nice to finally see some decent snow up your way. Over the last 2 days I floated my Kubota L4060 cab with my 40’ish year old Agro Trend 72” rear blower up to the Lanark Highlands. Even after settling over the last week and a half, there is still 2 feet of snow. I cleared the lanes into my camp and a friend’s camp (nearly a mile combined) with that old blower. It was slow but the blower and L4060 did a great job!
That’s a great feeling to get into the camp I can imagine ! Nice area over in Lanark highlands!
MM77 Approved 👍🏼👍🏼
Greetings from Wisconsin! I'm jealous, we're a bit deficient of snow here. I've got an mk martin meteor 68" on my Kubota L2501, I notice you also end up plowing a bit with yours as well. I was thinking about adding wider paddles to there auger. They seem like they don't "feed" the machine like it should. I did a video of adding an electric linear actuator for the deflector, love it! I'm very impressed with the MK Martin
Got to see the snow blower in use!!! Yay, good days work.
Thanks! Yeah luckily we got some snow. I’ve been waiting for it
MK Martin's are such nice snowblower for the money (You Canadians know how to make them fer sure), I have their pull type snowblower. And on the front a hydraulic blade, so when I need my grapple I can change it over really quick.
That’s a real good setup! I like those hydraulics blades. I’m thinking about adding one but for the back for dirt work
Winter wonderland of snow!!
Absolutely!
Looking GOOD Sandy! That wins hands down over my '40 Ford 9N with a back blade. - Joe -
Ah well I’m sure it gets the job done and as long as you’re happy with it I’m sure it’s all good
As someone who has a 60” Meteor rear PTO snowblower on a sub-compact tractor
• Your tractor and rear pto snow blower seem to do the job with no issue other than you possibly coming out with a stiff neck when done. Rear PTO blowers near me are about 1/3 the price of front blowers and make it worth it not counting still having a front implement on at the same time too
• Thanks so very much for posting and sharing Sandy - love seeing that snow come out the cute!
All the best and God Bless. 🙏❤🇺🇸
Thanks for the kind words Joe!
looks like you were enjoying it even if it was work alone in your woods with nature doing what it knows best have a great day
Always nice being outside for sure!
If you're having trouble with the shovel digging in to driveway, try a couple Edge Tamers, or similar. They keep the front end from digging in. I use them on grass, pavement, almost any surface and have yet to have the loader dig into anything. Fairly cheap fix and they just screw on.
Great idea Dan!
Personally, I prefer a front mounted snowblower so you're not craning your neck around to see where you're going. As another person mentioned, those rear mounted inverted snowblowers are nice too. Wish we had some snow to blow this Winter here in northeastern Vermont as all the storms have been missing us to the east, west and south but I'm not complaining too much, lol. Def keep extra shear pins handy when you snap one. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Yeah I know what ya mean. I find that since I use my front end loader year round to load logs that the rear one was the best option for me
Nice snowfall! Great for your forest.
Thanks john
Good morning! from Montreal. 👍
Hi Roger! Happy Sunday!
I could've used that machine a couple weeks ago down at my home stead. Lots of snow ❄
I bet!
I think your tractor did great. I see the tarps down on the mill looks good, it sure helps great video
Thanks Dan! Yeah put the tarps down after all to keep the snow out
Was looking forward to seeing that blower in operation, we got about that much snow here in NS as well this weekend, fun times when you have a tractor. Great work 👍
Nice to gets new dusting of snow to cover up all my junk haha. Hope you’re doing well out in NS Russel!
another inspiring video, thanks. I think your tractor is a perfect size. When I was looking for a tractor I was looking for a 40 or 50 horse and I couldn't find one for a reasonable price that wasn't a project in its own right because everybody and there dog wanted that size tractor for there 'hobby farm'. I ended up getting a 100 horse because it came with a cab, loader, and dual rear wheels and was 1/2 the cost. When it was new it was considered a big tractor and it was designed to pull a plow straight ahead down the field, not back and forth and around the the mill. It was what I could afford and it's doing the job for me so I won't complain about it too much, but if I win the lottery that's one of the first things I'll change. Oh the duals are gone now. Boy do they increase the turning radius and there worthless in snow.
I can imagine the 40hp is popular. Seems to be a great all around size. I would like a few more hp the odd time but I’d like to keep the frame size of the machine. Sounds like o would’ve made the same decision at the time as you with the 100
That works awesome Sandy.. Moves the snow fast..
Yea, without those chains you arnt getting very far at all.
Mine stay on most of the year, it can get sketchy fast on those steep slopes..
Keep up the good work there Sandy☕☕
Thanks Steve! Seem to work real well with those chains
Sandy, i've been watching your videos for over a year now and have really enjoyed them. just thought i would drop you a line and let you know that i also have a Kioti tractor, a ck3510se and love it to death. we just got 16 in. of snow here in northeast Ohio and it was fun plowing and playing in the snow. i also wanted to let you know that i just recieved my Woodland Mills 130 max saw and can't wait to assemble it when the weather starts to warm up. keep up the good work and thanks for all your interesting and instructional videos.... Robert
That's great to hear Robert! I'm glad you left a comment and told me about the tractor and mill. Sounds like we both have similar taste. You'll really enjoy that sawmill I'm sure. Sure beats going to the lumber yard
I have the DK4210SE but my dealer didn't get me my cutting edge for the bucket so I am kind of sad/upset not getting to plow ) :
That works really well. Better then my 1970 International 434 with a Lucknow. No Cab. Are you in the Muskoka's? I have a stand of about 3000 red pine on my property. Just like you have a lot of pine close together. I find there is almost no growth to these trees as they are planted too close together. They were planted before I acquired the 200ac property. I am in Western Quebec. It is just a gift to have a property like that. It looks like you are a good land owner who takes care of the land and respect nature. Cheers.
Great to hear the 1970 international is going strong for ya! Great tractors! I know what ya mean about the red pine. As you can see mine are also quite close together and slowly I’m working at thinning them out. Gives great lumber luckily! Thanks for watching!
Sandy, you have a 2 stage snow blower as you have a impeller plus a auger. On a single stage you only have a auger and a thrower together. I’m interested in the tire chains you have but I missed the name. Thanks for the great video
I learned something new everyday!
Tire chains have worked really well for a number of years now. Trygg- fast trac is the brand. Thanks for watching!
Looks to me your tractor handles that snowblower very well blows the snow out a very good ways might have to play catch-up a little bit but that's a lot of snow. Here in Kentucky we don't get that kind of snow often but I do enjoy it when we do. Great video Sandy I always enjoy your video's and look forward to the next one
Thanks for that! It does well for sure but like you said, the odd time I just slow down just a little and it does just fine. Nice spot down Kentucky way!
Yep, I just did 2km of fresh snow, NB we got hammered yesterday and all night, had about 45cm of fluffy snow, was easy to blow with my new to me BobCat SB200, 60” wide snowblower on my CTL skid steer. The blower was full all the time and the snow was landing 20-25 ft away, as you say it was a beautiful thing, now my driveway is like a bob sled track four foot high straight wall sides, nice for sledding just bounce from side to side 😂
I hear you guys got a big dumping of snow. Flights cancelled and the works. Sounds like a great setup with the skid steer.
Sandy can you mount that snow blower in the front ? Sandy, have you ever had any large rock break scree pins on you, I hope you carry some extra one with you.
As long as you have pto at the front you could use it on the front. I don’t normally get large rocks since I’m quite familiar with the trails so I tend to clear away any objects like rocks ahead of time
You get a new camera? Image looks sharper than before. Definitely looking at a tractor with a cab, -40 with wind isn't warm pushing snow. Stay warm! 🔥🏝👍🥶☕️
You’ve got a great eye. I do still have the same camera but have a new computer so that May have made things looks a bit better
Looks like a job well done. We ordered some V Bar chains for our tractor. So far, they seem to be doing great in the snow and ice we've had, here in southwestern Wisconsin.
Those chains will serve you very well I can imagine!
Good morning Sandy! Glad to see mother nature finally gave you some snow. Could a person drop the bucket and back drag on float while using the snowblower, pack down the trail a little more? Don't know a whole lot about tractors (just basics) and was just curious. Hoping you get a chance to rip down these trails with your snowmachine this weekend! Take care.
Hey Jill! Back dragging the blade would be possible although after the snowblower goes through it’s pretty much down to the frozen ground layer
Mount remote cameras up near the taillights, monitor on the dash.
I do have one currently in the tractor
@@sawingwithsandy Would let you sit forward, drive backwards.
My inlaws have been using their MX5200 with a 7" plow to clear their driveway but the plow doesn't turn side to side so it will only push straight. We're looking at getting an inverted blower, hooks to the PTO and blows when you move forward. Seems like a great option to stop having to turn around.
Those are sweet snowblowers and almost as effective as front mounted ones.
Yeah those seem like good units for sure.
@@TheFlatlander440 I've seen those front mounted blowers and I've heard mixed reviews. Easy of operation is a plus for sure, but then your boom is unavailable and they run off hydraulics so they aren't as powerful. The inverted blowers still allow you to use your front for a bucket or whatnot, and have more power because they are PTO driven. I get you could take the blower on and off the front, but in my opinion a blower goes on and off once a season.
Or a articulated snow plough? It needs third function hydraulics in the front, but with it you can push snow forward or to the side. Or a snow bucket in the front and a rear blade with hydraulic turning to scrape it clean?
I guess we are talking about minimum 80" blower and ~40 hp at the PTO. And then you drive over the snow before it comes to the blower so scrapeing it "loose" from the ground takes a little "extra" power. If you have front three-point and PTO it's another "game"...
I am in no way any kind of an expert, these are just things I've learned during my time here on this rock we call earth 😉. Many things are possible to do, some more than others. Oversized implements are not necessarily good, usually something breaks.
I looked at the Oxsa Snow 230 evo blower for example. Recommended is minimum 55 hp at the PTO (75 hp in the engine?) It weighs around 630 kg, so some kind of extra weight in the front can be nice...
I would say Kubota M4 or M5, but...
@@steveelford97
Sure, there are hydraulic run blowers to the front. The problem is that few tractors have enough of hydraulic power as standard to make them work. You can get extra hydraulic pumps or upgraded ones, it's almost mandatory if the tractor will be used with a crane and a processor in the woods. If you want one of them hydraulic blowers I would suggest to get a loader (Volvo, Caterpilar, Kubota) with extra working hydraulics. Third function doesn't propably work, it's designed to run cylinders.
But there are also PTO driven used for loading trucks and such work. Then you have to have both three-point hitch in the front, PTO and some hydraulics to turn the "exit-chute". That front package (from example Zuidberg) does make ground clearence smaller. But you can have both loader and three-poont in the front. But it isn't cheap to get...
Here in Finland we can buy such a Korean tractor as a Branson 6225C, 58 hp. For that tractor a front loader is ~6000$, a front three-point is ~4000$ and a front PTO is ~4000$. The tractor, you ask? 34000$...
Over here it's quite common to leave the loader and take three-point and sometimes PTO in stead. If you don't need to lift high the three-point is better when you push or carry. Blades, ploughs, counter weights, mowers and other stuff.
When you lift the arms up the tractor is shorter than with a loader. If you work in a barn, around houses or in the woods it can (and sometimes will) make a difference. One brand where I see it more around here (the combo of loader and three-point with PTO) is Fendt.
Regarding the question of power: the New Holland 4.75 PowerStar is just big enough for the Oxsa 230. You need the torque and the mass to drag the blower so that it doesn't happend that the blower becomes "the driver" instead of "the passenger"...
Really enjoying your videos. I’m applying for a special grant for a Kubota. If you could only have 3 implements for the tractor, what would they be?
A rear-mounted blower is much easier to install than front mount with mid-mount pto. Next year will add a RMB. Better than using just the FEL.
It is pretty easy to get setup for sure!
Heat,radio n sludge can't ask for much more buddy.i just like mine on the front instead of the back.to old to turn around for very long.
Yeah I can I understand that. I think a front mount is a great choice
@@sawingwithsandy they only problem is you can't put a loader on n therefore no grapple so won't work for you.
Hi Sandy and greetings from a very snowy-blowy eastern Ontario!
I went back and watched this video again as I’m on the market for a new blower for my Kubota L4060 (same HP as your Kioti), and it raised a few questions I’m hoping you can help with based on your experience. I have an old manual AgroTrend 72” blower but I have a shoulder issue and need to move up to hydraulic rotation (and a more efficient blower would be nice too). Like you, I want to keep the loader on so I’m looking at both conventional (Kubota-Radtech or MK Martin) as well as the MK Martin pull-type.
Question 1. Are you still finding the 78” blower is ok with the 40 hp tractor? The MK Martin website suggests 35 hp for the 72” and 50 hp for the 78”. Question 2. Did you consider the pull type blowers, and if so, why did you stay with the conventional type?
Question 3. Are you still happy with the MK Martin? Any quality/mechanical or performance issues?
Regarding the pull-type, I was skeptical about driving the tractor through the snow and having the blower pick it up, but there are lots of examples of that not being an issue. My concern with the pull type is getting the tractor through the deep snow on hills and side-slopes. Even with chains, that just seems like it might be dicey.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Wishing the very best of the Festive Season to you and yours!
Hey Dave, funny you mentioned this as I just got in from using the snowblower and with the storm that hit I was going through 3.5' snow (no joke) without issue with this blower. The 40hp tractor seems to do quite well and my dealer was the one who suggested this size blower for my tractor as they used to use my same tractor and blower setup for clearing their lot at the dealership. I avoided the pull type blower just because it prevents me from getting right up close to objects for clearing snow. I also find that many times I back up to objects to clear the snow. I hope you have a great holiday season.
@@sawingwithsandy Thanks for the quick reply and great information! Three and a half feet is a serious amount of snow! I honestly have no idea how much we have here north of Kingston. It has been blizzard conditions since daylight this morning and only just started letting up in the last hour or so. All the plows and emergency vehicles were pulled off the roads (not just the 401 but virtually all roads) in the early afternoon since there was zero visibility and so many vehicles were stuck or crashed. We shoveled around the house late morning and within an hour there was no evidence that it had been shovelled! Given the howling wind we had, we will no doubt drifts in the 3-4 foot range like you did. We’ll see tomorrow after the morning festivities!
I think I’ll stick with the conventional style and I will definitely get the dealer to quote me on the 78” MK Martin. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!
LOL just didn't wait long enough for you mention it! - With trees right up to the trail and some of the wind storms you've had, any issues with branches clogging the blower? I've only used small blowers before and run into issues with them picking up crap left in driveways (like small phone books), which are a pain to them remove after it locks up.
The small branches tend to go right through the blower but things like chunks of firewood end up breaking the shear pin. Newspapers go through the blower without trouble due to the large chute size generally
nice toy a "Tool"
Yep great tool to have a round for sure
Nice. How far is your house from the mill? Is it on the same property?
My shop is on the same property as mill but it’s a good distance between the two
I live in the southern US where it gets cold, at least from my perspective, but not like you guys. Right now, for example, it's 1C which is not usual but the average this time of year is usually more around 7C to 10C (yes, I'm having to convert and approximate F to C... lol). Anyway, when we do get snow around here, the problem is that it will thaw some during the day and refreeze at night and you get a nice sheet of ice which makes it difficult to get around. It eventually gets warm enough that it all goes away in a few days but, I was wondering if that is a problem you face in your neck of the woods?
Hey Roger! Thanks for doing the conversion for me haha. I find most years we don’t have too many freeze thaw cycles and so once the ground freezes it stays that way for the most part throughout the season. It would make it challenging for sure if it thawed on me as I rely on a frozen ground for the snowblower to ride along
@@sawingwithsandy 👍 Our biggest and most destructive problem is freezing rain. It's that point were the upper atmosphere is not cold enough to produce snow but it's cold enough down low to freeze and what happens is that the rain freezes on anything it lands on. You can imagine the damage it does to trees and power lines not to mention roads. People up north sometimes don't think we don't know how to drive in winter conditions but, put your car on a wet sheet of ice and try driving up even the smallest hill! lol.. I would imagine it would make quite a bit of downed lumber for you. Anyway, thanks for the videos!
Yeah that freezing rain is hard to do much with that’s for sure. We get it the odd time and it sure causes power outages
@@sawingwithsandy After our 3rd nor'easter so far this year , this time with 1/2" rain in the middle of it, the ice crust in the middle of the 3-4 foot drifts in my driveway made unsettling noises going through the blower. (72" meteor on a CK). But for the first time this winter, we had 90 km/h (55mph) winds with no power outages in my area. I guess all the fragile trees blew down earlier in the winter. Keep making the great videos. Perhaps a 2nd rear view camera for a wider field of view?
how much do you have to control the height on that? saw that one bit, but does it mostly ride w/ contours of the land?
I rarely have to adjust the height of the blower. I had to lift it just a little in one instance as I knew there was a root there but normally I don’t lift it at all as it just follows ground contours
@@sawingwithsandy
That all depends on how clean you want it, doesn't it 😉? Some leave a couple of inches, some scrape it clean 👍🏼😂. Depends on preferences... Good work cleaning up the roads!
Yeah I put the three point hitch Controll all the way down and it does a good job with the weight of the blower riding along the ground and scrapes as well
Sandy, do you have a link for the Trygg Fast-Trac chains? Can you get them on Amazon?
Hey Dave! I bought that at my local tractor dealer. I’m not sure if they are sold online anywhere
Apparently driving in reverse w/ tractors is not a big deal. I struggle with seeing so many folks doing that-mostly because I grew up in Minnesota with snow plows everywhere. Clearly there are many ways of doing things!
Yeah I find it’s nice because it leaves my loader for use for things like loading logs. I also don’t mind the rear blower as when I’m not in thick bush I sit facing forward and use the mirrors and reverse camera
new tractor owner here but I spent maybe 20+ hours running a rotary cutter with it so far (among doing other stuff with it of course) and a lot of that was done in reverse on wavy hills (because it's just better to go backwards through meter+ trees instead of forward...), no issues for me...
I think most people are dum/have bad instincts when it comes to such things - to me it just 'feels' sensible how to do it, and driving backwards and forward is 'natural' almost - they probably shouldn't be operating heavy machinery if this is not how it is for them
My neck and back would be seriously wrenched with that much backwards driving and I'd need 7 days recovery every time.
I often drive facing forward and use the rear facing camera and mirrors except for this case where I’m clearing trails close to trees
When you first fired up the blower I was shocked at how tight it sounded. Not even a rattle, my little snowblowers all rattle my teeth out every season.
Up here in the north my gravel driveway is always frozen so I don’t have to concern myself too much about that but where you are it melts to many times over the winter that you can never get a solid base. Is there an option of putting a little metal grate that would lessen the chance of hitting big rocks and the pieces of wood that may be hiding under the snow? Thanks
I’m not familiar with a grate option but for sure could be useful. Where we are we actually don’t get many freeze thaw cycles as I’m far enough north and so once the base is froze we’re generally good to go for the season
@@sawingwithsandy ah, that’s perfect. I always thought that the Toronto area would be more susceptible to the warmer weather.
That’s a great set up you got going. Just curious do you work elsewhere or is your channel making you enough to live the life as is. Thanks
Never been on a snowmobile. Does it do better on the deep snow or the blown snow? Thanks in advance.
Hey Mike! Snowmobiles do better on packed snow as they get good traction then and can steer well. The powder can be a problem for snowmobiles as they can sink in and get stuck
@@sawingwithsandy thank you for explaining that to me. I've always wondered about that.
? Can’t you get a seat that rotates through 360 degrees?do you have enough room for your legs to rotate 360 deg ? Jeff Australia 🇦🇺
For my tractor it's a bit too small for that but larger machines do in fact have that. My trouble would be my controls are only facing forward
What model tractor is this? Thx sir
It’s a 2912 Kioti DK40se hst
How much snow do you get a year
Usually around 11-12 feet per year
@@sawingwithsandy wow that's a lot
No snow but it's cold for us 26df heatwave for you. just saying
Sounds chilly
How much property do you have?
I’ve got a fairly good chunk but in the video I’d say there was probably a good 12 acres shown or so
Very nice!
Do you have a job aside from milling
Hi Levi,
I do tend to have other jobs I do to keep the wheels turning
You live on a tree farm your trees grow in rows
Yeah some of the forest I own was planted
we're over a foot fresh here...after we had over a foot already but 1/4 of it got melted off as it got packed down from 24+hours above freezing and then rain before now snow for the past 14hrs or so...
and my dealer never delivered my cutting edge for my bucket for the tractor...sooo...
/wades around in the snow for the rest of winter...
unless you want to break boarder and come dig me out (not suggesting or asking, fascist overlookers! just making a joke!!!)
Sorry to hear about the cutting edge. I think it may take me a while to get there with my tractor 😉