Bx 1870-1 snow plow or snow blower

[stutrac]

ok question i have, which is better? i know i only have 18HP,i never snow blow over 12in with my walk behind because i know it is too much for my 5 hp,my driveway is 80 ft long flat slight hill, i know there are a lot of factors in plowing like wet heavy snow and ice covered snow, but with my walk behind i try to stay ahead of the storm, i am hoping anyone with a 1870 that has either front plow or snowblower could give their experience.the snow plow i am looking at is the one that mounts with the quick hitch NOT the loader mount snow plow.

 

[85Hokie]

ok question i have, which is better? i know i only have 18HP,i never snow blow over 12in with my walk behind because i know it is too much for my 5 hp,my driveway is 80 ft long flat slight hill, i know there are a lot of factors in plowing like wet heavy snow and ice covered snow, but with my walk behind i try to stay ahead of the storm, i am hoping anyone with a 1870 that has either front plow or snowblower could give their experience.the snow plow i am looking at is the one that mounts with the quick hitch NOT the loader mount snow plow.

It is always better to pick it up and toss it, saying that , that requires $$$$ and patience too.

You didnt say what the driveway is made of? Gravel? Paved? Concrete?

Adv of blower, it removes it and places it further away - might have to eat the apple a little slower however.

Dis Ad - if gravel, you'll pick up some of it , and you'll never get down to the last 1"of snow......

With blade, it will push as much as the traction will allow, if gravel, you'll place some of that in the yard too! If you have a hydraulic blade it makes life much better.

It all comes down to the almighty dollar - what can you afford, typically if it cost more, it will do it faster and better, but depending on the driveway medium, it will change the decision process.

 

[stutrac]

my main drive way is asphalt and my 2nd driveway is oil crush stone both small my walk behind always toss the small stones and i hear all sorts of stone to metal noise with my snow blower, yes it will be full hydraulic snow blade

 

[Grouse Feathers]

There are a lot of threads in OTT on snowblowers vs snow plows. You can get a lot of different views by doing a search. There are also several threads on skids and other methods of preventing gravel pickup by a blade or a snowblower. I don't know if you have a front end loader, but if you ever get caught with too much snow to plow, you just about need a loader to dig a path to use a blade.
I have a BX2370 with a front mount snowblower to clear 1/2 mile of driveway. All of my driveway is gravel or dirt except 25 feet. The skids on the snowblower prevent picking up gravel when the ground is frozen. After a layer of packed snow builds up I run with the skids all the way up. For an 80 foot driveway I would look for a used rear mount snowblower. You can probably get a good used rear mount snowblower for less than a blade.

 

[stutrac]

i have done a few searches on the forum but not to many specific to my BX1870 i see a lot of people have the BX2370 and up, i am looking for more tractor specific then topic specific

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Do a search on OTT member tcrote5516. He has a BX1860 in New Hampshire and does snow removal with the loader and a rear blade. This is a video he posted of snow removal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XriYBCY66E&feature=youtu.be&list=UUbqPkeqZrlHPnxgejb-xMQg

 

[OBKubota]

I have a GR 2120 21hp with front mount snowblower and is totally awesome on my app 100 ft double wide paved driveway , i'm sure 18 hp wouldn't be much different. I am sure it has enough power for a plow as well. As far as the gravel part goes I'm not sure. One note though friend of mine has a John Deere roughly the same size as yours with a rear plow and he says he gets a sore neck when he uses his as the seat is in a stationary front position.


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[cerlawson]

Rear blade is great for many things including snow plowing. Goes much faster han with bucket. No snow coming back in your face from a blower either. In summer does blading of earth also.

 

[rjcorazza]

I like rear blades also. They are inexpensive, work well, and keep your front and rear options open. Plow in forward or reverse, spin the blade 180 degrees and they work great (well.... better) on gravel, as well as pushing snow back onto grass. If I could only have one snow removal implement it would be a rear blade.

Blowers are great for big snows, but life can be miserable with an open station tractor. A rear mount blower can certainly be sized to fit an 18hp machine. I did 35" of snow last winter after the NE blizzard with a blower, and that will be my last open station snowblower work.

 

[OBKubota]

Wind can be a challenge when blowing on an open tractor but I use insulated coveralls and a full face snowmobile helmet and it is very tolerable, enough to abandon my plans to build a cab.


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[kirk1870]

I push a 54" Haban snowplow with my 1870. Have cleared 18" of snow from a 35 x70 drive in about 10 minutes, Never spin a tire, do have 70# wheel weights on turf tires.
One time I had to move 4' banks back, went right through them, never have put my chains on it yet in 3 winters. The first 2 winters were over 100" of snow.

 

[KeithG]

I installed a linear actuator on my snow blower chute so when the wind starts blowing I just lower the chute so it does throw it so high into the wind.

I have used a plow on a 4x4 ATV, and the tractor bucket for years. Just got the snow blower last year and the time saved and lack of snow banks makes me a firm believer in a snow blower (prefer front mounted).

 

[Nittnut]

I just bought my BX1870 with FEL, 54" MMM and front-mount snowblower, so will have to wait until this coming winter to try out the blower. (I live in PA.) But ...

For the past 25 years I used a 42" two-stage snowblower on the front of my Wheel Horse 312-8, which is powered by a 12hp Kohler engine. If that little gas-powered tractor could handle a two-stage snowblower, I'm absolutely convinced that my 18hp diesel Kubota will handle its 50" front-mount blower.

As to blade versus blower, I'm firmly in the blower camp. In my opinion, you can get a much cleaner job, and if you live where there's a chance of back-to-back-to-back snowfalls, you don't have to worry about running out of room with the plowed snow.

Like someone else mentioned, yes, you can get snow blowing on you. By carefully adjusting the chute and paying attention to which way you're going, you can minimize, but not eliminate it. I wear a snowsuit (jumpsuit), with scarf, hat and ski goggles. That pretty much takes care of it.

 

[Pap]

If you live where you get a lot of snow I would go for the snow blower. If you don't get a lot I would go with a FEL rather than a blade. You can use a FEL a lot more than a blade. We got 32 inches of snow here in PA this year. I had no problem moving it out of the way with my BX2360 and the FEL.

A snow blower would have been better but the FEL can be used all year around not just for snow.

 

[car compulsive]

My driveway is the same length, asphalt, 2+ cars wide, with a fairly good slope. I used to have a JD 318 with chains and a 48" blower. I would hand shovel anything less than 3" and could only blow heading down the driveway due to the slope. Since we live on the drier side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, I would only use the tractor and blower about 3-5 times most winters. I had a blade, but seldom used it due to the slow speed and lack of traction.

When I replaced my 318 last summer, i wanted 4wd and bought a BX1870 with turf tires. I chose to go with a blade due to lower cost and ability to use it with all snowfalls. I had absolutely no issues with traction, both down and up the slope, with 4wd and the turf tires. The driveway is short enough to push the snow back if there was a larger storm. (However, with the quick attach, I couldn't lift the blade as much as I would have liked.) I also had no issue clearing the slop left by the snowplow in front of our property. (We're on the outside of a curve and get plenty.) The only issue I had was due to my negligence in not trimming the sod back off the edges of the driveway. The first couple snows were on unfrozen ground and I peeled the sod back with the blade. (Don't need to trim it anymore.) During a couple large snowstorms last winter, I simply plowed a couple times instead of trying to move 12+ inches. I'm really glad I went with the blade instead of a blower, expecially on all those cold mornings with a fresh 2" that I cleared in about 10 minutes.

 

[tcrote5516]

My driveway is the same length, asphalt, 2+ cars wide, with a fairly good slope. I used to have a JD 318 with chains and a 48" blower. I would hand shovel anything less than 3" and could only blow heading down the driveway due to the slope. Since we live on the drier side of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, I would only use the tractor and blower about 3-5 times most winters. I had a blade, but seldom used it due to the slow speed and lack of traction.

When I replaced my 318 last summer, i wanted 4wd and bought a BX1870 with turf tires. I chose to go with a blade due to lower cost and ability to use it with all snowfalls. I had absolutely no issues with traction, both down and up the slope, with 4wd and the turf tires. The driveway is short enough to push the snow back if there was a larger storm. (However, with the quick attach, I couldn't lift the blade as much as I would have liked.) I also had no issue clearing the slop left by the snowplow in front of our property. (We're on the outside of a curve and get plenty.) The only issue I had was due to my negligence in not trimming the sod back off the edges of the driveway. The first couple snows were on unfrozen ground and I peeled the sod back with the blade. (Don't need to trim it anymore.) During a couple large snowstorms last winter, I simply plowed a couple times instead of trying to move 12+ inches. I'm really glad I went with the blade instead of a blower, expecially on all those cold mornings with a fresh 2" that I cleared in about 10 minutes.

I completely agree with above. Here's a video of my 1860 with a 5ft backblade on my 500ft+/- driveway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XriYBCY66E

 

[stutrac]

i bought a 60" front blade for my 1870