# Skid steer snowblowers



## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

im looking into skidsteer blowers both my machines are not high flow. What can I expect from the lower flow units. It’s going to be a used as a backup. 

I’m looking so if anyone has one for sale let me know.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

I would day you will be less than impressed. Low flow sucks on a skid. They are slow and just dont have the huevos to launch snow.


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## zlssefi (Dec 29, 2011)

Low flow is useable, but no you wont be able to do big production with it. I have two standard flow s185 bobcats which I matched a blower with the correct hydraulic motor to. We mainly use it for pile removal days after a storm. It has enough power to chew and throw the snow over an 8 foot fence about 15 feet in the air. So is it ideal? No, but if you don't have high flow yes it still works.


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## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

I’m just looking for options big snow events to blow back. Plus I just want one to use around my property.


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## White_Gold11 (Jan 4, 2016)

I have only heard from another contractor who uses a bobcat 185 no high flow.. just takes longer, still can launch, but bogs down much easier.They use in a similar situation the next day to make room for more snow. He never said it was horrible but if you don’t know any different idk..


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## Camden (Mar 10, 2007)

I have a standard flow blower on my 262 Cat skid. My blower was matched to the specs of my machine. The only time I've ever opened the spout all the way to see how far it'll fling snow is when I'm blowing back a pile. Other than that I'm always throttling the spout down to control the flow so it's not like I'm sitting there wishing it would toss it further. Maybe a hi-flo is faster but for me that little bit of speed isn't a deal breaker.


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## Broncslefty7 (Jul 14, 2014)

fireside said:


> im looking into skidsteer blowers both my machines are not high flow. What can I expect from the lower flow units. It's going to be a used as a backup.
> 
> I'm looking so if anyone has one for sale let me know.


buy one so i can borrow it! i always wanted to use one of those things.

or buy a high flow one and ill let you use my cat 272 when you need it and vice versa......


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## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

I have installed two blowers on tractor s. They surprising work awesome one being only 25 hp. The farm has a 6’ one but I hate looking backwards. I want it really as a backup for walks. I have been hammered with walks. Like 14” snowfall ment 3’ on the walks. We could use it at my shop and farm to cleanup. Plus it could have a high cool factor ti the cost analysis.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

fireside said:


> I have installed two blowers on tractor s. They surprising work awesome one being only 25 hp. The farm has a 6' one but I hate looking backwards. I want it really as a backup for walks. I have been hammered with walks. Like 14" snowfall ment 3' on the walks. We could use it at my shop and farm to cleanup. Plus it could have a high cool factor ti the cost analysis.


PTO driven not hydro I am assuming?

25HP tractor will not have a big enough hydraulic pump to do much.


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## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

Yes all pto 540 units. I want one to run on the skidsteer or my yanmar loader.
Truthfully I was shocked at how well it worked. My buddy does his driveway with it


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

fireside said:


> Yes all pto 540 units. I want one to run on the skidsteer or my yanmar loader.
> Truthfully I was shocked at how well it worked. My buddy does his driveway with it


Yeah, but that is a PTO driven unit. Not a low flow skid loader unit. Totally different animal.


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## seville009 (Sep 9, 2002)

fireside said:


> I have installed two blowers on tractor s. They surprising work awesome one being only 25 hp. The farm has a 6' one but I hate looking backwards. I want it really as a backup for walks. I have been hammered with walks. Like 14" snowfall ment 3' on the walks. We could use it at my shop and farm to cleanup. Plus it could have a high cool factor ti the cost analysis.


In addition to the problem of having to drive backwards with the tractor, presumably the pto driven blower has shear pins (mine does, at least) that love to break. Have a skidsteer (heated) with a blower; all hydraulic of course, so no shear pins.....much nicer than the tractor.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

seville009 said:


> In addition to the problem of having to drive backwards with the tractor, presumably the pto driven blower has shear pins (mine does, at least) that love to break. Have a skidsteer (heated) with a blower; all hydraulic of course, so no shear pins.....much nicer than the tractor.


What are you hitting to shear the pins?


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## seville009 (Sep 9, 2002)

Philbilly2 said:


> What are you hitting to shear the pins?


Rocks, blocks of ice (when pushing back old piles)

45hp tractor; six foot blower.

Although I think the shear bolts I have are only grade 5. Only use the tractor blower as a back up now anyway; don't think I've actually used it for blowing in over six years.


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## sthoms3355 (Jan 3, 2008)

We have (2) skid blowers. The newest is a CAT 262D w/a std flow CAT blower. Works great. We have never run into a issue where we would have needed high-flow. Maybe if you are in a part of the country that gets 80"+ but since you have std flow skids already....no worries


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## zlssefi (Dec 29, 2011)

fireside said:


> im looking into skidsteer blowers both my machines are not high flow. What can I expect from the lower flow units. It's going to be a used as a backup.
> 
> I'm looking so if anyone has one for sale let me know.


A guy I know had one for sale on craigslist and hes right in Hartford.


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

seville009 said:


> Rocks, blocks of ice (when pushing back old piles)
> 
> 45hp tractor; six foot blower.
> 
> Although I think the shear bolts I have are only grade 5. Only use the tractor blower as a back up now anyway; don't think I've actually used it for blowing in over six years.


Most shear bolts I've seen are Grade 2...I guess you can use Grade 8 and cut 1/2 way through it???


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## dlange (Nov 9, 2016)

How far can the high flow machines throw ?


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## jdelec (Jan 18, 2018)

Depending on what your trying to do you should call Reist out of Canada. The Horse power formula for Hydraulics is (PSI x GPM)/1714 This is your max available HP at the impeller. Reist has found that single stage snow throwers work best for skid steers. The reason for this is the nature of how Hydraulic systems work. If the snow your blowing is wet and heavy a blower breaks the snow apart before discharging creating more weight causing the over pressure valve to bypass hydraulic flow lowering your delivery horsepower. Basically when you need the power most the nature of a 2 stage will cause the system to bog down. A single stage will take one scoop and throw that out the chute. Think of it as a shoveler throwing hundreds of shovel fulls a minute. This action puts less stress on the Hydraulic system making it easier to move at faster speeds.


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## seville009 (Sep 9, 2002)

dlange said:


> How far can the high flow machines throw ?


Depends on the weight and depth of the snow, how big of a bite you're taking, and if there's a strong wind.


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## dlange (Nov 9, 2016)

Have a cat 289d high flow. Specs say 70 horse of hydraulic power. I’m assuming this should work fine for 3-4 times a year. I just need to to clear a 10-12 foot fence so it’s not damaged by pushing against it.


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## Chineau (Aug 24, 2010)

I have a bobcat sb200 that I hook up on s250 works awesome.


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## Captaingc (Sep 9, 2018)

seville009 said:


> Depends on the weight and depth of the snow, how big of a bite you're taking, and if there's a strong wind.


I Average 40 + feet with a Cat 279C High Flow and a Cat Blower, SR321 . 7.5' wide and it has no Shearpins eats Ice Snow and Water


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## Lone Wolf Ent (Oct 18, 2006)

dlange said:


> How far can the high flow machines throw ?


Hi-Flow with fairly dry snow, 80-100'.


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## SHAWZER (Feb 29, 2012)

That is a long ways to throw snow ..... like to see pictures of that .


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## fireside (Mar 1, 2008)

Well I found a used bobcat sb200 with the correct motor package for my GPM standard flowit works great


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## zlssefi (Dec 29, 2011)

Maybe 100 feet down a hill??


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## Chineau (Aug 24, 2010)

And a tailwind


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