# Blower to buy???



## proscaper (Oct 27, 2010)

Looking at purchasing a blower for skidloader to mostly spend its time at the far end of lots blowing piles over curbs to eliminate the need push it over with wheel loader and damage lawns. 

My question is, does anyone have good (or bad) experiance with a certain brand over another.
Looking for something that is built well to take a beating and be able to chew through some hardened stuff that may have sat around awhile.

Will be run by a track machine most of the time(not high flow) 18gpm @ 3000psi

Thanks for any help!


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## PTSolutions (Dec 8, 2007)

im ordering an erskine 85" hi flow blower this week.

from what ive researched and price wise, the erskine was the best. 6475 otd.
but mine will be doing small short drives in a housing development.


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## DaySpring Services (Feb 1, 2005)

ProTouchGrounds;1098016 said:


> im ordering an erskine 85" hi flow blower this week.
> 
> from what ive researched and price wise, the erskine was the best. 6475 otd.
> but mine will be doing small short drives in a housing development.


That's a good price. I paid $8400 for my Bobcat highflow blower.


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## BlackIrish (Dec 22, 2007)

What model bobcat H/F blower do you have and when did you buy it ?
Width ?


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## DaySpring Services (Feb 1, 2005)

I have the sbx240. Bought it January 09.


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## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

For skidloaders I'd say the Erskine is my favorite. BTW, I do have 2 bobcat blowers and they have held up just fine.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blower attachment etc.*



proscaper;1097940 said:


> Looking at purchasing a blower for skidloader to mostly spend its time at the far end of lots blowing piles over curbs to eliminate the need push it over with wheel loader and damage lawns.
> 
> My question is, does anyone have good (or bad) experiance with a certain brand over another.
> Looking for something that is built well to take a beating and be able to chew through some hardened stuff that may have sat around awhile.
> ...


You should look at the Pronovost hydraulic driven blowers-

Model:

Puma 54H MLHS hydraulic motor rated for 20 gallons per minute maximum flow


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## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

leon;1099438 said:


> You should look at the Pronovost hydraulic driven blowers-
> 
> Model:
> 
> Puma 54H MLHS hydraulic motor rated for 20 gallons per minute maximum flow


Leon does Pronovost make the PXPL for a skid steer? That's the one I like because of that blade that backdrags. Just curious.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*pronovost*



WIPensFan;1099496 said:


> Leon does Pronovost make the PXPL for a skid steer? That's the one I like because of that blade that backdrags. Just curious.


Greetings and salutations,

I wish they did but unfortunately they do not
build a PXPL below 84 inches; I am sure they
would consider building one for a client as it is
simply a matter of reduction in size.

leon


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## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

leon;1099726 said:


> Greetings and salutations,
> 
> I wish they did but unfortunately they do not
> build a PXPL below 84 inches; I am sure they
> ...


Sorry, but it is not a matter of just reducing the size. These are custom built blowers mainly for use with the bi-directional tractor.
Since he is looking for advice, perhaps guys with actual skidloader blower experience can add some input.


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## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

Here is a picture to give you an idea of the differences.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blowers for skid steers etc.*

The Pronovost PXPL is designed to be used 
both with a standard farm tractor and a bi-directional
tractor so its not much of an issue to begin with.


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## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

leon;1099726 said:


> Greetings and salutations,
> 
> I wish they did but unfortunately they do not
> build a PXPL below 84 inches; I am sure they
> ...





blowerman;1099737 said:


> Sorry, but it is not a matter of just reducing the size. These are custom built blowers mainly for use with the bi-directional tractor.
> Since he is looking for advice, perhaps guys with actual skidloader blower experience can add some input.


Are you guys saying they would build one custom for a skid? If they would I would seriously consider it. Probably cost a fortune, in which case I would consider it less seriously.


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## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

leon;1099772 said:


> The Pronovost PXPL is designed to be used
> both with a standard farm tractor and a bi-directional
> tractor so its not much of an issue to begin with.


Come on Leon, next time you pee away the cost of a PXPL (I know what they cost) let me know someone that wants to waste the money on one so they can put it on a farm tractor?


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## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

Did I miss something here?


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## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

WIPensFan;1100072 said:


> Did I miss something here?


Not really, just that proscape was looking for advice on a skiddy blower and it became a debate on the pxpl. For $18K plus, would you really use that blower to move back piles at the end of a lot.

To help you our: the Erskine standard flo blowers are in the $5-6K range. 
I've got three and don't think I paid more than $4K for any of them and they have all held up well.


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## rich414 (Jan 4, 2010)

proscaper;1097940 said:


> Looking at purchasing a blower for skidloader to mostly spend its time at the far end of lots blowing piles over curbs to eliminate the need push it over with wheel loader and damage lawns.
> 
> My question is, does anyone have good (or bad) experiance with a certain brand over another.
> Looking for something that is built well to take a beating and be able to chew through some hardened stuff that may have sat around awhile.
> ...


Proscape.

I have a s300 HiFlow with the biggest blower that bobcat makes(240sbx?), my friend has the same machine with an erskin blower, Differences, with Erskin, you need another control wire from the blower to the engine compartment in the bobcat, Erskin, you can use on any machine, Bobcat blower only bobcat. The erskin hydraylics are plumbed differently than bobcat, I am not an hydraulic expert, but I think the erskin plumbing is more efficent, all the fluid goes to the fan then the auger, on the erskin on bobcat they split the flow. (I think). The erskin fan is deeper than the bobcat and made of thicker metal. I have bent my bobcat fan many times, If i was to buy again, not sure what I would bo....Erskin is going to be cheaper! make a decision based on the availability of parts?they are both are good units, 
I know that my blower does a great job on shrubs, dripsystem piping and landscape bark!
go on my youtube site. "richthecliffs" and look at the videos of my blower in 8' of total snowfall naturally compacted to 3'. 
Some day I will get my blower up against the erskin blower in a side by side test..maybe this year. good luck with you purchase....


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## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

rich414;1100242 said:


> Proscape.
> 
> I have a s300 HiFlow with the biggest blower that bobcat makes(240sbx?), my friend has the same machine with an erskin blower, Differences, with Erskin, you need another control wire from the blower to the engine compartment in the bobcat, Erskin, you can use on any machine, Bobcat blower only bobcat. The erskin hydraylics are plumbed differently than bobcat, I am not an hydraulic expert, but I think the erskin plumbing is more efficent, all the fluid goes to the fan then the auger, on the erskin on bobcat they split the flow. (I think). The erskin fan is deeper than the bobcat and made of thicker metal. I have bent my bobcat fan many times, If i was to buy again, not sure what I would bo....Erskin is going to be cheaper! make a decision based on the availability of parts?they are both are good units,
> I know that my blower does a great job on shrubs, dripsystem piping and landscape bark!
> ...


rich414, I watched your video. That was a lot of snow! Those are the instances where the snow bucket is faster. I'm guessing the Bobcat vs Erskine blower will yield similar results. They can't perform that much differently. Good video BTW.

Proscaper, buy the blower that you have the best dealer support for. You know it will break at some point and they will need to have parts available for you quickly, hopefully! Unless you're a fix it myself guy, in which case buy either of these 2 blowers mentioned. I'm sure the Bobcat blower is well made, all the attachments I've run from them have been.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blowers*



WIPensFan;1100072 said:


> Did I miss something here?


No you did not miss anything, as I just mentioned the four Pronovost models that are driven by hydraulic power as a possibile option, where as the smallest unit they offer in using a "Maximum" of 20 gallons per minute of flow through the remote outlet would work on your skid steer and in so doing providing that you actually can divert that much flow from the main pump and chain drive motors only in normal use.

These Pronovost blowers can be independent where they are operated by the carriers available hydraulic power and reservoir OR they can be powered by a Pump and Tank system powered by a tractors Power Take Off system with High pressure hydraulic hoses that are run from the tank to the front end loader and attached to the tractor with loom clamps

One could if they desired employ a motorised pump and tank system and trailed carrier on a single dolly wheel as is used by a many hay windrowers as the tail swing would be the exact same as the skid steer loader plus the number of feet required to build or mount the carrier.

Motorised independent hydraulic power units are available for sale and could be used to run larger blowers without plumbing into the skid steers main hydraulic system and diverting that amount of oil from the steering and wheel drives.

The issue becomes one of tail swing and backing as the power unit and tank is directly behind the engine compartment IF it is attached to the rear of the carrier; BUT if you could tolerate a distance of X plus in front of the skid steer to carry the power unit and the quick attach snow blower it eliminates the issue of tail swing and backing into an object causing or incurring damages(the skid steer no longer becomes a zero tail swing machine).

The skid loader automatically becomes longer in total length and this affects the forward travel as it is much longer in total length and care in driving and maintaining clearances with bicycle marker flags for example would be warranted in that case where a rear mounted camera would work well with bicycle flags for the rear attachment of a power unit.

The issue of wiggle room hangs over an installion of this type as your side to side movement(s) is/are limited by swing of the furthest corner of the power unit and blower in both instances of a front mounted power unit with the snow blower in front of the power unit mounted on a quick attach kit or the furthest point at the rear where the power unit would be attached to the rear of the skid steer.

The PXPL is a very strongly built piece of iron and the saying "you only buy a good tool once" applies as this model will last a long time and with normal repairs and maintenance will last even longer than the 7 year depreciated life span per the IRS and the current tax laws involving 
machineries.

A two stage snow blower requires more work to build than a single stage blower for a farm tractor or other carrier, whereas the single stage snow blower employs a solid auger ribbon with a shallow depth solid full auger flighting to the center of the blowers chute and spout using the augers last few inches in the center in creating a short shelf to throw the snow out of the chute at a very high speed to dispose of it as the snow is carried to the center of the implement.

The problem with these units is heavy snow and ice and they run into trouble simply due to snow melt.

The Yamaha and BCS snow blowers overcome this with the use of a gear to gear drive train
in thier two stage units ans well as the BCS single stage snow blower.

The issue of snow melt / melt wieght per cubic foot is and always will be the enemy of the small snow blower if time is of the essence in clearing and any clean up.

The single stage propeller type snow blowers are used for frozen plowed banks or powder and are very fast in operation and simple to maintain as they are directly driven by a P.T.O. shaft from the carrier whether it is a farm tractor or Unimog or a railroad type snow clearer.

versus


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blower*



leon;1100311 said:


> No you did not miss anything, as I just mentioned the four Pronovost models that are driven by hydraulic power as a possibile option, where as the smallest unit they offer in using a "Maximum" of 20 gallons per minute of flow through the remote outlet would work on your skid steer and in so doing providing that you actually can divert that much flow from the main pump and chain drive motors only in normal use.
> 
> These Pronovost blowers can be independent where they are operated by the carriers available hydraulic power and reservoir OR they can be powered by a Pump and Tank system powered by a tractors Power Take Off system with High pressure hydraulic hoses that are run from the tank to the front end loader and attached to the tractor with loom clamps
> 
> ...


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## plowatnight (Mar 10, 2010)

leon;1100477 said:


> leon;1100311 said:
> 
> 
> > No you did not miss anything, as I just mentioned the four Pronovost models that are driven by hydraulic power as a possibile option, where as the smallest unit they offer in using a "Maximum" of 20 gallons per minute of flow through the remote outlet would work on your skid steer and in so doing providing that you actually can divert that much flow from the main pump and chain drive motors only in normal use.
> ...


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## plowatnight (Mar 10, 2010)

I like to design my own stuff as much as anyone, but you don't have a lot of time left this year.


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## proscaper (Oct 27, 2010)

Thanks for the input, still looking at all options. Need the best blower to "ram" into hardened piles after they have sat a day or two. 
Really like the Lorenz brand, dual auger, heavy built (just looking at pictures)
Anyone have any experiance with these?


On a side note, just ordered a Snow Wolf 9' with wings for use on our Cat 277C. Putting big hopes on that MTL track working well in the snow????
BTW- the blower I want to puchase is going on a Takechi T230


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## snow7899 (Jan 22, 2005)

I have aen Erskine 1812 blower. Its pretty old so it is all torn down and being sent to a media blaster. We are going to add bracing to a few spots and straighten a few dents and replace all the bearings. Also putting new decals on. I contacted Erskine and all the parts are still available for the misc items. On a side note: Bobcat bought Erskine a few years ago and then sold Erskine off. The models are pretty similar.............


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blower*

You do not ram into piles with a snow blower unless you are planning to replace broken chain and shear pins and bending an auger.

The slower you advance into a pile the easier it is for the blower to work for you and the further it is going to be be thrown.

Its simpler, safer and easier to remove a smaller cut when you are removing piled snow 
with a hydralic driven blower.


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## proscaper (Oct 27, 2010)

Ya, I dont mean "ram" neccesarily, just that if the snow is hard after setting up for a day or two I know I want one that is durable enought to "break" the "chunks" up enough to even be able to blow. This is more like what I want and really need, however,$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ , Took this picture last year of the city municipals guys clearing piles and widening roads. Actually see some old versions of these for sale and on auctions that go for pretty decent prices, Already have the loaders- their what make the piles I need to move (just need to start moving them back without the loader going over the curb as we always have in the past as the sod behind the curb is VERY important to the customer).


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## jomama45 (Dec 25, 2008)

leon;1113897 said:


> You do not ram into piles with a snow blower *unless you are planning to replace broken chain* and shear pins and bending an auger.
> 
> The slower you advance into a pile the easier it is for the blower to work for you and the further it is going to be be thrown.
> 
> ...


What chain are you talking about on a direct drive skid loader blower??????????? 

The one to turn the discharge chute??????


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blower*

OH boy,

That is a propeller type motorised snow blower you will never have the hydraulic flow and power or torque curve to run one of these units with a skid steer loader.

b. a hydraulic driven snow blower will handle the material pushed back as itis not frozen completely it will just take longer.

The only other realistic option is the Pronovost sidewalk snow blower and a small 4 wheel drive tractor of 50 horsepower for what you desire to accomplish.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

jomama45;1114081 said:


> What chain are you talking about on a direct drive skid loader blower???????????
> 
> The one to turn the discharge chute??????


In but one example of many; if you look at the JPG images of the Pronovost hydraulic drive snow blowers you wil see a chain drive for the cross auger.

The chute and spout are either manually controlled, electric or hydraulic in operation.

I have enclosed picture of the 54 inch pronovost sidewalk snow blower for all to examine if desired.

This unit requires a farm tractor of 50 horse power minimum Per the specs., but there is

no saying that a smaller one could not be used as long as its in a creeper gear anyway

simply because it is operated with 540 R.P.M.


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## jomama45 (Dec 25, 2008)

leon;1114113 said:


> OH boy,
> 
> That is a propeller type motorised snow blower you will never have the hydraulic flow and power or torque curve to run one of these units with a skid steer loader.
> 
> ...


If you'd read instead of just looking at the picture quickly, you'd realized that he already has "a few loader" to run a blower like that. I'm think it's fairly safe to assume he is talking about wheel loaders, NOT skid loaders. Why would you want to power a blower that has it's own self-contained power plant off of skid loader hydraulics anyways?????????????? 



leon;1114223 said:


> In but one example of many; if you look at the JPG images of the Pronovost hydraulic drive snow blowers you wil see a chain drive for the cross auger.
> 
> Than I guess you're making his decision even easier, stick with something along the lines of an Erskine that has NO chain: http://www.erskineattachments.com/attachments-catalog/snowblower-1600-2010-2410-2410XL.pdf
> 
> ...


WTF does PTO speed have to do with a skid loader & blower combination??????????


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow etc.*



jomama45;1114277 said:


> If you'd read instead of just looking at the picture quickly, you'd realized that he already has "a few loader" to run a blower like that. I'm think it's fairly safe to assume he is talking about wheel loaders, NOT skid loaders. Why would you want to power a blower that has it's own self-contained power plant off of skid loader hydraulics anyways??????????????
> WTF does PTO speed have to do with a skid loader & blower combination??????????


He did not specify that he wanted to use a
motorised blower on a front end loader he 
specificly stated he wished to use a 
snowblower mounted on a SKID STEER 
loader in his first sentence of the first posting.

The available PTO speed is what is delivered to
a ground engaging attachment, within which 
it provides the rotation speed of either 540 or
1,000 rpm to the snow blowers worm gear 
shaft drive ON SOME MODELS which in turn
rotates the impeller at either 540 or 1,000 R.P.M.-

(The hydraulic powered snow blowers are designed 
around two items the cross auger and the impeller 
and the torque required to deliver the energy required 
to operate the hydraulic attachment with the hydraulic 
system that that is used to power the smaller tractor
or the skid loader the within the available hydraulic pressure 
and gallons per minute flow deliverd by the excess fluid 
capacity if any that the prime move can provide without 
affecting the machines ability to do work)

and at the same time the worm gear is rotating the
spur gear which is larger in circumference to regulate
the speed of rotation of the cross auger (at a set speed for 
either a hydraulic driven attachment or a mechanical
power take off) which rotates the right angle gear box, 
which is directly in the middle of the cross auger on 
smaller snow blowers or a shaft is extended to the left
or right of center from the gear box behind the 
cross auger housing to a drive sprocket and roller chain
which is fed through the housing to the cross auger 
driven sprocket which turns the auger to direct snow 
to the impeller.

The hydraulic driven snow blower can be used effectively
by employing a separate pump and tank driven by a the tractors 
power take off if the tractor has neither the flow or capacity to use
its own hydraulic system.

A pump tank system is available for skid steer loaders that 
operates the larger pump tank system using a small hydraulic motor 
fed by the skid steer loaders hydraulic system to spin the pump
and make use of the separate resevoir to power a hydraulic 
driven snow blower system of larger capacity with a smaller unit.


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## proscaper (Oct 27, 2010)

Wow, sorry about creating such a topic to create comments with hostility.

The original question did (and still does) pertain to a skid steer (aux hydraulic driven) snowblower attachment. Just wondering what others use with good results in the worst of conditions (hard clumpy setup snow), not freshly fallen.

Or, if anyone has had bad experiance with a certain make/model to save me the hassel (kind of the reason I thought this forum existed and why I came to it).

The wheel loader pic I put up simply to show the dream setup to use to accomplish what I need to do. However, something that size is not in the budget, unless a used one presents itself, but no hurries or worries on that right now. By the way, these blowers weigh 6000+lbs, so YES I was talking about putting it in front of a wheel loader.

I figured that a skid loader blower would be able to come back to a property a day after (at night) a large event (giving the guys a little rest) and work in tandem with another skid or wheel loader. If the pile hardened up to much then the bucket machines break up the snow and windrow it out next to the curb and the blower machine throws it as far as poss. I realize that this may get to be a long drawn out process and still seek a larger wheel loader mounted version, BUT it will show an attempt to the customer to take loaders over the curb and onto turf less often, plus its not like I will regret having a skid loader mounted blower for other purposes RIGHT?

Look, heres a pic I took a year or two ago of the only blower we use (besides walk behinds), this is a pretty efficient sidewalk machine, however very cold! My thought was that if a little MT55 with only 12GPM can throw snow like that, then maybe, just maybe a full size skid could widdle those piles down a bit.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow etc.*

You have to remember that snow weighs probably triple what it would wiegh simply from snow fall accumulation, so it may wiegh almost 63 pounds per cubic foot when simply pushed and dumped so keep that in mind.

You could buy two or three of the biggest new Yamahas or the 3 of the BCS 2 stage 32 inch units with the big Hondas and have the same results as they are gear driven.

You have to decide if you can justify the expense for the limited use and higher tons per hour on a low use basis.

You can buy a good used small grader with a wing at a municipal aiction and accomplish the same job using the wing blade or a newer one from a job completion auction and buy a wing kit and a V plow for it and acccomplish a lot using the v plow pushing the snow back along with blade when pushing back.


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## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

proscaper;1114669 said:


> Wow, sorry about creating such a topic to create comments with hostility.
> 
> The original question did (and still does) pertain to a skid steer (aux hydraulic driven) snowblower attachment. Just wondering what others use with good results in the worst of conditions (hard clumpy setup snow), not freshly fallen.
> 
> ...


If you already have the skids I would start with a blower for them. Bobcat, Erskine, Quick Attach, Pronovost, Rad Teck, Normand just to name a few. I would go with a dealer nearest you. In the future If you ever consider an ag tractor you can put a good size pusher on front and a good size blower in the back, or like you mentioned a loader with an independent blower. By the way in the near future, I know there will be independent blowers for backhoes and compact loaders. Should see them for next season. Last piece of advice, if you have pushed heavy wet snow, and the temps are going to drop over night. Work those extra hours right away, and blow it away. Will save you lots of headaches, and frustrations.


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## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

proscaper;1114669 said:


> I figured that a skid loader blower would be able to come back to a property a day after (at night) a large event (giving the guys a little rest) and work in tandem with another skid or wheel loader. If the pile hardened up to much then the bucket machines break up the snow and windrow it out next to the curb and the blower machine throws it as far as poss. I realize that this may get to be a long drawn out process and still seek a larger wheel loader mounted version, BUT it will show an attempt to the customer to take loaders over the curb and onto turf less often, plus its not like I will regret having a skid loader mounted blower for other purposes RIGHT?


As you stated, working in tandem with a bucket machine will help. Using a skidloader with blower as a way to blow back old crusty piles isn't worth the time. You'll simply bend the blower over time and find them disappointing. However as Paul said, if you have a skid then start with a blower on one from a local supporting dealer that has: hoses, cutting edges, and other wear items in stock.
In due time, add something bigger and 2 weeks after a snow you'll be able to blow back a pile of solid concrete..


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## Schuley (Jul 22, 2009)

So have you made your decision? I am in the market for one too, maybe someplace will deal better on 2 units? Im just outside of madison....


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## proscaper (Oct 27, 2010)

I am holding out for a self powered unit to attach to the front of our wheel loader, anything smaller will be disapointing I have a feeling. 
In the mean time we are going to have a little sod fixin' to do in the spring, like always we'll try to keep it to a min, but what ya going to do


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