# snowblow residential



## mcgruff (Feb 13, 2008)

I currently am going to run an ariens pro 36 and ariens deluxe 30 for driveways .
My resi lawn clients have been asking me for years to get into the snow removal aspect.

I know a plow would be quicker, however all the driveways are no bigger than 2 cars deep , 2 cars wide. Some of them have no place to put the snow based on fencing, etc

Thats why I am thinking of going the blower route. I have a tight route so travel time will be minimal, but i have to take into acount load and unload time. 
I figure 2 guys can buzz out at least 3 per hour with walks.

$45min x 3 = $135 hr.

I dont think thats to bad....but you guys who have been using blowers, let me know what you think, pros, cons, etc.....thanks

If i expand my snow removal I will def. get a snow plow, but for now, I am thinking the snow blower route to start.

Any thoughts? ussmileyflag


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## wrtenterprises (Mar 10, 2001)

I have been running Toro single stage units for 10 years now, doing exactly what you describe. Small residentials in only a few neighborhoods. I also have a plow, but we use the Toro's on most. Two stage definitely has it's place, but the single stage units are much faster. The only draw backs are large snows of 10" or more, and wet / heavy. Two stage all the way for the wet and deep stuff. Single stage also cleans to the pavement, two stage seems to leave a skim of snow. PM me if you have any specific questions.....


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blower*



mcgruff;1016352 said:


> I currently am going to run an ariens pro 36 and ariens deluxe 30 for driveways .
> My resi lawn clients have been asking me for years to get into the snow removal aspect.
> 
> I know a plow would be quicker, however all the driveways are no bigger than 2 cars deep , 2 cars wide. Some of them have no place to put the snow based on fencing, etc
> ...


================================================================

If you charged a flat seasonal rate for snow removal

you will attract a lot more business and you will

justify the purchase of a small compact utility tractor

with an 60 inch inverted snow blower that can scrape

the drive way clean very well and a front end

loader which would allow you to clean any excess snow quickly.

You could either buy a mid mount mower or a flail mower

that requires little if any work during the mowing season

other than greasing as the belts are spring tensioned in most models

The mower knife blades are easily changed by hand if you need to

sharpen them- a table type belt sander is a quick way to accomplish this too.

The flail mower rotor is balanced and there are no issues with unbalanced mower blades

and vibrations.

The flail mower would allow you to offer a lawn dethatching service

as well with the same unit.

Adding the thatching knives at spring time and then removing them when

the thatching season is done or simply leave them on the knife hangers

as they will not interfere witht he flail mowers operation.

FYI

The flail mower leaves no excess grass to rot on the lawn either

as the knifes continually suck up grass cuttings and leave little

if any residue which is quickly chopped a second time if desired

as it has a mower wide gauge roller to prevent scalping.

A front gauge roller option eliminates any scalping issues as

the knives are prevented by hitting anything due to the guage

roller in front of the mower knives.

One example of mowers is www.landpride.com/flail mowers

Kubota is using the landpride line of flail mowers for their machines.

Also the flail mower cannnot pick up an object and throw it to cause

property damage and personal injury or death as the mowing operation

is entirely under the mowing hood as it cuts and lifts the material under the

mower hood and to the rear of the mowers rotor using the rotor and lift paddles

to carry the cut grass up and over the rotor of the flail mower.

The flail mower creates less mowing noise as the hood is a noise barrier as well.

The flail mower requires less horse power to operate as it uses the

mass of the rotor and its rotation speed to cut grass with less energy

per foot of cut.

The flail mower does not have a mower deck discharge deflector adding more width

either.

Candidly with the towed mower I have I am able to mow four acres with one gallon of

high octane gasoline at full throttle using a 16 horse power I/C Briggs and Stratton engine.

Offering a seasonal rate for snow removal will be an excellent sales tool and you

have a concentrated route and less time will be required where one person can run the

tractor and the other can clean the walks with blower or shovel and spread sand or salt.

If you added sides and a back extension to the loader bucket you could carry a self

propelled blower or a larger single stage blower, bagged or bucketed salt and sand , snow

shovels and gasoline for the blower. The loader bucket extensions will allow you to carry

away larger quantities of piled snow as well.

The www.tractorbynet.com web page has a section with after market attachments which

includes a loader bucket extender for a compact utility tractor of any make- the one I saw

was on a kubota tractor in the kubota section of the home page and made by the tractor

owner.

leon:waving:


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## mcgruff (Feb 13, 2008)

thanks for the quick responses.

I know Neige has quit an operation with inverted blowers.

What size compact tractor would be the minimum hp you would go with?

Tractor sounds good cause i can justify its purchase for on the farm as well.

Just not sure pulling a trailer in snow is something i want to do, but then again, its all in a three mile radius. wesport


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blower and compact utility tractor*



mcgruff;1016542 said:


> thanks for the quick responses.
> 
> I know Neige has quit an operation with inverted blowers.
> 
> ...


==================================================================================================================================

Good evening,

If you are able to utilize compact utility tractor

for two occupations all the better.

The more customers you have in a concentrated area

on a seasonal basis or permanent basis for lawn care

and snow removal the more opportunity you will have

to generate revenue and have a positive cash flow.

The minimum horse power recommended by Pronovost for their

smallest inverted and XPRO snow blowers is 50 horse power.

The models that have this minimum rating listing the inverted

blower first are the P860-IV and P920-IV being 86 and 92 inches wide

respectively.

The models for the fifty horse power class for the X-PRO blower are the

PXPL-86 being 86 inches wide and the PXPL-86-92 which is 92 inches wide.

both units have a rear scraper blade to allow cleaning to bare pavement.

The chute deflector controls for the inverted models are hydraulic operated and

standard equipment.

The chute deflector controls for the PXPL models are hydraulic as standard equipment

and manual control is optional.

Hydraulic control of the snow discharge chute is hydraulic as standard equipment and

Manual rotation is not an option for these snow blowers.

The PTO shaft for both inverted units is the number six shaft and the blower is only rated

for 540 RPM.

The PTO shafts for the 2 PXPL snow blowers for the 50 horse power range are

are both the number 6 and number 8 for both units.

The operating weights for the two inverted units are 1,456 pounds for the 86 inch unit and and 1,478 pounds for the 92 inch unit.

The operating weight of the PXPL -86 is 1,822 pounds and 1,860 pounds for the 92 PXPL

86-92 X-PRO snow blowers.


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## mcgruff (Feb 13, 2008)

Wrtenterprises...
What toro single stage are u using? Also what's the life expectancy since
U have been using them for so long?


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*residential snow removal*

Good morning,

would you like more information about compact tractors? I was going to send you a private message but you do not have a contact for a PM

leon


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## mcgruff (Feb 13, 2008)

Yes Leon,

please forward whatever you have.

I have had my eye on n L5740 kubota..........but $$$ is tight.


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## mnglocker (Dec 24, 2008)

wrtenterprises;1016410 said:


> I have been running Toro single stage units for 10 years now, doing exactly what you describe. Small residentials in only a few neighborhoods. I also have a plow, but we use the Toro's on most. Two stage definitely has it's place, but the single stage units are much faster. The only draw backs are large snows of 10" or more, and wet / heavy. Two stage all the way for the wet and deep stuff. Single stage also cleans to the pavement, two stage seems to leave a skim of snow. PM me if you have any specific questions.....


A compact utility tractor like a JD 2305 with glass cab would be bad assed for tons of small residentials. Get a front mount blower on it and you'll be set. you can add a quick-tach FEL on it for summer use, along with running small CAT1 3-point toys and a belly mower. I can get about 6 hours out of a tank of fuel under hard use on mine.


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## mnglocker (Dec 24, 2008)

As it was firt stated at the top of the page too regarding snow-blowers, single stages are MUCH faster and leave a cleaner surface.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*sub compact utility tractors and snow blowers*

About snow blowers,

Another company that builds inverted blowers is agrotrend and the local distributor for pa. is Tudor and Jones in Weedsport NY.

the home page is www.agrotrend.com and they have inverted blowers up to 8 feet wide but the web page has no pictures and is not very informative regarding them.

you have to decide what you can afford to pay per month even in the off seasons.

A new Kubota BX2660 with a hard cab, heater and front and rear snow blowers and a front end loader would be very adequate for what you want to do.

A family friend has a BX2350 and had it for several years now and she loves it she has a hard cab with glass doors that can be removed a cab heater front and rear lights, a 60 inch snow blower and she does not use or need tire chains she has a 4 car by 4 car deep drive way on a slope that gets buried and she has absolutely zero problems mowing or moving snow.

The Kubota heater is also set up as a defroster and she never has to wear a coat when she is using the tractor to clean the driveway of snow.
the cab has wiper blades as well as a beacon which is some thing that is required as standard equipment.

The three cylinder engine has proven track record and is used in many of the lines products and by other manufacturers.

if you buy an adapter kit to mount a back blade on the loader bucket you will be able to scrape the driveways bare too and still have the snow blower to get rid of the snow safely away from the homes.

you should visit www.tractorbynet.com and visit the ...ng them out right as their history has shown.


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## mcgruff (Feb 13, 2008)

Messicks sound familiarbut not sure where it is. I am just north of Pittsburgh


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*messicks farm equipment*

lancaster county i think look at their home page


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## mcgruff (Feb 13, 2008)

I most def will check out the website.
I think a fel with a rear inverse would be nice.

Using the fel for the front driveway apron would be sweet.


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## AA+ Landscaping (Nov 12, 2008)

How does the 36 in work in deep snow? looking to buy one next year.


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## Letusspray (Feb 20, 2010)

mcgruff;1017076 said:


> Wrtenterprises...
> What toro single stage are u using? Also what's the life expectancy since
> U have been using them for so long?


Hey McGruff, just starting out here too and anxious to see what model Toro SS blower he is using and obviously trusts. I just got done looking online at the new Toro 221Q (I think), and it looks good, but I'm new ..what do I know, right? Anyway, hope Wrtenterprises writes back soon.

I too may test the waters in my area with a blower first before committing the bigger money toward a nice plow.


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## Schuley (Jul 22, 2009)

Get yourself atleast 1 single stage toro. We had the same one for 6 years and retired it only due to the fact that we got a good deal on new ones and we wore teh bottom off the old one. We replace paddles and wear bars 1-2 times per winter, but we are doing 55 different places. 
They are way better then the 2 stagers unless the snow gets wet and heavy or really deep, so keep the 2 stage around. We run a front mount deere 48" blower when things get deep, but it doesn't clean as nice. We don't trailer ours around, we drive it. We work in a 1 mile radius from the shop, and with 55 accounts, by the time we got it loaded and unloaded, we'd already be at the next job.
If you don't have room to push snow, don't buy a plow for a truck, trust me from experience, it makes things harder, and you need to push piles way into the yard, but then you risk rutting the lawn or scraping off sod. Our customers love the blowers, it doesn't leave a pile of snow obstructing view out of the driveway.
Any other questions, just ask.


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## Letusspray (Feb 20, 2010)

Thanks Schuley!! We usually don't get too much of a dumping here in VA, so I'm thinking next year I'll invest in a good single stage thrower and build up some good clients from my power washing client pool. Thanks again.


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## mcgruff (Feb 13, 2008)

As for the 36, it worked really well in the deep. It was a little over a foot..about 15 inches i would say. Did a great job, lots of power, handled with ease.


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