I purchased a Husqvarna 21Hp riding lawn tractor and was interested in buying a snow thrower attachment for it. I just wondered if anybody out there has any experience with a snow thrower attachment. My wife wants to just buy a regular one, but I think how great it would be to ride instead of walk! Thanks
Sometimes you need both, depends on your climate and property layout. If your have a) frequent snowstorms, b) large driveway and c) limited sidewalks, get a rider. If you have a), b), and d) lengthy sidewalks and paths, get both types of machines. For d) only, a modest snowblower will do fine and for c), invest in a fancy snowshovel. Your call. HTH
Joe
Buy the walk behind and let HER do it.
Jeremy Robbins wrote:
There are a few things to consider with a tractor mounted blower. First, you'll have to find out if there is a blower attachment for your particular tractor. My Agway branded, Murray built, tractor's blower attachment has a 4' wide hopper (about twice the width of a walk behind blower), so you can do twice as much in the same time. And with the more powerful tractor engine, can blow the snow up to 25' away, depending upon the moisture content. My down sloping driveway is 90+ feet long and 18' wide, and has a 34' wide parking area at the top (we have 4 cars overnight here). Now for the downsides. You'll have to swap the mower deck with the blower twice a year. This means rolling around on the floor or ground for about a half hour or more, unhooking and hooking up things, and dragging hundreds of pounds of stuff around (my blower attachment is about 6' long and its frame runs almost to the back wheels). You'll also have to keep the tractor readily available and in running condition all winter long. With a blower attachment, your tractor will be much longer. Mine grows to about 8' long and 4' wide, so it needs a lot of storage and maneuverability space. You'll have to keep the tractor facing out of whatever building it is parked in, so you can snow blow your way out of the building. If you get heavy snowfalls (I have had up to 14" in a single snowfall), it won't back out very well and you'll find you have to shovel a path to get it out and turn around. I keep mine backed up in the attached garage because the shed I keep it in as a mower is unheated and uninsulated and I don't want to freeze my ass while trying to unfreeze the choke and throttle cables to get it to start. If you have more than 1 car parked in the driveway, you have to make sure that none block your way out of the garage/shed. The tractor mounted snowblower is less maneuverable than a walk behind. I like to strategically position our 4 cars before it snows, so that I can snow blow fresh snow, not snow that has been driven over and packed down by positioning or moving cars around after it snows and before I get a chance to provide a clear spot for them. I sometimes have to clean the driveway twice during the day or evening if it is a continually falling snow storm. I'd rather clear 6 or 8 inches of snow two times than 12" or 14" once. Don't forget wheel weights and possibly tire chains. If you can get one of those clear plastic canopy surrounds, you'll be better off. I hate blowing dry snow and have the wind blow it back into my face. I keep saying I'll buy one this year, but then I'm always hoping that it may not snow anyway. My last tractor had a small snow plow attachment, but with each snowfall and the snow banks getting higher and wider on the driveway sides, my driveway kept getting narrower. All in all, I'm happy with my tractor mounted snowblower.
Excellent advice. It runs true to my experiences with a 18 HP Honda Harmony for which I bought a big blower attachment. I really liked it. It made blowing a breeze (in SE Michigan). Amazing throwing power. It made very quick work of my
120 foot driveway.But it was hard to park in the garage and it was a pain to mount/unmount twice a year. Yet if I had space to park it, I'd get one again.
Randy
Thanks for the help! I think that is the way I am going to go. I should have mentioned that I live in CT and have a 225 ft long driveway! thanks
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