Hi Will, A rotary broom like the Landpride are ideal for wet and packed down snow. A stiffer bristle (not wire) works the best on driven-on snow. The standard poly brushes work very well on wet and walking traffic.

If you have the smaller Kubota Compact a 60 inch is a perfect size. It’s light enough so you can steer it easily and when tilted will clean the 48-inch sidewalk perfectly without tearing up the turf.

As a backup any of the Ariens Deluxe, Platinum, Pro models or the Toro PowerMax HD models will give you a good reliable backup that will handle wet snow, clean up after the brush and other corners the bucket loaders don’t clean well. You’ll find a 28-inch size to be a good size so that anyone can use it.

Paul,

My question on the broom attachment, how well does it do on wet snow or semi compacted snow. We would be putting this on a Kubota compact tractor with bucket attachment. We do clear the side walks down to the concrete. The lawn equipment we use are Hustler mowers (standers & zero turns). We were leaning towards a good 2 stage blower to give some back up redundancy. We also have a CAT 247B3 Skid Steer we use as well for snow piles.

Hi Will, My first question is, do you have to keep the sidewalks completely clear of snow? My second question is, what are you using for mowing lawns and general maintenance around the campus? I’ll explain why in a little bit.

2.1 miles is a lot to walk. A roundtrip on the 4-foot sections and 2-3 passes on the 10-foot sections can easily add up to 6-10 miles of walking each time it snows. If you decide to walk you will need a Toro Power Max HD Commercial or an Ariens Professional just so they will last more than a season or two.

So, my first choice assuming you have to keep the sidewalks completely clear is a commercial power broom attached to a mower like the Toro Grandstand Multi-Force or a John Deere Utility tractor, or even a skid steer. Then a Toro Power Max HD Commercial or an Ariens Professional for cleaning the windrow of snow it leaves. With a broom, you may find you don’t need a 2-stage and a good single stage that cleans up the corners and walked on snow in front of the buildings/ handicap ramps is the best choice. I’ll post a few pictures below and feel free to redirect me if you want to discuss this farther. Sorry, I can’t adjust the picture size in the comments.

Hi Tom, Your comment fell into spam folder. I just found it.

The biggest thing to know about your new snow blower is that is does not like big chunks of ice. It will break shear pins (actually a good thing) I suggest that you get out and clear that snow plow berm as soon as you can – before it freezes into a huge chunks of ice. If it is frozen, take 1/4 or 1/2 passes at a time.

So, Number one, learn how to change all four shear pins on your snow blower. Tip the snow blower up on the handles and spend some time taking a shear pin out and replacing it. The shear pin behind the front gearbox is the hardest to change (but the hole lines up with the hole of the front shear pin)

Number two, Buy a dozen extra shear pins and remember where you put them.

Number three. Make sure the snow blower fan is clear of snow when you put it away after a snow. I actually put a heat lamp on the front to melt out all the snow

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Hi Mike, $750 dollars is a great deal for that snow blower! Let me answer your questions.

1. Is this blower durable? Yes, For the amount you have to clear that snow blower will last many years. That snow blower is designed to break shear pins if it hits something so make sure you have extra on hand. Getting used to it you may break a few until you get used to your machine and the obstructions you have. I just tape a zip lock bag of them right on the handle. The hard one to replace is the shear pin on the back auger flite. (The white one behind the gearbox.) Figure out how that hole lines up with the front pin so you can easily find it if you break the pin.
2. Is it possible to raise the grips? No. The Troy-bilt’s all use drive cables and shift rods that are the same length so you can’t make the handles longer or drill another hole in the frame to tip them up. The only way to raise the handles is to install larger, 16 by 5 inch wheels and rims. I suggest the MTD made snow blowers to women because they have lower handles than the other brands.
3. Will this blower handle my needs or should I stick with a 2 stage machine? Yes, it will handle any snow or blizzard you get. My only real beef with it is it throws snow out the front when you are clearing only 2-4 inches. To compensate figure out what side it throws the snow too, then start in the middle of your driveway and go back and forth so the snow throwing out the front is always going on the area you have not cleared yet. On 6-10 inch snow it actually throws snow farther than most of the comparable two-stage machines.

Be sure you read the section in this article on fuel, fuel stabilizer and storing fuel. Before/when I buy a new gas snow blower what else do I need? Or, “my engine won’t start,” “my engine won’t stay running.”

Thanks,
Mike

Thx Paul….I will get on it

Hi Kyle, The answer for you is very easy. The Ariens Platinum 24 SHO is the smallest snow blower with the most power and throwing distance. It’s also a very high capacity machine. You have to buy it through your local Ariens dealer. You can go to Ariens.com to find a dealer near you.