[RT3360]

Since there have been some discussion as to how well Deere’s blowers perform (distance snow is thrown, amount of snow pushed in front of blower, piles left). I thought I would ask who would purchase a solution if it were available and how much they would spend for a solution. Limited investigation appears to indicate a solution is more than a five minute fix or a few dollars. I might consider finding a solution if there’s enough interest, but not if I’m only going to fix my own, based on my observations and review of other blowers. One such dissatisfaction is https://www.mytractorforum.com/12-john-deere-forum/1314889-dumping-x739.html

There are a lot of variables, including the type snow being moved.

I would be interested in knowing what you think. How far is far enough, etc.

 

[jensenkennels]

What exactly are you considering a solution?
1. Flapper kit. Which imho, should only be put on a steel impeller.
2. Gear/chain reduction.
3. Something else.

 

[celltech]

I used my blower again yesterday and while not the furthest throwing it does do a good job and am very happy with it. Is it over priced? Absolutely but that's JD for you.

 

[Michigan Brian]

I have a model 49 on my 318

works fine I am happy with it

I guess the only improvement would be a scraper bar that would clean the driveway off

I am in the process of making one out of thick nylon

 

[RT3360]

What exactly are you considering a solution?
1. Flapper kit. Which imho, should only be put on a steel impeller.
2. Gear/chain reduction.
3. Something else.

Probably 3. Something else, but won’t rule out anything. After watching a lot of YouTube videos of various brands, there are a lot of similarities with things people have commented on that they don’t consider working well.

Unfortunately there’s a lot of opinion in the comments as to spillage, piles in front, not fast enough, not clean enough, and the list goes on.

Interestingly I liked mine last year for the most part, but have seen conditions that matched some comments like snow pushing in front, piling, not throwing far enough, spillage, and lots of snow that sticks inside the housing.

I talked with a guy that has one that will throw something like 100 feet. Is that too much? By the way, that brand and model are no longer in production, so how much was it worth? In many videos I also saw things that I would categorize as operator error like blowing snow into the wind, chute deflector set too low for maximum throw distance, and not throwing it far enough so it has to be moved again on another pass.

 

[RT3360]

I take by the lack of response that the problems or perception of them may not be all that bad. Maybe just something to tinker with?

Can the blowers be made better, most definitely. How much are people willing to spend, apparently not much, other than Ray, who had a very definite need and needed it quickly. Perhaps people just expect the product from Deere to work flawlessly, but don’t understand the cost to make them that good or have the time to wait.

Still looking for more feedback.

 

[FTWingRiders]

Not sure if you’ve seen my input in the “what have you done on your John Deere” thread. I installed the metal impeller, flapper mod and 36T sprocket.. about $375.. plus a few other things.. very happy with the results so far. I’ve only had one storm so far and will see how it holds up over the rest of the winter. I feel it was worth it.

 

[Matttman]

Not sure if you’ve seen my input in the “what have you done on your John Deere” thread. I installed the metal impeller, flapper mod and 36T sprocket.. about $375.. plus a few other things.. very happy with the results so far. I’ve only had one storm so far and will see how it holds up over the rest of the winter. I feel it was worth it.

I have a metal impeller on mine (replaced by deere dealer at no charge after I kept breaking the plastic one - 3 times in one season). I was thinking about adding the additional rubber flappers on the impeller, but I'm ok with the performance (Don't need to throw more than 20 feet).
matt

 

[pipsqueek]

Since there have been some discussion as to how well Deere’s blowers perform (distance snow is thrown, amount of snow pushed in front of blower, piles left). I would be interested in knowing what you think. How far is far enough, etc.

Not sure what you are trying to rectify, blower not throwing far enough? Does your 54" have the plastic impeller? Noticed a few members have swapped out the plastic for the steel impeller. Gap between impeller and chute is tighter on the steel, 5/16 inch or so.

My first 47 blower was a 2nd gen M047SBX, but well used, looked like it spewed lots of rock and gravel. 3/4 in gap between impeller and chute, PO welded in replacement metal in the chute, would throw snow 10-15 feet. Sold it after running across a M01471X blower from a 332, hardly used and had a 1/4 in gap between impeller and chute. Used both with my x749 and M01471X would throw snow a good 25-30 feet. My neighbor was quite impressed. Sold the x749, getting ready to hook it up to the 455.

 

[RT3360]

Not sure if you’ve seen my input in the “what have you done on your John Deere” thread. I installed the metal impeller, flapper mod and 36T sprocket.. about $375.. plus a few other things.. very happy with the results so far. I’ve only had one storm so far and will see how it holds up over the rest of the winter. I feel it was worth it.

Great input. Thank you. Can you let us know how far for you is "enough"?

I have a metal impeller on mine (replaced by deere dealer at no charge after I kept breaking the plastic one - 3 times in one season). I was thinking about adding the additional rubber flappers on the impeller, but I'm ok with the performance (Don't need to throw more than 20 feet).
matt

I was out quite a while today clearing about 12 driveways and got a better insight into the 54" performance. I had only used it 3 times this Winter before today. Hard to see how things are working if you don't get to run it. I have the plastic impeller and with the 7ºF and light fluffy snow other than at the end of the drive where the snowplow went.

• Threw fluffy snow 15-30 feet (deeper snow throws farther), heavy snow at the end of the drive maybe 10-15
• Didn't leave piles where I stopped, but stopped long enough to let chute clear of all snow (only a couple of inches were left across the entire blower)
• Only pushed snow in front a couple of times in very deep snow, the areas with a few inches I didn't even hardly slow down.
• Slowed down clearing the icy stuff around the mailboxes, but even cleared stuff plows had left.

 

[Spartan]

Are we talking strictly lawn tractor mounted or walk behind as well. I have a Deere 1330se wall behind and I think it is perfect. It is well balanced with a heavy nose, plenty of power, excellent steering and traction and throws snow 35 feet all the time. Really Wet stuff 20+ feet. The one thing I always questioned is why they don’t make the impeller diameter larger on larger units. I think most use 12” and Ariens uses 14”. I would think bigger the better and would do much to dimensions maybe up to 16” on 30” and wider units.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RT3360]

Are we talking strictly lawn tractor mounted or walk behind as well. I have a Deere 1330se wall behind and I think it is perfect. It is well balanced with a heavy nose, plenty of power, excellent steering and traction and throws snow 35 feet all the time. Really Wet stuff 20+ feet. The one thing I always questioned is why they don’t make the impeller diameter larger on larger units. I think most use 12” and Ariens uses 14”. I would think bigger the better and would do much to dimensions maybe up to 16” on 30” and wider units.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Garden, lawn, and maybe SCUT Tractors. Mainly 47” and 54”. Those seem to be ones that folks feel there are issues with.

 

[UpstateTony]

I believe the issue is only with late model 47 inch shaft driven blowers. The 47 inch belt driven blowers, the auger and impeller spin faster and don’t seem to have the distance issue the shaft driven models have. My belt driven 47 inch blower works fine, Just had 18 inches last week of light fluffy snow and I was able to throw the snow easily 40/50 feet

 

[RT3360]

I believe the issue is only with late model 47 inch shaft driven blowers. The 47 inch belt driven blowers, the auger and impeller spin faster and don’t seem to have the distance issue the shaft driven models have. My belt driven 47 inch blower works fine, Just had 18 inches last week of light fluffy snow and I was able to throw the snow easily 40/50 feet

Good point about which blower is having an issue, but my 2014 54” shaft driven blower has some of the same issues, but maybe not as bad. Do you know the RPM of the auger and impeller on your belt driven 47” and what year it is? I would hope 40-50’ would be very satisfactory. Can you describe the snow conditions when you got that result and the temperature outside? I would guess it was fluffy snow, rather than wet, and it was fairly cold. Just trying to sort out which conditions contribute to the poor performance. Last year I had some wet snow that was pushing 8-10’ in front of the blower, the distance was maybe 8-10’, and there was a lot of buildup inside the housing.

 

[UpstateTony]

I've had the 47 inch belt driven blower 4 seasons now and its performance is fine in all conditions -including wet sloppy snow. Had wet sloppy snow in November and was still able to throw it 10/15 feet. Buddy down the street with 345 and single stage couldn't throw it at all. And you are correct on last week, it was cold and it was the fluffy type snow

Belt driven 47 inch blower - Auger 200RPM, Impeller 1060 RPM

Shaft driven 47 inch blower - Auger 176 RPM, Impeller 950 RPM

 

[RT3360]

I've had the 47 inch belt driven blower 4 seasons now and its performance is fine in all conditions -including wet sloppy snow. Had wet sloppy snow in November and was still able to throw it 10/15 feet. Buddy down the street with 345 and single stage couldn't throw it at all. And you are correct on last week, it was cold and it was the fluffy type snow

Belt driven 47 inch blower - Auger 200RPM, Impeller 1060 RPM

Shaft driven 47 inch blower - Auger 176 RPM, Impeller 950 RPM

Thanks, I appreciate the info. That means the 36T sprocket should give you slightly under the RPM of the belt driven.

 

[RT3360]

Not sure if you’ve seen my input in the “what have you done on your John Deere” thread. I installed the metal impeller, flapper mod and 36T sprocket.. about $375.. plus a few other things.. very happy with the results so far. I’ve only had one storm so far and will see how it holds up over the rest of the winter. I feel it was worth it.

I tracked down your post https://www.mytractorforum.com/12-j...d-you-do-your-john-deere-today-2-0-a-568.html and https://www.mytractorforum.com/12-john-deere-forum/1316821-47-snowblower-questions.html
and on the other site https://www.greentractortalk.com/fo...7-47-54-snowblower-impeller-installation.html

Great info and I believe it should be more than satisfactory for the distance issue. Would you keep us updated over your winter’s use?

Only things I didn’t see addressed might be the pile of snow left in front and the amount of snow buildup inside the housing. Any comments?

 

[FTWingRiders]

I tracked down your post https://www.mytractorforum.com/12-j...d-you-do-your-john-deere-today-2-0-a-568.html and https://www.mytractorforum.com/12-john-deere-forum/1316821-47-snowblower-questions.html
and on the other site https://www.greentractortalk.com/fo...7-47-54-snowblower-impeller-installation.html

Great info and I believe it should be more than satisfactory for the distance issue. Would you keep us updated over your winter’s use?

Only things I didn’t see addressed might be the pile of snow left in front and the amount of snow buildup inside the housing. Any comments?

I'll be sure to post update on its performance.. As noted, so much depends on the type of snow and conditions.. When we get some heavier, water snow I'll take some video.. Its interesting that the belt driven has a higher rpm.. Hopefully the 36T will give me equivalent performance. Again, perhaps due to conditions, there wasn't as much build up in front or inside.. but I'll need more storms before I draw my conclusions..

 

[quackaddict]

I have a 47 shaft driven blower. I clear 15-17 yards a snow event and have done so for two seasons. I feel the biggest limitation is how much snow I can stuff in the blower. The piling is the result of the impeller not being able to keep up with the augers. If you can fix that, or improve the performance, I would be all ears.

I personally don't care for any more distance than the blower already provides, I have only come into one situation where I needed to move the snow twice. Most of the time I end up choking the deflector down to make sure I put the snow in the right spot and into the next guys drive. The idea that you need to throw snow more than 50' seems ridiculous to me.

 

[Ray Pezzi]

I have a metal impeller on mine (replaced by deere dealer at no charge after I kept breaking the plastic one - 3 times in one season). I was thinking about adding the additional rubber flappers on the impeller, but I'm ok with the performance (Don't need to throw more than 20 feet).
matt

This is an excellent example of the how the customer's expectations affect the perceived performance. I was expecting much better snow throwing capability than 20' -- and if I'd known that going in, I certainly wouldn't have bought my X739. I did a lot of research prior to forking over my $25,000 and although I was concerned after watching a number of JD snowblowing YouTube videos (from owners who were actually quite pleased with the snowblowing distance they were getting), in the end I put my faith in John Deere and this blurb from page 22 of the "Implements and Attachments Brochure":

Quick-Hitch Snow Blowers
Ideal for home and estate owners in all snow regions. It has the capacity to handle big snow removal jobs. Works well in all snow conditions and is suited for when snow must be moved long distances. (Emphasis added.)

I read that now and I just chuckle. If you're in some place like Muscatine, Iowa coping with the the average annual snowfall of 26", I'm sure the X739 would seem perfectly capable. I wish I had seen the review mentioned by UpState Tony where the reviewers rave about how great the X739 was and how it could easily blow snow 10 or 15 feet. Woo-hoo!!! My situation here required much better performance than that and my replacement for the X739, the Kubota RTV-X1100C just works leaps and bounds better and is a true pleasure to use. That Kubota factory cab alone is ***SO*** much better than the Curtis cab on the JD. Heck, I was plowing this morning at 5*F and within a few minutes I had to turn down the heater because I was too hot!

I know there's that guy out there who'll again comment something to the effect that "You're comparing a tractor to a UTV and that makes no sense"... to which I'll just reply now: No, I'm not. I'm comparing one snow removal machine to another snow removal machine. I don't care what color it is. All I care about is how well it removes snow.

In the end, this all worked out pretty well for me. I have a machine that's just about ideal for what I need it to do and if my little short-lived experiment with the X739 led me to this point, that's fine. We have a winter storm warning for a foot or more of lake-effect snow on the way tomorrow night and you know what? I'm looking forward to it once again. It's fun to clear out my 1000' long private road with a machine that is up to the task!

There **IS** one aspect of the X739 I wish my Kubota had: the ability to easily shift between forward and reverse. Ease of shifting is NOT the Kubota's strong suit.