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 | Reel-crazy
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2001-07-31 30542
I am a new owner of a JD 4100 with HST and would like opinions on whether I should buy a front hydraulic blade or a rear blade for my tractor. Any help from experienced owners would be helpful. Many thanks!
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2001-08-01 30554
Generally, front blowers are more expensive than 3ph blowers and require giving up a loader or changing back and forth. Most front blowers are driven from a mid-pto. Without a mid-pto, a front blower is very expensive, because rear-to-front PTO conversion kits are pricey. On the other hand, 3ph blowers are used while driving in reverse. Many people don't like driving in reverse, and it probably takes longer too. I blow about 400' of drive plus some parking areas and use a 3ph blower. I'd probably be interested in a front blower if I was doing 1500' of drive. There's a bunch of discussion on this subject in the archives. ....
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| Mark E. Lamprey
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-08-01 30555
Reel-crazy I would think that for plowing snow you would want the blae in front of you, mounted to the bucket or loader arms. I to am a first time tractor owner and I already own an old fisher blade, I am going to have a bracket welded to the inside of my bucket to accept the ears of the plow blade, I will have to rig up some kind of a support chain to help support the plow blade itself. It will be a manual angle for atleast the first year which I don't really mind. The first season will be trial and error I am sure but I think it will work well. It is a somewhat proven method, Kelly Tractor here in New Hampshire has been setting up plows on loaders like this for years with great success, I am just not willing to spend the money to have them do it with the hydrolics and all. I have 3 pictures on file that I can email, of a setup on a larger Kubota that they plow there own dooryard with if anybody would like to see how they have done it, It looks to be quite simple to create, short of the hydrolics. Mark ....
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| Craig Dashner
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-08-01 30556
Front is definately more convienent!! I plowed 2 years with a rear blade, and it works, but it has its drawbacks. The 4100 does not weigh enough, and gets pushed sideways by the back blade with a heavy snow. The front has more weight on it and is less likely to get pushed over. I, at the end of the snow season, was in the process of making a quick tach plow to fit on my loader with the bucket removed. I found a place that had blades that were 5' or 6' wide and had a heigh arc on them. They were actually bolt on blades for a road grader. They bolt on top of the grader blade at the end, to sling the snow and send it out rather than windrolling it into a huge mound. I did not get much of a chance to try it last year, but the little I did, it seemed like it would work great!!! I can't wait for snow, especially with the 95 its supposed to hit today!! I bult a "trip mechanism" into it, as a safety feature, since I am slightly about a impact and its affect on the loader arms. I have $100 bucks in it, I just need to figure out some ski's for it. If you have the back blade, try it for a season. If you don't like it, a good couple days work will get something made up for you! ....
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| Mark E. Lamprey
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-08-01 30572
Craig, To make and install a set of skis, could you take a short length of pipe of the right diameter, weld them to your plow blade and then pick up a set of regular round footed snow plow shoes. Slide the shoe shaft up into the pipe and set the pin in place. I would think that if you took a look at a regular modern Fisher or Myers blade you could get the dimensions of the parts you would need and basically recreate what they have done for there shoes. Mark ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2001-08-02 30583
Sorry: You wrote blade and I read blower. A consequence of just having gotten back from 5 days in the bush at our camp. A guy up the highway from us has a Case farm tractor with a back blade and a loader. Often as not I see him using the loader rather than the blade. Loaders may not plow moderate snows as well as blades, but for many people loaders are almost necessary for stacking snow and cutting through drifts and highway plow berms. The inconvenience of a back blade trades off with the inconvenience of doing without a loader or changing between bucket and blade. I think many people who use back blades turn them around and plow backwards. Skids are pretty necessary on gravel until its freezes. Same is true for blowers. Regarding the comment about a light tractor getting pushed around: There's going to be side forces on a tractor anytime a blade is angled to clear snow to the side and also when turning. Light tractors will get pushed around and steering is reduced. Carrying extra ballast helps, and I believe that back blades retain better steering than front blades. I sometimes have trouble getting around sharp corners in a single go even with my 3ph blower and occasionally carry a loader bucket of highway slush to increase the steering. I have to clear several highway entrances, and I don’t want to be sliding around trying to get off the shoulders while a transport is bearing down. ....
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| Reel-crazy
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-08-04 30631
Thanks everyone... I do appreciate the info! I like to make buying decisions based upon experiences from owners and this place is fantastic. For a small tractor, this 4100 I purchased is a great one so far, even though all I have done is mowed and hauled in my JD 15 cart. I can't wait to get some more "toys" for it. The only thing odd I have found about it is the 54" mid-mount mower came to me in green and not yellow like the catalog showed! Thanks again! ....
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