Question on 520xi

[DryCreek 0]

I have owned a 419xt for a number of years. It had a 48" deck and I used it for mowing an pretty hilly and bump country home with no complaints. The machine never let me down, handled the terrain with ease and mowed nicely. I have a 800' gravel driveway that has always been plowed in the past but I am tired of the plow removing all of my gravel and depositing it in my yard. So, I started shopping around for a snowblower for my 419xt. Couldn't find one that fit but came across a 2000 520xi with 250 hours. Came with a 48" mulching deck, 44" 2 stage snowblower with weights and chains and a large garden cart. The guy selling it wanted $1200, which seemed like a super deal so I bought it. It is still shiny and in great shape. It has a 20hp kohler command horizontal engine.

I don't really want to keep 2 tractors around so I am going to sell the 419xt but I am finding myself having a hard time getting rid of a tractor that has worked flawlessly for 10 years. I haven't had a chance to mow with the 520xi but can anyone compare it or comment on how it mows?

Also, how do these blowers work on gravel driveways? I am thinking of buying the 16" armor skids to allow it to push better across the gravel. I figure I should start by setting the skids to keep the scraper bar about an inch off the gravel and see how it goes. Finally, how tight of a turn can you make with a blower attached. I am guessing there are some limiting factors to the tractors turn radius by the lateral forces the blower would exert on the non blown snow. I am wondering if I will need to back all the way up after the first pass or will I be able to maneuver a turn around at the end of the driveway without entering the road. The end of the driveway is on an incline as well.

New to the forum so thanks in advance for your help.

 

[doc724 925]

Here is my experience with my 520xi that I have owned for almost 5 years.  Lawn cutting, with a 48 inch deck, is fast.  Steering radius is pretty tight given the size of the machine.  Smart steer is a PITA, disable it.  I have a 42 inch single stage blower on it.  Dry powder shoots 40-50 feet.  With the blower attached, the machine is pretty long, over 8 feet.  A 44 inch 2 stage blower is heavy and you will need plenty of counter weight.  I run 340 pounds of counterweight back there.  Steering with all that front weight is not going to be pleasant.  That being said, I also run a loader on mine, inflate the front tires to 20 psi and steering is better than at 12 psi.  There are several members on RS who have xi machines, some have more than one.  We all think they are a heck of a machine.  Parts, however, are expensive.  Hope this helps.
 

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,498]

Drycreek, first off, wellcome to red square. Sounds like you got a nice ride for a nice price, post some pics when you can. I own a 522xi with a 44 inch deck. It takes care of 2 acres, power steering equiped. This will be my first year to try out my sjngle stage snowthrower.  I think its great, operator comfort is the key. Turns nice, handles nice. Other 5xi guys will chime in. Like doc said, not a ton of parts attachments out there. But that will probably change in time. Best of luck. Good choice.

Glenn

Edited September 23, 2015 by JERSEYHAWG / Glenn

[WNYPCRepair 1,923]

I just picked up a 522xi recently. I haven't had a chance to do any real mowing yet, as grass needs water to grow.  I did run it over the yard a couple of times, and the couple of spots it found with a little bit higher grass looked nice. :)

So far, I am impressed with i9t though, I love the cruise and power steering. I like the smart turn, but it slows it down a little too much, I wonder if there is an adjustment somewhere?

[wh500special 2,269]

You should find the xi to be an equal to the xt as a mower in terms of efficiency and maneuverability.  The turn radius on the xi is ever so slightly bigger than the xt, but probably not enough to make any real difference.  

The xi's are l-o-n-g suckers, so it will probably ride a touch more smoothly than the xt.  Both have ground supported decks, so ought to (not) scalp the same.  

I doubt you'll have any disappointment.  

I had had to remove the mulching baffles from my 48" mulching deck on my 522xi since it was struggling too much processing material in my yard.  I wasn't mowing nearly frequently enough to accommodate that mower.  It takes a lot of power to mulch a 4foot swath if you're taking more than a half inch bite.  Lots of clumps.  You may have better luck thAn I, but at least you have the option of two decks in one by removing the baffles and letting it fly.  

Never blew snow with one   Plowed it though.  The xi is a way better plower than other horses.  I do know backing through a plowed path seems to result in a lot of snow falling back in the way with the occasional need to go forward and correct the course.  I'd think you'd want to make the effort to turn around.  

Best of luck and  welcome to the fold!

steve 

[DennisThornton 4,771]

You got a real good buy!  And now if you want you can put all your gravel in your neighbors yard without even having to get close to your property line!  Blade or blower, keeping your gravel in place has requirements.  Skids set high help but whatever snow I leave just seems to bite me later when it packs into ice.

I've fought snow here in the Adirondacks since 1986 and the best I've come up with so far is a combo of blade and blower.  I would NOT be without both!  My C-85 with blade and hand lift is a precision too for after blower cleanup.  I even have another tractor with a back blade that comes in handy as well!  Great for some areas that have packed and hardened.

Turning with the blower down is no fun.  Try to blow straight, lift, turn, aim, drop and blow again.

Best advice I could give you is keep both tractors!  Oh!  And go buy a cab for that xi!  You start blowing in the wind and you are really going to like my advice!

[DryCreek 0]

Lot's of good advice. I appreciate all of the responses. Thank you. I sold the 419xt so It's all 520xi from here on out. Interestingly, both mowers have 48" decks but the deck on the 419xt is significantly larger. The deck that I kept does have mulching baffles so I may take those off. I let the grass get pretty long in my orchard before cutting it down. Sounds like that will go a lot better with those baffles out of the mower but may do a mowing or two before I make that decision.

Another question, do people ever leave there snow chains and wheel weights on all year? I have a lot of hills and it it seems that they would aid in that quite a lot. Is there a down side to leaving them on? It worked ok on the 419xt without but I sure would like a little more traction.

 

[WNYPCRepair 1,923]

The 520xi weighs about 360 lbs more than the 419xt, so that will help. Definitely leave the wheel weights on. And the chains may leave imprints, if that doesn't bother you, I don't see why you couldn't leave the chains on. The extra weight might be enough though, and you could always fill your tires. There was a recent thread about it, I think I will end up doing mine. 

[dcrage 630]

Only downside to leaving your chains on.  If and when you do lose traction the spinning wheel with chains on rips a hole in whatever it he ground surface. This was the main reason I do not leave chains on here. 

[WNYPCRepair 1,923]

Yeah, if you do spin, you'll dig a hole quick.

[DennisThornton 4,771]

If you spin something gets damaged.  If you spin turfs, which I tend to do quite a bit, the grass smokes!  If I spin chains, which I seldom do unless I'm doing something besides mowing, then dirt flies.  My experience is that I do less damage to the grass overall with chains left on!  When I do spin chains I scrape the dirt back in, drive over it and go on.  Either way, turfs or chains, the grass is dead.  I just tend to kill more grass with turfs than tires with chains...

[cdsl810 181]

I have a 522xi with the 54" deck. In my opinion, it is the best cutting deck I have ever used or have ever seen on a Wheel Horse. It doesn't miss anything and leaves a very clean and even cut. The cut is superior to my dad's eXmark. The 22HP Kohler has no problem spinning the 54" deck. It has no problem doing anything, really. You will really enjoy using the xi... welcome!

[shallowwatersailor 3,214]

Like everyone says, you will enjoy the 5xi. I have three and use my 523Dxi with the single stage snowthrower. At the end of the first pass, I raise the snowthrower and backup a few feet to take a small bite to the side. This gets repeated until I have enough room to turn around. With the two-stage's length, it might take a bit more.

Here is a photo of the skid on my snowthrower. The PO added to the factory shoe which would probably help on gravel. Wider is better on a tractor mounted snowblower as it doesn't benefit with a long skid like a walk behind does.

That is a piece of UHMW next to it that I was going to put under the skid. I clear asphalt and was concerned about scratching my neighbors driveways but it didn't scratch that bad.

[DennisThornton 4,771]

Like everyone says, you will enjoy the 5xi. I have three and use my 523Dxi with the single stage snowthrower. At the end of the first pass, I raise the snowthrower and backup a few feet to take a small bite to the side. This gets repeated until I have enough room to turn around. With the two-stage's length, it might take a bit more.

Here is a photo of the skid on my snowthrower. The PO added to the factory shoe which would probably help on gravel. Wider is better on a tractor mounted snowblower as it doesn't benefit with a long skid like a walk behind does.

That is a piece of UHMW next to it that I was going to put under the skid. I clear asphalt and was concerned about scratching my neighbors driveways but it didn't scratch that bad.
 

Just gathering info.  Your thought about longer vs wider got me thinking, why do I prefer longer?  

Then I'm guessing wider could be just as good.  Now I'm thinking that total surface area might be what matters.  Just now I'm thinking that longer is better because that is the direction I'm traveling.  Right now I'm confused!  As long as it rides above why does it matter?  (I still vote for longer but I no longer know why!)

I'm on gravel but if I had blacktop I think I would like your UHMW plastic idea!

[shallowwatersailor 3,214]

My thinking is that the majority of walk-behinds sold spend a good portion of their time on walks. One after-market manufacturer even demonstrates on an uneven walk so it is important to not have it catch at an edge. A tractor-mounted snowblower doesn't have the flexibility and is used on level surfaces so doesn't "rock" vertically as much. Wider would float on gravel instead of digging in like a narrow skid, no matter how long, would. Ideally a set of caster wheels would be the best for a tractor-mounted snowblower. But they could not be on the sides as they would drag in the fresh snow.
 
Here is a Gravely snow cannon that has the optional castor wheels. They are mounted behind the housing to the wraparound frame and roll in the cleared space. A WH blower would need to be reworked to adapt them.