On Mon, 28 May 2018 06:52:55 -0400, 83LowRider wrote:

On 5/24/2018 3:17 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Snowblowers.

Hydrostatic *sounds* sexy - but so did gear drive on my BCS & implements, but
it sucks pretty bad in practice: expensive, noisy, heavy...

So what about hydrostatic vs belt drive?

Snowblowers?
I know nothing.

Hydro vs belt drive?
35 years of mowing for a living.
I believe my first hydro also a commercial mower was
a Scag. I've never had one fail, and never even
considered buying a belt drive since. In the mowing
world there is no comparison.

That first Scag, bought about 20 years ago...
I bought it slightly used, mowed with it about 10 years.
It was sold to my good friend and next door neighbor
to mow his 2+ acres. It's still going strong, and
seeing it almost daily, I know very well, he too has
never had an issue at all with the hydraulics.

my dos pennies...

My hydro experience is most current with snow blowers. There is still
a belt coupling the engine to the hydro - but instead of a friction
disk type variable speed drive you have the Hydro. The frictiondisk
slips when it gets wet, the rubber hardens making it slip - if it gets
oily it slips - nothing but a total pain in the keester.

The hydro gets away from all that drama at a sizeable weight penalty.
I'd never go back to a friction drive. Fully variable speed, on the
go, forward and reverse with no slippage on track drive is all I could
ask for. The newer ones with "power steering" or "fingertip steering"
would be even nicer - but NOT if it meant going back to friction
drive.