need some plow opinions

[flips87c30]

About halfway through plowing this last storm in upstate ny. the electric motor on my fisher mm1 plow went bad, totally fried, no saving it. Its a common problem on these plows. So now my options are, replace the electric motor, or switch over to hydraulic off the trucks motor.

 I already have everything to do the swap from an old speedcast plow. Ive been going over the pros and cons myself and would like some other opinions.

 Is going fully hydraulic a good idea? Is it a step backwards? I like the idea of my lights not dimming. and it seems as though the old hydraulic system is pretty much bullet proof. but is it slower? Thanks in advance.

[zieg85]

I can only speak to garden tractors on electric lift versus hydraulic.  Hydraulic is about twice as fast...

[flips87c30]

Thanks Zieg. The current system is electric over hydraulic. So technically it is already hydraulic

 All of the new plows are electric over hydraulic. But I suspect that's because there is no way to mount a hydraulic pump under the hood of todays new trucks.

A couple of my thoughts are, that the engine mounted hydraulic pump would perform better in the extreme cold, draw less power from my electrical system, and just be more simple and reliable. But I feel like maybe Im missing something. Is there a fundamental reason for switching all plows over to electric over hydraulic?

[winky]

easier install?

[flips87c30]

easier install?

Could be. Fortunately these big square truck are pretty easy to throw the old style into.

[winky]

yup. like you said earlier about the newer vehicles, i would pay to watch someone find room in and engine bay of a ford 6.0 or 7.3 to put anything else

[Cabcorner]

The only knock on those that i remember was that guys idled the throttle up to keep plow speed up . Where in NY are you?

[flips87c30]

Jay. NY. pretty close to Lake Placid. I usually just say Lake Placid cuz that's the only place that anyone remembers. Thanks for the info on the hydraulic pump.

[Cabcorner]

             Adirondacks that's about 4hrs from me . I'm in Rochester.  Before you give up on the electric , have you tried a dual battery setup?

[flips87c30]

That is what I was thinking of, if I stick with the electric I will definitely be adding a second battery. There have been a lot of posts lately about how to install one. Im leaning that direction right now as long as I can get a new electric motor soon enough.