Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow clearing

[amashinga]

I am not that familiar with this white stuff that falls out of the sky on occasion. Saturday night we saw about 16", and I had my first experience in clearing snow with my little 1100. I got er done but I am sure there is an easier way. I was using a backblade, both pulling and pushing in reverse at times.

One of the issues I had was that the snow does not slide off the blade. I have a sheet of uhmw at home, should I look at facing the blade with some ?

I also found I was digging in at times. Guide wheels, or some other solution ?.

Lastly, I do have a FEL, I am not sure if that may be a better solution.

Thanks
Bruce

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

Hi Bruce,

I've got a 8' Snowblower, but with the first couple
of snows I tilt my blower so the blade is down not
the feet. I then pull the blower and then blow the
pile at the end of the pull. This sets up a surface
of coated snow that will harden and will be easier
to blow later. This way I do not loose all of my gravel
when I blow. Hope this helps, with the blade I would
drop my blade and pull it and pile up the snow at
the end of the run to the side.

 

[GasNSteering]

I just picked up an 1100. It came with a front mount snow plow but I havent had a chance to use it yet.

 

[scott_vt]

I also found I was digging in at times. Guide wheels, or some other solution ?.

Lastly, I do have a FEL, I am not sure if that may be a better solution.

Thanks
Bruce

Good Evenin Bruce,
A lot of the guys up this way weld a length of pipe on the bottom of their plow wear blade. This helps in a few different situations. In the early snow storms that we get when the ground is not frozen yet, it prevents the drives from gettin plowed up. If you do any plowing on your lawn, it saves that also ! The FEL is really not a great snow removal tool, in my avitar Im using mine to clear out my Uncle Daves barn, but a plow is much better. And of course, a snowblower is even better !

John Deere has a nice setup with the Imatch setup, remove the FEL and clip on your front plow blade !

 

[LBrown59]

I am not that familiar with this white stuff that falls out of the sky on occasion. Saturday night we saw about 16", and I had my first experience in clearing snow with my little 1100. I got er done but I am sure there is an easier way. I was using a backblade, both pulling and pushing in reverse at times.

One of the issues I had was that the snow does not slide off the blade. I have a sheet of uhmw at home, should I look at facing the blade with some ?

I also found I was digging in at times. Guide wheels, or some other solution ?.

Lastly, I do have a FEL, I am not sure if that may be a better solution.

Thanks
Bruce

Where is this 16'' of white stuff ?
What is your little 1100?

 

[pat32rf]

Practice, then more practice. Up our way every snowfall can be different. Wet, dry, packed base, ice base, gravel base or grass base. Each condition calls for a different approach. This is the year I was going to use my snowblower after not bothering to hook it up for the past three years. I got a nice packed base (it was too cold for it to soften and become an ice base) built up, then installed the blower. Ten minutes later the PTO shaft let loose at a universal joint. By the time I could get the parts (one of which was back-ordered at every TSC in southern Ontario) and rebuild everything two weeks had passed. During this time I was doing minimal clearing with my trusty back-blade and wound up with a 6" base on a very narrow driveway.
Woke up this morning (Monday)and the temp was +9C (Sat morning it was -30C) and I had to get out to the highway in the Dodge thru 6" of slush on a twisty hilly driveway. Then I had to get to the woodshed out back with the tractor. Then I spent 6 hours removing my "base" of slush on a combination "A" gravel and crushed stone driveway. Then I had to push back the sides before they froze into ice mountains. (Saturday I coulda just blown them uphill into the bushes or downhill onto the lake, had the blower been back together)
Some places I drag the BB and others I swing it around and push it in reverse. Some spots I use the blade "backwards" so it slides over the grass instead of digging in.
The side ways tilt of your 3pth, the length of your upper bar and the angle of your blade all make a difference in your result.
Only practice (or a paved driveway) will make it easier

 

[jnjpream]

Hi Bruce,

I clear the snow from a 1/4 mile of black top, and 300 ' of gravel (crushed asphalt) using a BX22 and a back blade. To clear the black top, I drive forward with the blade facing forward so it scrapes all the way down to the road. For the driveway I drive forward with the blade facing backwards, so it doesn't dig into the gravel. I'm afraid of pushing the blade because of the damage that can be done to the hitch (it was designed to pull).

Two things help.. Turning the blade to dump the snow off one side or the other. And speed.. If you go slow, the snow will stick and pile up and spill off both sides. If you drop the blade while moving and keep a pretty good pace, it will throw the snow off to the side fairly well.

A mod I did to the 3pt was to replace the fixed side link with a chain of the same length to allow the blade to follow the contour (pivot) of the ground. This helps prevent digging in when the ground in uneven.

Jeff

 

[AndyMA]

What is an 1100? An old Ford 1100? Where are you located? The type of snow makes a lot of difference. I usually use the FEL if I don't have a plow. Hold it at a slight angle to what you're plowing.

Andy

 

[amashinga]

Pacific NW. Yeah, its a ford 1100

Tks

 

[Lunk]

I've been using a loader for snow for 3+ years. My old one had a giant snow bucket on it, and my new one has a 6' 1+ yd QA bucket. I also have a heavy 6' box-blade on the back for cleanup.

So far this year, we've had a couple 6" snowfalls, a couple 3-4" snowfalls, and a 12" snowfall. It takes me about 25-40 min to clear about 5000 sq ft of asphalt (drive + parking area).

We are supposed to get as much as 12" again tonight and tomorrow...

I Love using the loader! Seat-time is definitely quality time!

Lunk

 

[53gravely]

Re: snow sticking/not rolling off the blade-- Get it down to clean paint and hit it with Turtle Wax (Car wax). If you don't have that, rub on some solid wax, ski wax, canning parafin or candle wax then heat it in with a heat gun or propane torch. I do this with my plow blade and snowblower chute....works great....lasts at least several storms which is the whole year in NJ.

If you get a particularly wet snow spray some Pledge furniture wax over the other wax before you head out to plow.

 

[amashinga]

I bolted a uhmw sheet onto the blade and waxed it up too. It is definitely a big improvement, but I still haven't got things quite right. I think that the the issues that are left are possibly due to the setup on the 3 pt, the unevenness of my driveway and I think pebsas has a lot to do with it too.

Bruce.

 

[srjones]

Re: snow sticking/not rolling off the blade-- Get it down to clean paint and hit it with Turtle Wax (Car wax). If you don't have that, rub on some solid wax, ski wax, canning parafin or candle wax then heat it in with a heat gun or propane torch. I do this with my plow blade and snowblower chute....works great....lasts at least several storms which is the whole year in NJ.

If you get a particularly wet snow spray some Pledge furniture wax over the other wax before you head out to plow.

53gravely, thanks for the suggestion. I can personally attest that waxing the blade makes a big difference. Earlier today, I was out plowing my driveway and neighborhood road with a 60" Wood RB. Even though I had the blade set to the maximum angle, the snow frequently stuck to the blade. While I thought it was working, it didn't seem to work very well.

After reading your suggestion, I used a weedburner to melt off the snow and applied a layer of sno-seal (which really meant as waterproofer for leather boots). After doing a quick test run, I could see that it made a world of difference. The tractor didn't seem to work as hard and I could go faster. The snow curled up in a nice furrow off to one side.

With another 4-10 inches predicted in the next 24-36 hours, I think I'm ready for it.

 

[john_bud]

Darn global warming making the winters colder with more snow. Brrrrrr Heck global warming is responsible for one of the coolest summers on record for us. Only 2 days hit 90. Was great for AC non-usage!!

jb

 

[DionysiosA76]

I use varnish at the start of each season, works great and isnt too much of a hassle... well thats my input...

 

[scott_vt]

Re: snow sticking/not rolling off the blade-- Get it down to clean paint and hit it with Turtle Wax (Car wax). If you don't have that, rub on some solid wax, ski wax, canning parafin or candle wax then heat it in with a heat gun or propane torch. I do this with my plow blade and snowblower chute....works great....lasts at least several storms which is the whole year in NJ.

If you get a particularly wet snow spray some Pledge furniture wax over the other wax before you head out to plow.

Good Afternoon Duncan,
Hey ole buddy very good post, and great suggestions !!! BTW after 5 years on TBN shouldnt you have more than 123 posts ???

 

[ampsucker]

to avoid digging, you can also try angling your toplink so the blade tilts more forward and the cutting edge is more dragging across the surface than try to cut into it.

i'm experimenting with a graphite paint product this year. the farmers use it on combines and such to help keep things flowing. i've already painted my backhoe bucket to see if it will help the wet clay empty out. next is the bottom of the mower deck, front face of the back blade and inside of the FEL bucket....

i'll try to let you know if it works. an easier solution is probably just to pressure wash it each season and spray it down with oil or grease it up....

amp

 

[Ductape]

I got er done but I am sure there is an easier way.

I do it this way ....... its pretty easy (but don't tell my wife its easy!).

 

[ChuckinNH]

OK, we consider it rubbed in.

 

[rap14]

You got alot of good advice a front blade is the best, but you can use your FEL but as others said lift it up so you don't dig up your drive or asphalt. I use the back blade for additional clearing. I use an FEL I will get a blade later. However, in western NY we have had some 12+ inche snow falls already; no big deal. I have had no problems. Also, the FEL allows you to lift and push the snow so it gives you more room to plow if the snow keeps on coming. Snow piles tend to get quite high after a while. Hiring a front end loader to come in and move snow so you have more room to park and push can get expenisve.