Question for Snow People

[NCMau]

I am going to agree with this. We get a lot of these little 3 or 4 inch snows here and I just put the blade on the back and angle it 15 degrees and go. Adjust your top link as needed and take off at a moderate speed, You don't have to look back all the time, just watch your front tire and keep it on a line you want to cut. Back blades work well for small to medium snows. if you are on gravel, you can adjust it to not dig in so much by adjusting the top link, and you can hear how you are doing, if neccessay adjust your lift up a bit. You will get better the more you do this.

I tried this method and for 3-4" works well. If ever (repeat ever) we'll get 12" or more, I'll consider the other methods. I have been waiting for this snow since 2010 just to try my blade. Now I'm happy. I'm ready for the next occasion which will probably not happen this year.

 

[nybirdman]

Coming from the snow capital of the USA, View attachment 360661

I like most others have said would just drive over it but knowing how South deals with even a 1/2" I would mount a piece of 2"x6" or 8" to the back blade so you are actually using it to push the snow and not the blade. You can also push with the back side of the blade if you don't want to add the 2"x. for the amount of snow you are talking about this will work fine.

Tug Hill plateau was on the news the other nite......276ins.and still counting.Snowing like crazy right now.

 

[lamanated]

for NC I'd look at those plywood ones guys attach to the axle of a car or truck,, 3 inches is no load if you have it angled, look on youtube for some ideas,, I've plowed tons of snow over 40 yrs of driving, save your money , and rig up an atv blade with one cut in two to make it wider than the 5 ft they usually are.. or even a 2x8 or 2x10 can be used as a push surface

 

[leveled]

2 or 3 inches try the blade in reverse. It snowed 6 inches in western NY today we just broke 100 inches for the year. It still is blowing around the driveway, I'll plow it tomorrow .

 

[franklin2]

If you have a steep driveway like mine, 2 or 3 inches will stop a 2wd vehicle from going up. I too didn't used to worry about it, till I got my first toy, a old Gravely L with a blade on it. We got a 3 to 4 incher, and I decided to get out and push it off to try it out. I could not believe it, that night while I was at work, a guy that had a scanner at work said he thought he had heard there was a structure fire call to my house. Sure enough, that night my wife was using the clothes dryer and it had caught on fire. I rush home and there are fire trucks everywhere, several waiting down at the bottom of the hill because there is little room at the top at the house. Everything was ok with no damage except to the dryer, but it was a wake up call for me. There was no way those fire trucks that were up at the house would have made it without me "playing around" with my "new" Gravely. I also worry about some of my neighbors, and help some of them get cleared out for the same reason, in case a rescue squad or something needs to get up their driveway in a emergency.

I have a 7.5 foot blade on my f250 now, and even though I have feet on the blade, it still digs up gravel. What I do is when I push my gravel drive, I put one side of the blade in the ditch, and use it at a slight angle. It digs in some, but the gravel that it moves ends up in the right lane instead of the grass. Later on all I have to do is take the Gravely and spread the gravel back out to get rid of the "winrow" of gravel on the right side of the drive. I have a parking lot I am responsible for also, so I do need a blade that will clean up pavement pretty good at the same time.

 

[Looking4new]

that night my wife was using the clothes dryer and it had caught on fire.

I guess you will be cleaning the lint trap on the dryer more often, now. Also make sure the vent to the outside is clear and clean. You were lucky.

 

[LD1]

Lucky indeed.

Perhaps it was past time to change those thermostat things in there. There are usually two and pretty cheap. I think one is supposed to be a breaker like, that cuts in and out as things get too hot. If that fails, there should be one that works like a fuse that once it gets too hot, your done till replaced. Perhaps they werent working?? But once lint plugs up enough inside the dryer itself (or even the outlet pipe), they are supposed to fail before things get hot enough to start a fire.

Not sure if the dryer is salvageable, or if you even want to. But unless the fire dept or insurance want to look into it, I would be tearing it apart to see what failed just for my own piece of mind.

 

[franklin2]

The dryer thing happened a long time ago, I was just telling that story to emphasize the importance of keeping your driveway clear, even though you may be able to get out like it is.

The dryer thing turned out to be the plastic hose that was leading out to the outside vent. Guess what? You can't buy the plastic hose anymore, safety problems with it! So everyone may want to take a gander at their dryer hose, if it's that white plastic stuff, get rid of it and put the metal foil hose in it's place.

 

[Kimbell]

Coming from the snow capital of the USA, View attachment 360661

I like most others have said would just drive over it but knowing how South deals with even a 1/2" I would mount a piece of 2"x6" or 8" to the back blade so you are actually using it to push the snow and not the blade. You can also push with the back side of the blade if you don't want to add the 2"x. for the amount of snow you are talking about this will work fine.

no offense but i would have to disagree with the snow capital of the USA comment... :laughing:

 

[ericher69]

The dryer thing happened a long time ago, I was just telling that story to emphasize the importance of keeping your driveway clear,

Guess what? You can't buy the plastic hose anymore, safety problems with it! So everyone may want to take a gander at their dryer hose, if it's that white plastic stuff, get rid of it and put the metal foil hose in it's place.

Fire trucks have NO problems navigating a few feet of snow...

Rigid heating/cooling vent pipe is much better. Even if a fire does start inside the pipe it won't go anywhere. Not as easy to work with but with the seems tapped with foil there is little if any risk of fire.

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[rodsauder]

I have a kubota with a front end loader and a small mitsubishi with a back blade. I always use the mitsi and just push the snow across the road into the gulley. I guess you get used to doing a certain way. In response to the start of this thread, we had 3 inches of snow ( again) Friday. The drive is long enough and uphill enough that a 2wd car wont make it up. It takes me an hour to push the snow out of the way. Including in front of the mailbox. Now, if I lived in North Carolina ( I did live in South Carolina for a few years) I won't bother to worry about snow. Up here , if you don't stay on top of it, you will be sorry,

 

[k0ua]

Fire trucks have NO problems navigating a few feet of snow...

Rigid heating/cooling vent pipe is much better. Even if a fire does start inside the pipe it won't go anywhere. Not as easy to work with but with the seems tapped with foil there is little if any risk of fire.

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

That is what I replaced my horizontal run with. and the flex hose from the back of the dryer to the floor with the metalic flex.

 

[DKCDKC]

If I was on a nice flat NC terrain - or Canadian for that matter - I'd certainly leave a few inches of snow and just drive over it. Unfortunately I live in a mountainous region and my mile-long driveway is up and down steep hills, with curves on those hills. If you leave it you quickly have packed snow, then ice and you either can't get out or you take your life in your hands trying to get in. My 4wd SUV and P/U have slide up to 100 feet as it is. Cleaning off the snow is a priority. We don't get much usually, but it has to be done. But each snowfall is a different problem. A snow to be followed by warm weather might be ignored - I just don't go anywhere for a day or two. But a snow followed by cold has to be handled - I don't care how little it is. Unfortunately, we are having a little snow right now - but it is falling on a layer of freezing rain ice from last night. And it will not get above freezing significantly for 3 to 4 days, if that. There appears to be only 3 or 4 inches of snow at the moment, but it is still snowing and drifting. This afternoon I plan to put my Ratchet Rake on the FEL and a blade in the back, then clear the hills only. I'll use the RR to break up the ice and expose some gravel, then scrape it to the side so that gravel shows on the hills. We'll just run over the snow in the flats. I made my driveway extra wide on slopes knowing that I'd have to clear with a blade sometimes, and move gravel around. But the drive is wide enough that it will not be pushed off the drive itself and still give me driving room. Late I come back and move the gravel back, then box-blade it to smooth it out. It's all awkward and time consuming, but - if you live way off road - it's the only way.

 

[BHD]

I was looking at a post some time ago that listed some plans by universities,

and they had a pull type snow plow it is all bolt together, and one is wood both 1939 plans, kind of before welders were common on the farm, but for light use and a long drive way if one has a loader on the tractor and can clear a path for the tractors wheels this would widen it or deepening the depth one may not need any path for the tractor,

with a chain of some length I would think one would be able to keep from getting stuck in most conditions, no this will not clear 3 foot of snow but light snows it should work well,
steel
http://www.ejackson.net/FarmPlans/NorthDakota/plans/nd3619-2.pdf
wood based
http://www.ejackson.net/FarmPlans/NorthDakota/plans/nd3619.pdf

 

[bcp]

If I move to the Sierras, can I still use my BX rear blade to clear my driveway?





Bruce

 

[franklin2]

I was looking at a post some time ago that listed some plans by universities,

and they had a pull type snow plow it is all bolt together, and one is wood both 1939 plans, kind of before welders were common on the farm, but for light use and a long drive way if one has a loader on the tractor and can clear a path for the tractors wheels this would widen it or deepening the depth one may not need any path for the tractor,

with a chain of some length I would think one would be able to keep from getting stuck in most conditions, no this will not clear 3 foot of snow but light snows it should work well,
steel
http://www.ejackson.net/FarmPlans/NorthDakota/plans/nd3619-2.pdf
wood based
http://www.ejackson.net/FarmPlans/NorthDakota/plans/nd3619.pdf

My Dad told me they used to use a homemade wooden triangle like that with a team of horses or mules to pull it and clear snow away on the farm. It's interesting to hear about ideas they had back then. People with imaginations and mechanical aptitude existed back then just like the people on this forum today. They got it done somehow back then working with much less.

 

[LD1]

If I move to the Sierras, can I still use my BX rear blade to clear my driveway?

View attachment 363668



Bruce

You sure can. But it might take awhile:laughing: By the time you got to the end of the drive, its time to turn around and plow it again:mur:

 

[hdmyers]

The dryer thing happened a long time ago, I was just telling that story to emphasize the importance of keeping your driveway clear, even though you may be able to get out like it is.

The dryer thing turned out to be the plastic hose that was leading out to the outside vent. Guess what? You can't buy the plastic hose anymore, safety problems with it! So everyone may want to take a gander at their dryer hose, if it's that white plastic stuff, get rid of it and put the metal foil hose in it's place.

It's still available. It works fine...unless you don't bother to clean your dryer vent. Most learn thsi when their dryer stops working... sorry you had to learn this from a fire.

 

[ericher69]

It's still available. It works fine...unless you don't bother to clean your dryer vent. Most learn thsi when their dryer stops working... sorry you had to learn this from a fire.

Yeah still available but shouldn't be...

A decent article

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...s-and-myths-of-dryer-fires/overview/index.htm

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[Cord]

Coming from the snow capital of the USA, View attachment 360661

I like most others have said would just drive over it but knowing how South deals with even a 1/2" I would mount a piece of 2"x6" or 8" to the back blade so you are actually using it to push the snow and not the blade. You can also push with the back side of the blade if you don't want to add the 2"x. for the amount of snow you are talking about this will work fine.

I'd hate to burst your bubble, but the UP'ers have you beat. The Keweenaw Snow Thermometer 277" so far this year. They are actually down because Superior was frozen. Ice doesn't make for good lake effect.