First time plowing with SSQA plow, float mode just digs into the driveway

[chim]

To address a few comments:

First of all, the main problem with the setup is not being able to have the plow float as it would on a pickup truck - on a chain, so the weight of the equipment being floated is only that of the blade.

The closer to the tractor the blade is located, the less of a rudder it becomes.

I have no personal experience with pipe on the cutting edge, but from all the success stories it sounds like a winner.

When raising and then lowering the blade, repeatability of the angle of attack can change. True, but an easy way around that if eyeballing doesn't work is a couple tyrap whiskers to gauge the position (see Post #11 in the link below).

The angle of attack can be anywhere between riding on the skid shoes with the blade not touching the surface being plowed to having the blade edge on the surface being plowed with the skid shoes in the air. This is easily done by adjusting the height of the FEL arms and the curl/dump position.

The frame that the blade attaches to needs to be level when the blade is angled. If it is not, one edge of the blade will contact the surface being plowed quite aggressively. When pushing straight, it doesn't matter a whole lot.

SSQA Snow Plow

There's nothing I'd do differently. It works very well. There was a leaning curve with regard to the height of the loader arms and the amount of curl/dump for keeping the blade floating and flat on the ground. Most of that was accomplished with adding a pair of magnets with Tyrap whiskers for...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[Sawdustsmb]

In about 1950 my Dad built a snowplow for our Super H narrow front tractor. It amounted to a stack of planks with a piece of angle iron on the bottom attached to the frame on the top near the radiator and angled out beyond the rear tire with a couple of wagon tongues on the bottom coming back to the drawbar. Plowed a lot of snow with that! Now with the front wide front end tractors I hang a couple of pieces of angle iron down from the front tractor casting - back to the frame under the tractor and mount an older style Meyers plow frame and plow, hydraulic up high with a chain dropping down to the plow. it will float nicely with to small skids. Similar to the yellow plow pictured in an earlier post. Older meyers plows are lighter than most. It's very hard to get the front end loader to be at the right height to make sure the angle is right on the plow. If your loader is quick attach I would take it off. Your plow and attaching frames are to big, to heavy and to hard to control. Sorry but I don't think it will ever work well. Maybe mounting casters on it with good sized wheels. After 60 years of plowing on all kinds of surfaces just my two cents.

 

[walnutman]

Asphalt

 

[aircommuter]

You need to look at the geometry of a loader pushing a blade, the arms are high mounted so you are naturally pushing down, that’s OK with a loader bucket and its large flat surface. Pushing machines for snow or dirt push from a low angle and that’s the reason you shouldn’t use float. The weight must be supported. Float is primarily for back dragging.
The suggestions given should help get you around the design of the machine.

 

[JRTJH]

I'm certainly no expert and most of my neighbors would suggest that I have two left thumbs on my right hand and two right thumbs on my left hand...

That said, I do most of the snow removal in the neighborhood and my neighbors are still my friends, so apparently I haven't destroyed too many flower beds (so far)...

I wouldn't attempt to plow with a FEL adapted snow plow without skids on SOLIDLY FROZEN ground !!!

What I would do, early in the season, is lift the FEL plow about 3-5" above the ground and turn my back blade around backwards with both angled to throw snow away from the direction of travel (on the right side of the tractor).

Doing that will allow the plow to move the heavy drifts and allow the "floating reversed back blade to skim over what's left without digging in"....

Then, once the roadway is SOLIDLY FROZEN, I'd start plowing with the FEL plow ON SKIDS, but keep the idea in the back of my mind, that if it digs in once, to revert to the other method (front plow above the ground and reversed back blade cleaning up what's left).....

And, yes, it's hard to find gloves that fit my "funny looking hands" LOL

 

[Indiana haymaker]

Be gentle, this is my first time plowing with my tractor as well as my first time with a fullsize plow. All noob jokes are expected.

I have an L3560HTC that I've added a 7-foot quick-attach plow to. She looks like this:
View attachment 843057

Yesterday was the first snow and I attempted to use the FEL's "float" mode where the plow is supposed to just glide smoothly over bumps and things like a happy little pillow. Only in my case it just shoved into the driveway and tried to dig up what little asphalt I have left. I have a couple theories as to why but wanted to ask the experts before I do something horribly (yet hilariously) wrong.

My thoughts are that perhaps it's related to the angle of the plow, or the lack of plow shoes, or some combination of the two? I figure that since it has such a large forward protrusion off the SSQA attachment that I just need to angle it more upward than level to make everything happy, but I worry that I'll end up just digging some other part of the plow into my driveway and not notice till it's too late. Does anyone have advice or a tutorial on the proper way to make this all work? So far I've only found generic "how to plow" videos on Youtube.

There is a lot of weight on the front of the tractor, you probably need to add some feet to the bottom of the plow so it slides over the ground instead of diggin in. The float works a lot better with a bucket that has a flat bottom, you can put it flat onto the ground or have the tip of the bucket tipped up slightly and then put it into float and plow. Both of my Jeeps with a snow blade have feet mounted behind the blade to control the depth of the blade. Since my driveway is gravel with a slight hump in the middle between the tire tracks, I usually drop the blade, then pick it up slightly, this adds weight to the front axel for better traction and it also stops me from plowing all of my stone off into the woods

 

[FERLING]

I think your logic is right on the money. ".. perhaps it's related to the angle of the plow, or the lack of plow shoes, or some combination of the two?" Yes, that is the primary adjustments you need to make to avoid gouging your pavement.
You also said "... I figure that since it has such a large forward protrusion off the SSQA attachment that I just need to angle it more upward than level to make everything happy, ..." which is true too. Cut and try making small incremental adjustments as you go and you'll find a sweet spot that gets the job done but causes little/no damage. Probably #1 priority is some kind of skids under the blade to keep it from diggins in. Some of those look like round pads with adjustable height and some spring loaded, etc. You might get away with skids that just barely keep the blade tip from pavement contact.

plow shoes.....Required to keep blade edge off of asphalt

Notice the ends of his snowblade. When you scrap you will leave a thin layer of snow plus you will have two skid marks on your asphalt if you are apply any down pressure on your loader mounted scrape blade. Found out on my Workmaster 50 that 3 point hitch has a float mode with no down pressure where loader only has pressure up / down. Weight of my snow-blade (similar to yours) is so heavy it will drift down eventually causing it to gouge
without skids on the snow-blade mounted upfront. I gave up and just went back to using 8 ft three point hitch scrape. I have more control and just use front blade for lightweight dozer work (cleaning honeysuckle, briar patches, etc.).

 

[FERLING]

 

[f2000ez]

Cut a piece of pvc pipe and mount it on the bottom of the blade. Saves money by not having to buy ski shoes

 

[1700E Dreamer]

Be gentle, this is my first time plowing with my tractor as well as my first time with a fullsize plow. All noob jokes are expected.

I have an L3560HTC that I've added a 7-foot quick-attach plow to. She looks like this:
View attachment 843057

Yesterday was the first snow and I attempted to use the FEL's "float" mode where the plow is supposed to just glide smoothly over bumps and things like a happy little pillow. Only in my case it just shoved into the driveway and tried to dig up what little asphalt I have left. I have a couple theories as to why but wanted to ask the experts before I do something horribly (yet hilariously) wrong.

My thoughts are that perhaps it's related to the angle of the plow, or the lack of plow shoes, or some combination of the two? I figure that since it has such a large forward protrusion off the SSQA attachment that I just need to angle it more upward than level to make everything happy, but I worry that I'll end up just digging some other part of the plow into my driveway and not notice till it's too late. Does anyone have advice or a tutorial on the proper way to make this all work? So far I've only found generic "how to plow" videos on Youtube.

I have a similar set up and added a 1.5”-2” x 7’ scrap steel pipe with a 1/2” slit length wise
Hammered it on the blade it’s a tight friction fit and now the plow doesn’t dig in
Because of the round edge
Very happy with the results
And it didn’t cost to much but time

 

[John_Mc]

As some have already noted, part of your problem is trying to use the loader's float function. You are putting all of the weight of your loader fame on the plow. (Another part may be the wieght of your plow blade itself: it does look rather beefy - like a dozer blade rather than a snow plow, but hard to tell from the picture.

I suggest looking in the Snow Removal for threads about underslung snow plow set-ups. This puts only the weight of the plow and it's attachment frame on the blade. I know @Gordon Gould has posted a number of pictures of his set up.

This thread might be a good place to start. The first posts includes links to threads of several other members builds:
Another Underslung Story

 

[Too many Kubotas]

It's very hard to get the front end loader to be at the right height to make sure the angle is right on the plow. If your loader is quick attach I would take it off. Your plow and attaching frames are to big, to heavy and to hard to control.

My driveway has several mild ups and downs, making it more interesting to keep the loader mounted blade at the correct height. I start with making sure that the pivot on the blade is vertical, so it won't matter which way the blade is angled.

Keeping a close eye on the shafts on the skids lets me know how high, or low, the blade is relative to the gravel below. Yes, it requires near constant adjustments, but when even I can do it, it can't be that hard to learn.

And not to make it too easy, I also run a heavy rear blade. It's wider, and usually in full offset position, to get the snow some five feet outside the edge of the driveway.

Yes, that one really demands attention, so my plowing is mostly done at very low speeds or I wouldn't be able to adjust both blades quickly enough. Of course, once it's cold enough and there's a layer of hardpacked snow things are much more forgiving and the speed can be picked up a bit.

But not by all that much as the tractor tires are right on the edge, and the ditches a bit deep in places. But it can indeed be done.

 

[SnagDump]

I plow with a skid steer and often use float. It's misery when the ground isn't frozen hard. I had this guard built and keep it on my plow all the time. It helps some.

A friend built some custom plow shoes for his and they look to be helpful. Rather than a simple disc his shoes are rectangular and are probably a foot long with 2/3 of the length behind the pin so they stay oriented correctly. (like a caster wheel works). They have short angled plate on the front to help with digging in.

 

[Willie B]

I built a homemade rig with a Fisher snow plow. It took the place of the bucket. The pivot point of the float is forward of the steering wheel 5' above the ground.
It was not a great success! It seemed the tractor had a lot in common with an 8000 LB pole vaulter.
In a later rig, My son took same tractor, same plow, but rigged a push frame attached low under the tractor. This was a success. Float needs to pivot low, I'll say 8 to 12" above the ground. Steeper push angles tend to cause the cutting edge to dig in.

 

[Willie B]

Try a pipe sliced to accept the cutting edge, might help. Shoes must be very large to help with your rig.

Any way to lock your loader boom near the ground & float only the bucket curl?

 

[dvcochran]

Be gentle, this is my first time plowing with my tractor as well as my first time with a fullsize plow. All noob jokes are expected.

I have an L3560HTC that I've added a 7-foot quick-attach plow to. She looks like this:
View attachment 843057

Yesterday was the first snow and I attempted to use the FEL's "float" mode where the plow is supposed to just glide smoothly over bumps and things like a happy little pillow. Only in my case it just shoved into the driveway and tried to dig up what little asphalt I have left. I have a couple theories as to why but wanted to ask the experts before I do something horribly (yet hilariously) wrong.

My thoughts are that perhaps it's related to the angle of the plow, or the lack of plow shoes, or some combination of the two? I figure that since it has such a large forward protrusion off the SSQA attachment that I just need to angle it more upward than level to make everything happy, but I worry that I'll end up just digging some other part of the plow into my driveway and not notice till it's too late. Does anyone have advice or a tutorial on the proper way to make this all work? So far I've only found generic "how to plow" videos on Youtube.

7’ is a pretty heavy box blade. It is simply more weight than float mode can handle. Maybe (big maybe) you can max out the drag lever to help, but I doubt it. This to the age old problem with 3-point mounted gauge equipment. Most people learn to get good enough with the lift lever or get a wheeled box blade.

 

[YNORUM]

I added a 2" steel pipe that a cut a slit in with a plasma torch, tapped it onto cutting edge, and tack welded it every foot. Cut truck mount down and welded to SSQA. I rarely don't plow with my loader in float. L3560 open station. Live in mid michigan so I'm moving plenty of snow and I do just fine. Adjust my roll angle as needed if the plow seems to try to trip, but I also only run 2 springs as I don't want a ton of pressure to suddenly catch on the loader but I go slowish anyways.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I get the feeling that we're spinning our wheels on this one. The OP hasn't posted here for a couple weeks . . .

 

[bunchgrass]

I've been plowing with various tractor/snowblade setups over the years, always on a soft surfaced drive (graveled at best). We almost never get a good freeze before it snows so the ground is rarely hard when you plow. Regardless of which setup I used, the blade always wanted to dig in if you set it down completely. The weight of the plow is pretty significant on its own. Surely enough to tear up soil. I'm not sure I understand the underslung plow benefit other than shortening the distance the thing sticks out and aiding in steering (never been a problem for me).

 

[bunchgrass]

I added a 2" steel pipe that a cut a slit in with a plasma torch, tapped it onto cutting edge, and tack welded it every foot. Cut truck mount down and welded to SSQA. I rarely don't plow with my loader in float. L3560 open station. Live in mid michigan so I'm moving plenty of snow and I do just fine. Adjust my roll angle as needed if the plow seems to try to trip, but I also only run 2 springs as I don't want a ton of pressure to suddenly catch on the loader but I go slowish anyways.

Are you plowing that blacktop in the picture? I'd like that.