Does anyone have an easy way to remove snow from equipment after use

[Byrdnyrd]

How about one of those little propane heaters? They require power for the fan, but you could aim it at the blower and move it around as required!

I have hot water in my garage, so I usually hose everything down with hot water then pull it into the (Heated) garage!

Honestly, I’m diggin the “Move to Florida” comment!

Cheers,
BN

 

[DJ54]

If you have a place out of the way with access to a water hose, simply wash it off with a garden hose w/sprayer nozzle. Anything that has a function like a loader, or rotates like a blower, let it drip dry for a few minutes, then move the functional parts, or rotate the blower slowly for a bit. Park it inside, then grease them to push any water out.

We did this, and they still do for equipment we used on snow & ice removal. From dump trucks with plows & spreaders, graders and occasionally dozers. Just have to dress for the occasion.

 

[chris.benjamin1]

If you do not have a heated garage floor and if there is gravel under your slab. Let the water puddle then in the deepest spots drill like 3/8” holes and the water will never be a problem again. I’ve done this a few times and it is a quick cheap fix

 

[quarencia]

I keep the tractor in a shed with a wood floor. I don’t want the snow melting and then refreezing in the plywood floor, so I keep the blower parked on a large, deep stall mat from tractor supply with a heavy lip around it that traps the water. I knock most of the snow off with a broom before I put it in the shed and whatever melts on the mat just evaporates in a couple of days. Did the same thing with my walk behind in the garage years ago.

Something like this
Tractor supply stall mat

 

[DarkBlack]

My 6’ snowblower gets caked with pounds and pounds of heavy snow and sometimes a thin ice layer beneath, after I’m done with it.
A leaf blower wouldn’t touch it.
I use a long scraper bar, for large areas, and a plastic splitting wedge for the tight areas that get fully packed with heavy snow, like the chain sprocket area.
I always get ice, or very dense snow in the warm area near the gearbox.
I spend about an hour cleaning the best I can. Sometimes the auger is almost completely a solid heavy snow mess. I then bring it into the garage and I lower it into blocks to keep it elevated. If there’s still a lot on it , I place some low profile pans under it to collect dripping water

 

[DrDave1958]

I use an aphalt sealer squeegee. You can get them at lowes, HD, etc.

 

[Skypilota72]

Just wondering if anyone has an inexpensive easy way to remove accumulated snow after using the tractor blower etc. my uit is in a heated garage and when it snows enough every day to use the unit(s) it melts amd makes a small lake LOL.
I've tried a windshield scraper which is somewhat OK but is time consuming and leaves a lot behind.
Also tried compressed air which works somewhat well but again is a bit time consuming.
They flat air nozzles but I'm not sure if they would work that well LINKY Another version of a nozzle LINKY

Just wondering if anyone has an inexpensive easy way to remove accumulated snow after using the tractor blower etc. my uit is in a heated garage and when it snows enough every day to use the unit(s) it melts amd makes a small lake LOL.
I've tried a windshield scraper which is somewhat OK but is time consuming and leaves a lot behind.
Also tried compressed air which works somewhat well but again is a bit time consuming.
They flat air nozzles but I'm not sure if they would work that well LINKY Another version of a nozzle LINKY 2 .

So i thought I'd ask here TIA and

Like you, my garage is heated and tractor gets loaded with snow. I always use my Echo PB9010H which easily removes 99% of it, and using soft brush along with blower does it all.

 

[tjandrews]

I use a gas leaf-blower to clear off sidewalks and steps; but, it must be performed ASAP after a snow, before it has a chance to pack.
Only downside, wind blowing in wrong direction makes you a snowman..

Is there a RIGHT direction? In my experience, no matter which direction I aim the blowing snow, it comes right back into my face - especially on windy days.

 

[WinterDeere]

one thing that helps is the snow not sticking to begin with, each fall before the snow starts to fly i will polish the backblade and bucket with an inexpensive car polish, if i end up plowing a lot sometimes i will reapply.

That's a really good idea. I'd bet just smearing Turtle Wax onto the plow blade would help a lot, even if you don't bother buffing it off. Application is even less work than the buffing.

This also got rid of the salt residue

This is a new problem for me. I bought a nice sparkling new Deere in 2019, and because it's only for personal use, I always figured the thing might still look damn near new when I sell it in 25 years with 2500 hours.

However, a friend had a single daughter move into a house just a half mile up the road from me, and he lives something like 40 minutes' drive away in good weather, probably an hour's drive on a snow day. So, to keep him from having to drive up here to shovel her out, I told him I'd plow her driveway whenever it snows. It really only takes me 10-15 minutes to drive the tractor up there at 10-20 mph, plow it, and drive back home.

But what I found on the first attempt last week, is that the mess of black salty slush on the road sprays all over the tractor, and in fact all over me! Now, this tractor which I never had to hose down or wash in winter, must be either washed after each snow storm, or left to rust a bit. Also, I come home with the sleeves and shoulders of my Carhartt inuslated coveralls all covered in black road water.

I'll try just driving much slower next time, but if I find I need to keep speed down at 3 mph (i.e. "trail speed"), it'll turn that 1 mile round trip into 20 minutes drive time... plus the few minutes it takes to do the actual plowing. I'm always in a rush to get to work on snow days, after having spent time to plow my own (much larger) driveway, and clear the walks by hand.

 

[WinterDeere]

Is there a RIGHT direction? In my experience, no matter which direction I aim the blowing snow, it comes right back into my face - especially on windy days.

This was a factor in deciding to buy a larger tractor, for me. I was between the 2R-series and 3R-series from Deere, really preferring the ergonomics and loader visibility on the smaller model. But I really wanted to get rid of my damn snow blower, they just become totally miserable on an open operator station tractor in the winds we get following most snow storms, and the 2R-series is just a bit too small and light to push a plow of any reasonable size in the heavy wet snow we often get.

I used to sometimes come inside looking like a snowman, with at least an inch of snow covering every stitch of fabric on my body. I'd be constantly turning the shoot, trying to blow with the wind as much as surrounding obstacles would allow, but the wind would too often swirl and change direction close to any trees or structures. It was just about impossible to not get covered, on the windy days.

One year proving the plow in on the new tractor, and I sold that damn snowblower.