Back blade for snow removal

[Creamer]

I have on occasion found how far the steering wheel will go into my stomach when catching the pavement lip at the edge of a driveway. I always make sure my seat belt is fastened.

RSKY

I have done that too. Same with frozen dirt sticking up higher than the pavement. That's when some landscaping changes need to be made.

 

[Thomas]

..............................
This is true but there always seems to be something over look.

 

[oosik]

I've got a mile long - straight as an arrow - gravel driveway. If things would go as I hope - it would rain, then freeze harder than granite and then any snow I plowed off the driveway would have zero affect on the gravel. Unfortunately, that seldom happens - at least not at the first of the plowing season.

I reverse my rear blade and drive forward until the driveway freezes good and hard.

 

[TheMan419]

I've got a mile long - straight as an arrow - gravel driveway. If things would go as I hope - it would rain, then freeze harder than granite and then any snow I plowed off the driveway would have zero affect on the gravel. Unfortunately, that seldom happens - at least not at the first of the plowing season.

I reverse my rear blade and drive forward until the driveway freezes good and hard.

I too would hope for a freeze and be done. However we are on our second above freezing all the snow melts and then comes back with a vengeance of the season. I suspect we will have at least one more. Thankfully the drive is holding up in terms of no ruts or anything.

 

[oosik]

Yes - some years I've waited so long for the driveway to freeze up hard - its almost a waste to do any plowing. Just about the time everything is just right - it clobbers up, turns warm and rains. I simply do not get my Jollies plowing snow in the rain............

 

[sideskraft]

There are a couple of divorced young women on our road. They blow the horn and wave when they drive past our house and see me out. My wife thinks it is funny.

I cleared the drives of one mother and both her daughters. They mailed me a gift card for a restaurant. Next time I cleared their drives I threatened them if they got me anything and said I would pile up snow in their drives. A few days later I had a set of grilling sauces and other stuff delivered with no name on it. Every time I would call they would laugh and say it wasn't them. One of them finally owned up to it when the snow melted.

A case of delicious pears was delivered from another neighbor.

I won't accept pay and that frustrates some of them. They don't understand somebody out in freezing weather clearing driveways for fun.

Never thought about it before but I guess I have earned my reputation as the weird one.

RSKY

RSKY, I love your posts -- you should write stories when not on your tractor -- keep up the entertainment!!

 

[KennK]

Another point that hasn't been mentioned is that when I am going forward with the rear blade set at an angle, if I put it at too sharp an angle it will actually push the rear of my tractor sideways. My rear blade has limited angle settings, but I have to find just the right angle that allows the snow to slide off without pushing the back end sideways.

I pretty quickly learned to load the front end loader with snow to give my front wheels better grip (R4 tires with no chains). Wet snow is much better than dry snow - weighs more for sure.

Also, just to be clear for the original poster, I usually just drive over the snow - forward - to let the rear blade do its work. If the snow is so deep that I can't driver over it without wheels spinning even in mechanical 4WD, then I'll use the front end loader to move the snow and then clean it up with the rear blade. Moving snow with the front end loader can be a tedious process compared to the rear blade. Scoop, backup, angle off, dump, repeat ... a lot! Still, any time on the tractor is a great thing - until the cold weather soaks in.

I've been noodling getting a front-mount snow blade, but so far just can't justify the cost. Plus, I'd prefer to keep the front end loader on the tractor during the winter months - well all the time. I know that they make snow blades that go on the FEL's quick attach. I'm noodling that too. Again, so far I've not pulled the trigger, mostly due to the costs.

Finally, as others have mentioned, using the rear blade with the cutting edge backwards does real well on gravel and even lawn (my own use). I don't need to do that a lot, so I'll usually do that very carefully (gently) by just driving the tractor backward. I've read that this presents a risk of bending the three point hitch arms or other parts. So far this has not happened. I try to be gentle about it. If you need to do that a lot then you're best to spin the rear blade around and drive forward with the cutting edge of the blade facing "backward".

 

[savageactor7]

Using a box blade for snow removal this year and I really like it. We mostly use it to push the snow in reverse but the limited ability to pull the snow forward has proven to be very useful.

It was by chance I left the blade on to dress up the gravel driveway one last time before the snow came. And no I'm not pushing a lot of gravel either. It the bear blade on the ground no clearance shoes either.

The added weight was a benefit too.

 

[FreedomFamilyFarms]

I use a rear blade for clearing snow, and it works very well. Most of the time I drive forward with blade angled to windrow the snow off to one side. But for the area near our garage, I flip the blade around backwards and push snow in reverse. Lots of options. I use a pipe over the cutting edge to keep from disturbing my gravel.

I’d love to see a photo of the pipe on the cutting edge. I use the rubber horse stall mat between the cutting edge and moldboard trick. Works well but could dig a little deeper.

Looks funny after I plow. The rubber works like a squeegee to keep the cutting edge out of the gravel (1000 ft). Snow on the drive is as smooth as buttercream frosting!

 

[CalG]

A back blade to clear, and a bucket to pile is a great combination. Certainly the cleanest combination. The back blade leaves a billiard table behind.

 

[Creamer]

Another point that hasn't been mentioned is that when I am going forward with the rear blade set at an angle, if I put it at too sharp an angle it will actually push the rear of my tractor sideways. My rear blade has limited angle settings, but I have to find just the right angle that allows the snow to slide off without pushing the back end sideways.

I pretty quickly learned to load the front end loader with snow to give my front wheels better grip (R4 tires with no chains). Wet snow is much better than dry snow - weighs more for sure.

Also, just to be clear for the original poster, I usually just drive over the snow - forward - to let the rear blade do its work. If the snow is so deep that I can't driver over it without wheels spinning even in mechanical 4WD, then I'll use the front end loader to move the snow and then clean it up with the rear blade. Moving snow with the front end loader can be a tedious process compared to the rear blade. Scoop, backup, angle off, dump, repeat ... a lot! Still, any time on the tractor is a great thing - until the cold weather soaks in.

I've been noodling getting a front-mount snow blade, but so far just can't justify the cost. Plus, I'd prefer to keep the front end loader on the tractor during the winter months - well all the time. I know that they make snow blades that go on the FEL's quick attach. I'm noodling that too. Again, so far I've not pulled the trigger, mostly due to the costs.

Finally, as others have mentioned, using the rear blade with the cutting edge backwards does real well on gravel and even lawn (my own use). I don't need to do that a lot, so I'll usually do that very carefully (gently) by just driving the tractor backward. I've read that this presents a risk of bending the three point hitch arms or other parts. So far this has not happened. I try to be gentle about it. If you need to do that a lot then you're best to spin the rear blade around and drive forward with the cutting edge of the blade facing "backward".

Why if the snow is too deep do you use the loader? It is much faster to turn the back blade backwards and push that way. Also I drilled a couple of extra holes so I can angle my blade when it is turned backwards to make it easier to guide the snow. I make piles 6' high with my back blade as the tractor packs it as you drive on it so you just keep going up.

 

[s219]

I壇 love to see a photo of the pipe on the cutting edge. I use the rubber horse stall mat between the cutting edge and moldboard trick. Works well but could dig a little deeper.

Looks funny after I plow. The rubber works like a squeegee to keep the cutting edge out of the gravel (1000 ft). Snow on the drive is as smooth as buttercream frosting!

You know I tried the horse stall mat and it worked OK, but I didn't like it as much as the pipe so I went back to that. I think both are good solutions though. I felt like the pipe scraped the snow better when very cold and disturbed the gravel less when warmer/wetter. Here's a pic of my setup -- I did it this way to make the pipe easily removable for summer use (although I haven't done anything but snow clearing with this rear blade in a couple years).

 

[Citydude]

You know I tried the horse stall mat and it worked OK, but I didn't like it as much as the pipe so I went back to that. I think both are good solutions though. I felt like the pipe scraped the snow better when very cold and disturbed the gravel less when warmer/wetter. Here's a pic of my setup -- I did it this way to make the pipe easily removable for summer use (although I haven't done anything but snow clearing with this rear blade in a couple years).

View attachment 539353 View attachment 539354 View attachment 539355

Thanks for posting the pics. I've been wondering how to attach a pipe, now I have a plan

 

[LouNY]

I used a back blade for a lot of years moving snow. I like the pipe idea for until a driveway gets froze, once mine got froze I'd scrape it as clean as I could. Parts of my driveway I would drive forward rolling the snow off to the side parts of it I'd spin the blade around and push it, some places sideways some straight back. These pictures are from several years ago.


you can move quite a bit of snow with a back blade.

 

[FreedomFamilyFarms]

You know I tried the horse stall mat and it worked OK, but I didn't like it as much as the pipe so I went back to that. I think both are good solutions though. I felt like the pipe scraped the snow better when very cold and disturbed the gravel less when warmer/wetter. Here's a pic of my setup -- I did it this way to make the pipe easily removable for summer use (although I haven't done anything but snow clearing with this rear blade in a couple years).

View attachment 539353 View attachment 539354 View attachment 539355

Thanks for the pics! I had a wet snow this week and the mat smeared as much snow as it moved on the concrete. I may have to give this a try sometime.

 

[KennK]

Why if the snow is too deep do you use the loader? It is much faster to turn the back blade backwards and push that way. Also I drilled a couple of extra holes so I can angle my blade when it is turned backwards to make it easier to guide the snow. I make piles 6' high with my back blade as the tractor packs it as you drive on it so you just keep going up.

I do worry that pushing the blade backward will bend 3PH components, especially if pushing very hard. I only do that rarely and gently. Don't think I could make 6 foot high snow piles with my rear blade. The blade is only about 3 feet high and doesn't have all that much lift. I think before the snow would rise that high my wheels would start spinning.

It's kind of a pain to flip my blade around. I have to loosen some big nuts, offset the blade enough to spin it, spin it, and then recenter it, and tighten the bolts. If I don't have the blade fairly centered the blade it will tilt enough when raised to drag a corner on the ground.

 

[Creamer]

I do worry that pushing the blade backward will bend 3PH components, especially if pushing very hard. I only do that rarely and gently. Don't think I could make 6 foot high snow piles with my rear blade. The blade is only about 3 feet high and doesn't have all that much lift. I think before the snow would rise that high my wheels would start spinning.

It's kind of a pain to flip my blade around. I have to loosen some big nuts, offset the blade enough to spin it, spin it, and then recenter it, and tighten the bolts. If I don't have the blade fairly centered the blade it will tilt enough when raised to drag a corner on the ground.

My blade is only about 16" high and only gets about 30" off the ground. When i hit a pile the blade floats up and the back wheels of the tractor go right up the pile and pack some. The next time they go higher.

Your blade not turning is a pain. Mine I just pull a pin and hand rotate the blade to angle it or turn it all the way around. takes way more time to get off and on the tractor.

 

[Oldoak]

........................................ Mine I just pull a pin and hand rotate the blade to angle it or turn it all the way around. takes way more time to get off and on the tractor.

That is just the way my blade works. Wouldn't have one that didn't work adjust like that.

I thought about how handy a hydraulic cylinder to vary the angle of the blade would be but then I wouldn't be able to rotate the blade 180 degrees, even by hand. I push with the blade rotated backwards to clear the snow if the ground is not yet frozen. It eliminates the need for a pipe add-on to prevent the blade from digging in our gravel driveway.

Not that s219's modification isn't a good one, just that we all have our own methods of which works best for ourselves.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Last month we had 6 inches of snow that required me to put on the rear blade. I am 58 years old and I can count on one hand the number of times I have plowed snow with the rear blade. I used my father's old Super Rhino 8 footer that has multiple adjustment angles. Once set correctly it does a great job. My only suggestion is to float the rear so that you don't dig in the roadbed. That comes with experience. I have a gravel driveway. The results were fine. If I lived where snow removal was a weekly chore the rear blade would be my weapon of choice along with a nice heated cab.

 

[CobyRupert]

That is just the way my blade works. Wouldn't have one that didn't work adjust like that.

I thought about how handy a hydraulic cylinder to vary the angle of the blade would be but then I wouldn't be able to rotate the blade 180 degrees, even by hand. I push with the blade rotated backwards to clear the snow if the ground is not yet frozen.

Some blades (e.g. Rhino), they just put a second hyd. cylinder connection 180 degrees apart from the other. Just pull the cylinder pin, rotate blade 180 and reconnect. Maybe there's a way, a will, and a welder that can do same?

So what's the consensus:
Should you "reverse" the blade so that it is oriented to plow-push backwards? I've always heard not to do this since there is no trip function and 3 point hitches are made to pull, not push, i.e. you risk damage?
I can definitely see an advantage of being able to drive away forward from the pile in the path you just plowed in reverse, and not be trapped.

A tip I learned was for plowing on ground that's not totally flat is to pull the "tilt" pin, or set the equivalent hydraulics to "float", so that the blade tilts/ floats and follows the contours of the ground. -Of course I discovered this after spending $800 (in parts) to add the second hydraulic function before buying the blade. Oh well, still handy when ditching dirt. Hmm, maybe the cylinder is correct length to relocate to the "offset" function, which would be handy when trying to "reach out" next to buildings and fences.