Finally got to try out the Ratchet Rake Snow Edge - PICS

[KYKub]

Bought a Kubota BX1860 last summer and got a Ratchet Rake Snow Edge with it. Have been anxious to try it out and, although Jonas didn't hammer east KY like it did the east coast, we got about 8" of snow - a good snow for us. Finally got to play in the snow! In general the Snow Edge does exactly what it is designed to do, and does it well. The limitations of plowing snow with a FEL still exist, but the Snow Edge protects the bucket and the surface being plowed.

Here is a pic of the Snow Edge. It attaches to the bucket by screws (turn the yellow handles to tighten). It fits snug is seems well engineered. The Edge is heavy, 60 pounds or so. The composite edge is about 2.5" thick.



I plowed most of the snow last night so today I was just getting a couple inches we got overnight.



Pop the FEL in float, curl the bucket so the Edge is the only thing touching the surface and go. Occasionally I would curl too far and make the front end so light that I lost steering. Got the hang of it quickly, though.

Like I said, the Snow Edge doesn't make plowing with a FEL any more efficient, it just protects your bucket and driveway. I enjoyed it so much I plowed my neighbor's drive too! I am very pleased with it, but if I had more than my 125' or so of driveway I would probably invest in a front or rear blade.

 

[KYKub]

And, by the way, I was pleased to find that my turf tires did very well in the snow, even on my sloped paved drive. It was a "slick" snow and the 4wd tractor with turf tires did just fine. I have an extra set of OEM R4s/rims that I might sell now.

Plowing at night was my first real use of the LED lights I installed last Thanksgiving. A thread here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ng/348769-magnet-mounted-led-rops-lights.html I was also really happy with the lights. Cheap Amazon lights, but man they really lit up the area!

 

[AxleHub]

We have different colors of tractor . . But similsr color of implement

Between dec. 29th and the following 2 weeks after I've had a chance to use my scut quite often with snow. The snowedge was new for me as was using a bucket for snow clearing. I have a fairly steep angle concrete driveway and sidewalks. Once I learned how to actually engage the float . . . and that I coukd still adjust the tilt and curl while in float mode . . I was quie active on moving snow..

I like the snowedge product because it helps give you both a plow type function along with bucket function. Using only a bucket . . An operator is doing a scoop function. But the snow edge alters the geometry. You can "push ahead" the snow because the bucket is raised more . . So I was able to move more snow with the snowedge attached.

Next, back dragging worked nicely.

I was initially concerned about wear on the edge . . . but I then realized that unless I was down to absolutely bare concrete . . There was nothing to create wear.

But what I found really made things nice . . Is when weather warmed up some (still below freexing) . . that I could do really nice cleanup with the snowedge and put more down pressure on the fel and still not "catch" like you would with the bucket. Ratchet rake claims you get about 30 hours of actual use before you replace the actual edge componrbt. But with about 15 hours of actual use so far . . I see virtually no wear as yet and I imagine that 30 hour number could easily double for me lol.

 

[rekees4300]

In general the Snow Edge does exactly what it is designed to do, and does it well.

Great pics thanks for sharing. Glad the Snow Edge is working for you. :thumbsup:

 

[RjCorazza]

I used a ratchet rake snow edge also, and was impressed. I did note some wear after clearing a lot of snow around mailboxes and aprons of the 15 driveways I did because our county residential streets are tar/chip. Still a lot of wear left on the 2.5" thick plastic, and a $65 replacement edge is CHEAP compared to polyurethane edges. My only complaint is the fact they only come in 2 sizes (4 and 5'). My bucket is 66", but it doesn't have to cover the entire bucket width to work.