How Hard Is Too Hard

[RidgeHiker]

I use my Kioti LK3054 with the bucket and back blade to remove snow. This is my first tractor my 2nd winter using it. Since I was gone part of last winter my experience is very limited. I have never used chains on it. I just ordered Duo-grip ladder combo chains for the rears from Tirechains.com.

Sometimes when I am pushing snow with the bucket it will get caught in hard, icy snow and stop the tractor cold (pun ?). Other times I am just pushing too much snow or pushing it onto packed piles and the wheels will spin or I will just come to a stop. You all know the routine.

With the chains the tractor will be able to exert much more force. Since I have not damaged anything on the tractor from forcing too much I do not have a sense of tolerances. Do I have to be concerned about damaging the bucket assembly? Axles? Gears? Etc.? How do I judge how hard is too hard?

 

[Bigfoot62]

I haven't pushed snow in 30 years. That was when I worked in Wyoming, and I was using a Case 580 SuperE 4x4 T/L/B.

I'm sure someone with more recent experience and a similar tractor will chime in shortly.

As a general rule, it would be best not to spin tires while under a load. It does stress the differential, driveline, trans, etc. But, this ain't a perfect world.

Again, generally speaking, as long as you keep the bucket flat on the ground, you're not likely to damage anything. You bend buckets when you hit stationary objects with a bucket that is curled up or down. (don't ask how I know this)

 

[Creamer]

Not sure what or how you are pushing but with my tractor which is about the same size as your Kioti, i do not have enough power or weight to push things through. I tend to prefer speed and finesse, i.e. I use a rear blade and road gear and the blade floats before it hits something too hard and breaks things. Momentum and energy make up for power and weight. My brother - who is a real farmer - calls my tractor a toy, but then I do not have the justification for anything larger. Besides it is fun doing donuts on a tractor when I hit pure ice!
Just to be clear I do not use the loader for snow unless it is close in and I am digging things out like alongside my house or clearing out around my mailbox. Pushing with the blade is so much faster and easier - and of course less dangerous. BTW I do not use chains and have turf tires.

 

[whistlepig]

When I push snow with the FEL I always 'float" the bucket. If it does catch on something, and it has, the front of the tractor will raise in the air as the loader arms pivots up. I would say that if I were going too fast there is a possibility that it could tear something up.

 

[RidgeHiker]

More info:
The LK 3054 with the loader, scraper, and myself is probably around 3700 lbs not figuring the liquid fill in the rear tires (which I don't know the weight of).

I live in the N. California mountains and we can get good amounts of snow, sometimes heavy. Last I probably got close to 4' of snow in about 3 days. The first 2 days was not light snow but not heavy either. The last snowfall was heavier. During the storm temps rarely rose above freezing.

 

[flyingcow]

I feel your pain on using the FEL. It's hard for me to be efficient with the bucket. For me it's down right frustrating...good luck.

Oh, my suggestion is not to got to fast. Speed will do more damage than chains.

 

[leonz]

More info:
The LK 3054 with the loader, scraper, and myself is probably around 3700 lbs not figuring the liquid fill in the rear tires (which I don't know the weight of).

I live in the N. California mountains and we can get good amounts of snow, sometimes heavy. Last I probably got close to 4' of snow in about 3 days. The first 2 days was not light snow but not heavy either. The last snowfall was heavier. During the storm temps rarely rose above freezing.

AS you are dealing with Sierra Cements early offerings and
before you ruin the frame on your loader:

These things were made to scoop loose material!!!

You have to be vigilent in knowing when the tractor
cannot push any more you must lift the loader bucket
up to stack snow, this way you will not damage the bucket
and twist the frame-remember, the tractor will break before a frozen snow bank will!!!!


Buy a good snow blower for the rear mount with a rotating impeller housing that will not
clog up the chute and you wwill be very very happy and you can use the loader for
clearing up areas where you cannot throw the snow before it becomes Sierra Cement.

There are several good brands of snow blowers with rotating impeller drums on the market;
I am partial to pronovost because of how well they are made for Canadian Winters worse than
Sierra Cement.

 

[RidgeHiker]

We have an interesting group here :laughing::
A large foot.
A pig that whistles.
A cow that flies.
A hiker of ridges.
Someone that makes cream - maybe related to the cow that flies.

 

[RidgeHiker]

I have thought of a snow blower and may get one some time in the future but I do not want to spend the money at this point and I am not sure that I want to spend hours twisting my body backwards.

 

[Looking4new]

A front mount sno blower is what you need, but be prepared to shell out a few thousand of your hard earned $$'s. My new front mount cost me $6,000.oo Canadian

 

[flyingcow]

We have an interesting group here :laughing::
A large foot.
A pig that whistles.
A cow that flies.
A hiker of ridges.
Someone that makes cream - maybe related to the cow that flies.

FWIW- I go from farm to farm picking up milk with a tanker.....


Ridge- how long of a drive you have?


If not a snowblower, than a FEL mounted blade?

 

[RidgeHiker]

I plow about 220' of driveway and several parking and turn around areas.

I have considered a FEL mounted blade. I would have to use the bucket as well due to running out of area to push the snow.

Creamer, an impressive looking truck, especially in the snow.

 

[yankeerider]

For over 15 years I cleared snow with just an FEL on my 755. I still don't have chains, and if you saw the steep hill to the back of my property, you'd question my sanity in clearing it. The trick is to go slow, so when you encounter an obstacle, the tractor is merely stopped without impact damage. Lift the loader, back up, and explore your way forward. I'll agree, it isn't the most efficient way to clear snow, but it fit the budget and beat the heck out of using a shovel!

 

[vtsnowedin]

I haven't measured the drives I'm driving but it is better then a half mile I'm sure. Some of it is poorly graded and rutted so the shoulder is higher then the travel rut. I can on occasion catch on a rock or other fixed object the frost has pushed up on the edge. Even with ice chains on loaded tires this will stop you dead and the rears will spin while the loader tries to float over the rock which might not happen if the cutting edge has caught under an edge. You need to get your foot on the clutch or off the go pedal on an HST before you break something. Go slow at first until you have found and memorised every fixed object in your plow area or have smoothed them off by plowing. You don't want to be wailing into a pile of snow and getting stopped short by the top of the artisan well casing. :-(
Also you will come to hate landscaping rocks. One guy I know adds $25 for each rock lining a drive to his quotes and makes it clear that is where the cost is. Owners sometimes move all the rocks into an out of the way pile for the winter then replace them to please the gardening spouse in the spring. A good tractor job.

 

[Chilly807]

I use the highest gear in low range for moving snow with the bucket, since it doesn't take long to fill it anyway. For moving shallow snow, say up to 12" deep, the rear blade works much better. You're more likely to break something going fast than you are pushing slowly. Even with chains, you'll spin before you break something on the loader, at least in my experience.

Sean

 

[BIG DOOLEY]

I have a front blade and rear blade for snow plowing.
Generally directing where you would like the snow to go is better(faster).
Especially with no heated cab.
The bucket is great to remove snow from confind areas but not ideal for moving it quickly.
I used the float with my FEL when i tried it for plowing this year.
I like the blade much better.
Blades also have a trip mechanism for a reason.
To protect the equipment from damage due to sudden stopping forces.
I think I want a quick attach blade to switch back and forth from bucket to blade eventually.
I have been looking for a bigger 6' to 7' blade to replace the 54" i have now and make it attachable to the FEL.
Slow and steady is the best way to protect your equipment and your $

 

[RidgeHiker]

I have generally been using 2nd gear out of 4 in low range when the plowing is not as easy and 4th out of 4 when the conditions are better.

It does seem like it would be handy to have a quick release plow and bucket on the FEL to alternate with.

yankeerider said above about using just the bucket: "I'll agree, it isn't the most efficient way to clear snow, but it fit the budget and beat the heck out of using a shovel!" I definitely think about that at times when using the bucket seems slow. Having hand shoveled tons and tons of snow over the years I certainly appreciate the loader. I still do some hand shoveling and use my snow blower where the tractor can't go.

 

[dave1949]

Short driveway, tall snow :laughing:

Well, you don't want to go banging into things like ice blocks. I usually try to be lifting the loader arms and curling the bucket a bit with the joystick when I approach a frozen-up pile. A lot of times, that will pry off a chunk and roll it over the top of the pile. In heavy snow, I use mid-range 2nd gear at about 1700-1800 rpm, so that is moving fairly slow, which is the key to limiting damage. I will boost the rpms if I get behind a heavy pile to prevent stalling.

Tractors are fairly durable and can take a bit of wheel spin even with chains, but you want to be gentle.

 

[flyingcow]

Someone on here made a nice snowpusher out of heavuy black culvert.

 

[busy dad]

I am of the understanding that it is better to spin a tire than stall a machine and possibly break something..From the big dump truck days bias ply tube tires would spin and tear the tubes , when radial tubeless came in they wouldn't spin and broken axles could result.. Some times less traction is better.