JD 430 Loader blade attachment

Anonymous Poster · May 31, 2003

My dealer is suggesting that I consider a hydraulically controlled quick-tach blade for my 430 loader in addition to the HD bucket. I will be using it for snow. Is this necessary? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Anonymous Poster · May 31, 2003

How much is the hydraulic blade attachment? I'm considering a 4 in 1 bucket which gives you a blade, but no angle.
Mike

Anonymous Poster · May 31, 2003

wbender,

You would'nt want to use the bucket for any serious snow removal. It would be too slow. The bucket may be needed to periodically move snow banks back once you get a build up of snow from blading. Depends how fast the snow builds up in your area and how far back you can push the snow off the driveway. So it will be important to be able to remove the blade and put the bucket back on during the winter months. If for some reason you can not get to your bucket during the winter, you can opt for a back blade on the 3PH along with the bucket on your FEL. The front blade with hydraulic angle would be much nicer to use.

Jeff

Anonymous Poster · May 31, 2003

The additional hydraulics and blade are ~$1900, pretty steep in my mind.

prosperity · May 31, 2003

I feel that is the ultimate setup for snow - but quite expensive. I know a guy who bought an old snowplow, and fabricated it to quick hook just like the bucket. He doesn't have hydraulic angle, but it works nice (just plan your passes). I think he has about $200 in the whole thing.

RoyJackson · Jun 1, 2003

A Back Blade is the way to go and use the bucket as required (won't be much unless you get 10+ inches).
Of course, this depends on the length of your driveway. Using a back blade to push the snow (driving backwards) is a pain in the neck (literally) if you do it for an extended period of time.

You might want to consider a 3PH PTO driven snow blower too. That would still be cheaper then the Deere front blade. Again, this depends on the length of your drive or area you need to clean up.

It also depends on the size and weight of your tractor. Using a back or front blade in heavier snow will tend to push your tractor in the direction opposite of the way the blade is angled. Not a big deal...you just have to make piles occasionally when the tractor can't push forward (or backward) as you move the snow.

The picture was taken during the blizzard we had in PA this year. Reckon we had 30"-36" depending upon the drifts. I'm using the FEL to move the snow back so I could push more out with the blade. I don't have chains, so I ran out of traction fairly frequently. So, I had to use the FEL quite a bit. I also use the FEL bucket to back drag away from the house and the vehicles.

Anyway....I just don't think the cost of the front blade (Deere is expensive) is worth it.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 1, 2003

wbender,

The price is steep compared to other methods for moving snow. The best method depends on the length and grade of you driveway and the amount and type of snow you get.

Long driveway and lots of snow probably requires a snow blower, especially if you have an uphill grade.

Anything less than above and the blade and bucket will do the job.

Then you need to decide if going backwards to remove snow is comfortable for you. Its a lot of twisted around in the seat which gets worse the longer your passes need to be. Simply, stuff mounted up front is expensive. Stuff mounted on the 3PH is cheaper.

I'm in lake effect snow country so we can get a lot of snow but it tends to be a dier, fluffier type snow. I have an 80 foot driveway with a fairly level grade. I use a 7' back blade along with the FEL on my JD 755 (20HP, 4WD, turf tires, 2200#). The backblade is over sized for the tractor but I got it used for $40 and only use it for snow. I have the blade facing forward and pull the snow. If the snow is 8" or less, I can pull the snow all the way to the end of my driveway (blade is not angled). I then use the bucket to push and pile the pulled snow off to the side and in to a ditch at the road. If the snow is a little deeper or heavy, I get about 3/4 of the way down the driveway before I lose traction. Attached is a photo of last winter which had some heavier snows so the piles are 3/4 down the driveway.

Good luck on your selection.

Jeff

Anonymous Poster · Jun 1, 2003

Nice place, job. We don't get all that much snow in KC, just when it does it can be a dump. Hate to spend all that money and have rarely used equipment laying around.