Snow Attachments Plowing snow with a blade

[fenneran]

With the recent dumping of snow on the mid-atlantic region, I have finally decided to add a back blade to my arsenal. We have a 1/2 mile long gravel (actually milled road material) driveway with two hills and a curve. I have been maintaining the drive with the FEL, but it is not the best method. Now that we may be out of the drought and will be getting snow again, a blad will make sense for both applications. So the question is this: How do you all plow snow with the blade? I tried to pay attention to some folks around that I saw clearing lots and lanes and saw instances of people with the blade facing the tractor and pulling the snow as well as the blade facing "backwards" and puching the snow. What are the pro's and con's to these methods? Not to open the "box blade vs back blade" discussion, but is there a way to plow snow with a box? I think that a box blade would be better for the driveway maintenance, but the backblade, being able to angle, seems to be better for the snow. I have read all the threads on the advantages of each and I think the back blade will do fine for the drive, but didn't want to make the choice because of a lack of information. Thanks in advance.

By the way, I plowed out this last storm (between 10 and 12 inches) with the FEL and it took about 5 hours. Push, scoop, back up, turn, forward, dump, backup, repeat...

-Frank

 

[RichZ]

I have a dirt driveway that is about 1/4 mile in length. I have two tractors. I have a backblade on the small one (about 25 hp), and a loader on the big one ( 62 hp). I do most of the plowing with the small one with the backblade facing forward and driving the tractor forward. I have the blade slightly offset so it pushes the snow off to the right. It's pretty fast and works well.

By the way, both of my tractors are 2wd with chains. We've had a couple of 2 foot snows and many smaller ones. The loader is good for moving piles of snow that accumulate from using the blade.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi fenneran,

I have found that running the back blade in the normal orientation is more important as the debth of the snow increases.

At first I was pretty satisfied with runnin it backwards. This reduced the digging into my non-paved driveway/parking area when the ground was not frozen.

Recently, with the ground frozen and the snow deeper, I have realized that the correct curve of the back blade makes a big difference in its plowing ability. That is the way I use it now.

My GUESS is that once you get a back blade and start using it, you will wonder how you ever plowed that driveway with your loader. I WISH I had a long driveway to plow with my angled back blade...it is just so nice seeing that snow fall off the outside of the blade as I move along!

Make sure you get a blade that is wider than your rear tires when it is angled. If I were you I would spend the extra money to get a better quality blade, with and angle tilt and offset cabibility. I bought a cheap KK blade, which works ok, but I drool when I see the nicer blades that others have...[Rick and Ron, I am thinking of both of you when I type this...]

Good luck in your purchase!

 

[gbirky]

Frank,
In my opinion, a back blade is not really ideal for snow removal. I see from your profile that you have a YMG1800D which will handle a 5' back blade. But with a tractor that size, I think that anything more than about 6" of snow will require you to push it in reverse because it will build up rather than roll to the side. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be twisted around looking backward for any length of time.

I have a YM1301D with a 42" front blade. When I angle it, it just makes a path wide enough for the wheels. But I can go forward and roll the snow to one side as long as its not too deep. In the last dumping, we got about 8" by Sunday at noon when I went to plow the first time. I didn't have too much trouble.

I made the mistake of not plowing again until the snow stopped Monday. I had some serious trouble with the additional 16" we had by Monday at noon when I went to plow it. I couldn't roll the snow to the side because it was too deep. I had to push it straight forward at an angle across the driveway. It took me quite a while to clear the driveway which is only about 60' long, and 25' wide. When I was done, there were 8ft piles of snow at the corner of the drive and road. Of course I also had to push the snow bank made by the county plows about 12' back to gain access to our mailbox. I certainly would not have wanted to do all of that in reverse - twisted around looking backward.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you use a back blade, plan on doing it in reverse for any significant snow. Maybe for as few snows as we normally get, that is a good compromise. For the 2-6" snows, you can probably pull the snow and roll it to the side OK. The truth is, this last storm was truly a snow blower snow storm. Nothing else really does a decent job in 12+ inches unless its a really big tractor and blade, or a truck with a plow.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi again,

As a follow up, I agree with gbirky that it depends on your tractor too...

Mine has enough clearance that I can drive over 12" and expect the back blade to do something with it.

I wondered what the driving over would do to the snow..but the edge of the back blade doesn't seem to care if the snow is compressed by my loaded rear tires or not...it just scrapes it up anyway.

There is no question that as the snow deepens...the odds move in favor of the snowblower.

For the money, the back blade really does seem pretty cost effective, and useful, in my book. But if we got 24", I also know that the top 12 would be moved by the loader before the back blade did the rest.

 

[buzst]

there has been quite a bit of snow here in southern New Hampshire this winter and my 24hp kubota with loaded turf tires has managed very well just facing forward and pulling the snow. I'm using a 72" landpride blade, the machine is about 55" wide giving good clearence when the blade is angled. The deeper the snow the greater the angle. Generally after the storm passes I do reverse the blade and push back the snow banks to make room for the next storm. Although pushing the snowbanks in reverse is less comfortable than using the loader and going forward it is much faster

 

[kokopelli2]

you will never have a problem with using a back blade if you keep up with the storm. in the last 32"er we had this weekend i was out there every few hours plowing. i was able to get the banks about 10-15 from the drive so when i went out on monday morning i only had about 8 inches left to do. mind you i am using a meyer plow that was once on a truck.

just keep up with the storm and you will be golden!

 

[jhgnag]

I think you got a lot of good answers here. The rear blade working the direction it's designed and angled works real good for snow less than a foot or so. I waited until after the snow stopped this last storm to start on my driveway & I regretted it. Since the tractor was basically stuck, I had to FEL a few feet at a time all the way to the end of the driveway, then FEL the sides of the driveway. Took a long time. The only thing the rear blade was good for this time was cleaning up at the end. Of course this was an unusual storm. For the rest of the snow we got this winter, the rear blade worked fine.

I wish I could justify the $3000+ for the snowblower, but I can use the FEL if this happens every 5 years.

 

[fenneran]

Thanks fellas. It amazes me how much good information you can get from this collection of tractor-heads.

-Frank

 

[Trev]

Just more food for thought; but having a front blade with hydraulic angling, there is one trick you can do that I can't think of any other way to do. A buddy's boss had a mound of frozen snow/ice right in front of his garage door.. so deep he couldn't get his little garden tractor out at all. I drove up to it with my front blade, lowered the blade right on top of the pile, applied down-pressure until the front wheels of the tractor were up in the air, and then simply angled the blade back and forth sideways until the pile was broken up. Then I just back-dragged the stuff out of there. I'm not sure what else could have done this.. nothing I can think of off-hand. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[hazmat]

<font color="blue">I'm not sure what else could have done this.. nothing I can think of off-hand. </font>

With an FEL, simply lift & dump! (When you finally get one, you'll wonder what you did without it?)

 

[TresCrows]

I'm not sure what else could have done this.. nothing I can think of off-hand.

An FEL!
J, no snow expert

 

[gerard]

Being in the snowbelt and having rcvd 120 inches so far this year, I can say it can be done fairly well with a back blade. I use a 7 footer, usually plowing forward as long as the snow is less than 10 inches deep. Deeper than that and it's better to either plow backwards with the blade flipped around or use the FEL. Front plow WOULD be better but then you spent $1500 on an implement you can only use on snow. I spent $350 on a blade. As mentioned if you keep up with the snow they work pretty well and for a long drive you can drive forward pretty fast and windrow to the sides. For a winter like this though you will spend some time pushing back the banks. For that a snowblower would be superior. Guess there are different ways to do the same thing and everyone makes their own decision. This has been the first winter I would have LIKED a snowblower but I can get by pretty well with just the blade. PS If you get a blade get the skidshoes, makes a world of difference on gravel roads and lets you plow right onto grass without tearing things up.

 

[OkieG]

Trev,

To paraphrase gerard, <font color="blue"> Front plow...(is)...an implement you can only use on snow. </font>

There may be many who feel that way about front blades, but most of us don't have much first hand experience (including me). A friend of mine has a small Kubota w/front blade. He has no FEL, so front blade gets used for everything he does.

I just acquired a used front blade primarily for moving snow, so now have a keen interest in what else it is well suited to do. What kinds of things you do with yours, besides moving snow?

OkieG

 

[OkieG]

<font color="blue"> If you get a blade get the skidshoes </font>

Hi gerard,
What about plowing snow on blacktop? I've been thinking about a synthetic cutting edge, either a plastic or even the horse stall mat idea mentioned in another thread, so the cutting edge can ride right on the surface for a clean finish. Then, switch back to the steel edge for Spring through Fall for dirt work.

Can you adjust the skid shoes for snow, so a hard surface gets clean without additional wear on a steel cutting edge? Or is sacrificing the edge part of the deal for a clean result?

Maybe a synthetic edge won't scrape clean even if it is riding on the surface? Thanks.

OkieG

 

[Trev]

Hi OkieG,

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I just acquired a used front blade primarily for moving snow, so now have a keen interest in what else it is well suited to do. What kinds of things you do with yours, besides moving snow? )</font>

Well, in the summer I lock the blade so the spring trips don't trip (about a 2 minute jobs) and then use it for moving dirt, digging out big rocks, push said rocks to wherever we want them, digging holes in combination with the rear dist scoop, leveling ground, and that sort of thing. It also stays on permanently as it makes a perfect front counterweight for all my rear implements like the tiller, finish mower, etc. (I can hang extra suitcase weights on it (up to eight of them) if doing any serious lifting with the rear boom pole or dirt scoop. I've used it to pull up fence posts.. just hook a chain to it and lift. And it's handy for pushing other vehicles that might be stuck or stalled. I push out brush with it too, in places where we want to clean up.

It's not a FEL, but for a lot of things, it's handy and it meets most of my needs so far. In the winter of course is when it really shines!

Best,
Bob

 

[Rockyroad]

I put a Kelly FEL on my JD750 last winter and we didn't get any snow, which is unusual for Rhode Island. But THIS winter has been different. The storm at the beginning of this week dumped about 16" here with heavy drifts. I want to get a heavy duty rear blade for next year. However, the FEL was great for clearing out my 3 driveway entrances to the main road. The snow plows had piled up 2 to 3 feet of compacted snow at the drives and the FEL made short work of them. The rest of it was a little slow with the FEL, but I am wondering how I got by all these years without the FEL. Got some great tractor time and had a ball playing in the snow with the FEL. Even cleared out the drainage culverts on the road so that my property will drain this weekend with the heavy rain we are expecting. One thing for sure: the FEL sure beats the snow shovel that I used for the past 40 years! Anyone have any recommendations on the First Choice heavy duty rear blade?

 

[Bruce8989]

Re: Front blade uses

Nice thread in customization about ideas on how to put a rubber edge on front blade. This allows you to get a clean drive, without grinding or scraping. Front plow is handy for pushing gravel on paths and such... moving compost... loose dirt.. you find that going in reverse as well as forward is pretty handy for leveling.

 

[toysrme]

I think the best of all world is a blade mounted in the FEL your plowing fowards and you can pile the snow as high as your fel will reach

 

[MossRoad]

You got that right! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif