Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Plowing snow with a FEL

NewClimber · Dec 3, 2005

Today I had my first experience plowing the snow from my drive with the 'bota I bought over the summer. I have read several of the post regarding plowing with a FEL is more difficult then with a blade but I don't have a blade yet. So my question is, which way is better when using a FEL:
- I tried to put the blade to the correct elevation with the correct tilt but was scraping more gravel then snow being my drive way is so uneven???
- then tried to tilter the blade all the way down and go back wards...I think this is called back grading, but being my drive is very uneven, this didn't work very well either.

I realize that this will take practice but which is easier to get the hang of??? Also, any suggestion on how to get almost all the snow up so the smooth surface that I left behind doesn't freeze over night????? Thx for the advice and help.

beenthere · Dec 3, 2005

Yesterday I tried out my FEL to remove snow (too lazy to switch to the Western plow which only takes 15 min max) as I wanted to continue to work on my wood splitting task. After messing around for the better part of an hour, I gave up and put the 7' front snowplow blade on. Wow! What a difference, and was finished up in just about 10 minutes.

For the gravel spots, I would lower the FEL arms and put in float, then curl the bucket up so the front edge was just above the bottom of the bucket. That leaves a bit of snow but doesn't peel up gravel. That gravel peeling makes the bucket dive down pretty fast if in float. Then one has to decide what to do with the mixture of snow and gravel. A mess.

I don't understand how people 'like' using the FEL to plow snow. But each of us get our kicks differently, I know. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

However, you do need to have a smooth gravel drive to get all the snow off, regardless of the tool you are using. Maybe get a grader in to get you a good surface to work with. Snow will turn to ice, which is not good but it is smooth.

SacandagaBrad · Dec 3, 2005

As Beenthere said, I leave it in float position. Then I constantly adjust the tilt of the bucket so that the bottom follows the contour of the ground. Takes a little practice to get the hang of it, but you will be able to get a fairly clean pass with time.

For the $$, a back blade is one of the best buys out there for getting a lot of use out of your tractor. I rarely use the FEL for snow other then to push back large snowbanks. I prefer a back blade with the tilt feature - I pull the pin on mine for snow removal which allows the blade to follow the contour of the ground. Like most of us here, I also spin it around to plow with the back or concave side early in the season so it doesn't bite into the sod and gravel.

For more than 6" to 8" of snow, nothing beats a blower. One pass and done!
Brad

Paddy · Dec 4, 2005

A 5-6' grader blade=$250. Much beter! A FEL is good for moving piles....

Patrick

ericinmich · Dec 4, 2005

I strongly agree with the other comment about a rear blade. I picked up a cheapo 7' at TSC for $265 (KK). My drive is 1000ft, paved, and not much slope and it works great.

I was looking for a front blower but new was to much ($4-5K) and used was tough to find. After using the 3pt rear a couple of times, I'd have a hard time justifying a blower for the couple of big snows that we get in SE Mich.

Toolguy · Dec 4, 2005

Ditto on the rear blade. We have had five or six 3" to 5" snows so far this winter and my FEL has not touched the snow. In fact, I took it off this morning in order to make the tractor more manuverable . I have a 5' rear blade and am now wishing I had bought a 6'. I did fab up some skid shoes though for the gravel portion of my drive. Plus, if adjusted correctly, they keep the cutting edge from wearing out on the concrete portion and will still scrape it clean. No better bang for the buck than a RB for a CUT.

crazymike · Dec 4, 2005

As a snow removal professional myself, I can tell you that for the first couple storms of plowing unfrozen gravel, you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Until the gravel freezes, even with a blade, you will dig parts of it up.

With a snow blade you would want to install plow shoes. These are round mushroom discs which elevate the plow a few inches off the ground. They come on and off easily and are adjustable. THey prevent you from digging up the gravel. However, with them on, you can't scrape pavement bare.

Your other option is just to leave 1-2" of snow on the gravel until it freezes. Do this by elevating your blade/loader bucket 1-2" This is what I do on gravel as I only have one section of gravel driveway that takes 5 mins on my 8 hour route.

It would be very easy to fashion shoes for your loader. Or buy some off ebay (most plowers don't need them as they only need blacktop) and fashion a loader mount.

Here is what the shoes look like...
http://www.bossplow.com/html/img/straightblade/steelSTRAIGHT/steelSTRTbeauty.jpg
(those are the shoes, the mushroom like things)

One last cheap idea is to get an old pair of skis (water skids, etc..., it doesn't matteR) Cut them short and bolt them to the front of your loader bucket. This will let the loader ride ontop of the gravel but still pick up the snow.

Hope this helps, Mike

TimP · Dec 5, 2005

To remove snow on a gravel surface using a FEL, I suggest to set the FEL in Float and leave the bucket lip curled up a couple of inches.
Yes, it will leave a shallow layer of snow, but it will be shallow enough to drive over and you'll leave the gravel and dirt where you want it. In the driveway.
You may have to adjust the curl a little as you go if your drive has humps and bumps in it.

Tim

thatguy · Dec 5, 2005

There was a post last year about someone that took cut a metal pipe as long as the the width of the fel.. Then cut the the pipe lengthwise so that the pipe slipped over the FEL edge. Now a hole was drilled and a nut is welded to the pipe.. You then could hold the pipe to the edge of the fel with a bolt..

This pipe would give you a rounded edge so the fel wouldnt dig in for snow removal..

I have not tried this, but some said it worked very well..

just an idea

Brian

Paddy · Dec 5, 2005

There are two issuse with using a fel for snow;

1 ever 10' you will have to dump

2 the angle of the fel wants to cut in unless your back draging.

The rear blade just works best. Even if you have a 12" snow, I lower the blade half way down. On the next pass I scrape down to the gravel. In most cases, the gravel is so frozen it doesn't move. And so what if you push a little gravel to the side, next spring angle your blade back in and pull it back!

My drive is 700+' of hills. I've been doing it this way for 15 years. Most times, 6" snow or less, I drive up one side and turn around and clear the other. Takes more time to get dressed for the cold/warm up the tractor than it takes to clear the drive.

patrick

20 ac Kama 454