Rear Blade Advice

[jmls1994]

I posted in the snow removal forum looking for advice on the best method of snow removal. Alot of guys liked a rear blade to remove snow. I live in South Central PA and have a Kubota BX2360 with FEL. Most snows are 1" - 6", but can get the occasional big one with 3' - 4' drifts. Are back blades good for snow? What width could my tractor handle? Just go with a cheap one from TSC, or go with a heavier built one? I guess I should also mention about a quarter of my drive way is paved, the rest is gravel. Also, the last 50 feet is very steep. Thanks for all help.

 

[Russ Hatch]

I've wore out two blades from TSC using them on a 100 yd long gravel driveway. They don"t like pushing snow when turned around backwards. If you have a welder it should be a easy fix As the hole in the main beam that the pin that controls the swivle angle gets "wallowed" out. It just needs a heavier plate welded on to re-enforce it. The two I had lasted about 4 years apiece. I gave up and bought a heavier duty one from Tyson's last year.
Russ

 

[dodge man]

I use a 5' rear blade on my BX2350. It works well for the snows up to about 6", I never push snow backwards with mine. I just run the snow over with my tires and the blade scraps it off. My entire drive is paved, which makes it easier.

 

[L3700SU]

I also live in S. Central Pa. so I deal with the same snow plowing. For years I plowed 1/4 mile lane with a B1700 and FEL. Alot of work

Two years ago I bought a 5' rear blade and it worked well on the shallow, fluffy stuff, plowing tractor first and blade tilted. If the snow is wet, this didn't work so well. I tried pushing with the blade turned around and that works but not on long runs.

I've since bought an L3700SU and a 7' blade. The first week I had it we got about a foot of snow. I tried pushing the snow with the back of the blade.(blade setting straight) I was amazed at how well this work and it did not displace as many stones and didn't tear up the grass when cleaning an area to pile snow.
I never tried this with the smaller tractor but with this one it worked great.
This method works well on gravel and grass areas but I'll pull or push the blade conventionally on a blacktop section and that usually scraps down to the BT surface very well to.

I think how well whatever method you use will depend on the texture of the snow, its depth, and the weight and HP of your tractor. You just have to play to see what works best in different conditions.

I'm kinda looking forward to snow this season

 

[idaho2]

Out here in north Idaho I use my 96" Bison BB, angle the hydraulic blade and drive forward at a good speed to throw the snow off the 1/4 mile road. I make two passes and done. Time to do this takes about 5 min.

idaho2

 

[mccash40]

I just questioned Northern today about the King Kutter rear blade for my BX2360 and they said that it wouldn't fit my Cat 1 hitch as it was too low. Is there any rear blade that will fit?

 

[dstig1]

BX has a Cat 0 hitch, I believe. Lighter than Cat 1, and smaller.

 

[mccash40]

The dealer I purchased it from said it was a category 1. I am totally new in the tractor world so I take everyone at their word. I would like to pick up a blade for snow removal as the winters up here in NY are brutal. I had a snow blade for my ATV but couldn't get out of my back yard to do the driveway...thus the Kubota.

 

[Bugsyinc]

BX is FULL Cat 1... at least my BX24 is!

 

[RalphVa]

I've a 5' Frontier BB on my 4010 JD. It works great in snows up to about 6", either forward or reverse. If you go in reverse, you can possibly handle deeper than 6" by turning to the side and simultaneously raising the blade (just be sure to not run off the side with more than one wheel). It's a lot faster with the BB than using the FEL, but if you get really deep stuff, you have to use the FEL.

Ralph

 

[dodge man]

BX's are Cat 1, any smaller rear blade shoud work as far as I know. A 5' wide blades is considered ideal, but I saw a thread where someone was running a 6 footer.

 

[kaferhaus]

I just questioned Northern today about the King Kutter rear blade for my BX2360 and they said that it wouldn't fit my Cat 1 hitch as it was too low. Is there any rear blade that will fit?

You need a sub compact blade. TSC sells them. They're the red ones. The yellow equip is for compact tractors.

problem with the sub compacts is the lift height... ANY cat 1 implement will "fit" but many of them you can't lift them far enough off the ground to clear even a small "bump"

I have a sub compact and most of my implements are for compacts... I can use all of them but loading or unloading the tractor on or off a trailer with any of them attached is a major undertaking.... usually have to shorten the top link as short as it will go

The back blade mould board is a lot shorter on the sub compact equip than the standard... so you can get more clearance when you lift it. Same for box blades, rakes etc. they're all shorter.

 

[Gods Country]

As mentioned the scuts will fit a full cat1 implement but the small rear tires create a ground clearance issue. I have a woods rbc60. It was quite a bit more than the TSC model, but it was worth it IMO. The camber of the blade is far more pronounced on the Wood痴 and scoots the snow off quite well. It also grades amazingly well. The biggest issue (aside from having to readjust the angle of my blade often) is when the snow is getting to the 5-6 range it tends to get hung up on the main beam. By the second pass you have twice as much snow, and so on, so I need to plow in reverse, which works just fine. Usually I just plow in reverse unless it痴 just a few inches then turn the blade around to scrape it down good

 

[RoyJackson]

Another South Central PA guy here...

I used a 72" heavy duty blade (it was really old and I don't know the manufacturer).
Initially, I used this blade behind a 19 HP (17 PTO HP) Deere 670 and it worked quite well. Pushing with the convex side is less likely to dig in (which can damage both gravel and asphalt surfaces). I normally drove forward and pulled the blade, BTW, as it's less stress on the 3PH links. However, there was some pushing too.
Only downside of the rear blade is due to the 3PH having no down pressure. The blade will rise up over harder packed snow.
As far as what to buy, I'd watch Craig's List. They are posted on there fairly often (York-Lancaster and Harrisburg areas).
I suggest a 72" blade for the BX2360.

As far as the steep sections...or any snow removal for that matter...suggest you look into buying chains for those rear tires. www.tirechain.com is a great place to buy and they are located in Johnstown so shipping costs aren't bad (snow chains are heavy!!).

 

[dstig1]

BX is FULL Cat 1... at least my BX24 is!

I stand corrected.