Snow plow- solid connection or chain suspension??

[Red Horse]

Attached is a shot of my 7' Fisher. I'm thinking of eliminating the lifting chain and replacing it with a solid steel connection so I have down pressure vs floating blade.

Any opinions out there? I plow on asphalt, asphalt millings, and gravel.

 

[bcp]

This question reminded me of the old cable-operated dozer blades. The only down force was gravity, but that was helped by having heavy blades. This still allowed a buried boulder to raise the blade vs stalling the dozer or breaking something.

I wonder if you could raise the blade weight to improve cutting while still retaining the safety of the chain connection. But, the springs of the snowplow blade may be safety enough.

Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

I have a solid plow on my FEL arms. No trip mechanisms like a pickup truck type plow and no chain to lift it. Hydraulic down pressure is nice for scraping. However, if you EVER hit something solid at any speed greater than a crawl, a solid plow can really knock the *@#%$!^%!! out of you and your machine. Even if you have a trip mechanism for forward trip, it still won't lift completely over the obstruction.

 

[mrmikey]

I go with weight if you can rather than solid, one good hit and you're going to know it....Mike

 

[Thomas]

I would stay away from solid connection,plowing ground that's not frozen could be lot of joy stick operation also extra work come spring cleaning etc.
As other said,good wham you'll know it and could cost $$'s plus stress on loader arms.

 

[kennyd]

Another vote foe letting it float

 

[NHbotanut]

I have a Curtis Snowplow for my tractor which is a solid connection. It depends on what you are plowing. If you have a paved driveway, then no problem plowing or scrapping the snow and ice. I have a long gravel driveway and yes, you have to learn to feather the joystick when plowing before the ground freezes but you learn pretty quick on how to handle it. You definitely want the trip springs. I would want to plow without them.

 

[zzvyb6]

Another reason to get it off the loader and onto the main frame. If you solid mount the blade, you risk bending and twisting the loader framework. I find down force is necessary to chomp through the solid snow on my driveway (where cars and trucks have it packed down). But, I use the loader hydraulics and the float position is the ideal way to run the plow on these 3 types of surfaces. I find it also desirable to run a high plow angle to keep from digging in, humping and grooving the roadway(s). I even plow a path through my fields for the dogs and golf carts to traverse after a big snow. Not worth risking a busticated loader frame. And you still need the trip mechanism for that once a season rock hit.

 

[nybirdman]

It will be a lot safer to "float" it.If it's rigid you have the weight of the FEL and plow unless you are constantly adjusting height.

 

[ovrszd]

Understand that if you make it solid how are you going to keep it in contact with the ground or pavement??? To keep it in contact you will have to run your FEL in "float".

Now the shoes on the blade will have to carry not only the weight of the blade and the downforce of the material it's moving, but also the weight of the FEL assembly. Not good. I built one that way. Just haven't gotten around to cutting it apart and converting it to float on chains yet.

For a snow blade, the looser the assembly and more float you can build into it, the better it will work. The professionals can't be wrong. A brand new Meyer blade "flops" on it's assembly. That's how it survives.