Snow pusher ok for CK30 hst

[jimmyj]

Hi all. I've been thinking of improving my snow removal by changing the front bucket on the tractor to a snow pusher or plow blade. I know the subframe blades such as sold by Michigan Iron are the best way to go but a recent ad for an items for sale near me looks interesting.

Does anyone have any opinions on whether or not I would damage the loader arms if I used the snow pusher in the pictures? It is an 8 foot wide unit and the price is only $1000.



Any comments would be appreciated.

Note: I can buy a brand new 86" QA snow blade with hydraulic angle for about $1500 right now but wonder if I need the angle as much as the scoop shape of the pusher unit. We don't get too much snow and it's rarely heavy wet stuff.

 

[PILOON]

IMHO any pusher operations should incorporate some sort of trip mechanism otherwise hidden immoveable objects (stumps, curbs, stones) could result in costly damage.
You also want your tractor pivot point to be as low as possible otherwise a loaded blade will cause the front end to rise resulting in loss of steering. FEL arm pivot points are up high.

 

[aczlan]

IMHO any pusher operations should incorporate some sort of trip mechanism otherwise hidden immoveable objects (stumps, curbs, stones) could result in costly damage.
You also want your tractor pivot point to be as low as possible otherwise a loaded blade will cause the front end to rise resulting in loss of steering. FEL arm pivot points are up high.

That pusher has a rubber cutting edge, so a trip edge isn't necessary in this case...

Aaron Z

 

[jimmyj]

You know what, I am not sure if it has a rubber edge. The one I can get for $1500 has hydraulic angle and trip feature so would be better from a wear and tear point of view. But the pusher with the sides would move more snow (which may not be absolutely necessary).

This is the one I can get for $1500.

 

[aczlan]

You know what, I am not sure if it has a rubber edge. The one I can get for $1500 has hydraulic angle and trip feature so would be better from a wear and tear point of view. But the pusher with the sides would move more snow (which may not be absolutely necessary).
This is the one I can get for $1500.View attachment 384849

I would be very surprised if the pusher does not have a rubber cutting edge.
If you look at your second picture (showing the front) you can see the rubber cutting edge and the steel strip in front of it that holds it on as well as the 2nd set of holes to permit flipping the cutting edge over when the bottom wears down.
If it had a steel edge, it would have a trip mechanism and it wouldn't have that flat steel strip between the boltheads and the cutting edge.

Aaron Z

 

[VictorW]

I imagine your snows are similar to mine. I can get 8 inches at a time and if the wind picks up, sometimes 1 1/2 feet drifts. I have a 6 1/2 foot wide plow that originally was from a Jeep. A little customizing and it fits the QA of the fel arms of my CK30hst. If I grab to much of a drift with one side, it will try to turn me by pulling the front into the drift. I believe an 8 footer would be worse and put to much strain on the fel arms.

 

[Tomtint]

1000.00 is a great price. A pusher down here is more than 2X that.

 

[aczlan]

I imagine your snows are similar to mine. I can get 8 inches at a time and if the wind picks up, sometimes 1 1/2 feet drifts. I have a 6 1/2 foot wide plow that originally was from a Jeep. A little customizing and it fits the QA of the fel arms of my CK30hst. If I grab to much of a drift with one side, it will try to turn me by pulling the front into the drift. I believe an 8 footer would be worse and put to much strain on the fel arms.

A pusher should put less strain on the loader arms than a blade as it does not angle and its just a straight line push.

Aaron Z

 

[Deerherd]

I'm pretty sure that's an 96" HLA 2500 pusher and that has a rubber cutting edge. You need to be careful because just the weight of the pusher will be over half of the lifting capacity of your CK30 loader. A wet snow that sticks to the pusher could easily put you over the lifting capacity of your loader. A 72" would be a better match.

Are you clearing a parking lot or a driveway? If it's a driveway IMHO a blade is a much better choice. With a pusher you need lots of open places to push the snow and operating close or at the lifting capacity will dig up your lawn, rubber edge or not.

HLA makes a 1000 series plow that would be a good fit for your Kioti, just get one that is 18" or so wider than your tractor width. Good luck!

 

[jimmyj]

Thanks for all the comments. The use would be my driveway, gravel, about 400 feet, half level and half on a downhill slope. Sometimes I do the laneways of neighbours but not too often. I like the idea of the blade better honestly, it weighs 465 lbs and the hydraulic angle appeals to me. I have a 6ft plow blade on my ATV and it works amazing to push snow provided the snow's not too heavy.

My biggest challenges are later in the season when the banks are getting high. I wind up having to push the snow all the way down the hilly part of the drive (like a bobsled run LOL) and then down at the road I used the loader bucket to put it up and over the banks. Hence I'm moving small bites of snow a far distance before I can get rid of it. I can't do the loader bucket up over the bank thingee on the hill as the grade is too steep and the lane not really wide enough.

The loader bucket rear blade system I use presently works fine, but either of these two new options would let me push a much higher volume of snow so I could clean the lane faster. I have also been toying with taking a few jobs to plow the drives of my neighbours for a bit of extra money so if I did that time would be of the essence. One woman two houses down will pay me $100 a pop to do her lane but with my rear blade and loader it takes about an hour and a half (She has a very elaborate stone wall all the way along one side of the lane so I can only move snow one direction).

I think I'm going to see what that snow pusher would weigh but I'm leaning toward the blade if I can get it at the right price.