Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow Removal w/FEL

[Jibber]

This will be my first Winter with the FEL. I have a gravel driveway, about a hundred yards long. In the past I have left smaller snowfalls (1 to 4") to melt. Because of the gravel blowing snow is hard on the blower. I have a new impeller and augers ready to install when and if I finally blacktop.

Now, my question.. Is snow removal with an FEL on gravel a smart idea? Is there a way to set the loader so that I'm not picking up too much gravel or scalping the drive? Should I float the bucket? Or, will the snow just cause the bucket to rise on float?

Love to hear your experiences. Especially the bad ones.. that way maybe I don't have the same experiences.

thanx!

 

[Boondox]

Jibber -- Cleaning up snow with the FEL is slow going, and probably because my driveway is nowhere near level I've never had much luck avoiding the scraping thing. About the third time I inadvertently rearranged my gravel I simply gave up on the FEL as snow plow...though it still excels at pushing back great big piles of the stuff!

Now I use my rear blade. Early (or late) in the winter when the ground is not frozen I'll use the convex edge to move the snow without moving the gravel. Once the ground is frozen solid that becomes a moot point.

But the best advice I can offer is to just experiment. Think of all the FEL practice snow offers! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Pete

 

[Jibber]

I figured that heavier snowfalls would still bring out the blower.. I can imagine that using an FEL to move 12 inches of snow would be a lot of work..

I was hoping to use it on the lighter stuff because leaving it to melt often causes an ice buildup later on. I guess I could always lower the teeth on the box blade and use it to bust up any ice that results.

 

[Henro]

I don`t have too much of a driveway or parking area, but my experience is that my cheap KK rear blade wins hands down over the loader bucket for clearing snow where I am. But we don`t get heavy snow very often.

I do use the loader to move some of the snow after it is cleared with the blade.

If I had to choose one or the other, and could not have both, I think for my needs I would take the rear blade for dealing with snow less than a foot deep.

Deeper snow...not sure about that...guess I would want both then and pick and choose as needed...

 

[Will_C]

I plow witha FEL, and it is not that hard to get the feel of it. I use the float, and feather the cutting edge to get scraping without gouging. I have meant to try a back blade, but I guess I am too cheap to buy one /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Will

 

[RoyJackson]

"Love to hear your experiences. Especially the bad ones.. "

Can't really say I've had any bad experiences. However, the FEL definitely is not the way to go if you've any appreciable snow (> 1"). The loader is good for pulling snow away from the buildings or vehicles. If you're careful, you can get mighty close, then back drag the snow away. Another use is to pile the snow if you need more room to push it.

I also use the back blade to push the snow. This is good to 8 to 10". I never wait for the snow to end...if it's going to be blizzard type conditions, I start when it's about 8" deep.

The attached pic is from the blizzard we had last winter. We got 30 plus inches. I was moving some piles back when the front end sunk in.

As you can see, I did get stuck a couple times (no chains) and the pile in front was a bit too soft to use the FEL to push away. So, a bit of shoveling to get out.

I do love pushing snow though! Bring it on!

 

[lamarbur]

My driveway is 1600 ft long and I've been using a FEL with no problems. The Mahindra doesn't even have float option on them. Just have to be a little careful, that's all.

 

[Jibber]

I had thought about a rear blade, and probably will get one ultimately. I have a backhoe on the unit and it can be a pain to get on and off.. so I might fire up the blower just to save myself the effort.

 

[Thomas]

I agree w/Boondox about useing fel to remove snow on long driveway..try it for one season seems it took way to long for clean up. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Have you consider attaching a plow to your bucket??..than lower the bucket couple inches from the ground so the plow blade floats.
You can cut the clean up time more than half,plus stack the snow twice as high than the fel...just idea. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[dmftoy1]

Here's a somewhat related question. What do you do maintenance wise after using your FEL in snow? Do you need to spray down the exposed shiny metal on the hydraulic cylinders with WD40 or ?? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Have a good one,
Dave