Snow "Soft" edge for snow removal?

[PhraminP]

So how is the TSC stall mat lasting? Getting ready to add something to my back blade but will need longer bolts. I saw some conveyor type belt material that is quite thin but has fiber weave in it that may make it tougher than the thicker rubber. Thoughts?

 

[Big Chief]

I installed it last week with about a 1in overhang below the steel blade. I think it's pretty flexible and in float mode it's probably going to just roll underneath the existing steel blade.

If I don't use the float mode I may not be able to get the driveway as clean as I like. Once it snows I'll give it a try and let you know

 

[RaydaKub]

I had my first one on for probably 3 years. My blade is 5 feet and I kept all 6 feet of the mat so it would catch spill from the bucket better. I ended up ripping a corner of it off where the backing ended. This year I put on a new 6 foot chunk and added another strip in front of the cutting edge. I cut it about 1/4 inch longer than the edge just to make sure it covered the edge itself. The back piece is a bit taller yet. I found the squeegee effect to be favorable, but the previous mat was a bit too tall. I bolted the extra 6 inches on each end of both strips together to help stiffen up the ends. So far it has worked pretty well, but the downside is that the front strip really cuts down on the scouring off the blade itself if you want to angle grade it off. Most of what I have done so far with only about 5 inches total has just been straight pushing backwards. I don't know if I'll do a front strip again or not. Maybe I'll just do a double strip in between next year. Ya know, variety....

 

[PhraminP]

Raydakub : how about some pictures to clarify your layout?

 

[RaydaKub]

No problem.
I bought my blade used off CL. It had a fresh green paint job and it fooled me, but it's fine, the orange is overcoming the green slowly.

1st pic shows the length. Blade is faced backwards.
2nd pic shows cutting edge side.
3rd pic shows the end of the blade and the 2 layers bolted together.
4th pic shows end of the strips. The end pinches together so you can't see the actual cutting edge. It is about 1/4" shorter than the front strip.
Last pic from the top where you can see the cutting edge pinched in between.

As I said, the back strip tends to bend over a long ways and not give a lot of protection for the pavement, so I thought I would try a strip in front. But the front strip messes with the scouring. The blade has to be slanted all the way over to have snow slide away and even then doesn't slide well, so I'm not satisfied yet. Maybe next year I'll try to put both layers in between and hope that helps keep the edge suspended a bit. The double layer on the end is much stiffer than before though.

 

[oosik]

I plow snow on my mile long gravel driveway, yard and mailbox area. I tried my bucket on the FEL a couple times. It works - so/so. Just too much area to cover to futz with the bucket. Plus with my Kubota M6040 weighing close to 9600 pounds with the bucket - it scrapes lawn & gravel just as easily as snow. Remove the bucket - put on the grapple - it now weighs - 10,100 pounds. The bucket has NOT been put back on the FEL since the day I got the grapple. Different story though.

I have an uber heavy rear blade - Rhino 950 - 96" - 1100 pounds. Reverse the blade and drive forward. Works great when the driveway has not "hardened up" yet.

If you have a rear blade - try it that way.

 

[PhraminP]

Happy White Christmas!

I’ll be using my new Edge Tamers on my bucket for this snow. The rear blade works okay for the paved apron but tends to dig too much on the gravel. It’s backside support is too low to use it reversed.
Still waiting for my EA Snow Plow.

 

[Gator6x4]

I bought a Frontier (Deere) front blade that mounts to the loader (QA bucket comes off, blade goes on. It works well if the snow is cleared before it freezes...after freezing, the blade trips pretty frequently.
There's a rubber strip (about an inch and a quarter thick) that replaces the steel cutting edge...does a good job and doesn't tear up the asphalt

View attachment 582542

Nice Roy. Have you noticed any sideway flexing of your loader arms?

 

[PhraminP]

I bought a Frontier (Deere) front blade that mounts to the loader (QA bucket comes off, blade goes on. It works well if the snow is cleared before it freezes...after freezing, the blade trips pretty frequently.
There's a rubber strip (about an inch and a quarter thick) that replaces the steel cutting edge...does a good job and doesn't tear up the asphalt

View attachment 582542

Roy, what is the rubber strip? How dense is the material &where did you get it. I’m not convinced the stall mat others have suggested is quite the right material.

 

[RoyJackson]

Nice Roy. Have you noticed any sideway flexing of your loader arms?

No, I haven't...I normally use the blade perpendicular to the loader arms though. It does angle (manually) up to 30 degrees...I haven't used that feature yet. There's a 72" snow blower on the 3PH, so the blade is just used for clean up work and small accumulations (that is, a few inches). The blade does trip.