using box blade rippers to break up ice on driveway

[airplanewaynem]

Used the rippers on my box blade to break up the approximately 1'' thick layer of ice on my drive this morning - any of you guys ever do this ? Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[oosik]

No, I've never done that. I just sprinkle sand or sawdust on the area. My icy area is only about 100 feet long. My driveway is one mile long.

So then you push the ice off with the bucket or box blade?

 

[airplanewaynem]

This is the first I have ever done this, so it is a learning experience. I did it this morning before going to work, and did not have time to try removing any of the ice. At least the broken up ice with some gravel mixed in was a lot better than the sheet of ice I started with.

Our drive is about a quarter mile long, down a short but steep hill, across the flat and up another hill to get to the road, but it IS straight, so it is easy to get a good run to get up the hill with a vehicle.

 

[KubotaToy]

I tried it a few times when I lived in Nebraska and Kansas, quit after one of the rippers caught a crack in my concrete drive and bend a few parts on the box blade. Found it worked pretty good to bust the ice with a sledge in a few places and use the loader or the box blade in reverse to push the ice off the drive. My drive was only 200 feet, so not a lot of playing like John Henry.

Hmm, I miss those days.

 

[otlski]

I have a dirt driveway section on a shaded hill. That shady mid-section always ices up by mid winter. I always wondered about using a weighted disk harrow to bust up the ice. If it worked at all I would have to walk a fine line between busting up ice and not busting up frozen earth. Anyone try this?

 

[crazyal]

I use my grading scrapper's teeth for years doing this. My drive is dirt and if I can get to it quick enough it'll go through the ice and actually rip up a little dirt. It's much easier than spreading sand. I find that if I shorten the top link to change the angle of the tips of the shanks they bite into the ice better. If we get some really cold weather before I can get to it I'll just put down 2 of the 6 shanks. I don't think I would try it on cement or pavement.

 

[airplanewaynem]

I use my grading scrapper's teeth for years doing this. My drive is dirt and if I can get to it quick enough it'll go through the ice and actually rip up a little dirt. It's much easier than spreading sand. I find that if I shorten the top link to change the angle of the tips of the shanks they bite into the ice better. If we get some really cold weather before I can get to it I'll just put down 2 of the 6 shanks. I don't think I would try it on cement or pavement.

Don't think I would try it on asphalt or concrete either. Top link - I made mine as short as possible too, gives the teeth a better angle for digging into the ice.

I like the idea of putting only a couple of the ripper shanks down, will have to try that sometime.

 

[dakotagun]

I've tried that a few times on my gravel drive - some times it worked better than others... more than a few times the ripper would bring up larger chunks of frozen gravel, so then I had to try to blade it like it was summertime to smooth/fill. I find that it works if you're adept at keeping the implement lightly on the surface, and not let it dig in (but even that has worked only marginally).

 

[Ford850]

I haven't tried blade rippers, but have tried other blades, etc. It usually created too many chunks and a very rough drive with what was left. My best results have been to use the snow plow to push a layer of snow back onto the icy drive for traction. It sounds crazy, but I've had excellent results.

 

[RNeumann]

I use my grading scrapper's teeth for years doing this. My drive is dirt and if I can get to it quick enough it'll go through the ice and actually rip up a little dirt. It's much easier than spreading sand. I find that if I shorten the top link to change the angle of the tips of the shanks they bite into the ice better. If we get some really cold weather before I can get to it I'll just put down 2 of the 6 shanks. I don't think I would try it on cement or pavement.

My ground is frozen all winter so I keep a layer of snow on the ground at all times. But with spring time I found this works great! I'm spoiled with hydraulic rippers and TnT. When sections were still frozen I used a TINY amount of ice melt and 24 hours later the rippers did a great job. I can post a video of my results if someone interested.