Valentine's Nor'easter

[williekioti]

Here's a few pics dealing with the aftermath of the Nor'easter that hit us yesterday. Late in the afternoon we were getting 2-4 inches an hour. Last night it measured over 36", packed down a little today and wind blowing it everywhere. Small granular stuff, like driving in greasy sand. For anyone heading into the backcountry this stuff is very avalanche prone. Sure wish I had a cab and blower after today. Naaaa, I like it out in weather.

How did the rest of you NYers and New Englanders make out?

 

[WSJ]

Cool photos - looks like it handled things nicely. What tires do you have? R4's? Chains? How was your traction?

My CK25 (new this past summer) is down in PA and I haven't yet been there when there's been any need to move any snow and wondered how it'll do with R4 tires and no chains. Wish I could get there this weekend to find out!

Thanks. -WSJ

 

[Oleozz]

I'm not a NYer or New Englander but a Keystoner and we got an unusual snow. We had a total of about 8 or 9 inches but it was a mixture of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and ice. It was very heavy with a crust on that you could barely break through with a shovel. I would rather have had 20 inches of light fluffy stuff.
You have great pics Willie, thanks for posting. Here is a pic of the 45 on our drive.

 

[stones]

Just happy that we never see that white stuff down here...But, would enjoy the chance to play in that instead of dirt. Nice pictures, love the action shots!

 

[VictorW]

WSJ, I have a CK30hst and have been pushing snow with the R4s without a problem until Wednesday. We received about a foot but also had two foot drifts. I use a six foot back blade and at times the fel. If plowing the snow and rolling it to the side, there's not a problem. I had to clean a neighbors driveway and for about 50 feet, there is no place to put the snow but push straight out. The snow starts to pile up fast against the blade and the R4s finally did start to slip. I put chains on the rear and away went the snow. A little bumpy ride though with the chains when you get on hard ground. My tires are not filled or weighted.

 

[Thomas]

Well we did get as much snow as you folks did but we sure got the high gust,and like the pic of you on the tractor I also was bundle up.

17" snow w/windchil -15 most of the day.

Looks to be tad warmer this weekend for pushing back snow banks.

 

[williekioti]

WSJ I've got filled Titan R4s on the Kioti, no chains, though they are on my wish list. I got decent traction as long as I could move enough snow. There is no bulling 36" of heavy snow(the surface 10" was the only fluffy stuff), you have to move enough to get your tires down to terra firma. Chains would have been nice but I would've still run out of traction pushin', maybe gain another few feet before scooping and piling. The rear blade was relegated to clean up after scooping out paths, on the full depth it was useless. I found that out the hard way, put the tractor in the barn backwards and could only push about 1.5 tractor lengths backing with rear blade. Had to go out the barn the other side, much tighter space, took me 45 minutes just making a hole to get out. The cat's meow would've been a blower, probably the only real efficient method for this much snow. Maybe next season....

Sorry oleozz, didn't mean to leave out you Keystoners. Ice, yuck! I'll take all snow anyday. That 45 is HOT! That cab would've been nice, but I'd have to do some major trimming to get that badboy down my woods trails. How do the chains work on the front tires? That's what I'd like to do as well, easier on/off plus the fronts seem to me to lose traction first.

 

[williekioti]

Just happy that we never see that white stuff down here...But, would enjoy the chance to play in that instead of dirt. Nice pictures, love the action shots!

I love snow, but I don't think anyone enjoys this much this fast. My ole man lives on the edge of the Tug Hill plateau, you know that place in the news lately that got between 120-145" in less than a week. They're pretty sick of it. But on the bright side, I got lots of repetitive practice with my FEL. Even got to the point where I'd scoop with the bucket then when backing to my dump spot I'd drop the rear blade to make the movement more productive. Dual taskin'.

Stones, If you are willing to come up and play I'm sure there are plenty of people in Central NY that'd be willing to put you up. They just mobilized the Nat'l Guard with their heavy equipment to assist the municipalities move snow.

 

[TBDonnelly]

Woulden' this be great to pull out of the garage with augers blazing?

Snowblower FWD Tractioneer 4x4 Model Commercial

Don

 

[Oleozz]

Willie----I think the 2 link chains would work much better on the R1 tires than the 4 link. The 4 link ride down in the bars and you don't get optimum traction. I have some chains left from the rear tires of my Ferguson 30 and am going to see if I can adapt them to the Kioti.
It looks like you put in a long days work to get that snow removed.

 

[williekioti]

TBD, I could make some serious cabbage with that beast over here!! Send 'er over.

Oleozz, yeah, it was a long day, but I had fun. Plus the kids got plenty of piles to make forts out of. Lots of loader practice. The hard work was shoveling the roof. The loaded R4s did fine IMO, chains would have been better for sure and I'll look into that for next season. I may have other uses too, like pulling wood in some of my softer areas. I did lose traction after the bucket filled, floated up and pushed a huge pile out front (6'+). It was more a function of the 5-6" of granular stuff that ended up under the tires after the bucket(in float) lifted up in the snow pack. Chains are definitely in my future......

 

[hotairballoon]

Used to have a neighbor who cleared his roof with a snowblower. Pitched roof. Was always entertaining to watch. He never did fall off. Claimed that he needed to do it to prevent leaks.

 

[Oleozz]

How did he get the snowblower on his roof to start with? My snowblower has a bit of weight to it and would be a major job just to get it up there.

 

[rico304]

I bought a Puma64 rear mount snowblower for this winter. Soooo, that pretty much ensured no snow for Maine! We've had 3 storms so far. 1st was 2-4 "s, 2nd was 5-6". Both light fluffy. Then, the big storm.......Oh, I forgot to mention I was stranded in Orlando Florida during that one until 2/16!!!!!hahahaha I still got to clean up when I got home. I'm thinking about buying a new gas fireplace for next winter to ensure a warm season.... hahaha

 

[williekioti]

I bought a Puma64 rear mount snowblower for this winter. Soooo, that pretty much ensured no snow for Maine! We've had 3 storms so far. 1st was 2-4 "s, 2nd was 5-6". Both light fluffy. Then, the big storm.......Oh, I forgot to mention I was stranded in Orlando Florida during that one until 2/16!!!!!hahahaha I still got to clean up when I got home. I'm thinking about buying a new gas fireplace for next winter to ensure a warm season.... hahaha

Yeah, can simpathize with that sentiment. Thought about acquiring a blower too, but that'll only guarantee we don't get much snow.....

 

[williekioti]

Used to have a neighbor who cleared his roof with a snowblower. Pitched roof. Was always entertaining to watch. He never did fall off. Claimed that he needed to do it to prevent leaks.

I've witnessed a few 'round here doing it as well. Not a comfortable looking operation to be sure. I shovel off my roof vents so my house can "breath", moisture is a building's enemy. The other worry is with a large snow pack if mothernature decides to deal a little rain on it can lead to structure failing weights. Four dairy barns were lost in VT in this recent storm.