Snow FEL Snow removal?

[RalphVa]

I was also surprised at how worn mine is after one season, too. The edge has worn very sharp.

My Gravely snow plow had a jagged edge that was replaceable. The jagged edge kept the full edge from rubbing against the pavement.

Ralph

 

[daTeacha]

I'm currently in the secondary snow belt of Cleveland. I formerly lived in the snow belt of Muskegon Michigan. Up there I used an 8N with ag tires and a back blade to move snow easily. No chains, but flat ground.

Down here, we get snow, no snow, snow, no snow, blizzard, no snow, etc. Sometimes ice storms too, just for fun. I plowed a residential driveway for many years with a Cadet 109 (10hp, hst) with chains and a hand lifted front blade. It worked just fine. Sometimes I had to back up and hit things a couple of times, but it moved the snow.

In the new place, I use either the Cadet or a Kubota B7100 (16hp, 4wd, gear) with a back blade. I have an FEL on the Kubbie, but the 72" rear blade works pretty good most of the time. If the snow is deep or heavy, it'll pack up under the tractor or simply push the tractor sideways. Then I use the loader to pick up the snow and move it. My ground is pretty slanted and in the woods. I had an 8N for a while, but even with chains on the ag tires it left a lot to be desired for snow. The Kubbie is not much good on ice, but I have a set of homemade manure fork things I put on the bucket -- 2" channel steel about 12" long, 4 of 'em about 10" apart -- then put some weight on them and move along slowly, chipping the ice up as I go.

Hope all this helps with your choices. If it was me, I'd go to a farm supply or tractro place and pick up a back blade about 2' wider than the tractor. Then you can angle it quite a bit and still clear a good sized path. One trip down the drive and another back up and you're done. Curves take a bit more work, but still not bad. Whatever you use, on gravel you will move a lot of driveway with the snow, so put it where you can fetch the stones back when it melts. Keep the driving path narrow and you'll keep the stones in the drive, more or less. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Jrrcorp]

I have used the FEL in combination with a rear blower for 25 years. In my opinion, you just can't beat this combination when you can get anything from wet heavy snow (use the FEL) to 7' of light fluffy snow (for those of you in other parts of the country, yes feet not inches). I'm in Holland NY on top of a very windy hill and the blower/FEL combo can handle anything. We get over a 120 inches of snow a year so I share your pain. Yes, turning your head and shoulders to see where your blowing is a pain but it beats shoveling by a long shot! Also, the blower removes the snow from the immediate vicinity whereas the FEL or BB leaves it where you place it (usally next to the driveway.) Also, the blower is heavy and acts as rear ballast for your FEL. Do you have any rear wheel weights? Are your tires loaded? Do you have 4 wheel drive? Welcome to the forum! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[AK_Mike]

I have a 300CX loader and a Frontier RB 2084 rear blade I use for snow removal on my JD 990. The rear blade works great for gravel driveways and roads. The bucket is nice for pushing snow too. A trick I learned is to set the bucket so it is about an inch or so high from level, then set the SCV for the bucket on float. That way the bucket follows the terrain, and the cutting edge won't dig in to the gravel.