Snow First use of BX2360 and Snow blower coming up.

[c5er]

Well the first big snow of the year is headed here tomorrow (about 12-14") and I am looking for any tips on using the bx2360 and Snowblower.
Key notes:
- front mount snow blower on bx2360 with Turf Tires
- Driveway is very steep with the house at the bottom.
- Driveway is about 1/3 asphalt and 2/3s gravel, The asphalt is at top of the hill.

Questions:
1) How high should i run skid pads?
2) Will i need chains for the hill?
3) I the hill is not complete a flat grade but has some wave, Wondering if i will have problems scraping the cutting edge on the road because skid plates are in back.
4) Should I Have the weight box on?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[c5er]

After coming from the B series to the BX i have been just a little bit on the disappointed side with a few things. But I will say on the first try with the snow blower on and a steep driveway i think the BX handled better climbing that hill then the B series did. I had to lock the rear axle once but it did a great job. Of course this was just a test run on about 4" of snow, tomorrow will be the real test when 10" more drop.

 

[Evil the Weasel]

Well the first big snow of the year is headed here tomorrow (about 12-14") and I am looking for any tips on using the bx2360 and Snowblower.
Key notes:
- front mount snow blower on bx2360 with Turf Tires
- Driveway is very steep with the house at the bottom.
- Driveway is about 1/3 asphalt and 2/3s gravel, The asphalt is at top of the hill.

Questions:
1) How high should i run skid pads?
2) Will i need chains for the hill?
3) I the hill is not complete a flat grade but has some wave, Wondering if i will have problems scraping the cutting edge on the road because skid plates are in back.
4) Should I Have the weight box on?

Thanks in advance for the help.

1) I would set the skid shoes to max until the gravel is frozen and then adjust as necessary. 2) I have never needed chains but occasionally need 4wd. 3) Possibly, but you could always lift the blower up a tad when you approach this area. The cutting edge is typically replaceable so I wouldn't be overly worried about it. 4) I use my weight box with the blower and it helps with traction and probably eases the stress on the front axle as well.

I use float mode almost always with the blower unless I need some down pressure to scrape with.

Good luck!

 

[ChuckinNH]

Though it is contrary to what you would think, I have heard that users of the 2wd JD X series garden tractors with snowblowers find that using some down pressure on the blower actually helps them climb hills in the right conditions. I guess that transfers enough weight to the rear to help........ for what it's worth.

 

[Tig]

I would say yes to the rear weight and also the chains. They just make things easier.
On my gravel drive I hold the blower up off the shoes until the ground freezes. Otherwise it will dig into any soft spots. Once I get a hard packed layer to run the blower on, I drop it down and scrape a bit.
As for the shoe to scraper alignment. Can you adjust the angle of the blower? Mine is a rear blower so I can fine tune the scrape by adjusting my toplink. Roll it forward to scrape closer. Roll it back to stop picking up gravel.
All that being said hardpack on a steep hill may not be what you are looking for.

 

[Evil the Weasel]

Though it is contrary to what you would think, I have heard that users of the 2wd JD X series garden tractors with snowblowers find that using some down pressure on the blower actually helps them climb hills in the right conditions. I guess that transfers enough weight to the rear to help........ for what it's worth.

Does that series even have down pressure? The G series Kubotas sure didn't.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Yes, the John Deere X700 series, and the X500 series before it both have down pressure.

 

[PILOON]

Since I got tired of raking gravel what I did is widen my blower skids so that it would slide rather than dig in.

No more gravel raking in the spring for me!

I 'resoled' my skids using 2" flat stock about 10" long and curved the 2 ends to be like skiis.
(I use a Bervac 60" blower)
The narrow factory skids simply plowed down and parted the gravel while wider ones ride over thus keeping the blower cutting edge above any loose gravel.
Also fixed my pal's cub cadet blower the same way.

Bit of guess work required to determine how wide and long the skids should be as the blower weights vary from brand to brand and size etc, but shure helps once you get it right.
Also you really want a hard compacted snow base over gravel drives and proper skid adjustement will do it for you.

 

[c5er]

well the second snow blowng attempt didnt work as well, I popped both shear bolts on the auger, replaced them and popped one side again. Ugh, picking up too much gravel i think. I think i need to look at a wider skid plate like PILOON mentioned, mine dug in.