Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow sticking to bucket.
- Thread starter Harvey7
- Start date
davitk
Platinum Member
I agree, seems that a tractor pulled from a nice warm garage may be a recipe for a snow packed bucket. I keep mine in an icy barn and have not had any problems.
JB,
I rarely disagree with you (perhaps because we're both from WI), but I've used nothing but a loader bucket the last 3 years, and haven't had any issue with stickage.
If it feels like there's some snow staying behind, a good rap on the asphalt at full dump is all it's ever taken to release it.
Now my new tractor might be a different story, as the bucket actually has PAINT on it, instead of rust. I must say though, I'm not aware of rust having any particular qualities which would aid in snow-release.
Of course, as I'm running R-4's, I probably won't be able to fill the bucket in the first place!
We got about 3" of wet snow last night, so tonight we shall see...
Lunk
Then again, it all depends on how much monkeying around you want to do. I really don't like pushing snow with a bucket, picking it up and dumping -- only to find it not leaving the bucket. Then back up, whack it, scoop it back up (usually 2 or 3 times) and try to redump on top. Then go back for more pushing, filling and piling. Then again, I have a low monkey-ing around tolerance !
Go Pack!
jb
Lunk
Platinum Member
Man-O-Man!
Playing with the snow (i.e. piling) is half the fun! I actually cannot wait until the driveway gets a little tight so I can go push it back.
I know...I'm a weirdo.
Pack didn't go quite far enough...
Lunk
Egon
Epic Contributor
If sticking snow is a real problem make a double walled bucket and set it up to divert some exhaust gasses through it. That should heat the bucket and solve the problems.
Double walled bucket with exhaust heat....probably pipe it thru the loader arms, eh? I like the way you think, Egon!!
Lunk, I don't know about the wierdo part. But, I use the walk behind snow blower for most of the drive way chores. I do about 140' of double wide drive and about 250' of single wide path out the the shop and shed. Then I use the blower to make a snow hill for my son to play on. It's actually not much longer than using the tractor and more excersize. (Now who's the wierdo, eh?)
And the Pack sound like they fell flat. We don't get cable out here in the sticks, so I couldn't watch
Well, the Bears Still Suck!
jb
Lunk, I don't know about the wierdo part. But, I use the walk behind snow blower for most of the drive way chores. I do about 140' of double wide drive and about 250' of single wide path out the the shop and shed. Then I use the blower to make a snow hill for my son to play on. It's actually not much longer than using the tractor and more excersize. (Now who's the wierdo, eh?)
And the Pack sound like they fell flat. We don't get cable out here in the sticks, so I couldn't watch
Well, the Bears Still Suck!
jb
Egon
Epic Contributor
It would probably have to be set up so that the bucket could set down on a flexible piece of exhaust for some flow thru contact.
It's not an original idea and was probably used from well before my time. Some industrial off road trucks used the exhaust to keep the boxes warm.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I don't know about snow, but wet clay is something that I have to deal with all the time. Add just a little moisture to clay, and it sticks to the bucket and especially to the bed of my dumptruck. I read where a guy used a product called Hammerite Rust Cap to coat his dumptruck. I think he used it to haul snow with, but I can only speak for myself and my personal experiences.
It's expensive, so I shoped around online and found a place that had it for a good price. I bought it, but it never showed up, it was never shiped and eventually, I canceled the order. Jamestown Distributors Hammerite Rust Cap "Smooth Finish" Paint is where that guy recomended it, so that's where I ended up buying it from. I bought one gallon, but I'm sure a quart would be plenty for the FEL of a compact tractor.
It's a special epoxy type of paint that goes on very sticky. It's miserable stuff to work with. I used a roller and don't think it would be possible to apply it with a brush. It's developes spiderwebs and when you get it on you, it's there for awhile. Paint thinner didn't take it off, and only over time did it finally come off of my hands. Gloves would be a smart idea.
You can paint it right over rust, which was a good thing for my dumptruck bed. When it dries, it has a very smooth, glass-like finish. It's also very hard!!!
I was absolutley amazed and blown away at how well it worked. The wet clay that would pack into the corners of my dump bed and eventually get so bad that the entire bed would hold dirt and not dump 4 out of five yards, now dumped all of the dirt!!!!! I did this in the spring time, and ran about 2,000 yards of dirt through the bed. Not once did I have to use the shovel to clear the dirt. Before putting it in, I had to shovel out the dirt after five to seven loads. It would just pack in and stay there. Now it flows out so fast and easy that it's like having a brand new dump bed.
I need to put in another layer of it and will be buying another gallon sometime soon. After all that clay, it's wore down in places. The summer was mostly dry clay, so the challenge of it sticking wasn't as bad as it was during spring when the clay kept getting wet from the rains. Even with dry clay, there is some buildup and I would have problems, but like I said, there was no buildup with the Hammerite paint in the bed.
My backhoe bucket is 24 inches wide and I'm going to coat it with the Hammerite too. When digging in wet clay, it builds up really bad and I struggle to clear it out. I hate banging and ratteling the bucket to clear it out since I think that's bad for it and will cause some sort of damage over time. I think the Hammerite will allow the clay to fall out real easy, just like it did on the dump truck.
I hate to recomend something for snow that I have never tried, but this stuff is really good and I'm willing to risk it by saying that it will probably solve your problems.
Good luck,
Eddie
It's expensive, so I shoped around online and found a place that had it for a good price. I bought it, but it never showed up, it was never shiped and eventually, I canceled the order. Jamestown Distributors Hammerite Rust Cap "Smooth Finish" Paint is where that guy recomended it, so that's where I ended up buying it from. I bought one gallon, but I'm sure a quart would be plenty for the FEL of a compact tractor.
It's a special epoxy type of paint that goes on very sticky. It's miserable stuff to work with. I used a roller and don't think it would be possible to apply it with a brush. It's developes spiderwebs and when you get it on you, it's there for awhile. Paint thinner didn't take it off, and only over time did it finally come off of my hands. Gloves would be a smart idea.
You can paint it right over rust, which was a good thing for my dumptruck bed. When it dries, it has a very smooth, glass-like finish. It's also very hard!!!
I was absolutley amazed and blown away at how well it worked. The wet clay that would pack into the corners of my dump bed and eventually get so bad that the entire bed would hold dirt and not dump 4 out of five yards, now dumped all of the dirt!!!!! I did this in the spring time, and ran about 2,000 yards of dirt through the bed. Not once did I have to use the shovel to clear the dirt. Before putting it in, I had to shovel out the dirt after five to seven loads. It would just pack in and stay there. Now it flows out so fast and easy that it's like having a brand new dump bed.
I need to put in another layer of it and will be buying another gallon sometime soon. After all that clay, it's wore down in places. The summer was mostly dry clay, so the challenge of it sticking wasn't as bad as it was during spring when the clay kept getting wet from the rains. Even with dry clay, there is some buildup and I would have problems, but like I said, there was no buildup with the Hammerite paint in the bed.
My backhoe bucket is 24 inches wide and I'm going to coat it with the Hammerite too. When digging in wet clay, it builds up really bad and I struggle to clear it out. I hate banging and ratteling the bucket to clear it out since I think that's bad for it and will cause some sort of damage over time. I think the Hammerite will allow the clay to fall out real easy, just like it did on the dump truck.
I hate to recomend something for snow that I have never tried, but this stuff is really good and I'm willing to risk it by saying that it will probably solve your problems.
Good luck,
Eddie