First Use of FEL Snowplow

[CJBOTA]

I bought an 84" FFC Hyd. Angle front QA Snowplow to mount on my new
MX5100 Kubota. We finally got nour first snowfall yesterday.There was only about 4" of snow but I have been eager to try out the new set up, so I decided to clear my three driveways. (about 2000' total plus parking and turn around areas.)
Anyway, I found this setup to be awkward to use. Since the plow is mounted to the loader arms it feels to far ahead of me. Also it was difficult to get the plow to sit squarely and lightly on the skid plates. The ground is not frozen yet, so I kept digging in to the lose gravel. Also, it got dark and I could barely see the skid shoes to make sure they were squarely on the ground.
Hopefully, with more practice this wll become more user friendly.
Traction was not a problem since I have about 1000 lbs of ballast on the 3 pt arms. There doesn't seem to be alot of clearance between the heels of the loader arms and the ground. I can increase this clearance by tilting the top of the blade forward and running on the front edge of the skid shoe but then it has a tendancy to dig in. I did not try letting the FEL float.
I have had frame mounted blades on my smaller tractors and I seem to remember they were a lot easier to use. At this point I am sort of having buyers remorse. Again, maybe more practice will help.
CJ

 

[lungdoc]

Probably just need practice. I would think that float should be the default position. always hard to plow unfrozen ground, some use PVC or other pipe on the edge of a plow or rubber edging like barn mats to avoid excess digging.

 

[jdonovan]

Probably just need practice. I would think that float should be the default position. always hard to plow unfrozen ground, some use PVC or other pipe on the edge of a plow or rubber edging like barn mats to avoid excess digging.

Float works OK until you get some load against the loader arms. Once the resistance of what you are pushing becomes too great the pushing stops and the front wheels come off the ground.

Where the OP has a M series, he should be able to push a reasonable amount in float... try that on a B, or BX and you'll be a lot less happy.

 

[Gizmo2]

I think it's the nature of the beast. I could never make the FEL snow plow work to my satisfaction, then I gave up trying, that was 22 years ago.

 

[nybirdman]

I have plowed with mine for three years,same set-up...much easier when the ground is frozen.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have only used my 84" wide QA plow 3 times as we have NO snow and i only purchased it last year. I found that it works great if the ground is frozen, not as great if the gravel road is soft.

I have a bucket leveling tube set up on my tractor and as long as i keep the tube set and level, i was able to plow just fine while using float mode.

The first time i tried to plow without front chains and every time i angled the plow either right or left, the tractor was pushed in the opposite direction. So i installed the front chains, and now there is absolutely NO drifting of the tractor no matter how severe the angle on the blade is. I was able to plow 2-1/2 miles of road a Minimum of 22 feet wide in a tad more than 2 hours when the ground was frozen.

The first plow had not totally frozen ground and this added almost 1 hour to the plow.

By the 3rd plowing, it was like old hat. I have side gates on my plow that can be open or closed, and i found that by keeping the inside gate closed, i can prevent snow from pushing back onto the road. I also learned how to angle the plow when coming up to driveways so as not to leave berms on the driveways. Man this thing is slick.

I LOVE this plow. And if the snow ever gets too deep, i have a loader mounted blower that i can use, but this would effectively double the time needed to plow the association roads.

 

[4bangdan]

check this out! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89CEi0G4COM]Snow Plowing Northern Maine John Deere and Fisher Plow - YouTube[/ame]

 

[4bangdan]

the adapter this guy makes allows the plow to operate the way it was intended. it is supposed to just float on the gound with only the weight of the plow, not the added weight of the loader arms. this makes all the difference. this tractor is not that large and it pushes like a 3/4 ton pickup. notice the chain supports the plow when lifted and releases when dropped down. slick! thats how pickup plows work. simple isnt it.

 

[jdonovan]

Interesting, and thats a dere 3203, which isn't a real large, or heavy machine and it seems to move that snow fairly well. Last part of the clip he gets a little sideways but that was with a REALLY full blade.

 

[JCByrd24]

the adapter this guy makes allows the plow to operate the way it was intended. it is supposed to just float on the gound with only the weight of the plow, not the added weight of the loader arms. this makes all the difference. this tractor is not that large and it pushes like a 3/4 ton pickup. notice the chain supports the plow when lifted and releases when dropped down. slick! thats how pickup plows work. simple isnt it.

This is absolutely correct. You want loader arms giving you traction on the front wheels, not making the plow dig in. Any plow on the loader should have a chain just like a traditional truck plow.