Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Newbie plow tripping

[RNeumann]

I am new to snow removal. I have a 38hp tractor and chains on the front tires. The blade has 2 large springs for the trip mechanism. It also has hydraulic angle.

I used the thing for the first time today. I set the feet and was using the float feature for the FEL. It seamed like anytime I wanted to push a pile (anything more than about 10" or so) or widen an edge it would trip the blade. I'm sure it was taking some force to do so but it didn't seem like it. It felt nothing like getting sand in the bucket or any other bucket work. In fact I felt nothing at all- it just tripped.

Is this a normal part of the safety feature? If so are folks switching back to the regular bucket to move piles etc? I tried to move the piles 6-12" at a time.

Thanks for the advice....front snow blades are a whole new adventure!

 

[Ford850]

Normally they will trip when the bottom edge catches something on the ground, like ice sticking up or a rock. It's better for the blade to trip rather than bend something on the blade or FEL. If you are using it with the FEL in float, that puts even more weight and pressure on that edge so it is more likely to trip. Also, if you curl the blade too far forward it applies more force on the lower edge as it tries to climb up the snow pile and can trip the blade easier.
Try to keep the blade vertical rather than leaning forward or backward. Keep the FEL raised just enough to hold the blade off the ground to move the bulk of the snow, then come back and scrape it clean. If your blade has float built in, raise the FEL enough to keep the weight off the blade, allowing the blade to float on it's own (this is the best method).

 

[LD1]

What style of blade do you have? IS this a SSQA blade made for a tractor, or a converted truck plow?

Running the loader in float on a converted truck plow puts alot of extra weight on the plow.

Do you have any pics of your setup?

 

[skyhook]

A picture of your plow set-up would be nice but,,some springs have a nut at the end so they can be tightened. Depending on the size of the plow, you may be able to add more springs. My 7 1/2 has 4 springs, it originally only had 3 and I had the problem your referring to, adding the fourth spring eliminated that.

 

[s219]

Try not using the FEL float, as that puts all the weight of the FEL down on the plow and will cause issues.

 

[RNeumann]

I'll attach photos or a video today. Thanks for the tips about tightening the spring and using the blade without it tipped forward. I will also avoid float.
It is a SSQA style and it is new and supposedly designed for the tractor.
It might be me who isn't designed for the tractor.....haha

 

[RNeumann]

Here is a quick video of the setup. Thanks for the help and ideas about improving things!

Front blade/plow trip - YouTube

 

[camshawn]

A couple of things I see from you video, the springs are too loose. On the plough I have the springs would be about 2" tighter as a guess. The frame and angle cylinders should be level when you are ploughing. Set the shoes so that the cutting edge is just above the ground with the frame level. I just rest the cutting edge on the ground and go but the corners can dig in. I need to rework my shoe mounts.
My blade is frame mounted so I have no comment on floating the FEL.
Cam

 

[RNeumann]

Thanks for taking the time to look. I will move the springs to increase tension.

 

[LD1]

With that rigid plow setup, putting the loader in float.....what keeps the skid steer frame from just dropping to the ground and pitching the plow upward?

Keeping the A-frame of the plow level is the goal with any plow. As you have it pictured, you need to raise the loader a few inches.

I just dont see how that style of plow works well at all. You really need a float mechanism for the plow itself that doesnt rely on the float of the loader. All that weight of the loader on there aint helping your constant tripping issue.