Grading Rear blade?

[bigdad]

I was planning to be plow snow this year with the FEL on my BX, BUT that's not very efficient. Spending another couple grand on a snow plow is out of the question this year. How well does a rear blade work? Eventually I would like to get a snow blower but until then.....

I have real good luck with a FEL and an RB. I did put gauge wells on the RB and I keep my momentum up and the snow just rolls off. Like the guys stated, reverse the blade for gravel and grass under the snow. I can't afford or justify a blower so I will stick with the RB/FEL combo.

BD

 

[ayelvington]

Many thanks for the tip on reversing the blade when working on gravel. Life is good when the drive is frozen, but I've been dealing with the gravel issue already. I'll be at it again tomorrow morning!

The combination of a rear blade and FEL is great for places that get moderate snowfall amounts. Use the blade to push or pull snow, then use the FEL to clean up and stack piles.

If you are working on pavement you can face the concave (front) side of the blade in the direction of travel (either going fwd or reverse) and angle it to one side. I have found that reverse works better if the snow is heavy. Less chance of the rear end kicking out sideways. But if the snow is dry, it is faster to pull it going forward.

If you are on gravel face the convex (back) side of the blade toward the snow and push in reverse. This way the blade will float over the gravel instead of digging in. If the snow is heavy the blade may not have enough weight to stay down. In this case, you will need to periodically empty the blade to keep the snow load light enough that the blade doesn't ride up and over the pile.

Of course, if you live in the great white north all bets are off using a blade. There, the blower is king.

 

[ayelvington]

Word of caution for the BX-24: My son-in-law reversed my back blade and was using it to back and ram a snow drift and bent a swing arm. The 3-point on the BX-24 is only good for tension and not compression. Arms are not cheap...

 

[keyman1808]

The is a guy in Ct that sells an adapter to use a snow plow on the loader by removing the bucket and installing the adapter. Of course you will need to plumb in all the hydraulics if yo want to angle it. The adapter is like 250.00 and look for a used snow plow. Not ideal but still cheaper than the kubota option

 

[skywaterbanjo]

I've been using the fel and rb on a B7800 for 2 seasons. I'm tired of my neck hurting after plowing for 5-6 hours after each 12" snowfall.

I'm having a 61" blower installed on the front next week.

 

[bill in ny]

i always go forward with my rear blade. the hydr aulic's help alot though.

 

[actionaj]

I use a 5' rear blade on my BX and front loader. Added Hydrualic's to it this fall can't wait to try it out in the snow.

 

[AceDeuce]

No offense to your son-in-law, but that sounds like a case of operator error. I absolutely agree that a 3PH is designed primarily for pulling. It would take a pretty significant hit to bend those arms though---not impossible (obviously) but outside normal operating parameters IMO.

Word of caution for the BX-24: My son-in-law reversed my back blade and was using it to back and ram a snow drift and bent a swing arm. The 3-point on the BX-24 is only good for tension and not compression. Arms are not cheap...

 

[AceDeuce]

Nice looking rig! That's pretty close to what they use around here on the county roads. Only difference is they replace the loader bucket with a highway truck plow. The rear blade is used to help clean intersections.

i always go forward with my rear blade. the hydrView attachment 148557aulic's help alot though.

 

[curtisfarmer]

Believe it or not....I plow commercially with a slow non-cab L48 with a Landpride RB3572 and it works great. A little slower but I am using what I have. Don't want to dro a few grand on a plow yet. The 35 series and up rear blades swing out 18" like a wing blade and are great for pushing back snow. People laugh.....but not when they get my bill!!!