Rear Blade 6 ft blade or 7ft

[bearcreek paul]

looking to pickup a rear blade and was wondering is 6 ft good or do i need bigger.this will be on a mitsubishi 16fd 20 hp 4wd.tsc has a 6 ft for 350.00.it will be used for snow removal on 175 ft gravel drive.the driveway is level and straight.

 

[Bousez]

I would not buy anything larger than 5 foot ,considering you are using a 20hp tractor .

 

[radman1]

7' is too big for that size. I would go 6'. With 6' and angled for snow removal, it will still extend well beyond the tires to get the snow off the road and the tractor remain on the road.

 

[greg_g]

When selecting a rear scraper blade (or landscape rake) consider the tractors rear track width, outside to outside.

You want a blade that - when rotated to the farthest index holes - will still scrape a swath that is still at least as wide as your rear track. For example; a six foot blade scrapes a six foot path only when it's set perpendicular to the rear wheels. Once you start angling the blade, the path becomes progressively less than six feet.

//greg//

 

[manganos]

I use a 5' rear blade on my Mahindra 2516 which is heavier and has more HP then your tractor. I could use a 6' and probably should have one because I bent the 5' within the first few hours of use.

I use a 66" boxblade (woods) and it is huge.

 

[jimmer2880]

If it's strictly for snow removal, a 7' blade will be fine. If you plan on also using it for dirt, then go with the 6'.

My snow blade on my 18hp Kubota is 7' and I can move up to a foot of snow, no problem.

 

[LD1]

If it's strictly for snow removal, a 7' blade will be fine. If you plan on also using it for dirt, then go with the 6'.

My snow blade on my 18hp Kubota is 7' and I can move up to a foot of snow, no problem.

Agreed. If snow is the only thing it will be used for, then a 7footer will work.

Another thing to consider is that a cheaper 7' blade on your smaller tractor MIGHT not be able to spin around into the reverse positions without hitting the tires. If this is an issue for you, you may want to stick with the 6 footer.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

looking to pickup a rear blade and was wondering is 6 ft good or do i need bigger.this will be on a mitsubishi 16fd 20 hp 4wd.tsc has a 6 ft for 350.00.it will be used for snow removal on 175 ft gravel drive.the driveway is level and straight.

With your tractor, get the 6 footer. Be happy.

 

[radman1]

I still beleive a 7' is too much blade for that tractor. If you get more than a few inches of snow, the snow on the outside of the blade when angled will push the front of a CUT that small to the side. You will always use the blade for more uses than just snow. A 6' size is plenty of blade for 20 hp CUT.

 

[jimmer2880]

I still beleive a 7' is too much blade for that tractor. If you get more than a few inches of snow, the snow on the outside of the blade when angled will push the front of a CUT that small to the side. You will always use the blade for more uses than just snow. A 6' size is plenty of blade for 20 hp CUT.

I agree that there are always uses for a rear scraper blade besides just moving snow.

But - what I'm saying, is that IF it was solely for moving snow, and the snow depth doesn't exceed around 12" (Depending on snow weight/density), he'll be fine.

Again - I have a 7' blade for my little 18hp kubota and it does a great job. When I bought the 7' blade, I planned on cutting it down to 6'. But, after using it last year with the big dumps MD rec'd, I'm not going to touch it. Of course, mine is on the front, and I have about 500 lbs of balast on the rears, as well as fluid in all 4 tires.

That being said, when I downsized into this tractor, I did downsize my rear blade that I use for dirt/stone from a 7' down to a 5'. No way I'd be able to handle that 7' blade trying to move dirt.

 

[easygo]

I have a 6' blade that I used on my previous 21hp tractor and now use on a 30hp tractor. I would say stick with the 6' blade. It is not the HP of the tractor but the weight and traction that will come up short.

Not to argue with Jimmer2880 but I would think 12" of snow is way too much for even my tractor with the 6' blade unless it is nice fresh fluffy powder. I just plowed 10" of wet stuff with chains on all tires and the second pass was getting a bit too deep and heavy, but I got through it. I think a 7' blade would have stopped me on that one.

 

[bearcreek paul]

6 ft blade sounds the way to go.we get about 90 inches or better a year.it ranges from light powder to heavy wet snow,thats one of reasons i bought the tractor.thanks for the advise.:thumbsup:

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I have a 26hp NH and a 6' Woods blade. If you are posolutely sure you will never use the blade for anything but snow, I would consider the 7 footer, and be sure to get out there before the snow gets over four or six inches. That blade will be too big, I think, for doing any dirt work with that tractor, though. Alternatively, you could get the type that offsets to one side a foot or so and with a six footer that should give you some clearance when you make another pass. I bought a blade that had the option of shoes for snowplowing, and I think that's worth considering, especially if your driveway isn't paved.

I do about 1500 feet of driveway and right-of-way and have found that the blade works much better if I can get out there with no more than four inches of snow. It's not so much about the size of the tractor, but about how much snow that blade can handle in a pass.

 

[radman1]

6 ft blade sounds the way to go.we get about 90 inches or better a year.it ranges from light powder to heavy wet snow,thats one of reasons i bought the tractor.thanks for the advise.:thumbsup:

At 90" of snow, a blade is going to have a lot of trouble moving the snow back as the sides build up, even with a much larger tractor. You may need a blower if the sides of the road get very high. Once you get over 12" deep on the edges, your little tractor will have troubles regardless of blade width.
.

 

[bp fick]

Wow, interesting, yet very divergent views. Just shows different strokes for different folks in differing conditions makes it hard to generalize.

90" of snow isn't too awful bad, but you have to make very wide passes early in the year, giving yourself room to put snow later on. It's pretty rare that all 90" are even on the ground from November thru April, at one time anyhow. Plan ahead. Allow for worst case scenario. This is how blade (non-blower) people handle it. It's been done for ages.

Being able to spin the blade around, on your tractor, is priceless!! I would not have a blade that was too big to spin around. YMMV

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I would go with the 6' or smaller...IMO

 

[Diamondpilot]

For snow work 6' is right for your machine. Now way you can pull a 7' though heavy wet snow. I run a 7' on a 5,200# 4x4 tractor and have stopped it before.

Chris