crushed rock/snowblower

grsthegreat · Mar 16, 2011

dmay said:
With a blade you probably liked getting the snow cleared away right down to the base. With a blower on a gravel driveway you really should raise your shoes so your blower rides above base. Hurling rocks through the blower and out the chute sounds bad enough even if no damage is done.

the blade has shoes also, and i set them for 1" remaining on ground

irvingj · Mar 16, 2011

Ditto the suggestion about packing down the first few snows. Keep the shoes lowered to keep the blower's scraper blade up an inch or so, get a good packed base, and you'll end up with a relatively thin layer --that will get icy, but will melt off rapidly-- when spring comes. (Just have some sand available.)

You'll also end up with fewer stones scattered around the lawn....:thumbsup:

fredhargis · Mar 17, 2011

dmay said:
With a blade you probably liked getting the snow cleared away right down to the base. With a blower on a gravel driveway you really should raise your shoes so your blower rides above base. Hurling rocks through the blower and out the chute sounds bad enough even if no damage is done.

That's what I've done. I made larger shoes for the blower (about 4" x 12") and set them as low as they would go, that leaves about 2" of snow, but that suites me better than throwing rocks all over the place. The larger shoe really helps keep the blower from digging down deeper.

wildwillie · Mar 17, 2011

Having the paint wear off is normal.I don't bother with paint. Just keep it sprayed down with silicone spray. It keeps the shoot slick and won't let it rust.

art · Mar 17, 2011

For this type driveway I hate front mount blowers because you might need to modify skid shoes

Three point blowers are easy!! Run the top link short to build up the base!! This helps push stones out of the way!!!

Paved drives run the top link long and you can scrape a driveway!!!

grsthegreat · Mar 17, 2011

art said:
For this type driveway I hate front mount blowers because you might need to modify skid shoes

Three point blowers are easy!! Run the top link short to build up the base!! This helps push stones out of the way!!!

Paved drives run the top link long and you can scrape a driveway!!!

im thinking of getting a loader mount snowblower for mine. can rotate up or down for depth of cut. has skid shoes also