How did you guys make out with the Blizzard of 2016? I have a 1/2 mile gravel driveway and currently use a 26" walk behind to clear about 1/3 of it,takes 5 passes to get open wide enough, neighbors usually help with the rest of it with various 20-45hp tractors with buckets and blades, I open it up wider with the Case backhoe. I would love to have a snow blower for my Steiner but they are too expensive new, I have seen a few used ones but they are like 7 hours away and $1200-$1700. I was thinking of mounting a Sears or similar 46"-48" snow blower to it, much cheaper, but not sure if they would hold up to the Steiner.
I moved a lot of snow on my driveway and on that of my elderly neighbors. After the first four or five inches came down (around 5 P.M. on Friday, January 22), I made a run with the rotary broom (HB580)so that there would be a clear path on which to walk the dog. That was a piece of cake.
Then, I detached the broom and attached the snow blower (KX523). My plan was to go out in several hours, remove what was on the driveway, then go to bed, wake up the next morning, remove what had come down overnight, and then have one or two blowing sessions on Saturday, January 23.
At 11 P.M. on Friday, there was about five or six inches on the driveway. The wind was really picking up. I started up the tractor, and headed out to blow snow. I did not make very much progress because I was operating in whiteout conditions. It was as if there was a brilliant white curtain hanging in front of me. The snow was so thick that it was reflecting the light from the headlights and from the ROPS-mounted work lights. Reluctantly, I decided to call it quits. I headed back to the house, had a cup of hot herbal tea to warm up, and went to bed.
I awoke around 6 A.M., made some coffee, had a cinnamon doughnut, and caught up on my email. By 7 A.M., it was light enough outside that I did not need any artificial light. So out I went. There was at least twelve inches on the ground. I started blowing snow, and quickly found that I could not exceed 1.2 mph without snow coming over the top of the blower's bucket. So, I kept to a very slow pace, keeping an eye on the snow level near the top of the bucket. Eventually, I finished my driveway, and headed over to my neighbors' place, to do theirs. Again, the pace was slow. I intend to acquire the auxiliary auger to help the blower deal with deep snow.
I went out again in the late afternoon. There was about seven inches on the ground. I made much better progress this time around.
I went out again around 10 P.M., and removed another several inches. The snow had begun to taper off. I did not have severe whiteout problems like I had had the previous night, but it was pretty cold and windy. Then I called it a night.
Early Sunday morning, there were another several inches on the ground, thicker in spots because of drifting. I took care of that around 8 A.M.
Later in the day, I had to deal with walls of snow that the State Highway Administration road crews wad created. That was not fun. The chute clogged several times. The plowed snow was very, very dense.
The tractor and the attachments worked well. I did stall out a few times while blowing snow and moving uphill. The snow was not particularly deep, and I was somewhat surprised that the motor stalled out. It would then immediately start up again, run a little rough for a few seconds, and then straighten itself out as if nothing had happened. I suspect that this was due to a fuel issue... either a little bit of condensation in the fuel tank that would make it into the fuel line when on an incline, or perhaps slight waxing.
I have regularly kept the fuel tank topped up after working sessions, and have always added Power Service White fuel additive at the single-strength dosage level. I reread the instructions and saw that for temperatures approaching 0° F, a double-strength dosage is recommended. Before I went up to the filling station yesterday to refill two five-gallon Eagle fuel cans with Ultra-Low Sulphur off-road diesel fuel, I put a double-strength dose in each empty can. I also added an additional dose to the third five-gallon Eagle can that was full of fuel. Then, I shook that can up to distribute the additive.
Sunday was sunny, so I left the tractor outside so that the sun could warm it up and melt at least some of the caked-on snow and ice.
On Monday, a lot of snow came down from pine-tree branches that overhang portions of the driveway, so there was some clean-up to do.
Several large pine branches came down across the driveway overnight Friday/Saturday. On Saturday morning, I would periodically have to dismount from the tractor, trudge over to where they were, and drag them off the driveway. They were generally too heavy and too cumbersome to lift. Some of them were about 20 feet long, and arm-thickness, with lots of side-branchescovered with snow. That was fun.
I took some pictures after the event. However, right now, I am not in a position to share them.
A little while ago, I took the memory card out of my camera and inserted it in a card reader. The computer did not recognize the card. An Internet search revealed that this card reader (a Lexar unit with a Firewire interface) no longer functions as a result of the latest update of the Macintosh operating system. I looked for the cable that allows the camera to connect to the computer (a much slower transfer process), but I could not find it. It is around here somewhere.
I will have to fire up one of my older (PowerPC) Macs that run on OS 10.4.11 and use the card reader with one of them. Once I get the pictures off the memory card, I will upload them.
Our total snow accumulation was about 27 inches. It was higher in some areas, and lower in others, due to the action of the wind.
If I were still using the treaded, walk-behind Honda snow blower that I used prior to getting the Ventrac, I might still be out there. My driveway is 1600 feet long. My elderly neighbors' driveway is 800 feet long.
I ordered the chains with 2 link spacing and only needed the extra cross chains for the gap where the ends came together and left a 4 link space. I think the v-bar chains might be not be needed for your slight slope the v-bars might tear up your blacktop (if you spin the tires). We have quite a steep hill on the main road and it is shaded and often icy - I have no problem with the chains on. You may even want to look into Ventrac's new drop spreader and sand any place you find it too slippery. The sand will blow off after the snow is gone. The extensions may not be necessary if you have clearance and use good chain tensioners. I found that taking wheels off and letting the air out of the tires made it easy to get chains tight and extra tight when the air is put back in the tires. 