The eternal problem of snow sticking to loader buckets..

MiserableOldFart · Mar 21, 2017

For the first time this year I have tried a product called Turtle Wax Spray and Dry. It's not expensive, and a little goes a long way. It doesn't last, but takes only a minute to put a coating on the bucket and I've had very good luck with it. I previously tried a spray product from Toro that was about four times the price and I don't think it worked as well. I put a coat of Simonize on in the fall, without buffing and add the spray when the bucket is clean after the snow starts to stick.. The only downside is you have to keep the spray bottle in a heated location to use it. You can't just magnet it to the tractor as you can a metal can of Simonize, but in the cold weather, it's a lot easier to use and works well.

It seems to be good for at least an hour or two, of working with the loader and that's usually about my limit for continuous loader work before taking a break. A quick spritz then and allow it to dry for a bit, and you're ready to go again.

davesl708 · Mar 21, 2017

I have had good luck with WD40 on my bucket and underside of my mower deck to keep stuff from sticking.
I use a spray bottle and apply before each snow event and spray the mower deck each fall and before the first cut.
Works pretty good.

TheMadOne · Mar 21, 2017

I use Pam on the walk behind snow blower, and I see no reason why it wouldn't work on the loader as well. Just have to remember to put it back in the kitchen when you're done, or else you may get an earfull!

rd_macgregor · Mar 22, 2017

TheMadOne said:
I use Pam on the walk behind snow blower, and I see no reason why it wouldn't work on the loader as well. Just have to remember to put it back in the kitchen when you're done, or else you may get an earfull!

This one threw me a couple of times! I first thought, "why would you spray PAM on the walk?" Then, I wondered what an earful of PAM is like. Obviously I conjured up the wrong mental image in both cases (I hope).

Looking4new · Mar 22, 2017

When I roll the bucket over to dump the snow, I usually let it rattle against the stops a couple of times and the snow falls right off. I do that not only with snow, but also topsoil and sand. Gravel is not such a headache.

newbury · Mar 22, 2017

I moved my tractor to Mississippi. Snow just melts off

TheMadOne · Mar 22, 2017

rd_macgregor said:
This one threw me a couple of times! I first thought, "why would you spray PAM on the walk?" Then, I wondered what an earful of PAM is like. Obviously I conjured up the wrong mental image in both cases (I hope).

The first one, yeah. I spray in the chute and hopper of the snow blower, which is a walk behind type. The second one...I wouldn't put it past someone. And I imagine it would feel oily and cold!

sixdogs · Mar 22, 2017

newbury said:
I moved my tractor to Mississippi. Snow just melts off

That is one of the right answers and another is to spray Pam.
Does it even snow in Mississippi?

newbury · Mar 22, 2017

sixdogs said:
That is one of the right answers and another is to spray Pam.
Does it even snow in Mississippi?

YES! Last year we got over 2 inches. In 2015 we had a blizzard (for Mississippi)

Many areas reported 8-9 inches of accumulation, but the official total according to the National Weather Service was 7.3 inches in Tupelo. The all-time record for snowfall in a 24-hour period in Tupelo is 8 inches on Jan. 24, 1940.

While Wednesdayé€žï½´ total is only second on the all-time list, it demolished the previous snow record for Feb. 25, which was just a trace back in 1991.

Across the region snowfall totals varied widely. In Ripley, reports were in the 3-inch range. Lafayette County Emergency Management director David Shaw said totals in his county were around 4 inches, while one station did report 5.5 inches.

from Snow total just short of all-time record - Daily Journal
At my house in Itawamba county in 2015 we had over 4 inches and it stayed for almost a day.
Yesterday it was 87 degrees.

TheMadOne · Mar 22, 2017

I can't imagine all the southern drivers trying to deal with even that little snow. Didn't some city in Texas basically close down over like an inch a few years ago? Not talking about the foot or so the panhandle got back in 2015, but before that.

rt014 · Mar 23, 2017

I've been told Fluid Film would also work.

sixdogs · Mar 24, 2017

TheMadOne said:
I can't imagine all the southern drivers trying to deal with even that little snow. Didn't some city in Texas basically close down over like an inch a few years ago? Not talking about the foot or so the panhandle got back in 2015, but before that.

Even in parts of Ohio we don't get much snow and I've seen the township try to plow less than an inch of snow. The blade doesn't even hit the ground.

When I used to live in big snow country, the plows stayed parked until 6".

jenkinsph · Mar 24, 2017

TheMadOne said:
I can't imagine all the southern drivers trying to deal with even that little snow. Didn't some city in Texas basically close down over like an inch a few years ago? Not talking about the foot or so the panhandle got back in 2015, but before that.

I live about 100 miles north of the Mexican border and even here we do get some snow. Usually I use my x749 for snow clearing as it is easier to trailer in inclement weather. I don't bother with snow equipment because there is not enough to warrant it most winters. Just use a cheap, light weight rear blade with the mower.

Ford850 · Mar 24, 2017

rt014 said:
I've been told Fluid Film would also work.

This is what I use on my snow blade, and my BCS blower. I cover everything with it on the blower, to keep the cables, chute, and chute gears free from ice. The larger blade on the tractor gets a light coat before it's first use, and then occasionally during the winter as it wears off.

rd_macgregor · Mar 24, 2017

I've been snowed out a couple of times on Arizona vacations. Once it was about 6" in a Grand Canyon blizzard (we couldn't see the canyon!); we drove south for a couple of hours and everything was beautiful.

The other time was when the Canada Winter Games were held in PEI and we headed to the Benson/Sierra Vista area to get away from the influx of visitors back home. We had nearly 6" of snow there in southern AZ, while back home they were shoveling snow out of the woods onto the X-country ski trails.

When I was a kid visiting my grandparents in Nogales, I remember waking up on Christmas morning to a nice blanket of fresh snow (almost a storybook tale!).

The thing about AZ (or any of that S. USA belt) is that, except at the highest elevations, the snow usually goes away in a day or three. Not so much here in the frozen north.

As they say, we have 8 months of winter and 4 months of bad sledding.

We tried PAM in our new MUTS trailer this winter, but it wore off too fast (it also made it incredibly exciting to stand/walk into the trailer!). I seldom have much of an issue with snow sticking in the bucket; overly wet, half-composted horse manure+bedding can sometimes be a different matter, but I just put up with it since a non-stick treatment is too temporary for my liking.