BX 15 is it enough

JimMorrissey · Oct 3, 2005

Mike,

Not every snow in Vermont is over 8 inches. Some years we gets tons of snow, others we don't. We gets lots of snows 8" or less. I've quite familiar with the 3-5" snows. My recommendation for a blower is based on his stated conditions. It is NOT a blanket comment for anybody that deals with snow in the winter.

A loader is effect if you're talking about a standard, say 50-100' driveway and it's paved. Yes, it will do the job for light snowfall areas and is "cost effect" in many southern areas; I agree with you there. However, he's talking about maintaining over 800' of gravel driveway! A loader IMO is not the solution here. I've done over 1000 feet with a BX for two winters and can tell you it's going to take far longer, he will be frustrated and the results in the spring will be noticeable.....lots of gravel will be on the edges of his drive. With non-frozen ground or lightly frozen the cutting edge of a loader digs into soft wet gravel and the road edges easily making a big mess over 800 feet. So if he can't scrape, then the snow can build up, then it gets compacted from cars and tractors driving over it over time. The compacted snow then turns to ice when weather warms and cools at night.

It appeared to me that he's looking for help on what the best options are, not what's the least expensive. Again, a loader is not what I would recommend for an 800' driveway, but that's just my opinion.

LBrown59 · Oct 3, 2005

(
opti

Definitely consider a loader. * They are invaluable and I can't imagine a tractor without one.

)
 * I didn't know they made loaders without tractors.LOL

JimMorrissey · Oct 3, 2005

If you read the original post, he does not have a 150' driveway. He has an 800' gravel driveway and a loader is not an option IMO. I'm not talking about general snow removal here, I'm referring to the original poster questions.

LBrown59 · Oct 3, 2005

( One other thing, with the land you have, i can NOT see you with out a FEL. you will find many uses for it )

I have 297 hours on my bx23.
Probably 60 to 75 percent of those hours came from using the FEL.

JimMorrissey · Oct 3, 2005

Got cha.....The 15 will be a workhorse.

LBrown59 · Oct 3, 2005

here's what I think I'am looking at purchasing.BX1500,54"mmm,FEL, Front blade ,42"RC. 
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 This will probably do more for snow plowing than you may realize.
For many many many years I used a 1966 2 wheel drive Bolens 8.25 horse power Garden Tractor with a 48'' wide manual lift front blade to clear snow from my 3 or 4 hundred foot slag driveway.
I've removed several 10 to 14 inch snow falls with that rig.

JimMorrissey · Oct 3, 2005

I agree. The front blade will be very effective. He can get the blower later if he deems necessary. Not sure how much drifting he'll have to deal with. The blade will get a nice clean surface without digging up too much gravel.

radair · Oct 3, 2005

( If you read the original post, he does not have a 150' driveway. He has an 800' gravel driveway and a loader is not an option IMO. I'm not talking about general snow removal here, I'm referring to the original poster questions.)

I'll agree with you there, but you also stated "A loader for snow removal is a waste of time, unless you absolutely have no other options, then it's better than a shovel ", which sounds like a pretty general statement. My point was only that for SOME applications (not necessarily Red's 800' driveway in PA), a loader will work just fine.

LBrown59 · Oct 3, 2005

( I agree. The front blade will be very effective. He can get the blower later if he deems necessary. Not sure how much drifting he'll have to deal with. The blade will get a nice clean surface without digging up too much gravel. )

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If my old Bolens handled this then it should be a piece of cake for a BX 1500 which is a lot more tractor than the Bolens.