East Coast snowstorm and a BX2200

[k8ny]

Well, after clearing the 30 inches from my driveways and parking area, I am more than pleased with my purchase of the BX2200/FEL/MMM.
The tractor performed spectacularly with no problems encountered moving and scraping the snow. My purchase of the FEL (which I thought might be questionable for snow removal) was exactly what was required for the removal of such a large amount. Actually, while we were receivng the snow, I made multiple runs during the day of keeping the drives and parking area cleared. This paid off big time in that when we received our last 16" last night, it wasn't that difficult a job to remove it all this morning. Not allowing the snow to accumulate from the day before was the key.
I learned quite a bit from this, our largest snowstorm by far, since I purchased the equipment. Finding a place to move all the snow to is critical, so make sure you have a "snow removal plan" before you start.
Helping my neighbor however, was a different story as he has a 400' driveway, non hardtop(stones) and didn't remove anything previously. I therefore had to really work on clearing his driveway of 30 inches worth. The lack of a hard surface presented a problem in that we could not entirely remove the snow, so traction became a real problem.
Finally learned why and how to use the differential lock pedal (man, was that a life saver).
Also please be aware that when working with large amounts of snow on uneven terrain it can be quite dangerous as my BX tilted quite severely twice (left rear wheel in mid air). I quickly leveled out the area before I continued working. That is something to pay attention to!
All in all, a great experience.

Cheers

Bob

 

[rdbrumfield]

Sure wish we had the white stuff up here. It has been one of the worst no snow seasons we have had. Our resevoirs are going to be in a bad way this summer.

 

[bellweather]

k8ny
Looks like you had some fun. I have a long gravel drive and I also used the FEL on my BX22 to move/remove the snow. However, when using the FEL in the float position, there were times when the front endge would kind of get hung up, and the tractor would climb up onto the fel (sort of speek), sometimes actually raising the front wheels off the ground! Did you encounter any such problem? What technique did you use to scrape the driveway? Thanks.

 

[rmc]

I know what you mean I had to clear a 170' driveway nonhard top.

Gave me a few hours of seat time, but the BX2200 did the job.

It would have been easier if I had chains on the Turf tires maybe next time.

 

[rmc]

bellweather

When using the float mine did the same hung up and raise the tractor.
The only way I was able to limit it was to angle the bucket up a little, but that left a little
more snow and another pass.

 

[accordionman]

SIR,
i guess we have all seen the news showing those poor people
trying to shovel out their cars. a tractor would sure come in
handy. if someone had one in the area, he could make a few
bucks, or maybe more.
accordionman
william l. brown

 

[k8ny]

Well here was my technique for successful snow removal on a stone driveway.
A) Remove the snow and don't go all the way to ground level when removing, keep the loader about 2 inches above.
B) After all the snow is removed, you may have 2 top 3 inches left on the ground. Set your loader at a very "shallow" angle, maybe 5 degrees (almost parallel to the ground).
C) Drop the loader in the Float position and now scrape the ground. The loader will not dig in but will run smoothly across the ground removing Most of the snow.
D) You will not wind up with ALL the snow removed from the ground, but it is low enough to drive on and get a car out. I leave the rest of the removal to mother nature, warm temps and the sun.

Hope that helps.

Bob

By the way, in West Virginia we usually don't ask for anything to help out a neighbor, never know when you might need them!

 

[gerard]

<font color="blue"> Finding a place to move all the snow to is critical, so make sure you have a "snow removal plan" before you start.
</font> /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I start the winter pushing my main "pile" area back on the grass about 50 feet. I stack as high as the loader will go and I know have about 10 feet of grass left before I run into driveway!! Been a L O N G winter so far. Snow to date in City: 126 inches, probably can add another 25 inches to that for me, we're up in the hills /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

PS - I found that float works ok if the resistance isn't too bad, ie before you run into the pile. I have better luck just feathering the loader so there's just a slight amount of downpressure. Enough to scrape the snow but not so much that you lose steering capability.

 

[bellweather]

Thanks for the tip...I will try tweaking the angle of the loader to see if that helps avoid digging in.
PS - I am not looking forward to the mess when all this white stuff starts melting. We are talking mud season big time!

 

[Steven]

Hey what's up with the bird feeder on the rops. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif