Snow FEL Snow removal?

[Malvern]

Greetings Sharon

Welcome to TBN, I am a 2210 owner and our fellow posters have great advise. I have a 1400 ft stone drive with a cement pad around the house and garage. I have R4's, FEL and a heave duty 5ft back blade. It combo worked out standing. I could clean the pad with the blade curled forward, angled left or right (never had problems marking up the cement surface) but on the stone I rotated the blade 180 degrees and made 2 or 3 passes up and back in high range. I do have a 100ft section that would drift well over 3ft deep (this is where the fun begins) I would plow through it with the FEL and make a lane. Then I would just scoop it up and dump where ever I wanted. If I could start over again I would get a cheap 6ft rear blade and use it just for snow removal. I have to fight over using my tractor with my 16 year old (their should be some kind of law against this) just to plow the snow.

Have fun this winter.
Malvern /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[B8FISH]

Hi--I've used my 2210 and FEL for WNY snow removal for the last two winters--no problems. I have a gravel drive, and an extended drive back to our barn that I plow as well. Other posters are correct--it may take a little longer without a wide blade on the back, but it can still be done. I haven't used chains, the 4wd has been fine. Depending on your layout, you can consider plowing across the drive, instead of along it. This makes shorter passes (but more of them), and the bucket won't get filled as often.

 

[garchib]

Just adding to the concensus......my FEL has done an incredible job, including the brutal snowfalls we had last winter where my snow piles were nearing 8 to 10 feet in height. I would pile the snow as high as I could with the loader and just keep pushing forward and I never ran out of room. I even learned how to use the bottom of the bucket to compress the top of the snowbanks /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ...not a big snow-blower guy, as it is a one-use implement, unlike an FEL which you can use for many jobs, such as transporting beer to your backyard /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[fargo]

I too live in NY and it's actually snowing right now.
I have a 300 ft driveway which has a pretty good grade and is gravel. I had no problem removing snow last year with my 2210 with R4's. I didn't need chains and we had quite a bit of snow last year. I used a 6 foot rear blade in combination with the FEL. The fact that the blade couldn't be lifted high wasn't a big issue. When the snow piled up, I used the FEL to move it. The only issue I had was that I didn't have skid shoes for my rear blade and in the spring I had lots of driveway rocks in my yard. If you get a rear blade, I'd recommend skid shoes. The rear blade is probably the cheapest way to go when compared to a snowblower or hydraulic front blade. I found that using the FEL to plow can be tricky. The short wheel base of the 2210 isn't very forgiving. If you miss some snow with the blade, when the rear wheels go over it, the FEL dips down and hits the ground. I kept my 2210 in my unheated garage and had no fuel issues.

 

[ruglad03835]

I'll second GARCHIB on moving snow with a FEL. I'm up in central NH and used my old International utility tractor to move and pile snow(when it wanted to run). I can't wait to dive into a pile of white stuff with my new 790.

Rick

 

[trlong]

Sharon,

Lots of good advise here. Many opinions, many options. One I did not see, but have advised before, is to try to find a set of Carhartt Extreme Coveralls, or equivalent. They can be expensive $140 - $160 + shipping but, I got mine for under $120 w/hood, at a local Agway. You can get a lot colder, and snowier, driving a CUT w/o a cab than out there walking behind a snowblower. Some thing really warm for your hands is recommended. I never got cold last winter, except for my hands and this year I did gets some actric mitts.

Have fun,

Tom

P.S.(Only 10" of wet heavy snow here, so far...now melted off. The fun is just beginning /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif)

 

[megotatractor]

6 FT rear blade? think about that for a moment. Last February we had a record 20 inch snow dump. I thought I could back up with my 6 ft blade and bust a path through. no go, not enough tractor. scooping my way through with the fel took forever. five hours. I have since traded that 6 ft blade for a 5 footer with guage pads. I wish I'd bought a snowblower for that day.

 

[fargo]

The 6 footer worked fine for me. But, there was one storm over 18 inches and I went out twice. I wouldn't let it get over 10 inches without playing, I mean plowing. This year I have a 3720 and I still won't let it get that deep. I see it as extra seat time, which is a good thing.

 

[eliot3b4]

I haven't looked at this site for a while, and I am in the process of trading up to a 3320.

I have owned a JD 4110, and plowed a runway, hangar ramp areas, and a huge area around my house with this little machine. I had a snow blower, snow plow, snow pusher, sweeper, and mowing deck with a hydraulic dump.

During the winter, I used the snowpusher the most. The snow plow would rip up pavement, but the plus is I could angle the snow as I was plowing the runway and a road. The plow was ok, but it was the pusher that really moved the snow. With the snow blower, it was a royal pain the neck to put it on, and required me to go searching for help putting this on. However once on, it was awesome as it moved the snow piles away from hangars and away from my house.

So, if I were to give any advice it would be to invest in a snow pusher. I am not a big fan of snow being moved behind me.

As for the storage of diesel fuel. I have a 500 gallon tank that I fill up at the beginning and the end of the winter season. Last year, I actually ran out of fuel! But I was also feeding another tractor and a pickup truck. I had no problems storing this amount of fuel. I did use the anti-gel a couple of times, just in case.

I do have a diesel VW, but buy my fuel at the gas station as the fuel storage on my property is too valuable for my equipment. I do not want to be hauling diesel fuel to my tractor in the middle of a snow storm.

My other suggestion if you have not done this is to install a block heater on your tractor. Plug the tractor in at night before you start it up. This will help the engine. Although both JD and VW do not require their vehicles to be heated durng the winter, as with any engine, it is just do hard on any engine to be started cold when the temperatures have gone below zero degrees.

I hope this help.
/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[al3]

To all the folks using the FEL & bucket for snow removal on hard surfaces----have you welded/hardsurfaced or attached some sort of skid/shoes to the bottom of the bucket? I was somewhat surprised at the amount of wear that one seasons work in gravel/sand caused--more than just paint removal.