Front SnowThrower Rookie

[PatnJ]

I just bought a BX 2200 (and Lovin it) and now have a front mounted snowthrower on it for the winter.

My problem is that I have a gravel driveway (300') and had a recent storm that left 4 inches of the white stuff. When I tried to use the snowthrower, I just picked up tons of rocks with the snow!

I have my skids set for 1/2 inch above the ground, and still they just dug in. I was told by several that it would work fine ...once the ground froze....which hasnt happened yet and is hopefully the issue.

I am also not sure how to leave the hydraulics....should I have the blower in the "float" position so it follows the ground, or fix it in place and control the height.

Any thoughts on the best way to snowblow a gravel drive would be much appreciated!

Thanks!
Pat

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I can sympathize with you on this one Pat. I have a similar length gravel drive which I use my BX with front blower to keep the snow clear. Until the ground freezes up good it is hard to keep the blower out of the gravel. I recently made a modification to my blower in which I borrowed a pair of the gauge wheels off my mower and fabricated brackets onto the backside of the skid shoes so the wheels are running right behind the shoe and I can adjust the wheels to keep the cutting edge a good inch above the surface. So far this is really working well for me. I was a little concerned that the snow would stick to the wheels but the smooth wheels shed the snow just fine. I can keep the control in the float position and the unit follows the ground nicely. I'm not sure how compacted or coarse the gravel is in your drive but I'm not sure if the wheels wouldn't dig in if your drive was coarse loose gravel. In that case you may just have to manually keep the unit up with the hydralics an inch or two off the road and leave a bit of snow behind until it can build up a base. I used to do this and then drag my back blade with the blade reversed so it wouldn't dig in to smooth the remaining snow out until things froze up good. I find it also helps if you make sure the road is graded nice and even before the snow starts to fly.

 

[RAllen]

Pat

I am my second season plowing about a mile of private road and drive, all gravel, with my 2910 and front mount blower. I live in Montana and my have some advantages that you may or may not be able to use.

First, Stephen had a good idea. Another, easier solution would be to replace your skids with something with a larger surface area and longer shaft. The longer shaft would allow you to raise the blower higher and the larger skids would not dig into your gravel.

Do not use your float control for now, not until the ground freezes and/or you build up a base of compacted snow. The latter, of course, may never happen where you live but does in Montana.

Hold your blower a little higher off the ground and leave the first couple of inches of snow on the ground. That works for me until I get the above mentioned base established.

With all the above said, you will still throw gravel from time to time no matter how careful you are unless your drive is completely free of large potholes and other imperfections.

Goodluck!

Rick

 

[pcmem]

PatnJ,

As others have mentioned the trick is to have a frozen base,
either ground freeze or compacted snow. The larger skids or guide wheels are good ideas but I haven't tried that. I usually let the first snows pack down and freeze. I'll have to investigate the guide roller idea some more. If you can grade the drive smooth prior to freezing that will help also. You may still want some extra shear pins thought /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.

Good luck,
Michael

 

[PatnJ]

Thanks for the tips. Everyone had some good ideas. I will look into placing wheels or larger skids on the blower. That is a great idea. (The skids that come with it are pretty small.....no wonder they dig in).

I do live in Vermont where generally the ground is frozen big time by now, its just that we have had unusually warm weather this year...much different than normal.

I may start with my local dealer where I bought the tractor, and see if they have any fixes they have come across. I think you guys have put me on the right track!

Thanks
Pat