Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Gravel drive snow removal

[coldstream]

This will be my first winter removing snow with my Kubota B2930. I've got an FEL and a back blade. I did some searches on this topic with no luck and need a refresher on what plastic pipe (size and type) that folks have installed on the edges of the FEL bucket and the back blade to keep from moving the gravel around while plowing. Thanks for the help!

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Interesting question, and something I'm not crafty enough to have thought up myself. I moved some pretty good snow last year from our long, hilly gravel drive with the FEL (sans any PVC), and it actually did a good job without disturbing the gravel all that much. There were a few places that are uneven, and I had to leave a little snow on the drive, but altogether not too bad.

I'll be interested to see the feedback here. :thumbsup:

 

[Jay4200]

This will be my first winter removing snow with my Kubota B2930. I've got an FEL and a back blade. I did some searches on this topic with no luck and need a refresher on what plastic pipe (size and type) that folks have installed on the edges of the FEL bucket and the back blade to keep from moving the gravel around while plowing. Thanks for the help!

Good luck. I find an FEL as close to useless as an implement can be for snow removal, unless your drive is short and wide. Long and narrow - forget it. As far as the blade goes - if you spin it around and drive in reverse, it will work OK, unless the snow is deep. I don't know about plastic pipe, but I would raise the blade an inch or two for the first couple plowings, until the surface gets frozen in. Once frozen, you can drop the blade and run normally. You will lose some gravel - no way around that, but you'll have to re-grade the drive in the spring anyway, (especially if you're married to Don Garlits like I am) so who cares.

A blower is the weapon of choice.

JayC

 

[JDGreenGrass]

It's quite simple though I have not done it myself.

Take a piece of 1" and a half PVC Pipe and cut it to the width of your bucket. Then, cut pipe the long way so that it can "mount" it onto the cutting blade of your bucket.

Report back and let us all know how this works out for you.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

Good luck. I find an FEL as close to useless as an implement can be for snow removal, unless your drive is short and wide. Long and narrow - forget it. As far as the blade goes - if you spin it around and drive in reverse, it will work OK, unless the snow is deep. I don't know about plastic pipe, but I would raise the blade an inch or two for the first couple plowings, until the surface gets frozen in. Once frozen, you can drop the blade and run normally. You will lose some gravel - no way around that, but you'll have to re-grade the drive in the spring anyway, (especially if you're married to Don Garlits like I am) so who cares.

A blower is the weapon of choice.

JayC

Huh.?? Like people don't people don't use the bucket to clear snow.?? Where are you from.??.....Venus.??

People that have these problems....bucket digs in and ruins gravel....must not have a bucket level gauge.?? If not, get one. Period. Problem solved.

Clearing snow with a blade turned around backwards will NOT work very well.

 

[Car Doc]

A blower would be the best if you had one (I don't) but I found that tilting my bucket around to a point where it doesn't pick up snow and is 2-3" above grade just smooths it out is about the only way I can do it w/o tearing up the road.

Its not actually removing it just getting it lower where as it freezes etc its not so deep that cars cant drive down it and it does seem to melt quicker also not a perfect way at all but works for me you do what you have to with what you have.

Some gets pushed at the end of a run where I stop and then push the pile from side to side off the road.

 

[ray66v]

I plow over 300' of gravel drive.

Ideally, you pack down some 3"-4" snow falls, and that really helps to keep you out of the gravel.

I put a set of gauge wheels on my snow plow. They are large pneumatic casters that replaced the "feet". They hold the blade 2" off the ground. This will almost totally eliminate any gravel being picked up by the plow.

The other thing you need to avoid is wheel spin, that will bring gravel to the surface and then it gets plowed away. Using chains, and ag tires, can aggravate this problem.

Turfs with no chains, if you can do it, are the best way to prevent tire pick up. If you have a flat driveway, and 4 wd, they work fine. If you have a sloping drive, you probably will have to use more a more aggressive set up, and just deal with the tire pick up.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Good luck. I find an FEL as close to useless as an implement can be for snow removal, unless your drive is short and wide. Long and narrow - forget it.

Not sure why you've had such difficulty with the FEL used for snow removal. Like I said previously, even without any modifications I've moved 2 feet of snow off our long and hilly driveway. I realize 2 feet isn't much to some posters from the Great White North, but it's a lot here in the Bluegrass State. Not many of us here can justify buying a snow blower, as we don't get frequent heavy snowfall (possible exceptions in eastern mountains). Much more cost effective to use tools on hand that can be used for other tasks year-round.

 

[wedge40]

Interesting thread.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/184041-pictures-your-snow-weapons.html

Seems most of these people are using FEL.

For the OP. Here is a nice thread to read about using a pipe on the edge of the blade to keep gravel where it belongs.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/159162-abs-plastic-pipe-snow-blade.html
Wedge

 

[ray66v]

Interesting thread.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/184041-pictures-your-snow-weapons.html

Seems most of these people are using FEL.

Not really, they are using the fel to push a plow, so am I.

Not the same as using the fel bucket, to move snow. Which you can of course do. But is not as efficient as a plow.

 

[Jay4200]

Huh.?? Like people don't people don't use the bucket to clear snow.?? Where are you from.??.....Venus.??

Folks do use FELs even here on Venus, and I have too... once. Even then, I gave up and just used the bucket to smash the snow flat so I could drive on it. It did make for a good early season snowfall packing to ice-up the gravel though. As I said before, it is just about the worst tool for the job that there is. Having to scoop up a load of snow, then back up, K to the side, dump, then do it again 150000 times is NOT what I would consider a good solution to a problem that occurs weekly. My drive is 800 feet long and 10-12' wide. 4 quick passes with my 3' lawn tractor blower makes it a 20 minute job. 2 passes with my big tractor w/ 6' blower makes it a 10-15 minute job. For a light snowfall, 4 fast passes with my ATV w/ plow is a 10 minute job. I could use my tractor in reverse w/ grading blade for the same effect in 15 minutes if I wanted too. Using the FEL...4 hours? Use one if you want.

JayC

 

[lungdoc]

People have used pipe very successfully - long thread on that if you search, some preferred ABS but I think PVC was better from my recollection of those that tried both.

A lot of this depends on where you live - if it's cold enough to keep a layer of packed snow/ice most of winter is a lot easier and pipe probably unnecessary - just pack the snow by driving on it for the first snow and you are good after that. I doubt Missouri would be like that though (OP sig says NWest MO).

 

[wedge40]

Once a FEL bucket gets full of snow, isn't it just a blade/plow then? I seen one guy on here who took a hunk of 2by material and fixed to the front of his bucket and turned it into a plow. For what little snow he got it has worked for a few years.
Most people on here are trying to make due with what they have, because they dont want to spend what they dont.


Wedge

 

[bp fick]

I started a thread or two last early winter on the subject of plastic pipe. I tried the PVC. Works great!!!! Awesome. For about a 1/2 hour and then the cold and gravel shatter it. YMMV

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/158966-pvc-pipe-snow-blade.html

Then, I tried the suggested ABS. Much more shatter resistant, but it distorted for me. After an hour, it was rather egg shaped and no longer had tension to keep itself on the blade edge.

Slit steel is likely the only thing that is going to work, in the long run. I am certainly in a learning mode myself, and I plow lots and lots of snow.

 

[Jay4200]

Once a FEL bucket gets full of snow, isn't it just a blade/plow then? I seen one guy on here who took a hunk of 2by material and fixed to the front of his bucket and turned it into a plow. For what little snow he got it has worked for a few years.
Most people on here are trying to make due with what they have, because they dont want to spend what they dont.

Right - that's why I suggested the back blade (in reverse) as the best way to go, IMHO. You are right, however, in that you can just push a full bucket and it will turn into a wedge-plow. Tried it, and it does work - if your bucket is wide enough to make a single pass, that would work great. Try to make the snow go onto just one side for that second pass though. You're doomed in deep heavy snow at any rate.

I considered using plywood to extend one side of the bucket so snow would sluff off only on the other side. It probably would've worked, but switched to the lawn tractor w/ blower.

In all cases, your clearing implement has to be wider than your tires or you'll ultimately end up dishing the driveway toward the center, which is the opposite of what you want. Found that out the hard way too.

JayC

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Once a FEL bucket gets full of snow, isn't it just a blade/plow then?

That's exactly how it worked for me. My BX2660 isn't exactly a gargantuan machine, so I'd start at the top of the hills and push downward. Near the base of the hills, just ease toward the side and push it right off the road.

Tried it, and it does work - if your bucket is wide enough to make a single pass, that would work great. Try to make the snow go onto just one side for that second pass though. You're doomed in deep heavy snow at any rate.

In all cases, your clearing implement has to be wider than your tires or you'll ultimately end up dishing the driveway toward the center, which is the opposite of what you want. Found that out the hard way too.

My bucket's not wide enough to do it in one pass, more like a total of three to do a decent job. Did not have a problem driving everything to the center like you say. Not sure what I was doing right, but I can promise you it was by accident, not design.

Folks do use FELs even here on Venus, and I have too... once.... As I said before, it is just about the worst tool for the job that there is. My drive is 800 feet long and 10-12' wide. 4 quick passes with my 3' lawn tractor blower makes it a 20 minute job. Using the FEL...4 hours? Use one if you want.

Not certain exactly how long our driveway is. One day I need to actually measure it with the GPS. I'd guess very close to 1000'. Took two hours (actually, slightly less than two), not four. Which is more seat time, and that's good no matter what planet your on.

Of course, the amount of fun seat time is often inversely proportional to how often you have to be out in the cold plowing snow. Twice a year is fun. Twice a month, less fun. Twice a week, and fun approaches zero and I would definitely find room in the budget for a blower.

 

[Car Doc]

I know I would like to find a better solution and short of buying something I am seriously thinking about adapting my back blade to somehow fit the loader bucket and still be able to reuse it as it was built for in other words not chop it up.

A 3pt quick connect would be ideal if I could get one and mount it to the bucket that's what I am thinking anyway and a qc is needed equipment anyway and would be nice to have at the rear during the summer.

I cant look back for more than a few minutes and my neck is cramped using a back blade in reverse its bad enough the amount of looking back I need to do turning around as is with fences and cars etc in the way.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

I started a thread or two last early winter on the subject of plastic pipe. I tried the PVC. Works great!!!! Awesome. For about a 1/2 hour and then the cold and gravel shatter it. YMMV

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/158966-pvc-pipe-snow-blade.html

Then, I tried the suggested ABS. Much more shatter resistant, but it distorted for me. After an hour, it was rather egg shaped and no longer had tension to keep itself on the blade edge.

Slit steel is likely the only thing that is going to work, in the long run. I am certainly in a learning mode myself, and I plow lots and lots of snow.

bp fick:

I read your thread (and the other thread it led to). Great info. Your post here is unacceptable, however. I demand that you go back to the drawing board and come up with something that's highly effective, very inexpensive, and works perfectly in all conditions! :laughing:

 

[hr3]

Coldstream.. I'v been plowing a complex drive for 4 years now with my loader with no problem,, I might try the pvc thing this winter but i don't have problems with digging up the dirt,, My drive is all "crusher dust" at least that's what they call it in my area,, I personally don't like running the blade "off" the ground,, My purpose in plowing is getting it all and seeing dirt when i'm done .. Last year I bought a Curtis plow setup,, Worked ok but I don't like it,,, too heavy for my tractor and pushed the front around too much,, Soo I'm selling it and will be going back to the bucket..

Tried out a snow blower a few years back.. didn't like driving backwards.. my rear window doesn't have a wiper and ya know regaurdless of what direction i aimed the shoot ,,the snow came right back at me.. and the rocks,,wow,, it's great for getting rid of those pesky small rocks in your drive.. If I have a real long paved drive and a Big tractor that the blower could go on front,, I'd have one,, Will have to keep playing Powerball,,

Soo just get out there when the snow comes and have fun with your loader I know I do every time it snows,, Ooo do you have a cab ????

 

[RoyJackson]

This will be my first winter removing snow with my Kubota B2930. I've got an FEL and a back blade. I did some searches on this topic with no luck and need a refresher on what plastic pipe (size and type) that folks have installed on the edges of the FEL bucket and the back blade to keep from moving the gravel around while plowing. Thanks for the help!

You just have to pick the right tool for the job. Lighter snows (<8" powdery snows), you can just use the FEL bucket as a "plow" (or a loader mounted plow). It'll depend on the size and weight or the tractor...also, if the tires have chains.
Blizzard snows...then you need another tool...and that tool might still be the loader bucket but you'd be moving and dumping snow with it.
So...your toolbox contains more then one tool (I hope). Just pick the right tool for the job.