Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Pictures of your snow weapons

[skills4lou]

We finally got some respectable snow yesterday. I did my drive and several of the elderly neighbors

 

[MossRoad]

That one seems to be DIY, but didn't someone market a light-duty plow for modern pseudo-SUVs a few years ago? Not sure how you raised/lowered the blade...there didn't seem to be any hydraulics on it. Haven't seen it advertised in a while, I'd imagine it did quite a number on those vehicles.



Winter here came early. We've had snow on the ground continuously since mid-November. Been colder than normal here too...don't usually get sub-zero temperatures until after Christmas, this year we had a spell in early Dec.
Southern part of the state, different story...ground was bare until a week or so ago.

 

[MossRoad]

Makes you wonder how many airbags have gone off.... :laughing:

 

[TractorNH]

 

[shaeff]

No pics out of sheer frustration. We got about 10”, probably 9.75” snow, .25” sleet on top. Started my machine at 10am yesterday, it all went south from there.

My PVC pipe on the plow cutting edge shattered, been meaning to replace with steel anyway. Moved some gravel around.

Plow setup moves around too much, need a better mounting system, this was a last resort deal anyway and it got the job done, just not easily.

Machine started running like crap, bogging down a LOT when using the 6’ McKee blower. I’m thinking plugs are shot. If I pull a wire and hold it away from the plug(s) it actually runs better.

Even with loaded tires, cast iron wheel weights, 500lb blower, and chains, this old 2wd MF35 has a rough time in the deep snow. Didn’t get stuck, but it sure a’int easy on hilly terrain!

I let the 35 idle down too far and it died on me, took a while to restart. That was frustrating with sleet blowing sideways.

Also, maybe for next winter I’ll build a beat-houser/can for it. I’m pretty sure that the two areas I needed the blower kinda went like this: snow on ground, snow through auger, snow through blower, snow through blower chute, snow directly in my face.

Haha, hope you guys can find some comfort in my frustrations! It can ALWAYS be worse!

 

[grsthegreat]

No pics out of sheer frustration. We got about 10”, probably 9.75” snow, .25” sleet on top. Started my machine at 10am yesterday, it all went south from there.

My PVC pipe on the plow cutting edge shattered, been meaning to replace with steel anyway. Moved some gravel around.

Plow setup moves around too much, need a better mounting system, this was a last resort deal anyway and it got the job done, just not easily.

Machine started running like crap, bogging down a LOT when using the 6’ McKee blower. I’m thinking plugs are shot. If I pull a wire and hold it away from the plug(s) it actually runs better.

Even with loaded tires, cast iron wheel weights, 500lb blower, and chains, this old 2wd MF35 has a rough time in the deep snow. Didn’t get stuck, but it sure a’int easy on hilly terrain!

I let the 35 idle down too far and it died on me, took a while to restart. That was frustrating with sleet blowing sideways.

Also, maybe for next winter I’ll build a beat-houser/can for it. I’m pretty sure that the two areas I needed the blower kinda went like this: snow on ground, snow through auger, snow through blower, snow through blower chute, snow directly in my face.

Haha, hope you guys can find some comfort in my frustrations! It can ALWAYS be worse!

i remember the years of looking like a snowman after blowing the snow ..... thats why my better half told me to buy a cabbed tractor.

 

[K man]

Yeah, been there and eaten enough snow over the years blowing snow without cab. Now I do in the comfort of my heated cab. My wife also suggested a cab after watching me get covered with blowing snow. Best investment I ever made.
While writing this message it is -24 C out there and about 9 inches of snow that needs to be cleared so I will be heading shortly and blow some snow :thumbsup:

 

[piercedtiger]

No pics out of sheer frustration. We got about 10? probably 9.75 snow, .25 sleet on top. Started my machine at 10am yesterday, it all went south from there.

My PVC pipe on the plow cutting edge shattered, been meaning to replace with steel anyway. Moved some gravel around.

Plow setup moves around too much, need a better mounting system, this was a last resort deal anyway and it got the job done, just not easily.

Machine started running like crap, bogging down a LOT when using the 6 McKee blower. I知 thinking plugs are shot. If I pull a wire and hold it away from the plug(s) it actually runs better.

Even with loaded tires, cast iron wheel weights, 500lb blower, and chains, this old 2wd MF35 has a rough time in the deep snow. Didn稚 get stuck, but it sure a段nt easy on hilly terrain!

I let the 35 idle down too far and it died on me, took a while to restart. That was frustrating with sleet blowing sideways.

Also, maybe for next winter I値l build a beat-houser/can for it. I知 pretty sure that the two areas I needed the blower kinda went like this: snow on ground, snow through auger, snow through blower, snow through blower chute, snow directly in my face.

Haha, hope you guys can find some comfort in my frustrations! It can ALWAYS be worse!

I feel for you! It's been a frustrating 4 year process for me to get the solution that works best as well. PVC on the bucket kept cracking. Rear blade was a pain having to twist around to use, and the tractor seems to have less power in reverse to push snow. I tried a rubber mat on the cutting edge to save the lawn and contour to the sagging asphalt, but that seemed to add friction making it harder to push. Then I put the blade on the loader via the SSQA. I had more power, could face forward, and lift it higher than the 3pt allowed. Unfortunately without a trip edge it would catch a lip on the sidewalk and cracked welds twice. Then I found a 4ft ATV blade with trip edge on Letgo for $200. I thought that was my final setup, but this storm was too much for it. It was too light, and kept riding up over the snow instead of pushing it. So then I was forced to go back to a light material bucket I picked up a couple years ago. It's about 400 lbs so it doesn't ride up, and 5ft wide so it scoops up more than the OEM 4ft bucket. After this storm I'm seriously considering getting a front or rear mount blower. Seeing so many others with a blade or pusher of some sort on the front with a rear blower makes me nearly ready to drop the cash for one. The most frustrating part is the sidewalk up front, especially if I help the neighbors who also struggle with the wet, heavy snow from the plows. No room to turn and the concrete doesn't provide a lot traction to the R4's. Here's a short video of that BS. Between the 3 houses there's probably 200ft.

GC26�� light material bucket moving snow - YouTube

 

[K man]

I have watched your video and I think a front or rear mounted blower would work better for you in this situation.

 

[piercedtiger]

I have watched your video and I think a front or rear mounted blower would work better for you in this situation.

I'm inclined to believe that now as well. I just hate thinking about how I basically traded my 2yr old $800 cub cadet snowblower for a $14k tractor just to end up buying a $3k snowblower. :mur: As much as I hate facing the rear, I'm thinking a 3pt snowblower would be best as it'll leave the loader on if I need to use a blade or bucket, and I don't have to find a place to store it all winter.

 

[K man]

I'm inclined to believe that now as well. I just hate thinking about how I basically traded my 2yr old $800 cub cadet snowblower for a $14k tractor just to end up buying a $3k snowblower. :mur: As much as I hate facing the rear, I'm thinking a 3pt snowblower would be best as it'll leave the loader on if I need to use a blade or bucket, and I don't have to find a place to store it all winter.

I have a front mount blower and love it as I have no real need for the FEL during the winter. Every situation is different if you use the tractor for other than just snow removal. I have side x side with plow if needed.

 

[Fallon]

I'm inclined to believe that now as well. I just hate thinking about how I basically traded my 2yr old $800 cub cadet snowblower for a $14k tractor just to end up buying a $3k snowblower. :mur: As much as I hate facing the rear, I'm thinking a 3pt snowblower would be best as it'll leave the loader on if I need to use a blade or bucket, and I don't have to find a place to store it all winter.

When I had my L3200 I built a SSQA blade. It worked well for most stuff. But I ended up getting a 3pt blower. I still used the SSQA blade 75% of the time. But I could still spin around to blow a drift, windrow, or whatever if needed. The plow was faster pretty much all the time until it wouldnt move a dense pile. Not to mention snow not blowing back in my face if wind was being uncooperative.

 

[piercedtiger]

When I had my L3200 I built a SSQA blade. It worked well for most stuff. But I ended up getting a 3pt blower. I still used the SSQA blade 75% of the time. But I could still spin around to blow a drift, windrow, or whatever if needed. The plow was faster pretty much all the time until it wouldnt move a dense pile. Not to mention snow not blowing back in my face if wind was being uncooperative.

That's kind of why I don't want a front blower. More expensive, and I might use the blade or bucket more often for lesser amounts of snow due to speed. It's just every time we get more than 5-6" at once that becomes a challenge making me look for better ways.

 

[beenthere]

Enough snow to put the wing on today.. works great.. safer to stay away from the ditch drop-off and knock the berm off for a shelf when snow blows.. temps to drop to -18F tomorrow, with high winds.. I may just go out into that field and plow a berm up to help stop some of that blowing snow coming onto the road. Acts as a pretty good snow fence.

 

[Hilbilly]

Not really a snow weapon but it sure works well on ice. With the warmer weather this year we've been getting a lot of freeze thaw cycles and the driveway has become a very long ice rink. Not bad if it's flat but that's only true for the upper 1/4 mile or so. Then for the next 3/4 mile it ranges from 10% to 15% and that gets scary on ice, especially when there is a steep drop off one side. This has been the worst since moving here 10 years ago. So I finally broke down and got a spreader but found it would throw the sand too far and would clog up with the wet salt / sand mix available at the nearest gravel pit. So I ended up making a taller, wider agitator for the inside and an adjustable shroud to narrow the spread. Works great now.

 

[Creamer]

Not really a snow weapon but it sure works well on ice. With the warmer weather this year we've been getting a lot of freeze thaw cycles and the driveway has become a very long ice rink. Not bad if it's flat but that's only true for the upper 1/4 mile or so. Then for the next 3/4 mile it ranges from 10% to 15% and that gets scary on ice, especially when there is a steep drop off one side. This has been the worst since moving here 10 years ago. So I finally broke down and got a spreader but found it would throw the sand too far and would clog up with the wet salt / sand mix available at the nearest gravel pit. So I ended up making a taller, wider agitator for the inside and an adjustable shroud to narrow the spread. Works great now.

View attachment 588976View attachment 588977

Nice concept and workmanship!

 

[Gordon Gould]

I don't know why they don't make those things so that sand flows reliably instead of tending to bridge the opening. Your modified agitator and adjustable deflector are great ideas. How do you keep your sand dry enough so the pile doesn't freeze ?? And how many trips does it take for the 3/4 mile hilly part ? Thanks.

gg

 

[Hilbilly]

I don't know why they don't make those things so that sand flows reliably instead of tending to bridge the opening. Your modified agitator and adjustable deflector are great ideas. How do you keep your sand dry enough so the pile doesn't freeze ?? And how many trips does it take for the 3/4 mile hilly part ? Thanks.

gg

I only got this a few days ago and have used it twice so far. So not a lot of experience yet. The top of my modified agitator is 12" wide and the salt /sand mixture will still bridge that because it is wet but not until about half of the sand is used (maybe more). Then I just use a stick to push the rest down. The sand I'm using now is not dry but next season I will have dry sand. I will get some this summer and after making sure it is dry I will store it in sealed 55 gallon drums or in a large bag, on a pallet and keep it under cover. With dry sand the larger agitator won't be needed. I know this because I dried some sand out, just to see the difference.

I'm not sure how many trips it would take to do the steep section of the driveway since I've only done the worst sections so far and I haven't done any real sanding since I made the shroud. Just a test run to see how it performed. Without the shroud, a lot of sand was wasted because it was thrown off the sides of the drive. With the shroud on I can keep the spreading width narrower and therefore use less. I'd guess 2 trips if I spread the sand lightly and 4 if I put a lot on. Once I get some more experience I will have a better idea and can figure out how much sand to stockpile for next season. I just got 4 yards of salt/sand dropped off and it's sitting on a tarp with another tarp covering it. The salt keeps the sand in a fluid state. I got some straight sand for a trial run when I picked up the spreader and it froze into a solid lump overnight. Good thing I didn't have it in the spreader. It was only a wheelbarrow load and I put it in the heated shop to thaw it out and made sure to use it all before storing the tractor. I also cleaned the spreader real well before storing it.

 

[PILOON]

We got about 4 inches followed by rain a few days ago.
From experience I did not plow and waited for cold to return.
A nice crust formed over the snow and it was dry underneath. No slick ice for me.
Also saved me from the chore of sanding a slippery drive!

Had to plow and blow again today and they predict some 10 inches Monday overnight. Am starting to wonder where I will put the rest of the winter's upcoming snow.

Boy am I glad that I no longer plow commercially, just my own drive and that's enough 4 me.

We get so much snow here that I equipped my blower with 4ft high drift cutter blades*and they are a necessity!

*made then from3/8 x 4" flat stock.

All too often the snow banks completely hide cars that leave driveways and city intersections.
Some city intersections can block the view of oncoming school busses, it is that bad.

 

[Tony H]

Whoops... Loose drag link end Bolt....:laughing:


View attachment 586495View attachment 586496


Can't believe I found the nut and lock washer, (40 feet away) .

Added some red locktite I should check for loose fasteners at least every couple seasons.

Back together and finished plowing:thumbsup:

You found the hardware?!?!?!? in snow , no less... AMAZING