Rear Blade Settings

[mhart]

Hello
I am relatively inexperienced with tractors in general. We built a house on a piece of wooded property with a long hilly gravel driveway- about 3/4 mile long. In May of 2010 I bought a Kubota B2920 to maintain the property. I have done well maintaining the gravel with a box blade, have used the FEL for spreading gravel, hauling stones for walkways etc. I also have a bushhog and MMM for maintaining the grassy areas.

Now I am on to snow removal on the gravel drive. I have purchased a rear blade for this. It works relatively well. I have found that it is better than the box blade since I am able to angle it and allow the snow to fall off to the side. Are there any tips for setting of the top link, other adjustments or ideas to allow for otpimal snow removal? Sometimes I have trouble with the blade digging in too much, scraping too much gravel etc. Overall it is working pretty well, but I am sure there are things I could do to make it perform better. Again please excuse my ignorance, I am learning.

Thanks in advance.

 

[firefighter jim]

What I do is plow snow with the blade reversed. Works well and doesn't dig into our gravel drive and road.............

 

[Zork]

Hi mhart, Welcome to TBN. I find that the more I have the top of the blade closer to the tractor the less the blade digs in and removes the gravel. Additionally, this site has allot of good videos and, in general, may be helpful to you. I find what firefighter jim says is true as well, but I found does not work well with a wet base since it will tend to compact it down.

Snow Removal with a scrape blade

How To Video Demos - Implements & Attachments

You may have to search for your particular uses. I hope you find this useful.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

On the lighter storms turning the blade around backwards and driving forward will help preserve the gravel.

On deeper storms I like to shorten the top-link so that the blade doesn't act as aggressive.

This post is to confirm what has already been said.:thumbsup:

Enjoy your seat time and welcome. Lots of questions asked and answered here on TBN.

 

[djradz]

Hi mhart, Welcome to TBN. I find that the more I have the top of the blade closer to the tractor the less the blade digs in and removes the gravel. Additionally, this site has allot of good videos and, in general, may be helpful to you. I find what firefighter jim says is true as well, but I found does not work well with a wet base since it will tend to compact it down.

Snow Removal with a scrape blade

How To Video Demos - Implements & Attachments

You may have to search for your particular uses. I hope you find this useful.

I find just the opposite. The longer I make the top link, the more the blade is set back "on its heals" and thus seems to glide over, rather than digging, in. Kind of reminds me of shaving with a razor. If you create a sharp front edge to the blade by shortening the link, it seems to cut better. In addition, it puts all the weight of the blade on a very narrow, thin strip.

As others have noted, going backwards (blade still facing front of tractor) seems to work well to not dig up gravel, for when the snow is extremely light or no compacted snow base is yet present.

 

[bp fick]

Up here in the frozen north, we do not even try to clean down to the gravel. There little to be gained from trying to do so. It just isn't blacktop. If we only get 2-3 inches, we drive over it, creating a base. This tends to lock the gravel down, below an inch of compacted snow.

Yes, using the blade turned around is where most folks need to begin there rear blade experience. :thumbsup:

Push back with blade in "normal" position, then spin the blade around to pull it down the drive. You'll like it.

 

[Bill Hoffman]

I replaced both vertical links on my 3pt hitch with chains.
This allows the blade to follow the contours of the gravel
driveway without digging in. The tractor can twist, but
the blade stays in even contact.

I plow forward, the lower links could be damaged if you
ram something in reverse.

Longer top link - more aggressive cut
Shorter top link - less aggressive cut

I've used the rear blade this way for 3 years, and it
plows very well. No damage to either the tractor or the
driveway.

Bill

 

[LD1]

I agree with letting some snow build a base and then plow. If not, plowing with the blade backwards is about the only option unless you put a beice of slotted pipe on it, or skid shoes.

If plowing forward, as mentioned, shorter TL is less agressive.

Just the opposite is true if you low with the tractor in Reverse, which is what I do. Longer TL is less agressive.

I like reverse because I am not driving over the snow I am going to plow, and I can push it up into piles without having to stop, backup, ane then use the FEL. Visibility is better too IMO but it is hard on the neck.

And unless you replace one of the vertical side links with a peice of chain, try to set the TL so that the A-frame of the blade is level. If not, when you angle it, you will have to re-adjust the sidelink to get the blade level again.

 

[Chilly807]

Like LD1 said, the frame should be level fore and aft, if not the blade won't be level when you angle it.

I added skid shoes and hydraulic angle to mine, works really well for snow. The shoes are height adjustable with washers.

Sean

 

[orezok]

I built the gauge wheels shown. With the hydraulic top I can adjust from a full cut (like shown in picture) to an infinite amount of blade float above the surface. This or something similar would work well for snow removal.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

Up here in the frozen north, we do not even try to clean down to the gravel. There little to be gained from trying to do so. It just isn't blacktop. If we only get 2-3 inches, we drive over it, creating a base. This tends to lock the gravel down, below an inch of compacted snow.

Yes, using the blade turned around is where most folks need to begin there rear blade experience. :thumbsup:

Push back with blade in "normal" position, then spin the blade around to pull it down the drive. You'll like it.

I too believe in a base. However, years like this the base doesn't form in November and disappear in April.

I am working on my 3rd base in the past 2 months.!!

 

[Zork]

Like LD1 said, the frame should be level fore and aft, if not the blade won't be level when you angle it.

I added skid shoes and hydraulic angle to mine, works really well for snow. The shoes are height adjustable with washers.

Sean

The skid shoes are a great idea. I'll get right on it. Advance has parts for snow plows and I will purchase my shoes and make the holder. The disk in my area is $19? and the sled is $29.

Snowplow Shoe Assembly, Snowplow Aftermarket Mfg Snowplow Shoe Assembly

 

[gwdixon]

I built the gauge wheels shown. With the hydraulic top I can adjust from a full cut (like shown in picture) to an infinite amount of blade float above the surface. This or something similar would work well for snow removal.

Beat me to it! Nice setup. (Ooops...the post disappeared??)

I was going to suggest wheels welded to the blade much in the manner that Chilly807 mounted the skid shoes. That way you can back up close to something if you are dragging forward.

It would seem that the skids would wreak havoc on a gravel road like the OP has while wheels would not be so damaging.

 

[bp fick]

I too believe in a base. However, years like this the base doesn't form in November and disappear in April.

I am working on my 3rd base in the past 2 months.!!

It is not uncommon. Unless one resides in the extremely cold regions, the cycle of having snow followed by thaw, followed by snow, is pretty routine.

But the principles remain the same. If one has gravel, it is seems best to always leave the last one inch in tact and compacted. Turning the blade around and pulling it accomplishes this best. One can attempt to clear snow completely from blacktop or concrete, but it doesn't seem prudent to attempt this with gravel.

I like my gravel in the lane, not so much out on the grass.

 

[orezok]

Beat me to it! Nice setup. (Ooops...the post disappeared??)

I was going to suggest wheels welded to the blade much in the manner that Chilly807 mounted the skid shoes. That way you can back up close to something if you are dragging forward.

That's true, but the longer the the distance between the blade and wheels the more level the final cut. Wheels or shoes at the blade just result in it following every rut or hummock. Since it is held in place with a single hitch pin, it only takes a couple of seconds to remove if I need to get close.

 

[gwdixon]

That's true, but the longer the the distance between the blade and wheels the more level the final cut. Wheels or shoes at the blade just result in it following every rut or hummock. Since it is held in place with a single hitch pin, it only takes a couple of seconds to remove if I need to get close.

OK, found your post. It had jumped to page 1 somehow.

I have a land leveler that works on the same principle as your set up so know the function.

 

[Chilly807]

The skid shoes are a great idea. I'll get right on it. Advance has parts for snow plows and I will purchase my shoes and make the holder. The disk in my area is $19? and the sled is $29.

Snowplow Shoe Assembly, Snowplow Aftermarket Mfg Snowplow Shoe Assembly

I made mine from discs of 3/8 steel cupped with a press, the ones I could find in the stores were flat on the bottom. That price sounds about right.

If you have to use the flat ones be sure your pipe fit is fairly snug, if not the shoes will tip and hook in. I think I have about 1/16-1/8 clearance. I used 1.25 schedule 160 pipe, the shoes have a 1" stem. The ones from Advance appear to be the cat's meow, very similar to what I have.

Sean

 

[gerard]

As chilly807 indicated in his post, get skid shoes, you won't be disappointed. You set the general height using the washers that come with the shoes. Fine adjustment can then be donw by lengthening/shortening the top link. Just using the top link adjustment, I can either scrape right down to the blacktop (which I do on the driveways), or set about an inch gap when plowing the dirt/gravel lanes down to the pasture. For a gravel drive, set about a 1 1/2inch gap until you get a solid base, then you can reduce it a little if you want but that way you'll leave almost all the gravel where it belongs - on the road. The other methods (driving backwards or reversing the blade), will work better than going forward but you'll still pick up a fair amount of gravel until you get a solid base down.