Grading Rear Blade Usage

[johnbilt]

Hi

I have been "plowing" my snowy driveway with the front end loader. I set it level and just push the snow into piles.

I am thinking about putting a rear blade on the 3pt to drag behind as well, since it can be angled and allow the snow to sluff off to the side. I'm hoping this will give a cleaner, smoother finish to the drive.

Does anyone have experience with this ?

Appreciate info !

JohnBilt - JD990

 

[RobS]

Hi John,

The first winter I owned my 790 we still lived in the subdivision. Just for fun I pushed snow with the FEL and box blade as that was all I had. I quickly realized the need to angle a blade. Since moving I've had one winter with a rear blade. Much better! Angle it, lower it and move. Casts the snow off to the side quite nicely. I still use the FEL for occasional pile moving and detail work near the garage.

What kind of driveway and how long? I've got about 700 feet of gravel. Until things freeze solid, I'll keep the blade up an inch or so to avoid tearing up the drive. Once it's frozen I let it float on the ground.

Got snow yet up there in the great white north /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[johnbilt]

Hi

My drive is only about 250ft, gravel base. I have some extra area around the garage and a path to my shed.

We just got dumped on this weekend, about 2 feet on Sat and Sun. Made getting out Monday morning a challenge. I plowed it clean Saturday, only to have another 16 inches fall Sunday night. Luckily, it was pretty light stuff to move around. It's been staying cold, so the snow is dry.

The FEL works good. I just thought a rear blade might make a cleaner pass after the FEL digs and pushes the big stuff into a pile. I end up with some fairly high rows of snow from each side of the FEL after each pass.

I didn't have success with the float setting. The blade tends to start raising up too much. I find that if I set the blade slightly above level and apply a little downpressure, then I can plow a straight line. I add or decrease downpressure adjustments as I go to maintain a balance of steering and control.

The float setting works great for backdragging from the garage doors. Then I can push it with the rest of the pile.

Thanks
John

 

[RobS]

Wow, that's a lot of snow. The moldboard on my rear blade is only about 14" high. In deeper snow it's just going to fall right over the backside and you'll have difficulty making windrows out of it. If you consistantly get that kind of snow you may want to consider a snowblower. Some of our New England friends can probably better relate to that much snow, ours normally comes in 12" or less increments /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[yellowsocks93]

Hi John,

I used to use the rear blade until I got my front loader and the blade really works well. I think both would make a great combo. It does make a clean pass probably a little better than the FEL as it is wider. By the way how is your 990 doing?

Nick
990 4x4 turfs

 

[SethO]

"detail work"

Nice touch, only a FEL can do that.

 

[frank_f15]

i use the fel most of the time but the RB is on and i use it when the conditions ar right.

 

[johnbilt]

Thanks for the info everyone.

My 990 is doing fine. I have been using the block heater and it has started fine. We are supposed to get 25 below tomorrow, so if the snow hits, I'm ready....

Last weekend, I had the left front tire go flat and come loose from the bead on the rim. I was able to get it into the shop, put it on a jackstand, and let it warm up. Then I got a ratchet strap around the tire and put the air to it. It finally seated back on the bead. No leaks. I guess it must have slowly leaked air, and with the cold, spun off the rim. Hmm

I'm going to check that much more closely for awhile.

Have Fun All

John

 

[Wildman1]

Johnbilt,

I'm in Chugiak..where are you? I tried a blade for about 2 months and went to a blower..back in the Craftsman days. I had a crappy asphalt drive then and it was as bad as blowing a gravel drive. I'd set the shoes high and build a snow packed base. Then life was good.

When I got the 2210 I cringed at the $2900 tag for the blower + quicktach but bit the bullet. As you mentioned, this has been a memorable start to winter..especially compared to last year. The blower has been a godsend. There's no way I could have done the 6 driveways + blowing out the berms the snowplows left 4 times in 6 hours with a blade/FEL.

My vet, Tom McGregor, has a JD4300 and bought a rear mounted blower after going through everything from a walk-behind blower to a truck plow. He swears by it but his neck gets tired looking back. It's half the front mounted price.

The point of this epistle is...get a blower.

 

[Wildman1]

One thing I forgot to mention is that I had to blow a trail through virgin snow through some woods and I set the blower up about 3". If I saw the blower dip down I'd tickle the lever a schosh to keep the blower from digging. No problem.