Snow... blade choices for Northern Kentucky

[CADplans]

With my record, and the amount of earth I need to be moving over the next few years, I need a Cat 3 blade with Cat 2 connection. heh

I gotta admit,,, I do baby that blade,,, but, I have used it in 20 inches of heavy snow,,, it worked to perfection.

My tractor weighs about 10K pounds,, so, I do not baby it too much,,,, :thumbsup:

 

[DieselMachine]

Been looking for a FEL bucket edge option that was a little less expensive than the fabricated clamp on style units. Was on the search for ABS or PVC pipe initially but heard about all the issues with them falling off during use. Then looked for a polyurethane slab at the hardware store and couldn't one. Finally walked down to the building materials section and saw a piece of solid Trex decking material. Drilled a couple holes, hand cut a beveled edge and here's the result. At $17 for the Trex and ~$5 for the hardware; should it wear out, a replacement will be another $17 bucks.


Also ripped a slit in a piece of 2" PVC for the BB to use to push show in reverse. Just got finished installing a stamped concrete driveway this summer so I am trying to avoid scratching/damaging the surface.

 

[coolreinfarm]

That looks like the answer to the expensive clamp on bucket edge. How thick is the material, is it equivalent to 5/4 deck board?. Did you use standard bolts and countersink them or carriage bolts? How hard was it to drill through the cutting edge? Looks like an excellent choice of material, it should hold up in cold weather since it's used for decking, thanks for the pictures.

 

[DieselMachine]

It's about 3/4" thick. I counter sunk standard 5/16" hex bolts, washer on both ends. Had a chance to push a little dusting of snow this am and the edge gets down to the concrete well. The thickened cutting edge took a little time to drill thorugh but a single "hard metal" Milwaukee 5/16" bit made it through all 5 holes. Could tell by the end it was getting a little dull but it held out. Used some lube to help keep the bit cool.

 

[camshawn]

I use the hydraulic offset on my back blade to push the windrow of snow further off to the side while keeping my tractor on the driveway. You never know if you will need more space to pile more snow. Here in southern BC., we may get 3or 4 inches in an entire year that is gone tomorrow or 3 feet in a dump that stays for weeks.
Cam

 

[coolreinfarm]

Thanks dieselmachine good info, I only use the loader when snow is 8" and up, waiting for another 32" like last year in the mid Atlantic area, the cutting edge on the bucket made some gouges in the blacktop this should eliminate that problem.

 

[RNeumann]

Currently about 1000 ft paved drive. 2000ft gravel road.

Budget is as little as will reasonably get the job done well and without adding 'too much' time unnecessarily. If I knew snow was a consistent it's I'd go with the FEL plow. And likely will in the future when all roads are done, it will be over a 1 1/2mile paved. But I'm looking to put money in the farm not on a potential benefit at this point.

I've not seen that type of offset rear blade before. CADplans, who makes that blade?

If it was me and I wanted to spend the money elsewhere I'd go add a vote for these-

The SNOW EDGE: Protect your driveway this winter!

The SNOW EDGE: Protect your driveway this winter!

I grew up using a box scraper so my next implement would be a box. Not the best for the snow. But given the small amount you get I'm betting the snow edge on the bucket will be just fine.

 

[Dadnatron]

Diesel, I think I'm going to copy that idea. I have a box blade on the back, and had decided to just see how the bucket did, but I like the idea of having that layer of protection for the driveway. I could get at least 2 edges out of a long board.

Have you had a chance to try it on ice?

 

[LD1]

When it comes to snow, boxes (weather it be a box blade, front box, or your loader bucket), those are really designed for moving snow longer distances. Great for parking lots, parking areas, etc. But suck at long and skinny "roads"

There is a reason road crews use angle plows, and contractors doing parking lots use push boxes.

For 3000' of driveway, you want something that angles. One pass down the drive/road.....widen the approach while down there, one pass back up and you are done.

If I were you, I would rule out a front loader mount angle blade. Do you have front hydraulics (3rd function or diverter)......if not, consider adding some. But if not, some 1/4" hoses running to a rear remote......$100

For the plow, There is a plethora of 7.5, 8, and 8.5' plows all over craigslist in my area. Dont know about yours. But with $500, I could probably show you at least a dozen within an hour drive of me. Then its a simple matter of attaching to your loader. Assume you have a SSQA???? What other attachments do you have? I mounted my plow on my forklift frame after removing the forks. But a blank SSQA plate and weld on some tabs for the plow.....~$120.

Again, dont know your setup. Or your fab abilities, or what you currently have. But I spend $350 on a front 7.5' plow. Already had hydraulics for the grapple, and used my fork frame and some scraps of metal to make it accept the plow. So I only have $350 invested in a front plow. And you arent gonna touch a rear blade heavy enough for your tractor anywhere close to that, let alone one with hydraulic angle.

 

[DieselMachine]

I have not gotten to try it on ice, but I don't think it will do much. When I pushed the bit of snow last weekend I just let weight of the bucket float and there was a slight film it left behind. Haven't put any weight on it with the hydraulics but I'm sure that will help. Probably not enough to make cut though ice though....