Snow Attachments snow blade vs snow pusher

[greenmojo]

I'm using a 6' rear blade on my 4300 set at a descent angle for forward plowing.

It seems like it is working well, but of course without any real downward force, I imagine soon when a layer of ice builds up, this won't work so well.

I'm plowing dirt / rock and about 2 miles of it, would a FEL blade be better, or not worth the money spent considering I already have the rear blade?

~Moses

 

[Rustyiron]

The pusher box's seem to be all the rage now, but I wonder, in a commercial parking lot situation, where you have a few acre's to clear, and it all need's to go to the end…. doesn't the box fill up and then just spill off? When I plowed such lot's, (before pusher box's) we'd windrow with an angle blade, eventually taking smaller "bites" or passes until we were hopefully able to switch the plowing direction 90* and head for the side. It would seem to me that having both would be the best and fastest way. Windrowing until (too big) you had to push to the side & clean up. Just wondering.

 

[LiveRoll]

I have a Horst Welding HLA 3000 mounted to My loader, it has flip over plates that simply pin into place after they are flipped. Granted, they are heavy to flip over, but the whole procedure takes 45 seconds, It allows me the best of both worlds, the ability to plow windrow as well as pushing and piling.
This is the sixth winter for this blade and it has been used for oilfield conditions It has been an excellent piece of equipment, I highly recommend you checking out the HLA site.

Cheers


Roger

 

[George2615]

The pusher box's seem to be all the rage now, but I wonder, in a commercial parking lot situation, where you have a few acre's to clear, and it all need's to go to the end? doesn't the box fill up and then just spill off? When I plowed such lot's, (before pusher box's) we'd windrow with an angle blade, eventually taking smaller "bites" or passes until we were hopefully able to switch the plowing direction 90* and head for the side. It would seem to me that having both would be the best and fastest way. Windrowing until (too big) you had to push to the side & clean up. Just wondering.

The lots I do with mine are small. Maybe 200 x 300. My tractor weighs only about 6K. For bigger commercial lots you need a tractor with weight. At work we have a 20,000 lb articulated machine with a 16' pusher and I've seen the snow so heavy the tires lose traction toward the end of the push and spin and we have to take smaller bites. The object is to start plowing before it gets too deep then we don't have that problem.

 

[MossRoad]

If parking lots were cleared faster with plows than boxes, you'd see more plows than boxes, I'd think. But just about every large parking lot around here has some old loader or loader/backhoe with a wide box on it, not a plow truck. So there you go....

 

[Rustyiron]

Yes, I have indeed noticed that here also. I guess "plowing with the storm" is the key!

 

[MossRoad]

As someone mentioned, plows for roads and driveways, narrow areas where you can't turn off to the side too well, things like that. Boxes for large areas where turning isn't a problem.

When I worked at the airport, I'd plow a 400' x 400' concrete pad with a Dodge pickup and a plow. We'd clear a small area in the center, then just start driving in a circle from the center out, getting wider with each pass. When we'd get the circle squared, so to speak, we'd then knock the corners in. That was the hard part as the snow was too high for the pickup by then. We'd call the airport authority FEL and he'd push it back with the big box. Something like a 28' box! I could have spent an hour on something that took him two swipes!

 

[Rustyiron]

Well last night we got 12-14" and after I did my regular angle blade plowing on the roadways, I put the end plates that I made late last winter (and didn't get a chance to use). I was amazed how quickly it made short work of my open areas!!! I never would have believed the difference, quite amazing. My (Snow Wolf) plow came with provisions built in to the plow to add end plates that they sell to convert it to a pusher box.

 

[MossRoad]

Nice! :thumbsup:

 

[arrow]

Well this convinced me. I'm turning my bucket with log hooks attached into a snow pusher. This way I can stack logs (as I do my logging in the winter), leave the hooks on and mount the pusher sides in case I have to plow using the logging hooks as a mounting platform. Apparently I have to come up with some way to remove and put on the sides of the pusher in an instant.