Snow buildup

[mikester]

That heated garage is actually counterproductive to using the impliment. The warm metal melts snow & then you end up with slush or ice to deal with. A cold plow or blower has less snow sticking to it. Nice to melt things off & not have things partially melt then re-freeze on you. But that's only half the story.

I guess Im doing it all wrong then.

I started with an open station tractor and an un-heated barn. Then I built a heated barn. Then I went to a bigger tractor and blower. Then I put a cab on the tractor.

These days I get no more frozen up blowers AND I do I clear 4 driveways in a quarter of the time AND I can clear snow while being warm, dry and toasty in my pyjamas AND without a sore neck.

Sorry, No I dont agree with your theories of snow blowing Zen. I must be getting soft in my old age. I see no benefit in being cold, wet and frustrated.

 

[seville009]

Good topic! This will be my first winter with a blower and since the tractor is parked in a carport my plan is to scrape the blower clean as possible outside, then park in the carport with a couple of those halogen lamps to generate enough heat to melt what remains. If that doesn't work I'll have to unmount the blower and push it into the heated garage; there's not enough clearance for the cabbed tractor to fit.

Pete

I don稚 think the lights will generate enough heat to melt and dry it all. You may end up with partial melting and then the rest refreezing. May be best to just knock off the excess snow and leave the rest. I also have a diesel/kerosine torpedo heater - have used that sometimes in subzero weather when things froze up. It has a strong blower to melt stuff quickly.

 

[oosik]

My tractor and big 'ol Rhino 950 rear blade sit out in an unheated carport stall. NEVER had a problem of snow sticking to the rear blade. However - I don't try clearing the driveway when the snow is wet. I HAVE done it this way - reverse the rear blade and go like smoke & oakum. It's not really so much fun this way.

One of the many advantages to being retired. I do not have to be anywhere at any specific time. I get snow - I wait until the following morning to decide if I will clear my mile long gravel driveway. If the driveway is frozen rock hard and the temps are low enough to make the snow "crisp & crunchy" - then, maybe, I'll clear the driveway. Otherwise - put the Taco Wagon in 4WD and go.

Thirty eight years - only once did I HAVE to clear the driveway in order to drive out. A 10" to 12" snow fall is a MAJOR event here.

My first tractor - Ford 1700 - was not heavy enough to "knock back" the snow berms that formed along the driveway. I normally used a rear blade on this tractor also. Soooo.....eventually I would have to put on the 3-point blower.

I learned in a hurry. Don't try to blow wet snow. It simply doesn't work too well. Things clog - things freeze up - shear pins are routinely blown.

It's one of the excuses I used to buy a bigger tractor. The Kubota weighs 10,100# and with the uber heavy Rhino rear blade - no berm problems.

 

[Reb954]

To reduce the amount of build up on a blade I had spray on bed liner sprayed onto my ATV blade which made a big difference. I had tried spraying it with various things but anything that worked, didn't work for long. The bed liner has been on there since about 2005 and still helps.

On snow blowers I tried the different spray on materials but nothing made much difference and just like with the blade, if something did help it didn't help for long so I quit worrying about it. When I am done blowing snow I always clear the blower by running it at full rpm, then raise it 2" to 3" off the ground and drop it. After doing that a couple times the blower is clear and I have never had a problem with a blower freezing up since I started doing that.

When blowing snow one thing to keep in mind is, blow by the conditions. If the snow is wet you have to slow down to give the blower a chance to clear its self. If the chute is plugging you are going too fast for the conditions. In some conditions, any speed is too fast.

I have only seen one time where the blower design caused the chute to plug. That was on a neighbors small articulating Cat loader with the front blower. The only thing I could figure is whomever designed that blower had never seen snow, let alone tried to blow it. Once I changed the angle on the impeller blades it did a lot better but was never right.

 

[SGreene]

I have a 6ft Meteor snow blower on my NX. Fluid Film seemed to do the anti-stick trick.

 

[MF RED in MT]

Hey guys,

What do you all use to keep snow from sticking to your implements? I used Silicon last winter, and it was better than noting. Hope to find something better.

Dave

I have tried just about everything over the years and what works for me is "Super Slick Slick Stuff" in the 11oz. spray can.

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...arine/fluids-and-lubrication/lubricants/19460

I make sure my MF Dozer Blade and MF snowblower is clean and dry, spray a real thick coat where it is needed, and I just let the Stuff dry and cured for about a week.

Good luck, KC

 

[Soldier415]

On my blower I coat the impeller, inside of chute, inside and side edges and the auger with a good coat of fluid film. Works like a charm

 

[leonz]

All the slick stuff sold specifically for snow blowers is a witches brew of poisonous chemicals.

Fuid Films main ingredient "Lanolin" is made from sheeps wool and its no toxic.

 

[Boondox]

On my blower I coat the impeller, inside of chute, inside and side edges and the auger with a good coat of fluid film. Works like a charm

Is this a reapply after every use sort of thing...or does it last a while?

 

[Soldier415]

Is this a reapply after every use sort of thing...or does it last a while?

If you get an aerosol sprayer and coat it all in the fall it bonds really well as a base layer as it gets into the metal. Every month or two I use a spray can to put some more on depending on how much snow i've been clearing