Tips for Using the Bucket?

[BuzzardA91]

I don't think I could have done it in under 3 hours, I don't know how people do it with the FEL???

 

[yankeerider]

I don't think I could have done it in under 3 hours, I don't know how people do it with the FEL??

This snow storm here in northern CT was as bad as it gets. I'm farther east than you, so we got 3-4 inches, but all the rain made it like plowing stiff slush. I plowed with the Gator, and it got a serious workout. One tactic I used was to make a first pass with the plow elevated, then a second clearing pass with it on the ground. I had a few places where the pile stopped me dead, and I had to slice off the end - making 4 or 5 passes- to clear it out of the way.

To summarize, this was a once per year "snow". You likely could have moved 20" of regular snow easier. See what the rest of the winter brings.

 

[IndyIan]

Carl,

Sorry that got lost. Backhoe is on, with the 24" quick attach bucket (heaviest I have). Heck, it's even filled with snow .

I don't want to run a super aggressive chain and destroy my pavement. Again, this is just the backup solution. My truck with snow plow is WORLDS better than tractor has ever been.

ac

I assume you don't want to switch the back hoe on and off all the time? Or do you need it during the plowing months?
If you can do without the BH then the cheapest option is to get a rear blade and sipe the tires but probably you'll have to plow backwards with wet snow to clear to the pavement to get grip to push the blade.
A rear blower needs less grip than the blade but costs a bit more, same problem of backing up all the time though.
Maybe a narrow truck style plow on the FEL would work too and you keep the BH on all the time.
If your driveway does get iced up, a cheap solution is some hex head screws, obviously short enough not to go in deeper than the lugs. You can't abuse them by spinning like crazy all the time but they worked for me last year pretty good when I couldn't drive on the ice at all.

 

[Piperflyer]

Won't have any trouble with a snowblower attachment for your machine. Filling the tires also helps

 

[avc8130]

I assume you don't want to switch the back hoe on and off all the time? Or do you need it during the plowing months?
If you can do without the BH then the cheapest option is to get a rear blade and sipe the tires but probably you'll have to plow backwards with wet snow to clear to the pavement to get grip to push the blade.
A rear blower needs less grip than the blade but costs a bit more, same problem of backing up all the time though.
Maybe a narrow truck style plow on the FEL would work too and you keep the BH on all the time.
If your driveway does get iced up, a cheap solution is some hex head screws, obviously short enough not to go in deeper than the lugs. You can't abuse them by spinning like crazy all the time but they worked for me last year pretty good when I couldn't drive on the ice at all.

I generally don't need the backhoe. Realistically through the entire year it will be "ballast" 95% of the time. Probably the worlds most expensive ballast.

I have been looking for a rear blade. When I find a decent one pop up on craigslist locally I plan to jump on it.

As I said before, the tractor is only a backup for me. I blew a hydraulic hose on my plow, otherwise the tractor would have been relegated to just moving piles after plowing with a proper setup. With that I don't want to go investing a ton of money.

ac

 

[avc8130]

This snow storm here in northern CT was as bad as it gets. I'm farther east than you, so we got 3-4 inches, but all the rain made it like plowing stiff slush. I plowed with the Gator, and it got a serious workout. One tactic I used was to make a first pass with the plow elevated, then a second clearing pass with it on the ground. I had a few places where the pile stopped me dead, and I had to slice off the end - making 4 or 5 passes- to clear it out of the way.

To summarize, this was a once per year "snow". You likely could have moved 20" of regular snow easier. See what the rest of the winter brings.

I tried to make 2 passes, but if I left anything after the first one I wasn't getting traction to move around on the hills.

ac

 

[5picker]

AC & Buzzard,
Give it another go before you rule out using the FEL.
I find that plowing with the tractor, using the FEL, is a bit different process than using my plow truck.
My point is, don't be discouraged because your tractor doesn't plow like your truck.

AC, I've heard loading R4 tires (especially when the tires are siped) helps, but I can't speak to that as mine aren't.
I do have chains for all four wheels and a HEAVY ballast box when the 3PH blower isn't on.
Like you, I had very poor traction with them bare but the chains will make it climb trees now if necessary.
My 1/2 mile lane is gravel so I don't have to worry about chain damage to the pavement.

I find that plowing with the bucket does VERY well on the first pass for however wide your bucket is.
I just let the bucket fill up and it basically becomes a flat 'blade' with snow piling off both sides.
After the initial pass, the FEL method of plowing becomes way less efficient than a plow truck as there is no way of angling the bucket to get the snow to go to one side or the other.
Hence, widening the lane on your tractor will require a lot more time than it would with your plow truck.

I find (again with the bucket still full) if I start at one end of the lane and work one side at a time, pushing at an angle and then backing up and moving over the width of the bucket, and so on and so on, that I can widen the road pretty quickly. So there you have it... same result as plowing with the truck... different process.

Once my wind rows get too big, or the lane drifts shut, the blower does its magic.

 

[rmk700]

As I said before, the tractor is only a backup for me. I blew a hydraulic hose on my plow, otherwise the tractor would have been relegated to just moving piles after plowing with a proper setup. With that I don't want to go investing a ton of money.

ac

You still need your backup plan figured out to the best of it's ability.

My primary snow removel is an ATV with a snow plow, but would much prefer my TLB instead. Watching costs, some other things I've thought may improve are tire chains and really looking into some kind of stong plastic cutting edge to bolt on or something.

 

[Carl_NH]

AC,

After reading others comments this storm was an anomaly and maybe once per year occurence. With the BH on that should have been enough weight and I concur on the back blade as that is the setup I have and no chains.

When the snow is that dense it doesnt compact or roll off or push well at all it is a just a block - glad you guys got it all cleared up as the cold temps are here now and it will be a block of ice waiting for the next storm Saturday.

Carl

 

[avc8130]

I went out today to clean up a bit since I had the day off. I played around a bunch with the FEL and found that angle of the bucket is very critical. If the bucket is flat or very close to level, I could float but it would sometimes push over the snow. I had better luck using a bit more extreme angle and working the height manually to maintain a fine balance between down pressure to scrape and front wheel traction. I did find back dragging worked pretty well. I could use a steep angle and float to do some reasonable scraping.

Safe to say the plow truck isn't going anywhere soon.

ac