Wearplate for FEL

[Anonymous Poster]

Is anyone familiar with a hard plastic/rubber edge that mounts to the edge of a FEL to prevent damaging concrete while plowing snow? I have a BX 22 and someone told me about this but I can't find such a thing

 

[gerard]

I've seen them for large loaders but not for compacts. They make them out of polyethylene. It would be easy to make if you had a bolt on cutting edge cause you could remove the metal edge and replace it with the poly for the winter. If you have a welded edge it's more problematic.

 

[gerard]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=snowplow+edges&btnG=Google+Search>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=snowplow+edges&btnG=Google+Search</A>
polyurethane, no ethylene. Check out this search - there were a bunch of manufacturers

 

[mrcaptainbob]

UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) plastic might work for this. Kinda pricey, but good stuff.

 

[Kodiak]

HDPE: High Density Polyethylene

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

If you find a bolt on rubber or plastic blade for the FEL let us know.

Tom

 

[frank_f15]

let us know if u run across such a thing, have never heard of it. i usulally just curl the bucket up a bit and go slow till i get most of the snow off, then when i can see, i do some fine scraping,

 

[JimMc]

If you do a search for snowplow blades or cutting edges, several companies will come up. I'll look at the office to find some I've bookmarked Monday, but that's how I found them.

 

[earthwerks]

I plow snow commercially in Michigan. I have been approached by companies in Vermont and the northeast to buy this. Supposedly they use it on highway-bound snow plows. In some cases it replaces the cutting edge, in others it has a backer plate. In either case it is made of cast urethane but looks like is came from a sheet or plate. It's about 1-1/2" thick and costs about $40 per INCH! Keep in mind that in this application the cutting edge is at about a 30-degree attack angle. In your application it will be less than a few degrees if not zero to the ground.

It is entirely feasible to find an engineered, off-the-shelf plastic that has excellent wear and temperature properties. Call your local plastics supplier--probably won't cost more than $75. I would make it the same size and shape as your existing (removable??) cutting edge. I wouldn't chamfer the front edge as that could cause it to "chunk" or "chip" upon impact.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

What I did was to bolt a 2 x 4 on either side of the bucket, 1 ½" width side down, about ½" below the front blade. Now it slides along the 1 ½" wide piece of wood and does not scratch the driveway. Worked great when picking up mulch dumped in the driveway this summer. I think it will do just a well with the snow and a lot $$ then $40 an inch. Two 18" 2 x 4, 4 -2 ½ by 5/16 bolts a few washers and nuts and about 30 minutes is all it takes.

Tom