Best advice wanted for blading snow

[08k8]

I have a L225DT and never cared much for how it plowa snow. It seems that anything over about 3.5" is really too much for the tractor and I lose steering due to the rear blade effect.

What I have tried:
Drilled a new hole in the blade pin position to increase the angle of the blate- making snow come off quicker.
Clean and wax blade before each use.
Set 3 point control linkage to keep the blade roughly 1 inch above roadway.

I am considering adding front weight. I do have a piece of railroad track, but I am worried about drilling / aligning.

I am fully open to any best practices or suggestions. I love this tractor and it runs like a top for me.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

1) swap rear tires left to right ,right to left

2) get top of blade tilted 2-3" ahead of btm of blade

3) add 200-300# front ballast

 

[RCW]

Your L225DT is 4WD?

If so, losing steering also takes away your 4WD.

If you're okay with the way the blade works otherwise, I would concentrate on the front weight. As much as it needs. I'm guessing 300 pounds +/- would be good. I put 200 pounds on the front of a John Deere 425 Garden tractor......

Think about a "U" shaped bracket that could be attached/bolted to the front of the tractor somewhere at the front above the axle. There may have been a factory Weight Bracket for the tractor but guessing. If so, there may be some holes in the tractor to attach one.

The weight bracket can then be drilled to fix/bolt a RR Rail to.

Many outfits also sell aftermarket front weights; they can also be found at auction, etc. Those just "hang" from the bracket, but you want to make sure your bracket will accept the suitcase weights, as they vary in their configuration/design, etc.

 

[jimh406]

Add chains to the rear. That will help your traction issues because if the rear tires grip unequally you won't go straight. For even more control, add front chains, too.

 

[mikester]

If you have a lot of snow you can't beat a snowblower. Pushing needs a place to put it and a heavy machine to get it there.

 

[08k8]

1) swap rear tires left to right ,right to left

2) get top of blade tilted 2-3" ahead of btm of blade

3) add 200-300# front ballast

RE # 2, I have my blade in more of a cutting mode. This should be a big help!

RE #3, this seems to be a common suggestion that I also need to consider. I will come back with a photo of my front mounting point. Unfortunately previous owner broke a corner of the casting (ruined one hole) with front loader removal.

 

[08k8]

Your L225DT is 4WD?
View attachment 145786


Think about a "U" shaped bracket that could be attached/bolted to the front of the tractor somewhere at the front above the axle. There may have been a factory Weight Bracket for the tractor but guessing. If so, there may be some holes in the tractor to attach one.

The weight bracket can then be drilled to fix/bolt a RR Rail to.

Here is the front of my tractor. There is a mounting area with M12 holes. My idea was to drill a piece of track and install here. The track that I have is roughly 16" long and 75# at most.. so I am a touch gunshy that this may not be enough

 

[08k8]

I definitely need to adjust the blade angle

 

[GreensvilleJay]

from a design/use standpoint there's a LOT of difference between a 'snow plow' blade and a 'tractor rear grading' blade. I've used both over the decades and a real snowplow blade works GREAT at plowing snow, lousy at 'dirt details'.
hopefully you'll be able to get that rear blade 'dialed in' reasonably well before the season ends.

 

[Dchemphill1]

It also makes a difference if you are moving snow on gravel or blacktop/concrete.

 

[08k8]

from a design/use standpoint there's a LOT of difference between a 'snow plow' blade and a 'tractor rear grading' blade. I've used both over the decades and a real snowplow blade works GREAT at plowing snow, lousy at 'dirt details'.
hopefully you'll be able to get that rear blade 'dialed in' reasonably well before the season ends.

Honestly, this blade is a lower end farm store unit that my dad gave me. It works fine to dress up my gravel road but it does pretty poorly at snow. I would guess a snow blade would be quite a bit more curved? We typically don't get enough snow where I am to plow frequently- maybe 1x per year. As you can tell, I haven't been schooled or invested until this point.
Weatherman says we are getting 3" tomorrow. If so I will test out these suggestions.

 

[Shawn T. W]

If you don't want it to dig in, try either putting a piece of pipe over the cutting edge, or turn the blade around 180° and use the back side ... As in the above picture in post #8 backing up with it in that position ... Or flip it 180° (if it will) and then pull it forward ...

 

[chim]

What does it look like in the lowered / plowing position?

 

[Donystoy]

That tractor is way too light to be trying to push any substantial amount of snow to the side without it pushing the tractor around. I only use my rear blade in reverse on my LX2610 to fine tune the surface with the blower on the front. If I was to use the rear blade in the forward position, I would have to put skids on it to stop it from digging in.

 

[jyoutz]

That tractor is way too light to be trying to push any substantial amount of snow to the side without it pushing the tractor around. I only use my rear blade in reverse on my LX2610 to fine tune the surface with the blower on the front. If I was to use the rear blade in the forward position, I would have to put skids on it to stop it from digging in.

And the skids don’t work unless the gravel is frozen hard.

 

[Bearcatrp]

A snow plow blade turned around works well. I rarely have issues moving snow. The wet heavy snow at times moves me a little. With the blade curled back and have the top link adjusted, I don’t dig into the ground. If you had a loader on it, would suggest filling the bucket with snow for front ballast.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Yes, snow blades have a nice smooth curve to them, top edge usually 2-3" ahead of cutter bar(lower edge). Also springs for oopsies.
if you need to do a LOT of 'moving white', a snow plow does work better,faster,easier
No matter what blade you use, get the white as far away from the road the first pass ! Once snow turns into ice (magically over night....) you need dynamite to move it another inch.....

It took me a month to setup my CJ-5 properly,after that it's move mountains of snow ,easily.

 

[ayak]

I modified a rear blade with a sandwiched section of horse-stall mat, which works really well on my gravel driveway.
With some snow in the FEL bucket for weight, loaded rears, and my fat butt, haven’t had the need for chains yet.

 

[08k8]

I appreciate all of the comments and feedback. I plowed yesterday with decent results based on your comments. Here is what I figured out:

My mistake:
#1 I set the rear 3 point stop before changing blade angle.

#2 My blade was tipped way too far back.

#3 the discharge edge of the blade was slightly lower. Raising it up helped quite a bit. Adjusted the link arm length.

One other thing that helps a lot is to spray ceramic car wax on the blade. Mine is rusty etc. I quickly brush it with a steel bristle brush and then spray about 5 squirts and allo to dry.

I don't debate any of the comments on getting a proper snow blade. And some of the ideas shared sound like they have a lot of merrit. The sacrical rubber piece of maybe PVC edge might help a lot. I am definitely in the market for improvement.

 

[chim]

I just keep moving Sweet Pea up and down the driveway