I use the BX25with the front blower tipped forward so the wearbar acts as a scraper....works perfect!
BX snow removal suggestions.
- Thread starter lilguy
- Start date
I use a BX plow with down pressure to clear packed snow before it becomes ice. Blower gets the top layer of snow, and the plow cleans down to the pavement. I put the snow all to one side, and then put the blower back on, and blow that off into the field. If I were to leave it, it will turn to ice, making the next storm's snow a lot more difficult to clean up.
OrangeKrush
Well-known member
Equipment
BX2680, LA344 with Piranha tooth bar, LP PF 1242, LP Rear Blade, KK 60" BB
GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
One 'trick' for snow removal on driveways...
go to end of driveway, turn LEFT onto road, and get RID of most of the snow,on the road. Carve out at least 2-3 plowtruck lengths.
That way when 'Mr. Plow' comes by he won't dump 8,234 tons of heavy,wet 'snow' into YOUR driveway.
go to end of driveway, turn LEFT onto road, and get RID of most of the snow,on the road. Carve out at least 2-3 plowtruck lengths.
That way when 'Mr. Plow' comes by he won't dump 8,234 tons of heavy,wet 'snow' into YOUR driveway.
I used to do that with my plow when I lived on a state highway. I would push the snow up onto my lawn. My downstream neighbor called complaining that the state plow was putting "my snow" in her driveway. Didn't matter that I was also plowing out her driveway on the street. The next storm, I didn't plow out her driveway at all, and I pushed the snow from my driveway out into the street, so she could tell the difference. The plows would go down the highway one in front of the other, and clear the snow from the centerline to the curb. In the fall, they would rake up the leaves and put them into my backyard, saying that they came from my one and only tree in my backyard. The 3 or 4 trees in her back yard the leaves magically would disappear and guess where they went. Into my backyard over the fence.
These work for me. I went to the BX2680 with blower for the cab and because the Honda blower was getting hard to get parts for. If you do go to a walk behind, get the Honda with tracks. All Hydrostatic drive gives you infinite speeds. Best walk behind I ever owned. Throws snow a long way. Plain and simple rear mount blowers suck. Hard on the neck and accuracy is not there. Sooner or later you will hit something which will cost you and bruise your ego. After I got the Kubota, the owner of the local C store asked how I liked it and ended up trading his rear blower for a front mount. He has a 1025 Deere with a Mauser cab. For what is worth, I like the Kubota blower better than the Deere. I have one on an X739 at another location. It does a good job but the Kubota will discharge at an angle to the rear of the blower so when you break thru to a clean area you can keep snow of the cleared area. Also the Kubota blower is heavier. Good luck with whatever you do.
im so glad the road I live on, we don’t have that problem. The plow goes by so fast there is practically no windrow from it.
ve9aa
Well-known member
Equipment
TG1860, BX2380 -backblade, bx2830 snowblower, fel, weight box,pallet forks,etc
Is that a BX2830 blower?
Reason I ask, is I've never seen another one besides mine.
Details online are scarce !
Yep that be the BX2830 on a BX2680. 48 inches is enough when the snow gets serious. Power chute turn and deflector. I got the BX2680 because I have never operated a snow blower that had too much power. I was looking at Deere also when I bought this. Deere did not have a power deflector and I liked certain things on the Kubota cab better.
I didnt see a snowpusher mentioned yet. Here is my setup in action.
It has worked really well for me for the last 2 seasons.
I want to get a back blade also but the snow pusher has the pull back kit installed on it and works really well!
It has worked really well for me for the last 2 seasons.
I want to get a back blade also but the snow pusher has the pull back kit installed on it and works really well!
I have watched this video a few times, but it seems that you are spending a lot of time going back and forth moving the snow. I am very familiar with snow pushers, since that is what we used in the parking lot to remove the snow from large areas, and it was a better choice than a snowplow. I also looked into the cost of them, and I am not convinced that in my situation that a snow pusher would work as well as the snowblower and the final cleanup with the plow blade. I use the plow blade to get down to the blacktop otherwise if we get rain on top of the snow, it turns to ice. I can see how with heavy wet snow the snow pusher might be the best solution in some instances, but I don't have that much large flat area to deal with. If I found one inexpensively priced, I would probably add it to my snow removal arsenal. I presently have a K Connect snowblower and snowplow. and a B2672 plow that will mount on the loader arms. I used it once for a light snowstorm, and am just not certain if it should stay or go. The one thing that I like about it is that it can easily be converted into a dirt blade. In looking at some videos, I see that some people haven't read the manual that comes with the blade, and are using the plow in dirt blade mode. They don't remove the blade locking mechanism when plowing. See the video below at 2:00 to see what I am referring to. This disables the tripping feature of the plow. Possibly by the time the person started plowing he had already moved the device to its upper retaining area. Other than this, it is a great video to show the functionality of the blade. The only other thing that I can see that these snow/dirt plows could benefit from is a top snow guard, which is a rounded piece of sheet metal that curls the snow at the top and directs it back down, and keeps it from rolling over the top of the blade.
Rusty, I have the B2672 blade as well. I used it for the first time yesterday. Great results on asphalt, probably because I'd added the thick rubber edge option, which I got from Messick's.
The shoes trenched my gravel areas pretty good because the gravel was not frozen. I think in the future in such situations I need to take off those shoes and keep the rubber edge at least an inch high.
Your tip on the blade locking mechanism is gold. I'd heard that first from a Youtube video. But I was still surprised that my blade was sold like that. It seems to me it'd be safer for most users to ship it with the blade lock off.
I have a question regarding the spring adjustment. The bolt at the top was tight so before going out I lengthened it so the blade would be sure to trip. I think this made the spring tension too low because the blade would tip forward with a heavy snow load. Is it fine, if the locking mechanism is off, to run the blade with tight(er) springs?
The shoes trenched my gravel areas pretty good because the gravel was not frozen. I think in the future in such situations I need to take off those shoes and keep the rubber edge at least an inch high.
Your tip on the blade locking mechanism is gold. I'd heard that first from a Youtube video. But I was still surprised that my blade was sold like that. It seems to me it'd be safer for most users to ship it with the blade lock off.
I have a question regarding the spring adjustment. The bolt at the top was tight so before going out I lengthened it so the blade would be sure to trip. I think this made the spring tension too low because the blade would tip forward with a heavy snow load. Is it fine, if the locking mechanism is off, to run the blade with tight(er) springs?
This was my first thought when I read through Rusty's reply. I wondered if it was tripping too easy for people (which i know is there to save the equipment from being tore up) So they just left it locked and were willing to risk the inevitable.
Wichhart, it might defeat the blade's purpose for dirt work! It kicking back did not seem to affect snow removal much.
ve9aa
Well-known member
Equipment
TG1860, BX2380 -backblade, bx2830 snowblower, fel, weight box,pallet forks,etc
that's awesome.
Everyone tried to get me to get the biggest blower possible for my BX2380, but since my machine has slightly less power than yours, and since I blow a couple "paths" (and in between cars at times) a wide
blower was not the best choice.
I am so far pretty happy with my BX2830 blower.
The spring tensioning bolt on the top of the plow is designed to trip the blade when you hit an object, so the blade doesn't get damaged, and whatever you hit isn't damaged also. If the blade is tripping with a load of snow in front of it, then you need to tighten the bolt, so the spring is under more tension. Generally speaking, when I was in the truck equipment business, we set the tension on the plows and told the owners not to readjust it. Some didn't listen and made the plows so stiff that when they did hit something, the blade didn't trip, but the angle cylinders would bend or the ends would break off. If you know that there is nothing in the paved driveway that could cause the blade to trip, then you could leave it in the locked position, however, I prefer to see them in the trip mode. Should you want to pile the snow higher by lifting the blade as you come to the end of the run, and it is tripping too easily, just give the bolt a slight tweak, or return it to the locked position. It is quick if you have the original parts. Pull the hairpin, remove the pin, and the lock and install it in the lower hole. That is why there are upper and lower holes. Never use the plow in the locked position when plowing unknown territory. You run the risk of bending a loader arm or some other part of the loader that wasn't designed to withstand a shock to it.
BozenBota
New member
Equipment
LX2610; RCR1542, FDR1260, BSS54P, PFL1242, STB1072, MacKissick TPH123, SCG0660
i figure I’ll contribute our experience in some detail here, as snow removal is one of the key tasks for our machine. We have gravel that slopes fairly steeply up to the road; it is more of a “parking lot” as opposed to a “lane.”It’s probably about 2500 sf total. And if enough snow we also clear paths to outbuildings.
On my old BX2380 I used FEL and RB1060. This worked okay but was not efficient for larger snows. The bucket would fill quickly and dribble snow and the light weight of the machine (no tire/wheel ballast, no chains, turf tires) and blade (0560 weighs 143 lbs) on the slope meant that angling the blade in even moderate snow would not work well (tail wagging the dog). I bit the bullet and plunked down for a bx2816 in 2020, thinking that using engine as opposed to weight would be better. That was generally accurate, and the 2380 had more than enough power for even super storms like the 33” we received in December 2020. And I still had the blade to scrape down to gravel to minimize ice buildup. (I set the blower shoes high to avoid picking up gravel.) But while the blower was great for big storms with the odd 3” or so that can cause us ice issues for us I was still going over the driveway twice - once with the blower and once to scrape remaining snow off. This was a very good setup for us, though most efficient for the less frequent, larger storms we get here.
When spec’ing the new LX I figured it’d now have the weight (more than twice the BX fully ballasted and set up) and opted for the front SSQA blade. This has worked well this year with our negligible snows so far that require just scraping a few inches off; I angle the loader arms forward to put the cutting edge on the ground and back drag to get down to gravel as for forward operating I’ve got the skid shoes set an inch or so off the ground right now. With the loader in float, however, front wheel traction is reduced and angling the blade can still eliminate steerage and push the machine off course going across slope of our driveway. (I also plow a small nearby land preserve parking lot which is flat and plow angling has so far worked well.)
On my old BX2380 I used FEL and RB1060. This worked okay but was not efficient for larger snows. The bucket would fill quickly and dribble snow and the light weight of the machine (no tire/wheel ballast, no chains, turf tires) and blade (0560 weighs 143 lbs) on the slope meant that angling the blade in even moderate snow would not work well (tail wagging the dog). I bit the bullet and plunked down for a bx2816 in 2020, thinking that using engine as opposed to weight would be better. That was generally accurate, and the 2380 had more than enough power for even super storms like the 33” we received in December 2020. And I still had the blade to scrape down to gravel to minimize ice buildup. (I set the blower shoes high to avoid picking up gravel.) But while the blower was great for big storms with the odd 3” or so that can cause us ice issues for us I was still going over the driveway twice - once with the blower and once to scrape remaining snow off. This was a very good setup for us, though most efficient for the less frequent, larger storms we get here.
When spec’ing the new LX I figured it’d now have the weight (more than twice the BX fully ballasted and set up) and opted for the front SSQA blade. This has worked well this year with our negligible snows so far that require just scraping a few inches off; I angle the loader arms forward to put the cutting edge on the ground and back drag to get down to gravel as for forward operating I’ve got the skid shoes set an inch or so off the ground right now. With the loader in float, however, front wheel traction is reduced and angling the blade can still eliminate steerage and push the machine off course going across slope of our driveway. (I also plow a small nearby land preserve parking lot which is flat and plow angling has so far worked well.)
I can relate. I am using a front blade for the first time on my B2601. A problem is losing front traction and control when plowing our steep asphalt driveway. This occurs when going uphill.
It is difficult to find a balance between getting front traction and having the blade low enough to scrape the asphalt sufficiently. This was exacerbated yesterday because like a fool I did not clean off a new inch of snow that came Friday when it was fresh. By Saturday, ice!
The driveway is better after my efforts and no problem for our AWD cars. But still a mess in a couple spots and dangerous for delivery trucks. It's mostly clean BUT the top curve toward our house, the steepest part, is icy. I hit it with de-icer after scraping it but ran out. Thankfully temp is warming today and rain is forecast. I think it will melt everything but I am prepared to help in the rain to put this mistake behind me.
I have a separate but related plowing issue I'd like advice on. The conundrum is using 4WD. I can't tell if it's helping much when the driveway is mostly clear. And I worry about hurting the transmission and wearing the front tires. At the same time, I wonder if 4WD helps hold me back a bit when plowing downhill.
It is difficult to find a balance between getting front traction and having the blade low enough to scrape the asphalt sufficiently. This was exacerbated yesterday because like a fool I did not clean off a new inch of snow that came Friday when it was fresh. By Saturday, ice!
The driveway is better after my efforts and no problem for our AWD cars. But still a mess in a couple spots and dangerous for delivery trucks. It's mostly clean BUT the top curve toward our house, the steepest part, is icy. I hit it with de-icer after scraping it but ran out. Thankfully temp is warming today and rain is forecast. I think it will melt everything but I am prepared to help in the rain to put this mistake behind me.
I have a separate but related plowing issue I'd like advice on. The conundrum is using 4WD. I can't tell if it's helping much when the driveway is mostly clear. And I worry about hurting the transmission and wearing the front tires. At the same time, I wonder if 4WD helps hold me back a bit when plowing downhill.
In theory, you shouldn't use 4 wheel drive on dry pavement. I have been known to forget to take it out of 4 wheel drive, but the tractor will let me know by feel since it will make a jerking motion when turning. Sometimes it will be necessary to back up a few feet to release the tension to take it out of 4 wheel drive. I only use 4 wheel drive when it is necessary. I learned to plow slowly and not abuse the machine behind the plow. If the snow gets hard to push, then take smaller bites and put it off to the side of the road. Better to plow downhill than try to move it uphill, unless you have a lot of horsepower. Always plow downhill in low gear so the tractor doesn't get away from you. Should you go off the road, stop and get out and assess the situation before you get in over your head. If you have all-wheel drive cars with a trailer hitch, use a strong chain to help you get back onto the road rather than digging yourself a deeper hole to get out of. I also did a lot of tow truck operations when I was young, and recovering cars out of ditches was a lot easier and faster when the driver didn't try to get it out by spinning the tires trying. Finally, wear your seat belt, because you have a greater chance of survival if the tractor were to go over on its side with you strapped to the seat.