Front blade.

[Missouribound]

I have a B2320 with a FEL, box blade and mower.
I have been wondering about a front blade for the machine for some light grading and possibly snow removal.
Anyone have any experience with these? Do they work off of the FEL hydraulics? I've considered getting a rear blade but somehow the idea of driving over snow before you plow it seems a bit odd.
I certainly can make a rear blade work but I am curious as to the workings of a front blade and is't uses.

 

[cerlawson]

While I have not tried to plow snow with a front blade, here is my experience. I have used tractors with a bucket and also pull a rear blade. Driving on snow is really not a problem. However, doing a complete job of snow removal, the rear blade is used probably 90 percent of the time and bucket only for clean up and high stacking at the storage area. Drive backwards, not on the snow first, works but ain't good for an old neck that doesn't like to turn. At my city lot I drag the snow out to the street where the city already has put their snow along the curb ad leave mine there. Then I use the bucket to move or carry all that snow to disposal places. As winter goes on the bucket is mighty handy to stack that snow way up. A front blade may do but not as useful as the bucket then.

Where there is lawn, I turn the blade around and plow with it not digging in. I have to walk my dog and don't want to take her on salted streets. So I make walking trails on lawn, with blade reversed. Works great.

 

[Missouribound]

Thank you. I have an old neck as well. I'm probably over thinking this issue. I intend to get a rear blade next year and perhaps the front blade isn't as important as I have been thinking. I am sure the fel will take care of my needs until then.
Thanks again.

 

[Fernsboy]

I use a front blade exclusively for snow removal on a gravel drive. 800 feet or so with grade. I like it a lot. Used to plow with a rear blade and fel. Mine is manual angle, but the fel adjustments do allow for tapering and the like. NW PA snow is significant most years and my blade is something I now can't live without.

 

[Missouribound]

Thanks for your input. Which blade are you using? I want to do a bit more research before I make my decision.

 

[Thorny]

I have a B2673, which is a Kubota branded front blade for quick attach setup on a front end. It's setup like a snow blade for a truck, with trip springs, and manual articulation. Mine is 72" wide and has a manual lockout for the trip springs, which makes it a fixed front blade.

I have not plowed snow with it yet, but I'm confident it'll work fine for that. My feedback for you has to do with grading with this attachment. The challenge that I see is that a front blade mounted on the loader arms has a little bit of play built into the system. some in the hydraulics and some in the joints. The result of this is a bumpy cut when pushing into hard ground. If you are pushing gravel out smooth or sand or bark then sure, it works fine. But when I tried to level some dirt, the slop (and this is a brand new tractor) in the front end allowed the blade to bump up and down and essentially cut washboard into the ground. Add in that you can't adjust the left to right height of the blade, and you have a fairly crude instrument for grading.

In contrast, cutting with a box blade or rear blade has yielded a much smoother cut for me in my limited experience.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct...mfz8HZ8vg-LCBNZMl08Cpgzw&ust=1480091015301587

 

[sdk1968]

I have a B2320 with a FEL, box blade and mower.
I have been wondering about a front blade for the machine for some light grading and possibly snow removal.
Anyone have any experience with these? Do they work off of the FEL hydraulics? I've considered getting a rear blade but somehow the idea of driving over snow before you plow it seems a bit odd.
I certainly can make a rear blade work but I am curious as to the workings of a front blade and is't uses.

my front blade is new to the tractor... but ive been doing snow with it on my zero turn for several years before hand..

what you find out with the lightweight snow blades is they are good for about 8" of snow or less & then ONLY if it hasnt been driven on before you try to do it.

you can check out my set up here on the site & see if it interests you.
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27773

but if you want a DOZER style set up? there is one for sale on here at a nice price.

 

[rdeist]

I built a 6' blade and mounted it on my BX23. It mounts to the bucket, angles each direction. It is used for winter snow removal. Works like a wonder. Chains never needed. 95% dry snow here in Bend, Or. Once had to plow 5" of wet and it was sticking to the blade. Tractor handles the blade well. The blade and structure can be put on or removed in 10 minutes.
I have some pictures posted in my album on this site.

 

[DTWCastle]

I have a B2673, which is a Kubota branded front blade for quick attach setup on a front end. It's setup like a snow blade for a truck, with trip springs, and manual articulation. Mine is 72" wide and has a manual lockout for the trip springs, which makes it a fixed front blade.

I have the same setup on my BX23. I've only had it for a month but we got about a foot of snow last weekend so I've been able to play around with it. 500ft gravel driveway with slight grade and I had no issues moving the snow. The only advantage I see with the FEL mounted blade is the ability to pile high. On my setup I just raised my plow and drove into the piles to push them over.

the selling point for me was the compact length with this setup. If I bought the FEL blade I wouldn't have had garage space to still park my car.

If I need to pick snow up, worst case is the 5 minutes it takes me to swap the plow setup for FEL.