Proper tool for the job !

[ve9aa]

Big fan of snowblowers here in New Brunswick, Canada. For where I live (up on top of a hilly ridge) we get our fair share of snow...maybe even "more than our fair share, lol"

I estimate I use my 48" commercial blower close to 90% of the time. HOWEVER, there are times when we get a mix of weather in a short time span when other tools are needed. Today was one of those times. In the last week we've had snow (lots!), rain, freezing rain, ice pellets, wind, drifting snow, and probably other stuff I've forgotten. It's been as warm as 11*C (52*F) and as cold as -14*C (7*F) just in the last 7-10 days.

After I do any snow cleanup, there has always been "something else" come along, usually when I am at work.

It's starting to snow again today (and will off/on for the next 30 hrs) and in prep, I used the BACK BLADE to carve out the sides of my driveway (and other areas not shown in these pix) because drifted snow with rain on top has frozen them into essentially almost solid ice (not quite-but you get the idea). The snowblower (which works fantastic!) won't touch these curved areas where snow has drifted. Just rides up on top of it all. It's so icy out there now....30mins after I took these pix we have maybe 1/2" of powder on top of all this ICE. Everything you are looking at it frozen solid. You almost cannot stand up it's so slick. I did about a 90* "drift" with the tractor a few times...this with a blower, a back bade, and tire chains in 4WD - LO

If you're in the southern tier States , S. Pacific, S. EU/AF, AUS/NZ./...thank your lucky stars you don't have to deal with this stuff. OFten , I don't get to choose WHEN I deal with it, but today, being the weekend, I went out after morning coffee and so it was a good bit of fun !
(3 days ago we got nearly a foot of wet stuff and I was out in the dark, at -6*C(21*F) and it was super windy, beating me in the face with cold snow--ugh.,...a cab would've been nice with a bit of heat and some AC/DC cranked up for tunes!)

p.s.-make fun if you want, but I park my back blade on the edge of my parking lot on 3 old rims/tires. I've found even if I bump them while snowblowing (because I can't see them) usually I won't hurt a thing. Tires, side of blowers, whatever. The tires remain moderately supple even in the middle of winter (there's no air in them) I did have a pallet out there, but all I did was break it--many times !

 

[Mark_BX25D]

I really like the idea of parking on tires! That makes perfect sense! I've been using plastic pallets, but it's easy to break one.

 

[fried1765]

Big fan of snowblowers here in New Brunswick, Canada. For where I live (up on top of a hilly ridge) we get our fair share of snow...maybe even "more than our fair share, lol"

I estimate I use my 48" commercial blower close to 90% of the time. HOWEVER, there are times when we get a mix of weather in a short time span when other tools are needed. Today was one of those times. In the last week we've had snow (lots!), rain, freezing rain, ice pellets, wind, drifting snow, and probably other stuff I've forgotten. It's been as warm as 11*C (52*F) and as cold as -14*C (7*F) just in the last 7-10 days.

After I do any snow cleanup, there has always been "something else" come along, usually when I am at work.

It's starting to snow again today (and will off/on for the next 30 hrs) and in prep, I used the BACK BLADE to carve out the sides of my driveway (and other areas not shown in these pix) because drifted snow with rain on top has frozen them into essentially almost solid ice (not quite-but you get the idea). The snowblower (which works fantastic!) won't touch these curved areas where snow has drifted. Just rides up on top of it all. It's so icy out there now....30mins after I took these pix we have maybe 1/2" of powder on top of all this ICE. Everything you are looking at it frozen solid. You almost cannot stand up it's so slick. I did about a 90* "drift" with the tractor a few times...this with a blower, a back bade, and tire chains in 4WD - LO

If you're in the southern tier States , S. Pacific, S. EU/AF, AUS/NZ./...thank your lucky stars you don't have to deal with this stuff. OFten , I don't get to choose WHEN I deal with it, but today, being the weekend, I went out after morning coffee and so it was a good bit of fun !
(3 days ago we got nearly a foot of wet stuff and I was out in the dark, at -6*C(21*F) and it was super windy, beating me in the face with cold snow--ugh.,...a cab would've been nice with a bit of heat and some AC/DC cranked up for tunes!)

p.s.-make fun if you want, but I park my back blade on the edge of my parking lot on 3 old rims/tires. I've found even if I bump them while snowblowing (because I can't see them) usually I won't hurt a thing. Tires, side of blowers, whatever. The tires remain moderately supple even in the middle of winter (there's no air in them) I did have a pallet out there, but all I did was break it--many times ! View attachment 94769 View attachment 94770

I see cars with NB license plates here (FL) nearly every day.
Some of your friends/neighbors must have arrived at a different solution to the snow problem.

 

[MINICUP28]

Here is my setup for clearing my 1/2 mile road. 5' clamp-on manual angle plow and 60

" Meteor snow blower. Chains on all four tires. The road goes down hill directly behind the tractor with about about 400' elevation change. really steep & icy. I plow downhill on either side and then snow blow the furrow in the center going back up the hill. The wind is usually with me in the direction.

 

[ve9aa]

I really like the idea of parking on tires! That makes perfect sense! I've been using plastic pallets, but it's easy to break one.

Thank you Mark. I don't throw much out. Had these wheels/tires/hubcaps off an old Dodge Shadow stored down in the woods for close to 10yrs before I finally found a use for them. (No dollar solution!)

At first, I had my blade on a wooden pallet, but @ 5am in the middle of a snowstorm, I would occasionally hit it with the snowblower and bust a shear pin or maybe I'd run over the pallet with one of the wheels of
the tractor (even though I am very careful. )and bust the pallet, leaving shrapnel for the blower to munch on the next time I was out- OUCH !

I just ended up putting it on the 3 wheels/tires/hubcaps and have been very happy with it.

Looks a bit redneck, but works wonderfully ! In the summer, the grass grows around them, so it's not really unsightly and in the winter, there is snow/ice packed around them. For the first time in 3 winters I broke one of the hubcaps when I drug the blade across them a little too aggressively ..), but managed to get it back in place when it reached about 34*F. (things are pretty iced up here and I broke my shovel so was being pretty rough with the backblade.) I still have 3 other "good" hubcaps anyways.

 

[Tughill Tom]

This is my main snow removal tool currently. I have a front mounted blower on the B3200, but this way faster and gets the driveway down to blacktop in one pass. I move the piles with the B and the FEL, after they get too big which will be tomorrow. The heat and BT connection to my headset rock-in out can't be beat.
As far as ice I mix up 40% salt to sand mix and spread it by hand to loosen it up and then plow.
We average close to 260" a year up here, so I know snow.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Looks a bit redneck,

Hey, wait a minute.... You said that as if it's a bad thing!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

yuck.. I hate ICYsnow or SNOWYice....... miserable stuff to deal with. yeah, supposed to get some here overnight,snow/rain/snow high salaried weathermen can't make up their minds.....
No snowblower likes to 'find' skids,let alone the end of a towrope that someone was SUPPOSED to have put away,after they'd 'borrowed' it........
Nice thing about tires, is IF the sun comes out, the snow and ice should melt off them fast so you CAN see them.

 

[GeoHorn]

I see cars with NB license plates here (FL) nearly every day.
Some of your friends/neighbors must have arrived at a different solution to the snow problem.

For four days I’m camping-out in Gonzales (Come and Take It) and Goliad, Texas State Parks (history-nut)…and about 75% of all the other RVs here have Alaska, N.Y., or other Northern plates on them.