8n Back Blade Capabilities

[ncw1980]

Hello all! I am a new owner of a late 40's 8n and I have a quick question. I am in the market for a back blade to help with the snowfall here in the thumb (Michigan, for all of you non-geography majors ) and I am having a bit of a dilemma. I have read that a 6 foot back blade is too wide for this to handle but then I have also read that you shouldn't go anything wider than the back wheels...which is right around 6 feet. I have the option to pick up a 6 footer or a 4 footer, but being that this is my first tractor I would appreciate any additional input from anyone that might have it. Thanks in advance!!

 

[old]

5-6 foot is about right for an 8N. The 3 point should be able to lift around 800lbs before the front end gets to light to be able to steer it. The back blade set up I have it will not handle but then I carry 6-85lbs suit case weights on it plus a 150lbs wheel weight on the center link

 

[ncw1980]

awesome, thank you!

 

[Kirk-NJ]

forget the 4' take the 6'

 

[OH Boy]

For moving snow (especially light powdery snow) I would definitely get the six foot blade or even consider a seven foot one if you often blade it at an angle. Yes it will be a lot/too much for the tractor to take a full bite straight on, if the snow is real heavy or very wet. But you can always take half-passes so it doesn't load up so much. The seven foot blade will help you keep your tractor wheels in the cleared off area. My six foot blade has me running the wheels on one side in the snow bank sometimes.

 

[2ruNgineer]

6' terracing blade works pretty well behind my '46 2N. at sharp blade angles i'm not quite getting all the tire tracks behind. I don't think you will like the 4' blade. I think personally I could do 4' swaths with 2 runs of my handheld shovel.

 

[flembo]

I agree with Oh Boy I have a seven footer and it pulls just fine we just had 18" and when pulling uphill I had to raise it a little then go back again, it was a traction issue not power. One issue I do have is I can't use the last hole when angling the blade or it hits the tire and it is a little tricky to turn it backwards for the same reason.

 

[Royse]

A 4 footer won't be wide enough, especially when angled.
A 6 footer seems just right on mine. Any wider and I would
have to take it off the tractor to turn it around. 6ft just clears
the tires to spin it around. Congratulations on the new tractor
and welcome to the forum from Ionia county!

 

[TL (Va)]

I inherited a 7' blade and the 8n to go with it. Works great in forward, not so great in reverse. Not enough traction pushing backwards. No chains, loaded rear tires.

 

[Glenn D]

(quoted from post at 20:35:06 02/04/15) I inherited a 7' blade and the 8n to go with it. Works great in forward, not so great in reverse. Not enough traction pushing backwards. No chains, loaded rear tires.

On my 2N good ag r1 tires not loaded and no chains it's only good for a few inches of snow with 7' blade. Any more that that and with the blade angled it just slides the tractor sideways. Dresses up the driveway nicely after I use a blower on it though.

 

[Ultradog MN]

No if ands or buts, get a 6'.

 

[ScoutB]

I have a six footer on my 9N and it works great. Sometimes I wish it was wider but I've never once wished it was narrower.

 

[Money Pit]

i have both a 6 foot and 7 foot. 6 foot is ideal i can spin it around no problem. the 7 foot; if i have the stabilizer bars attached i cannot spin around. of course i could fix that problem by changing the rear wheel spacing. so when you say to get one wider than the rear wheels it would only apply to a few of the possible spacings. as far as capacity you'll run out of traction before running out of power.

 

[Kirk-NJ]

It looks the same as my ford blade but mine is 8'. There should be a hole to move the blade over a foot This will kick the snow out more and should give you that last hole and make it easier to spin into the backward push position.

Kirk

 

[Wayne Fleury]

I have a 48 with a back blade and a 51 with a front blade. Never use the 48 for snow any more. I also live in the thumb (Port Huron Area). If you can find a Dearborn Dozer Blade, GET IT.

 

[BigDawg]

This is mine. It will move a great deal of snow. Back blade to pull it away from buildings and front plow to move it anywhere.

http://www.camplulu.com/tractor/images/snow_mover.jpg

 

[Tom New Jersey]

I have a 7' blade that I think is just right. It is a model that can be offset. I have it offset so it will spin around. If the blade will not offset I believe you will not be able to spin it around.

 

[Ed S.]

Mine's a 7' and I can barely spin it around backwards (clearance-wise) to push mode when the snow is really deep. Works great. My rear tires are filled, BTW.

es

 

[kylemorley]

I don't think you can go too wide as long as the blade can be swung and isn't hitting anything, even on our little tractors, since most of the time you are plowing serious snow you will have the blade angled which effectively narrows the blade.

I actually made an 18" extension out of some scrap steel plate to go on one side of my 6" blade. The additional width of cut is very useful in that it allows using the blade at a good angle and still have enough length to hang out past the tire and allows knocking down the berm to widen the cut, And since it only lengthens the blade on one side, still allows swinging the blade 180.

The curse of using a back blade on serious snow is that you end up mid winter with a skinny little cut with iron-like frozen and compacted berms on each side, and no way to widen it unless maybe you have a lot of weight, a Sherman, and a very flexible neck.

(quoted from post at 12:00:34 02/05/15) i have both a 6 foot and 7 foot. 6 foot is ideal i can spin it around no problem. the 7 foot; if i have the stabilizer bars attached i cannot spin around. of course i could fix that problem by changing the rear wheel spacing. so when you say to get one wider than the rear wheels it would only apply to a few of the possible spacings. as far as capacity you'll run out of traction before running out of power.

 

[Ed S.]

The curse of using a back blade on serious snow is that you end up mid winter with a skinny little cut with iron-like frozen and compacted berms on each side, and no way to widen it unless maybe you have a lot of weight, a Sherman, and a very flexible neck.

In those cases, i angle the blade backwards/straight and push perpendicular to the driveway to get the berm farther back. Once that's done, I put it back on an angle and finish cleaning up.

es