What size blade for snow?

[modirt]

Can my 5610 handle an 8' blade for pushing snow? Is 8' too big?

If not, what can it handle?

Worse case scenario would be 12" of heavy wet snow.....and maybe some drifts.

 

[Uniballer]

You have plenty of power, so this comes down to traction.

Are the tires loaded? Do you have chains? 4WD?

 

[SVcummins]

Pulling An 8 foot hydraulic angle blade with 65
horsepower i was in 2 feet of snow tonight loaded
tires I went over the scale just for fun 10,500
pounds the only problem I had was when dragging
Snow with the blade on a steep angle it would pull
tnt front sideways I have 7 x 85 front weights new
rear tires and decent fronts traction wasn?t an issue
this blade reverses and pushing I could shove
through 2 feet like it wasn?t there

 

[Ultradog MN]

Is this like a front snow plow or a back
blade?
Either way, a 5610 ought to handle an 8'
of either type.
I use a 7' front blade and/or an 8' back
blade on my 3000 and you have Way more
tractor than that.
I have heavy rear ballast and good tire
chains on it.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

I push a 7 foot front mount with a 2000 with oaded tires and chains. Does pretty well but could use more weight.

 

[modirt]

(quoted from post at 02:44:38 01/08/19) Is this like a front snow plow or a back
blade?
Either way, a 5610 ought to handle an 8'
of either type.
I use a 7' front blade and/or an 8' back
blade on my 3000 and you have Way more
tractor than that.
I have heavy rear ballast and good tire
chains on it.

Back blade. It has a 6' loader on the front, but cleaning 100 yards of driveway with a bucket loader seems like the wrong way to go about it. Would rather have a wide blade, set it at enough angle the snow will roll off to the side, and take off.

Rears are loaded with fluid. No chains. In general, pretty much level with no hills to climb.

We have already had 4 or 5 snow events, but only 1" to 3" so far. We don't get that much big snow......but 8" to 10" can happen. I've seen 18" to 21" in a single day, and that was only a few years back.....so I'd like to be ready for the big one.

I'm told the road I live on has drifted shut in several places between us and the main highway.....but not since I've lived here. But the County does a decent job of getting on that, so that is their problem.

Biggest potential for drifting for me that I can see is the driveway where I park my truck. When the big one is forecast, I'll move it inside to avoid having to work around it. On a bad day, it would not surprise me to find a 3' to 4' drift across the driveway.

 

[sunbeam]

Angle blades on a front end loader put loads on it that it was not meant to handle.

 

[modirt]

(quoted from post at 07:34:45 01/08/19) Angle blades on a front end loader put loads on it that it was not meant to handle.

Good point. The angled blade I was referring to would be a rear blade.

I've never seen one, but I understand they make a type of box blade for front end loaders that are used to clear small areas of snow by pushing it up into a pile. Small parking lots and such. Could be a bit of a strain on the loader, but at least straight line linear pushes. But that ain't me.

First front end loader I ever used was on a 3010 JD trying to clear a path through some 4 and 5 foot drifts. Floundering around, 1 scoop at a time. Either I sucked big time or it was the wrong tool for the job.

 

[Bob N.Y.]

I have an 8 foot back blade on my MF 165. When angled it just covers the width of the tires. It works great in light snow. Wet heavy snow causes steering problems.

 

[mikewood869]

Had a 7 or 8 ft snow plow on our Ford 3000. We had the tires loaded and a 3 bottom plow and we used that for over 20 years. Would push 3 ft of snow between 50 and 75 ft.

 

[mikewood869]

This was before the red weight box snapped. Would like to get the snow plow back on, might be a summer project???

 

[showcrop]

Your problem will be that you will not be able to keep any width cleared after plowing twice. The snow will be falling back in behind you. I would mount it in the bucket offset well to the right. Yes it will be a load in the bucket but only when it is in the air.

 

[modirt]

Hmmmm......my search for a rear blade started too late.

We are currently in the process of getting dumped on with 12" to 15" of heavy wet snow. What I've got to work with is a 6' bucket loader.

If the forecast holds, dig out will commence at noon tomorrow.

100 yards of driveway for me. Half that for the driveway across the road.

Too much fun!!!!

 

[modirt]

(quoted from post at 16:51:01 01/11/19) Hmmmm......my search for a rear blade started too late.

We are currently in the process of getting dumped on with 12" to 15" of heavy wet snow. What I've got to work with is a 6' bucket loader.

If the forecast holds, dig out will commence at noon tomorrow.

100 yards of driveway for me. Half that for the driveway across the road.

Too much fun!!!!

Turns out it was no fun at all.

The 12 to 15 inches turned into 18 to 20 inches of heavy, wet, water laden snow. Temps around 29 to 30, so once you moved it, exposed it, it froze. An inch or so on the surface was a skating rink.

Tractor could not even dig itself out of the barn. Even with an empty bucket, tractor would not back up on flat level ground. Was lucky to get it back in the barn.

I had assumed rears were loaded, but that may not be the case. Will find out. No other weight on it today.

I was in a bad mood and fuming, then noticed a neighbor with a big Massey 1100 doing the same thing, pushing the stuff with a front end loader and nothing on the back. He got it stuck on his flat level driveway. Would not go forward or back.

Going forward, an 8' blade along the lines of a Rhino 900, which weighs about 800 pounds, would surely help.

 

[Uniballer]

My personal experience is that once conditions are icy I need the tire chains, regardless of ballast.

 

[MJMJ]

Yep, chains are key with ice or any time you don’t have soft dirt for tires to dig in.

 

[modirt]

(quoted from post at 05:34:55 01/13/19) Yep, chains are key with ice or any time you don’t have soft dirt for tires to dig in.

At the risk of asking a dumb question, where is the best place to buy chains for a tractor? Tire shops? Auto parts stores? Online?

I once had a 2wd Suburban, which had limited slip rear end, and would go in just about anything but ice, so went looking for chains in a market where nobody uses them. No auto parts stores or tire shops stocked them. I think I had NAPA order me a set.

Good news is once I had em, I never had to use em.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 07:50:29 01/13/19)

(quoted from post at 05:34:55 01/13/19) Yep, chains are key with ice or any time you don’t have soft dirt for tires to dig in.

At the risk of asking a dumb question, where is the best place to buy chains for a tractor? Tire shops? Auto parts stores? Online?

I once had a 2wd Suburban, which had limited slip rear end, and would go in just about anything but ice, so went looking for chains in a market where nobody uses them. No auto parts stores or tire shops stocked them. I think I had NAPA order me a set.

Good news is once I had em, I never had to use em.

Modirt, I have been clearing my driveways with my Kubota for the last 18 years. It has FWA which of course is huge, but I never have need for chains with my backhoe on the back. Without the hoe it will spin. Another very big factor is temperature. If it is cold so that the snow is powdery, any slight wheel spin clears the snow away down to gravel. If the snow is sticky, any slight wheelsman turns it to ice, and without the FWA I probably would not go.

 

[Larry NCKS]

(quoted from post at 09:50:29 01/13/19)

At the risk of asking a dumb question, where is the best place to buy chains for a tractor? Tire shops? Auto parts stores? Online?

Guessing [b:d615746ad2]mo[/b:d615746ad2]dirt means you're in Missouri???

Tractor Supply. Orschelns, Dicky Bub's - any of the farm stores ought to have them.

NOTE: Dicky Bub's is only down in the Eureka area near St. Louis. I just had to throw it in because of the name. :lol: It's an amazing store if you've never been there. I think there are four or five of them in that area. I was at the Eureka location when I was there doing flood recovery with Brethren Disaster Ministries.

 

[Shetland Sheepdog]

I run a 9' blade on my 5610. 2 wheel drive with 18.4x30 loaded rear tires, and double ring chains. Also have a 3 pt rear 8' blade on it. Plow has it's own frame, not on a loader! Tractor has no problem, with this plow combination, plowing 12" plus storms.