Utilizing the Grading & Leveling Blade for Snow Removal
Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2012 3:50 pm
Cub leveling and grader blades were designed and intended to level and grade loose dirt and perform light dozer jobs as noted in the 54A-L-54 manual.
When equipped with the flexible clevis coil spring unit on the lift arm, snow plowing is made possible by helping to prevent dozing action as the front wheels cover uneven terrain.
The flexible clevis basically provides limited relief from continuous full weight of tractor down pressure when the blade must follow the contour of the ground.
The intended function of the lower adjustable shock spring unit is to absorb or take out the shock caused by striking fixed objects then skip over the object struck.
The shock spring unit's adjustable position can also vary the blade from scooping to leveling by changing the angle of attack of the scraper edge. The shock spring does little when the tractor is traveling fast or when the blade hits a taller fixed object.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, whether you are dozing, leveling, or plowing snow, the tractor must be operated in the same manner as grading and leveling, ...slow..., unless you seek to destroy your equipment from striking fixed objects that bring the tractor to a sudden dead stop.
The manual also notes the blade must wear skid shoes when plowing snow. The shoes and shock spring provide no protection against curbing, landscaping timbers, frozen piles, or other fixed objects exceeding the height the shoes are set at.
Starting in 3rd gear will wear the clutch faster than 1st gear start ups' as the clutch must be feathered to prevent spinning or stalling. If you use tire chains on concrete, the chains will wear out a lot faster by tire spinning.
First and second gear starts require no clutch feathering if the engine has ample power with little if any tire spin if you are not hung up. Having to back up and ram a pile the tractor stopped pushing indicates the tractor has met its match set up the way it is. (Lack of weight or chains, too much down pressure, or too much snow)
In regards to rolling snow off the side of the angled blade at high speeds, you are taking your chances. Remember you are operating a dozer blade with little adaptation for snow removal. If you really need to cast snow, a commercial plow on a truck is better suited for your needs. Instead of casting, I stack it along the sides. This of course takes longer but is much easier on the equipment.
In my situation, I plow both concrete and asphalt. The concrete can throw you a curve from day to day as the individual concrete slabs rise and fall at the expansion joints. A crack glided over yesterday may catch the blade today. Only slow speeds can help prevent equipment damage to the plow from catching fixed objects.
My driveways are very hilly with multiple ups' and downs so if lifting bars or a clevis were used, constant adjustment of the blade is necessary to prevent dozing in one direction or incomplete snow removal in the other.
To solve this problem, during the snow season, I remove the lifting bars replacing them with a chain. This works exceptionally well to float the blade at all times letting it ride over bumps, cracks, and fall into depressions just like a commercial snow plow operates.
The blade weighs enough especially after a couple of back drags collecting snow on the plow frame that it works just as well as a down pressured blade 9 out of 10 times. The more snow that sticks to the front of the blade the better for additional weight.
The only thing down pressure does for me is to doze packed snow exceeding an inch in depth but does nothing for packed ice which is prevalent 9 out of those 10 times mentioned above. Five minutes or less restores the blade to its original configuration in the spring or if down pressure is necessary for snow removal.
Without down pressure the tractor plows deeper snow without tire chains. Down pressure has a drastic impact on traction in my plowing environment. This past snowfall I did have to chain up because of depth and the snow being very wet. For most snow falls chains are unnecessary, even on the hills.
I also seldom angle the blade. Stacking or piling is easier accomplished with a straight blade. The cutting edge also remains square when operated in the straight position. Extended use in the angled position wears the scraper edge on the ends.
I don't use shoes because I prefer a clean scrape. The fully floating plow will bounce over a raised expansion joint with the help of the shock spring assembly, especially at slower speeds.
Lastly, check all your fasteners holding the blade together and all fasteners at the attachment mounting points. A loose fastener attaching the plow to an implement mounting hole is disaster waiting to happen. The fore and aft movement creates shock to the casting every time you push and a bolt loosened to any appreciable length acts as a lever to break out the casting.
Keep it tight and go slow to preserve your tractor. As the years click by, less and less parts will be available for repairs, especially the big ticket items broken from abuse. I would really like to see my Cub go another 2 generations instead if being scrapped by the following generations because parts are no longer available or beyond affordable.
Happy New Year
When equipped with the flexible clevis coil spring unit on the lift arm, snow plowing is made possible by helping to prevent dozing action as the front wheels cover uneven terrain.
The flexible clevis basically provides limited relief from continuous full weight of tractor down pressure when the blade must follow the contour of the ground.
The intended function of the lower adjustable shock spring unit is to absorb or take out the shock caused by striking fixed objects then skip over the object struck.
The shock spring unit's adjustable position can also vary the blade from scooping to leveling by changing the angle of attack of the scraper edge. The shock spring does little when the tractor is traveling fast or when the blade hits a taller fixed object.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, whether you are dozing, leveling, or plowing snow, the tractor must be operated in the same manner as grading and leveling, ...slow..., unless you seek to destroy your equipment from striking fixed objects that bring the tractor to a sudden dead stop.
The manual also notes the blade must wear skid shoes when plowing snow. The shoes and shock spring provide no protection against curbing, landscaping timbers, frozen piles, or other fixed objects exceeding the height the shoes are set at.
Starting in 3rd gear will wear the clutch faster than 1st gear start ups' as the clutch must be feathered to prevent spinning or stalling. If you use tire chains on concrete, the chains will wear out a lot faster by tire spinning.
First and second gear starts require no clutch feathering if the engine has ample power with little if any tire spin if you are not hung up. Having to back up and ram a pile the tractor stopped pushing indicates the tractor has met its match set up the way it is. (Lack of weight or chains, too much down pressure, or too much snow)
In regards to rolling snow off the side of the angled blade at high speeds, you are taking your chances. Remember you are operating a dozer blade with little adaptation for snow removal. If you really need to cast snow, a commercial plow on a truck is better suited for your needs. Instead of casting, I stack it along the sides. This of course takes longer but is much easier on the equipment.
In my situation, I plow both concrete and asphalt. The concrete can throw you a curve from day to day as the individual concrete slabs rise and fall at the expansion joints. A crack glided over yesterday may catch the blade today. Only slow speeds can help prevent equipment damage to the plow from catching fixed objects.
My driveways are very hilly with multiple ups' and downs so if lifting bars or a clevis were used, constant adjustment of the blade is necessary to prevent dozing in one direction or incomplete snow removal in the other.
To solve this problem, during the snow season, I remove the lifting bars replacing them with a chain. This works exceptionally well to float the blade at all times letting it ride over bumps, cracks, and fall into depressions just like a commercial snow plow operates.
The blade weighs enough especially after a couple of back drags collecting snow on the plow frame that it works just as well as a down pressured blade 9 out of 10 times. The more snow that sticks to the front of the blade the better for additional weight.
The only thing down pressure does for me is to doze packed snow exceeding an inch in depth but does nothing for packed ice which is prevalent 9 out of those 10 times mentioned above. Five minutes or less restores the blade to its original configuration in the spring or if down pressure is necessary for snow removal.
Without down pressure the tractor plows deeper snow without tire chains. Down pressure has a drastic impact on traction in my plowing environment. This past snowfall I did have to chain up because of depth and the snow being very wet. For most snow falls chains are unnecessary, even on the hills.
I also seldom angle the blade. Stacking or piling is easier accomplished with a straight blade. The cutting edge also remains square when operated in the straight position. Extended use in the angled position wears the scraper edge on the ends.
I don't use shoes because I prefer a clean scrape. The fully floating plow will bounce over a raised expansion joint with the help of the shock spring assembly, especially at slower speeds.
Lastly, check all your fasteners holding the blade together and all fasteners at the attachment mounting points. A loose fastener attaching the plow to an implement mounting hole is disaster waiting to happen. The fore and aft movement creates shock to the casting every time you push and a bolt loosened to any appreciable length acts as a lever to break out the casting.
Keep it tight and go slow to preserve your tractor. As the years click by, less and less parts will be available for repairs, especially the big ticket items broken from abuse. I would really like to see my Cub go another 2 generations instead if being scrapped by the following generations because parts are no longer available or beyond affordable.
Happy New Year