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To plow or FEL...which is better?

4775 Views 37 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  TUDOR, 
elsimon
As it was raining yesterday then hailing then snowing then raining..... I was wondering which would be better to have working first, the front plow or the FEL? We got about 5-6 inches of heavy wet snow yesterday. Without having the FEL or the front plow working or setup it was back to my back to clear the snow. 30' wide X 165' long driveway. I feel it this morning.

I used a GT (12 HP Bolens) with a plow a couple of times last winter. I didn't have weights in the back or on the wheels. It did OK going down the driveway it struggled for traction coming back up. Now I have a bigger tractor (Sears 18/6) with a FEL (still rebuilding see my other thread). I also have a front plow for it (I have not reviewed the setup). I think the plow is on a homemade frame. I have not gotten into the details of how to lift or rotate the blade.

We are looking at rain on Monday, Snow on Tuesday, cloudy until next Monday when we should have more snow. I have about a week to get something ready.

Here are the questions:
1 - Should I work on the plow or continue with the FEL?
2 - Which is better for moving snow? Typically here in Utah the snow is fluffy and not as heavy.
3 - What has others used and what do you prefer?

Thanks
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dmorrill22
Use the plow first. It will be easier to get ready with a deadline than the FEL. Once you have the plow up and going, you can go back to fixing the FEL at your own leisure.

When you have the FEL finished, make a frame for the snowplow to pin where the bucket pins, so effectively the plow becomes the bucket. This will allow you to stack the snowbanks higher and use the plow more effectively - it is very difficult to plow with a bucket. Some others on here may argue that its pretty easy, but I have tried before and you either dig in the ground to much or don't scrape enough snow.
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dmorrill22
Must be why the mounts were homemade. PO bought the blade and adapted it to fit?
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dmorrill22
Looks like maybe it was designed to pin into the front mower deck hangers? Does your 18/6 have front hangers?
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dmorrill22
Yup. Those tabs on the front deck hangers (clearly visible in photo 4) look like what he used to mount the plow frame. Looks like he just added them on.
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dmorrill22
The homemade tabs look plenty beefy - the only weak point I see is the angle iron rails used as the push frame on the plow - particularly in between the front brace and the rear brace/mounting tab.
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dmorrill22
Oo-v-oO said:
Maybe it's just a case of terminology. I would call a blade that does not trip a dozer blade, and one that does a snow blade.
Click to expand...
:ditto:
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dmorrill22
I really do believe that blade is all set to hook up to the tractor - I don't see how it wouldn't attached to the previously mentioned tabs the prior owner made. All you may need is a lift system, which could be a cheap Harbor Freight winch. It's what I use, and have yet to have any problems.
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