# First plowing report - questions on technique



## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

So we got a good storm mon-tue and had about 15" of snow. My first time with the Tractor and 'plowing'
I have a long gravel driveway, What I did was make the front bucket not quite level ( scooping up ). Then engaged float.
This seemed to work ok... I left a good 2 - 3" of snow on top of the gravel.
If the bucket was set to dig ( scooping down ), then I started picking up gravel fairly quickly.
Any tricks on how I could do this any better next time around?
Thanks for any info.
Bruce


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## BinVa (Sep 21, 2020)

Bucket level or slightly curled about all you can do..if the ground Isn't frozen you'll get gravel if you're not careful. Don't know about using the float..I like to be able to control the bucket and have weight on the steering. B.

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## LouNY (Dec 15, 2016)

A product called edge tamers will help a lot.
R2 Manufacturing - Home Of The Edge Tamer

I actually use my back blade most of the time, here is todays we only had 4-6 inches,

going down the driveway looking ahead;









same place looking back and up, I scrape very clean once it's froze (this driveway is 14-16 degrees of slope or 25%)









that's a 10 ft blade


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

So I knew about the R2 edge tamers, I was waiting to see how much plowing I would have to do.
I guess my question would still be with the edge tamers I would have to not use float to 'force' the bucket at the level I wanted. I'm sure I will get more time to practice in the coming month... expecting 4 in. or so Fri. night...

That rear blade looks awesome... I could do the entire driveway in 2 passes... might have to start working on the CFO to get approval for that purchase.

Thanks for the replies


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## marc_hanna (Apr 10, 2017)

My driveway is gravel also. The ground here is frozen so I put the FEL on float and curl down just slightly so it scrapes down to the gravel. Before the ground is frozen, i set the bucket level to the ground and float it.
BTW you can adjust the curl while its floating. Just blip it a little to get the scrape level you want.


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

ok I'll give that a try, thanks... 
I did notice that if I curled it down I was digging a hole in no time !
But I'm really new to the tractor world and still learning....
Thanks again


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## marc_hanna (Apr 10, 2017)

BRUCE MICHAUD said:


> ok I'll give that a try, thanks...
> I did notice that if I curled it down I was digging a hole in no time !
> But I'm really new to the tractor world and still learning....
> Thanks again


It all depends on how much your snow packs and how packed and frozen your driveway is. In my case we are very humid in winter and therefore the snow packs really easily, and as a result, if I don’t curl the bucket down slightly I’ll end up with a densely packed layer that eventually turns to ice.
I have a bucket level on my tractor, you may have one too, this will tell you how level to the ground your bucket is and ensure you’re starting off in the right position. If you don’t already have one, it’s worth buying one or making your own. 
It sounds like your gravel is pretty loose, so I would start off level and float it, then as I said, blip the curl to get the right amount of bite or glide. Then push the snow as far as you can until there’s too much to push any further, curl up, lift your load and dump it to the side. Then continue straight on down in the same direction you were originally and repeat. 
I usually go straight down the middle first, and then do half-bucket-widths down each side until I have it cleared.


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

got it... thanks again ! 
the gravel is pretty loose, and the ground is not frozen.
That's a great tip about going down the middle first... I'll try that....
I did notice that using float if I pushed a huge pile of snow I eventually couldn't steer over until I curled up...
Lots to learn... Thanks !


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## marc_hanna (Apr 10, 2017)

BRUCE MICHAUD said:


> got it... thanks again !
> the gravel is pretty loose, and the ground is not frozen.
> That's a great tip about going down the middle first... I'll try that....
> I did notice that using float if I pushed a huge pile of snow I eventually couldn't steer over until I curled up...
> Lots to learn... Thanks !


Yes, that’s right. I keep pushing until my front wheels come off the ground and I start to veer to the side. No steering with that much load at the front. A trick here is that you can steer with your rear wheels a bit by unlinking the double brake pedal and braking on the side you want to steer towards. This might not be possible if you have a hydrostatic transmission though.


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

OH ! great point... I haven't played with the double brake pedal yet !
No hydrostatic trans, just good old gear driven...
Thanks


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## marc_hanna (Apr 10, 2017)

BRUCE MICHAUD said:


> OH ! great point... I haven't played with the double brake pedal yet !
> No hydrostatic trans, just good old gear driven...
> Thanks


Then you’re in good form. Set your throttle at 2,000rpm after she’s warmed up, find your happy gear for pushing snow, and enjoy being able to pivot on a dime.


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## BinVa (Sep 21, 2020)

Interesting that many have responded they plow in the float position. I have found just the opposite works better for me...and allows some front wheel steering/drive control w/MFWD. Of course all bets are off once it 's glazed over. I also have a fairly steep grade to the road and find I only get 1or2 chance to get it clear before it's glazed and impossible to maneuver w/o chains. Also keep in mind stopping can be an issue with only rear braking. Be sure your brakes are adjusted equally to assure a straight line stop. B

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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

good point, I've never used the split pedal 'un-split'... I'll have to do some practice runs.


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## Groo (Jan 17, 2020)

with just a bucket, it can be tough when the ground is still soft. I would probably back drag or tip beyond vertical and float. Once the ground freezes up, you can plow more normally.


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

yeah in our climate I don't think I will ever see a hard freeze.. we get cold days in the winter where the high isn't above freezing, but then it warms up into the 40's and 50's... good to know... I might invest in the edge tamers seems like that would work with having the bucket close to vertical and floating....
Thanks for all the responses...


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## Groo (Jan 17, 2020)

BRUCE MICHAUD said:


> yeah in our climate I don't think I will ever see a hard freeze.. we get cold days in the winter where the high isn't above freezing, but then it warms up into the 40's and 50's... good to know... I might invest in the edge tamers seems like that would work with having the bucket close to vertical and floating....
> Thanks for all the responses...


if its never going to freeze hard, defiantly get a back blade for the 3 point. they are fairly cheap.


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

Groo said:


> if its never going to freeze hard, defiantly get a back blade for the 3 point. they are fairly cheap.


how would that work better than the front bucket with float ?
I could see that I wouldn't have to dump, but won't I still have the issue with scraping the gravel up ??
Thanks for any info... all good stuff


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## DK35vince (Jan 22, 2006)

BinVa said:


> Interesting that many have responded they plow in the float position. I have found just the opposite works better for me...and allows some front wheel steering/drive control w/MFWD. Of course all bets are off once it 's glazed over.


Same here.
I never plow in float (has far to much affect on steering/can't steer) if pushing any amount of snow it takes to much weight off the front.
I have far better result when the loader is not in float.


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## Groo (Jan 17, 2020)

BRUCE MICHAUD said:


> how would that work better than the front bucket with float ?
> I could see that I wouldn't have to dump, but won't I still have the issue with scraping the gravel up ??
> Thanks for any info... all good stuff


Back blades pop up when they hit something as the contact angle is pretty vertical. Also look at the angle from the scraping blade to the arm pivot point. Going forward, if you push into a front bucket cutting edge you will force the bucket down. For the back blade going forward, if you push into the cutting edge, it will pop up.
That is also why I say back up with a bucket on soft ground. Even if the cutting edge is vertical, it will work better backing up.


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

good info Thanks !


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## LouNY (Dec 15, 2016)

A back blade can have shoes added to help it from digging to deep some times.
Also when my driveway is soft I will often turn my back blade and drag it forward
with the backside acting some what like a squeegee with quite a bit of angle it will do a decent job 
and not dig all your gravel up.


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## Groo (Jan 17, 2020)

LouNY said:


> A back blade can have shoes added to help it from digging to deep some times.
> Also when my driveway is soft I will often turn my back blade and drag it forward
> with the backside acting some what like a squeegee with quite a bit of angle it will do a decent job
> and not dig all your gravel up.


you could also tip the blade to reduce the cut angle.

Honestly, I've never had too much problem with a back blade digging in, unless the ground was soft and wet.

Normally, i would add weight to a back blade to get it to work properly.


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## LouNY (Dec 15, 2016)

Unless my driveway is frozen quite hard my blades will definitely dig in.
You can see that it is rolling some dirt and gravel even with the frozen driveway.
I have a lot of gravel to try and recover from the side of the driveway every spring.
Mine are heavy blades Cat 2 the small JD is a 8 footer the one in the picture is a 10 footer.


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## BRUCE MICHAUD (Oct 7, 2020)

thank you so much for all the replies... I will try and curl the bucket a bit more the next time I scoop snow.
Might be this weekend 
Thanks again for all the suggestions


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