How to plow snow

First let me say i have several small B tractors. I am trying not to by a WD45 or similar. We normally get snows of 4-6 inches. I have an IB with a 6 ft heavy rear blade on it. I does a very good job if the snow is not wet. I run over the snow and the rear blade rolls it to the side in a windrow manner. My troubles come in that the IB has about 12 inches of ground clearance and my blade only picks up about 10 inches or so..

• should i have a rear blade or front mounted ? my neck was sore after 3 hours !
• should i put on chains and what type, or how about rear steel wheels ??
• What is the objective of chains or steel wheels,  angle teeth or  bars or points ?
• should rear tires be narrow or wide, big lug, steel studs, orangle iron lugs?
• I can mount 500 pounds of weights on the rear if i use front blade, or vice vera.
• I have a 48 inch snow blower off an old garden tractor...should i try to mount it?
• better ideas ---i would rather not buy a WD45, but i know its x 2 larger.

I'll be honest, I personally don't speak from experience, but have researched the topic (snow plow for a B) quite a bit. I will also add this mostly comes from my opinion from what I have seen...

Edited by morton(pa) - 11 Feb 2011 at 5:47pm

I would also stick with rubber tires on the rear with chains (the narrower the tire the better). Mounting a blower in front would be perfect, coming up with a lift for it would be the problem. I'd mount a motor right on the blower so you don't have to use up tractor power to run it.

A front end loader with a snow bucket or a blade on it, and the rear blade you have now. Add plenty of weights to the rear. It's nice to push snow without looking backwards all the time. The loader will stack snow too. The blade will add weight for traction when it's up and can help with clean up.

Everyone has their opinion, so here's mine.

Leon has my idea that I was going to post.I use the 7060 with an 8ft. rear blade but when the snow gets deep I bring out my 185 with 500 loader and 7ft. snow bucket and tire chains and then I move snow.I am looking for a commercial 9or 10ft. plow to put on the front of the 7060 so I have a heated cab but have not been able to find one at my price.A front mounted plow works a lot better in deep snow because you can back away from a drift and then push off either side to widen and you do not get a crooked neck from backing up plowing.Tire chains and weight are a must to move any deep snow.Neighbor has a B with a front mounted straight blade he has owned for thirty years and plows his driveway every year.The tractor used to be a hand crank until it broke his arm.

Klinemar..
There is a 9 footer for sale in Higgins Lake

http://nmi.craigslist.org/for/2142657846.html

And I saw a 10 footer for sale that  is on a big dump truck on Craigs also but can't find it this AM. Truck had a belly plow under it too. I think they wanted to sell the front plow.
Try snow plow Northern Michigan

I use my B with a 3 piont conversion and a 5' blade. It works ok for up to about 8" of powdery snow. would be better if I had rear weights or filled the tires. Bill B

I've blown snow with my B and my CA, the problem I find (aside from a sore neck) is that reverse is too fast. With the CA I can use the hand clutch to let the blower clear it's throat but if the snows real deep  I have trouble getting moving again (I need chains) so I pull forward while lifting the blower and then get a bit of a run at it while I drop the blower again.

Big heavy 6 ft blade i inherited from father in law. WAs on a D17, 15 years ago. Had to modify the blade mount for the short tractor.

Up until last winter, I cleared snow with a wheelhorse with a front mount snow blower and tire chains. My problem with snowblowers is they seem to only work with the following conditions, fluffy snow, no wind, no more than 8 inches, and no packed snow on the ground. Any deviation from these and it was a pain removing snow. So last winter I bought my WD. I plowed with a seven foot blade. I had to make short and small passes since my tires would spin with minimal pushing. This year I bought tire chains. i have no extra weight on the back and now you cant stop her.

So my advice is a front mounted blade with tire chains. Also, don't go crazy with your blade width. I would keep the blade slightly wider than your rear tire width. Since you have a back blade to clear the roll off snow, an angled front blade is not a necessity. Just my opinion.

Brian

With any of the B/C/CA or D10/12 tractors and a front blade it is important that the thrust loads on the blade be carried back to the final drives without putting load on the torque tube.

 The chains that just run straight across are a waste of time to put on IMO. The chain will drop down between the tire lugs and become useless. The x pattern chains are great, but you won't want to drive down the road with them on.
 Your rear blade would be the perfect partner for a front blade on the same tractor. Use the front blade to bet through the heavy stuff and the back blade acts as counter weight. Once the biggest part of the mess is pushed away, you can use the back blade to clean up with. It has worked great for me with the 45 for several years now. The only problem is the entire unit is longer with both blades on at the same time making turning and storing a little different.