RE: (ET) Newbie tries plowing

["Elie, Larry \(L.D.\)" <lelie ford com>]

A foot of WET SNOW or a foot of powder?

A foot of powder shouldn't be a problem, unless there is some serious 
drifting or 
snow piles on the sides are getting bad.  A foot of wet snow is more work. 
 In either 
case, you can plow until the snow is about 2" above the top of the blade 
if you are 
careful, with weight, and even without chains.  The important thing is to 
have A 
PLACE TO PUSH THE SNOW!  Angling the blade on more than a few inches will 
push the 
front-end to the side.  You end up cutting 1/3 to 1/2 the blade width in 
order to 
steer, but the next round you end up pushing the same snow (now packed) 
over again.  
Sad.  GE did sell a real two direction plow which would be great for 
sidewalks, but 
I've never even seen one.  Putting the blade straight works well, but you 
need to 
cut at an angle.  It takes time, but often you have to do it at an angle 
and start 
at the FAR END of your drive, working your way back at an angle a few feet 
at a 
time.  This way you always have a place to push the snow.  To do this you 
will want 
D1 or even L, and use momentum for just a few seconds for each 5' or 6' 
push.  The 
real key in every case is to have the wheels on pretty much bare 
earth/concrete, at 
which point chains aren't so important.  To do that you can't let the 
blade ride up.

BTW, this is all true of just about any small tractor mounted plow; if 
anything, the 
GE is better in all respects to any I've ever used.  Unless snow is think 
and light, 
it beats the snow thrower because the thrower is slow.

Larry Elie


-----Original Message-----
From: elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu
[mailto:elec-trak-bounces cosmos phy tufts edu]On Behalf Of Chris
Tromley
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2005 1:35 PM
To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
Subject: (ET) Newbie tries plowing


Hi All,

Last week we got a few inches of snow so I got an easy introduction to 
using
the plow.  Then we got a foot last weekend.  I figured this will be a snap,
oh I'm so glad I got a plow.

Not.

Maybe I should have known better, but I grew up in southern California,
where the weather is 76 degrees with a gentle breeze every day, all year
round.  On the east coast the only snow tools I've used are a shovel and my
(surprisingly effective) electric snowblower.

Is a foot of snow too much for an ET and a plow?  That first pass pushing
everything aside was a real bear.  I quickly learned that speed is my
friend, making ample use of D2.  Still, that's a lot of snow.  Even after
the first pass, angling the blade and pushing it all to one side wasn't
easy.  I had to take pretty light passes.  Finally it got to the point that
the snow was piled too high and packed too hard.  I had to break out the
little snowblower, which finished the job remarkably well considering its
size.

There were some other issues I know I have to deal with.  During mowing
season I frequently couldn't tell what speed I was in, or whether I 
actually
changed speeds when I moved the lever.  Last weekend there were frequent
hesitations before the tractor would take off after I moved the lever.
Toward the end it wouldn't get up to the higher speeds at all.  I had been
thinking of adding a little light panel to show what speed I'm in, but 
maybe
I'd be better off just getting in there and cleaning all my contacts?

Also I was low on power toward the end.  I didn't think plowing took that
much juice, but then it was 20 degrees and my batteries are 8 years old.  
No
problem mowing my yard, but maybe I need to warm them up with a charge the
night before if plowing is planned.

I could use some chains, too.  Just wondering, do they mark up your asphalt
at all?

I guess my main question is what is the practical limit of snow to clear
using the plow?  This was pretty light and fluffy stuff.  I can't imagine
how difficult it would be if it was wet and sloppy.  I think I'll be 
keeping
my snowblower after all.

Chris Tromley
near Philadelphia  PA  USA

100% Gas-Free Yard Equipment:
* Avco New Idea EGT 150 electric tractor
  with mid-mount mower deck and snow blade
* B&D corded electric mower and string trimmer
* Patriot 1.5 hp electric chipper/shredder/vac
* Remington Garden Wizard corded electric tiller
* Craftsman corded electric snow thrower



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