Re: (ET) Tire Chains

[Max Hall <mhall maxmatic com>]

Hey, Bill,

I've worn my chains some, and scratched up my asphalt some. It can be seen the year 'round if you look for it, but it's not too big a deal. Someone wrote that "if the wheel spins, it's all over" or something like that. They're right... spinning is bad. If you've got your rig in tune, though, you can minimize the spinning. (I always think about making or getting a locking diff at this point in the thought progress! One of the guys on this list and I exchanged emails about, among other things, a similar to the ET Peerless tranny with a limited-slip function, however delicate the mechanism.)

Here's my lately learned lessons on plowing:
1. Rake is important. The plow *HAS* to lean back just a little bit, so that the resulting vertical force from all that horizontal load is at least a little down... otherwise the blade starts to climb away from the grade as you get to pushing large piles. By "lean back" I mean that the top edge has to be a little BEHIND the wear bar, as viewed from the side.

2. Skid shoes are a help. In order NOT to spin those chained wheels and scrape up the driveway and wear the crosschains, shoving loads of snow benefits from having lower friction between plow and ground. A big friction factor is in the plow's skids... having skid shoes that are adjusted to the right height (so the wear bar is just clear of the grade, like 0-1/8") is a big help.

The last storm we had was only 6", but I can't remember such fast and easy plowing since I leaned the plow back and welded some fresh soles on those skid shoes, and adjusted them juuuuust right.

Plow out of wood? As long as you can keep the snow from sticking. And I guess the right paint would do it.

Flurries coming on Sunday... prolly no accumulation. As I said, ok either way...

-Max

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 12:24 PM, Bill Alburty <willaim kc rr com> wrote:

I've been watching the posts on chains. With our recent unusual big midwest snows, so am considering getting a blade for my E12.  How much damage do chains do to an asphalt driveway?  Has  anyone  ever made  a blade  out of wood? If so, how do you make  mechanisms to lift and rotate the blade?........ Just gazing out the window at 16 inches of snow and having crazy inventive thoughts.
Bill Alburty E12 Kansas

Geof Thompson wrote:

Hi All
I am in the take the Wheel and deflate off camp. But I take it one step farther.  Once the wheel is off I take it inside let it warm up to room temperature, then mount the chains<which are also room temperature with the wheel on my work bench.  So, I am working bare handed at waist level. It might seem that this is a lot of work but in the end it is worth it, because I can take my time and do it right without have to work on the cold floor and minimal frustration and pain to my knees and lower back.

With respect to traction. The very physics that make a tractor good at pulling forward are what undoes it when you backing up, That is to say when you going forward the drive wheels provide force in both the forward direction and downward direction. For you Physics types the vector is more or less pointing from the rear axle to the front wheel. The tractor pushes itself down. In reverse the vector  rotates 180 degrees, so the rotation actually lifts the tractors, or reduces the down force on the drive wheels, add a slippery surface and  your going no where.  The answer is chains, because the give you more bite, almost like the teeth in a gear.

Long story short, if the wheel spin you lots the battle.

Cheers
Geof


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