A snow plow guide with helpful tips for the V-Snow Blade skid steer attachment.
Are you overwhelmed from the amount of snow you have to remove over the winter? The V-Snow Blade is here for you. It's designed to save time and money, savings that can be passed on to your customers or the bottom line. With these simple tips using the efficient snow blade, stressful snow removal will be a thing of the past.
I'm convinced the “V” in “V-Snow Blade” stands for versatile. Its unique positions allow for quick snow removal in some of the worst blizzard conditions. Versatility is the name of the game, and this snow blade has what it takes to be successful.
In the angled position, the blade is facing either the left or right side of the skid steer loader. Use this position for windrowing or widening after the first pass.
Use the straight position for removing large windrows or cleaning up at the end of the job. Over time, you'll develop your own processes for plowing and learn exactly which plow position to use for each pass.
One blade will always lead (extend and retract), and the other will always trail (extend and retract). Different angles can be obtained by varying the direction of hydraulic and duration of flow. For example, full scoop, full V, angled fully right or left, or other positions in between.
If you want to have both blades straight for back dragging from a door; fully extend the leading side and extend the trailing side until it's parallel with the door. Retract the leading side after until it's also parallel. Other blade angles can be made using this method.
With the blades in full V or full scoop, they're hydraulically locked. When they're in any other position, the blades will move if they hit a large enough obstruction. A large impact will cause one blade to move back and the hydraulic system will allow the other blade to move forward by the same amount. The trail side blade needs a smaller impact to move due to the hydraulic system components used.
When hitting a short obstacle with a full blade trip, like a manhole cover, the entire blade will roll over. Small objects cause the skid steer to slow down and make plowing more disruptive.
If you're always hitting curbs, the full blade trip might make more sense. Constantly hitting curbs on a regular basis though leads to other serious problems.
A trip edge has three key advantages over a full blade trip:
Virnig uses trip edges with a rigid moldboard to minimize these plowing interruptions and provide safety. The trip edge allows the load to continue moving, especially when heavy snow is present. Additionally, Virnig V-Snow Blades are designed to trip in all five positions mentioned above.
Some plows have electric controls so you can pick which wing to move. It allows more control, but it's also more expensive. Electric controls in snow and ice are not as reliable as hydraulic connections, due to electric wires being more delicate than thick, heavy hydraulic hoses and couplers.
The best surface types are hard like tar or cement. When plowing over hard surfaces, raise or remove the plow shoes so the cutting edge will scrape as close to the surface as possible. The more down pressure put on the cutting edge, the more likely it is to scrape clean. Careful though. It's possible to put too much pressure on the blade. An indicator of too much pressure is if the front tires on the skid steer aren't touching the ground.
On soft ground, the blade will trip a lot easier which makes plowing a lot tougher. How can we stop the cutting edge from tripping? Skid shoes.
Skid shoes or plow shoes keep the snow blade off the surface. They also help prevent cutting edge wear and help keep gravel on the road and out of the ditch.
When plowing snow on soft surfaces, set the skid shoes to be a touch lower than the cutting edge. There isn’t a set clearance height when you're plowing a dirt driveway. It takes some experimenting to find the clearance height that clears the most snow while leaving the gravel on the surface. Start high and work your way down.
Lowering the shoes leaves a 1-2 inch layer of snow on the surface, but it should melt quickly on soft ground. If it’s warm enough for the snow to melt, you shouldn't have to scrape the surface clean.
Nobody should expect gravel roads to be scraped all the way down to the ground. To limit damage to the gravel roadway, the sacrifice must be made. If possible, allow a layer of hard-pack snow/ice to develop. The blade works much better when there’s a hard surface allowing for full down pressure.
Keep in mind the Virnig V-Snow Blade isn't meant to push or move dirt. Never use it to push anything other than snow.
To remove snow from the edge of a building or object, raise the blade and drive forward to the object. Lower the blade, then back up while pulling the snow away from the object. You should backdrag only two or three skid steer lengths before turning around.
At the end of the job, adjust the blade to the scoop position and push snow directly ahead, cleaning up any spill off left from previous plowing.
One of the major benefits is stacking or shelving snow in scoop mode. Since the blade sticks out further than a pusher or bucket it allows snow to be stacked better and higher. It is a night and day difference.
The Virnig V-Snow Blade has a floating frame and side-to-side oscillation for plowing on uneven surfaces. This feature helps maintain full blade contact by following the contour of uneven surfaces. Scraping pavement clean the first time saves time and money.
If you experience these types of plowing conditions, steel is for you. Keep in mind the use of steel edges can wear down the sealant on driveways or leave surface marks.
Not all poly cutting edges are created equal. Some of the toughest poly edges are made from reprocessed UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight) Polyethylene.
Depending on the situation, you could choose to have a steel, poly, and rubber cutting edge available. With a little effort, the edge can be changed or reversed.
Snow removal can be exhausting, but having the right equipment will make the job easier. If you have several snow removal jobs ahead, a skid steer V-Snow Blade can be your best friend.
If you're interested in a new snow removal attachment, check out what we have to offer.
