Snow plowing Super A vs Cub

[49willard]

I have my new to me Super A with added power angle up and running. I tried it out with a light crusty snow/sleet from yesterday. I enjoy the additional power over the Cub. Note that I have snow plowed with my Cub for 44 years. The Super A did a great job of getting down to the asphalt on my driveway, much improved over the Cub in those conditions, however when I tried to plow over a gravel area the snow plow, particularly when the blade is angled, would dig into the partially frozen gravel surface. No amount of playing with plow height was successful. I purchased 2 "shoes"-upside down mushrooms sold for a Fisher plow and are looking at fabricating brackets on both sides of the blade proper to mount the "shoes" hopefully to prevent the blade from digging in as the shoe should prevent the digging in. I never had this issue with the Cub. I think that the heavier A60 plow verses the somewhat lighter A54 plow is creating the issue. Has anyone else had a similar issue, and what was your fix?
Bill

[inairam]

The first time I used the A60 on my 140 I did some damage to the asphalt where there was a crack. I plowed the rest with the blade off the ground and got a plastic ( UHMW) edge protector that I sandwiched between the steel cutting edge and the blade. It did well at protecting the surface.

I found that the plastic edge was a better option for me than the "shoes". For the shoes to be effective they kept my blade off the ground. My drive is heavily shaded near the house so I just made a lot of ice.

The difference in plowing the with the larger tractor is really enjoyable. I use my cub for trim / tight areas and use the 140 to move the piles and clear the open areas.

[ricky racer]

I made a set of shoes for my Cub and used them for a short time but ended up taking them off. Instead, I try to avoid plowing my gravel driveway until there is some frost in the ground. Once the ground is frozen, (and it doesn't need to have much frost in it) I don't have much of an issue with the plow digging in. Like inairam said, using the shoes left a layer of snow on my concrete driveway which just built up ice. I prefer to put the steel cutting edge right down on the pavement to scrape right down to the pavement when plowing. I'm too lazy to adjust the shoes every time I go from one surface to the other.

[49willard]

Thanks for your reply. Do you plow gravel areas with your A60 plow with the urethane cutting edge? Will it dig in as I described in my original? Is there a way for us to talk? I need to make changes to my A60 to work on both asphalt and gravel surfaces. My Cub with the A54 worked however it is promised to my son and goes away.
Bill

[49willard]

Rick,
I did not have the problems with the Cub that I am experiencing with the Super A and, with the Cup, did as you indicate.

[inairam]

Thanks for your reply. Do you plow gravel areas with your A60 plow with the urethane cutting edge? Will it dig in as I described in my original? Is there a way for us to talk? I need to make changes to my A60 to work on both asphalt and gravel surfaces. My Cub with the A54 worked however it is promised to my son and goes away.
Bill

Bill

there is also a gravel drive on the property that is a rental property. I try not to plow with the blade all the way down. The person who lives there has a 4WD truck and that drive gets a bit more sun so it is less of an issue with ice.

Peter

[49willard]

Prter,
Thanks for coming back at me. I found it very difficult to adjust the plow height "just right" all of the time. I noted that the condition was much worse if I have the plow angled. On the concrete shop floor (good and uniform) I measured the squareness of the plow frame to the concrete and noted that the frame at the cross tractor pivot round stock is not the same. I am going to try to shim it back to level. Although this may help some, I do not believe that it will truly solve the issue. Has anyone else had similar issues with an A60 plow setup?

[ricky racer]

I don't know if it will help any but changing the pitch of the blade changes the way the blade acts, quite a bit. To change the pitch you have 3 hole options on the bracket that supports the lower shock spring. Changing the pitch really alters the way the blade reacts. You might want to play with that a bit and see if it helps any.

[49willard]

Rick,
Good thought, I will give that a try!
Bill

[inairam]

I was taught to plow anything heavy with a straight blade and then clean up with a small angle. It may help you to use the angle once you get to the grass/ side of the gravel.

As far the height is concerned do you have the stops on the control lever? You should be able to set the height in the shop and adjust the stop so you can repeatedly get to the same height.

[inairam]

Reference Ricky's comment.

In the operator manual http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=109615 in the "TO the owner section" it talks about tilt angles for scoping, spreading, and cutting.

I think for snow it is the scoping action with the cutting edge forward.