Choosing a snow plow

Clearing snow debris becomes much easier when a technique is used for it. For this, you can use both specialized equipment such as snow blowers and motoblocks, and personal transport, including cars and ATVs. The cleaning efficiency also depends on the correct choice of the used snow plow, so it is worth considering the subtleties of choosing this element for different types of equipment.

Any snow plow is an attachment for various types of equipment, which most often looks like a bucket or shovel. Blades are used to clear snow, level the ground, move building materials and other work to redistribute bulk materials over the surface of the land plot.

Structurally, in any dump, 2 main elements can be distinguished:

• a working unit, usually made in the form of a wide and high shovel;
• attachment point, which is used to attach the blade to the equipment.

In addition, many models of this equipment are equipped with a swivel mechanism that allows you to control the angle of inclination of the shovel. Most often, the tool is used at a right angle (a pile of snow is formed in front of the technique) or at an angle of 30 ° to the right or left (the snow removed remains on the side of the machine).

According to the technique for which the blade is intended, they are classified into variants:

• for cars (most often they are installed on UAZ, "Niva" and other off-road vehicles);
• for heavy equipment (installed on trucks, loaders, graders and tractors);
• for motoblocks;
• for snowmobiles;
• for a snow blower;
• for ATVs (sometimes compatible with snowmobile equipment);
• manual.

By design, this equipment is:

• in the form of a simple shovel bucket;
• in the form of a wedge (front or rear);
• in the form of a shovel with an upper snow-throwing wing (usually used on heavy equipment);
• in the form of a bucket with an installed auger (often used on snowblowers and walk-behind tractors).

On the Russian market, there are many different options for dumps for various types of equipment. Here are the most popular ones.

PKO-2.6M "Buran" - a powerful unit with a width of 2.6 m at an angle of attack of 45 °, designed for installation on powerful tractors and trucks with a carrying capacity of 12 tons. The design uses a grader knife that allows you to remove caked snow and ice. The dump is equipped with a hydraulic lock. Using the throwing wing allows you to throw snow 20 m to the side.

"Butterfly" - a blade with a shovel in the form of a concave wedge 2.6 m wide with hydraulic control, designed for installation on tractors of the "Belarus" class. The knives are made of steel-reinforced rubber.

The lineup LiuGong for forklift trucks - represented by 7 models weighing from 141 to 420 kg and a width of the working part from 1.35 to 2.74 m.

For SUVs and other cars, various dumps manufactured by Unikar are popular, which are presented in series "Standard" (have a width of 2 to 2.5 m and are intended for UAZ vehicles), "Profi" (equipped with a winch or hydraulic control, suitable for both UAZ and GAZelle), "Niva-Chevrolet" (exclusive model for this vehicle) and "ATV" (for installation on ATVs).

The most popular version of manual equipment in the Russian Federation is the model "Miracle Plus" from company "Unikar"... The device is designed to remove snow up to 6 cm high. Structurally, this dump is made in the form of a four-wheeled cart, to the front of which a bucket is welded. The width of the working part is 1.2 m, and the weight of the product is 18 kg.

Manufacturing of items for heavy equipment is only available in the factory. A simpler model for a walk-behind tractor or an SUV is quite within the power of a home craftsman of average qualifications.

It is better to make this element according to ready-made drawings. It is better to cook the frame from a steel pipe, and use sheet steel for the bucket. Remember to reinforce the bucket with stiffeners. And also pay special attention to the installation of protective rubber elements on the bottom of the shovel.

Another interesting way to make a blade is to make it from an unnecessary gas cylinder. From it you need to cut off the ends, then cut along and weld reinforcing ribs and the attachment point to it.

Choosing between specific models, it is worth paying attention to the main characteristics of the blade.

• Weight - it mainly depends on the mass of the element, with which machine it can be used. Heavy blades cannot be put on walk-behind tractors, and lightweight options are useless on off-road vehicles and can quickly break down.
• Attachment point - it is imperative to find out whether it is possible to install the selected model on the equipment you have. For snowmobiles and auto dumps, they are attached to a stretcher, so it is worth choosing this element for your equipment in advance.
• Dimensions, especially width - wide blades are well suited for quick cleaning of large areas and road clearing, but they should only be used with fairly powerful vehicles. Narrow plows are better at clearing narrow aisles (for example, in home gardens) and require less machine power.

• Installed solid obstacle protection system - under a layer of snow, it is difficult to notice curbs, stones and metal structures, and hitting them at speed is fraught with breakage of both the blade and the walk-behind tractor or snowplow. Most often, rubber scrapers are used for this, more expensive models are additionally equipped with return springs. If you are purchasing a model with springs, it is worth making sure that the structure is equipped with rebound dampers.
• Used rubber - the choice of rubber is very important both for the safety of the cleaned road surface, and from the point of view of the blade's resistance to wear. The previously popular rubber with metal wire reinforcement has recently been replaced by newer materials reinforced with polyamide or nylon fibers. The use of ordinary rubber without hardeners is fraught with the need for frequent replacement of scrapers.
• Control system - for low-power equipment such as snowmobiles, walk-behind tractors and snowblowers, a blade without adjustment or with the ability to set the angle of attack is sufficient.

When choosing a spare or replaceable blade for a snow thrower or walk-behind tractor, try first of all to consider the options from the standard equipment of your equipment - you will definitely not have compatibility problems with them.

For information on how to make a snow plow with your own hands, see below.