Tooth Bar and Broken Hip Slick Ice...

[Tim Horton]

Here in our part of the north, we are into our "broken hip slick ice" stage of winter..
This meaning too cold yet to thaw anything, but we get enough sun during some days to glaze the existing packed snow on the yard and driveway... Not enough heat to melt anything, but enough to glaze the cold surface... It can be as smooth as a hockey rink or rough as all get out and both are so slick you can't get anywhere without boot cleats.. There have been times there were patches I had to cross on my hands and knees to get to the tractor shed... Bummer...

So..... I have a Piranha tooth bar on my loader bucket.. I got it primaraly to keep ware from the front bucket edge.. It does work well moving packed snow.. I back drag it at about a 45 degree, or a bit less, angle to scrape the surface of the glare ice..

With no weight on the front wheels, depending on how rough the ice is, it will make the tractor steer where it wants to go, not the line you want it to follow.. If I run the loader in float it steers OK, but requires multiple passes to grind down rough spots or leave a good walking surface.. It works well enough...

At one time I had a homemade grader bar that bolted under the cutting edge of the back blade.. This with teeth about every 3" that would groove the ice.. Or level the gravel in the driveway.. It is way too early in winter yet to be taking off the 3 point snow blower, to put on the back blade..

I guess I could "invent" a clamp on for the loader bucket edge, over the tooth bar that would have a set of teeth on the under side, much like the lower teeth on a Ratche Rake for this job...

How do you handle glare ice ?? As for the clamp on teeth.....
Ideas, thoughts, experience.... ?? ??

 

[DustyRusty]

After I snowblow I then put on the snowplow and plow the remaining snow off to the side. Took a bad fall a few years after getting the snowblower, and that was when I realized that the plow was a necessary addition to the snow removal process. My driveway is paved and that makes the biggest difference.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

And here I thought I was the ONLY one with 'broken hip slick ice'....sadly, nice to know I'm not alone..
I've used those strap on bed of nails that are sold to gardeners as 'lawn air airators.' after a really bad icy storm.

wondering if the Pbar could be removed, turn upside down, rotated backwards and reattached ? Don't know the 'geometry' of it if the holes would line up
one possible quik,cheap,easy 'rake'..... take a section of angle iron(3x3, 4x4),weld two tabs on the ends with holes to bolt where the Pbar goes. Cut 'V's ( teeth) into the 'working surface'. Should work well as a groover and doubles as a parking brake !

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Sand and Ice melt work well for these situations too.

 

[Tim Horton]

one possible quik,cheap,easy 'rake'..... take a section of angle iron(3x3, 4x4),weld two tabs on the ends with holes to bolt where the Pbar goes. Cut 'V's ( teeth) into the 'working surface'. Should work well as a groover and doubles as a parking brake !
=== ===
Jay.. Yes.. Someone mentioned setting the bucket on an old section of diamond harrow and chain it down.. Good concept, kind of long teeth for this application..

From there my thinking has gone to a kind of slip on thing, like a boot cleat, or foot in an old slipper with 2-3 rows of teeth, knives on the bucket bottom.. Secured up the back of the bucket with a chain and load binder.. It may be push only, but you have float and bucket angle to make it work as you need... Will have to spend some time in my "good idea" sketch book with my crayon...