tire studs

[formariz 11,994]

Trying studded ags on the blower tractor this year. Three studs per lug.  Has anyone tried it?

 

[953 nut 57,916]

They worked well on snow tires, why not do it on a                   

[SylvanLakeWH 27,541]

Cool idea! And you can ice race with it after you are done plowing!!!

 

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,498]

Looks ready for the job. Nice, 

 

Glenn

[Chris G 3,334]

Never tried it on a horse. But please let us know how it works out.

[Achto 28,779]

I think that it's a great idea!! Keep us posted on how it works.

[Ed Kennell 40,490]

You should have enough snow for a test run tomorrow.     Keep us posted.

[AMC RULES 37,146]

 Convinced, that...

my driveway would not like them.

[Sarge 3,464]

I tried that setup once on an older Craftsman 18hp twin tractor - they bit great on the hard packed snow and ice , but once they hit pavement they liked to just make sparks and wore the heads off quickly .I got the studs from a brother in law that likes to ice race on the bikes - they are not hard enough to work on concrete and will destroy asphalt in a hurry if you push them hard with a blade. They will bite on the ice and really do work better than chains for that scenario - but on the harder surfaces not covered or cleared by a good blade, they will like to spin - although it looks pretty cool, lol.

 

Let us know how they work for you - and the conditions they work on....

 

Sarge

[ebinmaine 70,745]

I'll follow along to see the results as well.

[squonk 42,540]

Don't run over any feet with them. 

[AMC RULES 37,146]

                    

 

[formariz 11,994]

So it has been tested. Traction on my steep paving blocks driveway, flawless, on street clearing plow's mounds, flawless, up my neighbors 1/2 mile tarmac driveway, flawless. This thing did not slip whatsoever. Pushing the 40" single stage blower that might as well be the anchor for the Titanic it performed incredibly. Between wheels and rear hitch I have 200Lbs plus me that is another 220.LbsTomorrow I will check if I lost any studs. As for damage on the surfaces tested, I don't think there is any since it did not slip. On my driveway doesn't really matter since the chains on the Electro do leave some marks if I change direction too quickly. My only concern would be only on tarmac since they are digging in even if not slipping.

I do need however to put the roller chain on front wheels otherwise I can not steer.

Edited January 4, 2018 by formariz

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,498]

1 minute ago, formariz said:

So it has been tested. Traction on my steep paving blocks driveway, flawless, on street clearing plow's mounds, flawless, up my neighbors 1/2 mile tarmac driveway, flawless. This thing did not slip whatsoever. Pushing the 40" single stage blower that might as well be the anchor for the Titanic it performed incredibly. Tomorrow I will check if I lost any studs. As for damage on the surfaces tested, I don't think there is any since it did not slip. On my driveway doesn't really matter since the chains on the Electro do leave some marks if I change direction too quickly. My only concern would be only on tarmac since they are digging in even if not slipping.

I do need however to put the roller chain on front wheels otherwise I can not steer.

I had a problem steering to, I just raise the blower a bit, get it pointed in the right direction and go. Good report on those studs, interesting, thanks.

 

Glenn

[Sarge 3,464]

Glad to hear it - the biggest problem I had with mine was a lack of weight on the rear axle as I'm uh, lighter...lol. Slippage/sparks came on hard concrete this most and certain smooth asphalt, otherwise, they worked pretty well. I've learned over the years as so many others have that weight is the real key here, without it no traction aid can really bite into the hard packed stuff and ice. How about some pics of the areas that were cleared - it will give everyone a better idea of the surface conditions involved to get the results.

 

Sarge

[GlenPettit 1,717]

Formariz:

A lot of weight behind the rear axle will actually pivot (titer-totter) the tractor and lighten the front when the blower is down.  With the blower up you have a lot of weight on the front and great steering control, but with a lowered-working blower, there is almost no weight up front.  Even with a chain on the tire, it's the weight that keeps the wheels down so the chain can 'bite in' and control steering.

Filled tires, weight on the tires or even some weight hanging on the front axle will solve the lack-of-steering concern.   Some of your Bar-Bell weights may have the right diameter to fit inside the front tires with bolts & 2 holes drilled in the weights.  It doesn't take much weight, maybe 20# at each tire to give the needed 'dead' weight to control steering up there.

Good Luck.

Edited January 5, 2018 by GlenPettit

[formariz 11,994]

7 hours ago, Sarge said:

Glad to hear it - the biggest problem I had with mine was a lack of weight on the rear axle as I'm uh, lighter...lol. Slippage/sparks came on hard concrete this most and certain smooth asphalt, otherwise, they worked pretty well. I've learned over the years as so many others have that weight is the real key here, without it no traction aid can really bite into the hard packed stuff and ice. How about some pics of the areas that were cleared - it will give everyone a better idea of the surface conditions involved to get the results.

 

Sarge

 

Took a good look at it today and no studs were lost. Keep in mind also that my studs are merely hex head sheet metal screws. Played around with tractor today and I am just astonished at how this thing performs with studs. I even hauled a few loads of firewood up my steep driveway and not one single slip. Not too bad for an expense of $9.00 and about 20 minutes of light work screwing them in. Also used it to clear path in lawn to get the firewood. A few pictures of the surfaces used on . Just too bad I did not have anyone to do a video, specially going up driveway with a full load of wood.

7 hours ago, GlenPettit said:

Formariz:

A lot of weight behind the rear axle will actually pivot (titer-totter) the tractor and lighten the front when the blower is down.  With the blower up you have a lot of weight on the front and great steering control, but with a lowered-working blower, there is almost no weight up front.  Even with a chain on the tire, it's the weight that keeps the wheels down so the chain can 'bite in' and control steering.

Filled tires, weight on the tires or even some weight hanging on the front axle will solve the lack-of-steering concern.   Some of your Bar-Bell weights may have the right diameter to fit inside the front tires with bolts & 2 holes drilled in the weights.  It doesn't take much weight, maybe 20# at each tire to give the needed 'dead' weight to control steering up there.

Good Luck.

 

Glenn

Its just funny, what you state is just absolutely common sense, but I never really thought about it. I do have weights on front wheels also.I can definitely steer if blower is off ground even in deep snow. If I could just have blower slightly off the ground it would be great, but the way it works its all the way up or on the ground. I have to look into a little more. Its the first time that I really have used this blower for any substantial amount of time since last year I had traction issues. Well, that problem has definitely gone away. I have to do some tweaking on blower but I am definitely going to be looking for a two stage one.

 

 

[ericj 1,578]

2 hours ago, formariz said:

If I could just have blower slightly off the ground it would be great, but the way it works its all the way up or on the ground.

use your height adjuster knob on your lift, the knob on the left side of the dash, it's a little pain in the butt to keep adjusting when you want it to go all the way down set the blower on blocks to set your height and adj the know so the lift handle won't go any lower. walla you have your blower off the ground where you want it

 

 

 

 

 

eric j   

[Ed Kennell 40,490]

                                                                                                       Or, add enough lift assist springs to balance the weight of the blower.

  Before I switched to all hydraulic lifts,

I had 3 assist springs on my blower connected with a turnbuckle that I used to adjust the lift  tension.    It was balanced so it rode about an inch off the pavement so all the weight of the blower was on the front wheels. When the blower entered the snow, the extra weight of the snow pushed it down to the pavement.  It took about 5-10 pounds of force to totally lift the blower.  I could push forward on the lift lever to add additional down pressure if necessary to scrape harder.

Or, like I eventually did, you can also switch to all hydraulic lift, then you can control the height of the blower or plow with your finger tips.

 

[formariz 11,994]

So yesterday I had another test with the studded tires this one sort of unexpected. Prior to the snow we had rain and it became a sheet of ice on the driveway about 1/8 " thick then it snowed about 6 inches on top of that.Not enough for the blower so I start with the Electro with the plow.On the steep part of driveway I push snow out to street otherwise i have no space to accumulate it in other areas. I usually go straight up pushing it and then back up down driveway again. I noticed already after one pass that the Electro was beginning to slip a bit going up bu it always made it without any real problems. Backing down however was a different story. It would just slide down driveway chains not really grabbing. A couple of times i essentially had to gun it forward while slipping going backwards so I wouldn't crash against the house.It had my heart pumping real hard a couple of times.

 

Then I decide to see what the tractor with the blower an studded Ags would do. Going up on the ice it had totally better traction than the chained Electro. No slipping whatsoever. Then backing down, the same thing. It would not slide at all on the ice. I could even put brake on in the middle of the steepest area and totally stop. Studs were always penetrated though ice down to concrete pavers. I could then just even go forward again with no problems whatsoever. Tried also coming down head on and stopping in the middle and again immediate stopping.

 

Based on yesterday's experience I believe that I am going to change from now on to studded Ags instead of turf tires with chains. From my experience better traction, smoother ride, quicker setting up and much less expensive.

 

 

[ebinmaine 70,745]

That's pretty interesting right there. I'd really like to know what the lifespan of those studs are that you used. I'm curious to see how you sit at the end of the season.

[formariz 11,994]

17 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

That's pretty interesting right there. I'd really like to know what the lifespan of those studs are that you used. I'm curious to see how you sit at the end of the season.

 

The so called studs I am using are merely hex head screws screwed into lugs. Basically under$10.00 for both tires. Have not lost one yet and extremely easy and quick to replace.

[WVHillbilly520H 10,376]

23 minutes ago, formariz said:

 

The so called studs I am using are merely hex head screws screwed into lugs. Basically under$10.00 for both tires. Have not lost one yet and extremely easy and quick to replace.

They only drawback back I can see with the screws if you do loose some then they end up where  the said AG tires, the front tires or you vehicle tires?  I'm not saying you don't have a great idea here but just waying the cons with the pros, to take your idea one step father would be those Terra Grip rubber chains with 10-24 or 1/4-20 machine screws with flat washers and nuts to hold them securely across the links, non the less you had a problem and you found a way to solve it that works for you , Jeff.

[dells68 7,498]

Exactly what I was thinking Jeff.  I'd be worried about losing just one and finding it with one of our vehicle tires.

[953 nut 57,916]

1 hour ago, formariz said:

 

The so called studs I am using are merely hex head screws screwed into lugs. Basically under$10.00 for both tires. Have not lost one yet and extremely easy and quick to replace.

The studs used in studded snow tires are made of tungsten carbide and do provide a traction advantage, but do mark up pavement when you get tire spin. The softer metal used foe screws may be a good solution for our slower moving .