V Plows and

[DaveO]

My next setup is going to be a V Plow. Probably Fisher or Western, due to trip edge design. I have heard several people in my area complain about the "stripes" the center opening of the V leaves behind. Should it be a concern?

Dino,

Have you put a urethane edge on your V? Did it stop the stripes?

Dave

 

[GeoffD]

I wouldn't worry about it. The rubber does a good job. Your excreaed productivity will be much greater than the time spent cleaning up, the little left behind.

Geoff

 

[nsmilligan]

You'll find like I did that you will use the scoop position far more often then you thought possible, and even with the rubber flaps gone it doesn't leave stripes in the scoop position. You can angle to side-cast to move snow, but I stack in the scoop position, and clean up in the scoop position. What will really make you a beleiver is the scoops ability to move snow. My Fisher will roll snow in front of it and with the edges throwing snow to the center, in a nice dry snow it will roll snow high enough to block the plow lights!
I mounted the rubber snow deflector with the angle iron opposite from the way Fisher says, I found with the angle iron forceing the deflector down it would trap snow and lift the blade. This way in heavy snow it rolls up acting like an extension of the plow and you can stack and carry a lot more snow.

After years of chasing winrows with a straight blade, I'll never go back.

Bill

 

[Matt]

I think most everyone that has used a straight blade and now has a V blade will never go back to a straight. The increased productivity is useful in all applications, commercial and residential. If I was only doing residentials I would still use a V, it is a little tight in the smaller drives but the time it saves and its piling capabilty is what allows you to plow more accounts in the same amount of time. I haven't had any problems yet with the deflector in the down position, but can see where it might lift the blade off the ground.
Dino does have a urethane cutting edge on his and he was going to try putting a solid piece all the way across instead of having the gap in the bottom. I haven't heard if this is going to work, I'm sure Dino will answer so we will let him say if this is possible or not.
We currently are running 3 Fisher V's and really like the bottom trip instead of the whole blade trip.

 

[plowking35]

Ok we tried the one piece v plow and it buckled the center when the scoop so much it lifted the outer edges of the blade off the ground. So instead with a v plow blade purchase, we include a 3/4" x 8" x12" piece of urethane to install behind the plow. That will wear evenly with the 8" plow edge I recommend with the v plow, and the striping is gone forever. With the 3/4" thickness, buckeling is not an issue, so it works fine. This is of course on the fisher/western models, I am not sure on the other v plow models how those makers design the center flap.
Dino

 

[thelawnguy]

Is it feasible to router the joint so it acts like a ball and socket?

Kinda tough to draw a picture from here.

 

[Chuck Smith]

Not that hard to draw a pic, and add it here

Is this what you mean? Not the perfect drawing, but is it the general idea?

A concave end on one half, and a convex end on the other?

<img src="http://www.snowplowing-contractors.com/images/joint.jpg">


~Chuck

 

[plowking35]

Yo have to cut the edge for the smallest point which is the scoop. As it travels back to straight and v position that space in the center grows larger, thus the need for small wiper if you will behind the pivot point.
Dino

 

[thelawnguy]

Thats it Chuck!!!

If the gap changes width maybe cut the two sections shiplap style and overlap them? This will allow them to slide over one another while changing position of the blade halves.

[Edited by thelawnguy on 11-03-2000 at 11:40 AM]