A snow clearing challenge for those who like them.

[Dovahkiin]

I have just bought a house in NH and I have a problem. There is house on either side of my drive way which is about 75 feet long. I don't really have 500 dollars to spend on a snow blower that still only blows snow maybe 15 to 30 ft. A snow plow cannot get enough clearance to push the snow out because my garage is at one end of the driveway and even the driveway is quite narrow. I know that a shovel is my only option but I figured I would put it up on here for some young genius to invent and idea.

 

I know they make backup plows which are too expensive for me to buy also.

 

 

Let me know what you guys come up with!

 

 

[StringJunky]

[Dovahkiin]

I was just at Lowes to get some tools and saw the propane torch that looked like a flame thrower and thought about it....

[StringJunky]

I was just at Lowes to get some tools and saw the propane torch that looked like a flame thrower and thought about it....

Great minds think alike. You can get 3-head burners for weed clearing.

[Dovahkiin]

Great minds think alike. You can get 3-head burners for weed clearing.

The city might have a problem with that...

[StringJunky]

The city might have a problem with that...

You're killing the weeds... once you've got through the snow.

[Acme]

I have just bought a house in NH and I have a problem. There is house on either side of my drive way which is about 75 feet long. I don't really have 500 dollars to spend on a snow blower that still only blows snow maybe 15 to 30 ft. A snow plow cannot get enough clearance to push the snow out because my garage is at one end of the driveway and even the driveway is quite narrow. I know that a shovel is my only option but I figured I would put it up on here for some young genius to invent and idea.

 

I know they make backup plows which are too expensive for me to buy also.

 

 

Let me know what you guys come up with!

Well, I ain't young, but I am a genius. In a word, snow winch. Wait...that's two words. Anyway, use a dragline powered by a winch, come-along, or other suitable device and attach the line to your snow shovel, a board, or other suitable blade. You will of course have to play with the bridle to get and maintain the correct angle of attack and of course use suitable material for the bridle. Braided steel cable sounds right, as it will have to cut through the snow when you initially jam the blade in. There snow reason this won't work.

 

Here's a rough diagram:

[rangerx]

Well, I ain't young, but I am a genius. In a word, snow winch. Wait...that's two words. Anyway, use a dragline powered by a winch, come-along, or other suitable device and attach the line to your snow shovel, a board, or other suitable blade. You will of course have to play with the bridle to get and maintain the correct angle of attack and of course use suitable material for the bridle. Braided steel cable sounds right, as it will have to cut through the snow when you initially jam the blade in. There snow reason this won't work.

 

Here's a rough diagram:

The cable needs to be fastened to the bottom. Otherwise the bucket will stand on its end

[Acme]

The cable needs to be fastened to the bottom. Otherwise the bucket will stand on its end

Aye, this is the bridle attachment problem to which I referred.

 

The true method of knowledge is experiment. ~ William Blake

[Mordred]

Too bad Bobcats are also expensive.

[Phi for All]

What if you lose the blade, keep the winch, and lay down a heavy tarp the length of the driveway before it snows (20'x40' US$108, cut and sew to get 10' x 80')? Run rope through grommets at the house end to your winch/come-along at the street end. The snow falls on the tarp, and when it gets full enough, you winch/roll it to the street, where it's easier to deal with.

[Mordred]

It's too bad cost is an issue, for long driveways one of the best tools I've used is the powerbrush snowsweeper. They work extremely well as long as you don't let the snow get too deep for the size of sweeper. Cleans right to the cement and helps with ice removal.

 

In my experience they work far better than snow blowers. (Canadian living lol)

Edited December 6, 2016 by Mordred

[waitforufo]

lots and lots of salt.

[Dovahkiin]

There are all great. The tarp and winch idea is in the top 3 at the moment and the winch bucket idea is good also. I think if I was able to use a web system maybe the bucket would stay down.

 

I am going to look into that sweeper. I had never heard of it. I live in NH so I know about snow also. The problem is you have to angle it to the side, which I cant do. I have to send it all down the end of the driveway to the road.

Yeah those sweepers are good for like 2" of snow. I live in NH. I got 6 inches as a dusting the other night and tonight we are getting 2 feet. So I'm back to the drawing board.

[Mordred]

The larger ones work good up to 6 inches but again the price tag is large. Heavy dumps are problematic even for a blower. My father runs a snow removal business. I often help him when he is short on manpower. Needless to say he has all the toys including a small bobcat with snow bucket.

 

I hesitate on the tarp idea, that is a lot of weight over a large distance. The bucket idea is neat I will admit.

 

Do you perchance have a truck or car? ie do you have a hitch?

 

The reason I ask is I recall one farmer modified a plow with two wheels that he could drag using his hitch to move the snow where he could more easily remove it.

 

Not sure how much it cost to put it together though. It was years ago

Yeah those sweepers are good for like 2" of snow. I live in NH. I got 6 inches as a dusting the other night and tonight we are getting 2 feet. So I'm back to the drawing board.

two feet is hard on most powered equipment except bobcat style plow. Particularly if you need to move it 75 feet without going to the sides. My fathers largest blower with price tag over 5 grand and 4 foot diameter blades would have difficulty under those conditions. I doubt it would handle it going from garage to road. To the sides easily but not straight on for 75 feet.

 

To be honest with you, you may actually be better contracting the work out to someone that has the right equipment ie bobcat for your large dumps.

 

For example My father could have that removed in under 1 hour with 2 people so under two manhours. Some private companies are flexible for just on call work as opposed to monthly contract.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Mordred

[arc]

 

The problem with this design is it will steer to the side of its leading edge. It is basically a rudder moving in the direction of least resistance. Old horse drawn designs were commonly home built and triangular to eliminate any uneven side loading. But they would/could only do that for the first run-through, so they had to be made wide enough to clear the desired width within one run. Deeper snow would of course be handled by repeatedly covering the same path as many times as necessary.

 

Another solution is to have a side board along the same side as that of the plow's leading edge to counter the side force that the singe blade design produces. This is a nice feature because its length can be adjusted to compensate for the snow's density and the blade's attack angle and the depth of the blade's cut (bite).

 

A draw beam centered and rigidly attached to the blade would give the best control and eliminate the "shimmy", or side to side yaw that would occur with that bridle arrangement. The draw beams length can be quite long, to not only add the mentioned stabilization but to also create a down force on the blade edge. This can be further controlled by a means of an height adjustable wheel or ski towards the front of the draw beam to optimize the blade's pitch. The draw beam also provides a ideal support structure for the side board that needs to run parallel to the beam by its attachment means, some vertical adjustment would be desirable here also.

 

At this point it would take two operators; one to operate the winch and one to handle the snow plow. Moving the winch to the draw beam would eliminate one of these people and switching to a gas engine would eliminate the power cord.

 

At this point a machine such as the one suggested by Mordred would be the best choice. This is because the snow plow is a cumbersome solution at best, that really only work well when on wheeled or tracked equipment with adequate traction.

 

 

And just for fun;

 

http://www.snowplowtalk.com/#sthash.dAVCq3Md.dpbs

A company based in North Carolina by the name of SuperDroid Robots has developed a robot that would plow snow for you while you sit back and relax.

The robot will cost you about $8,500 and will prove most useful if the snow level lies between 2-6 inches. The robot is a six wheeler and comes with a plough blade which is 52” in length and works pneumatically. The robot can be controlled via tablet or your desktop PC. It weighs about 181.82 pounds and is capable of running for two hours on two car batteries. However, there is room for more batteries and hence, more work time. The RoboPlow will actually clear your driveway of snow while you have breakfast. So watch out snow plow manufacturers, because the winter is no match for RoboPlow.

[Mordred]

lol it can even work while snowing before it builds up

[Acme]

So the winch I had in mind happens to be one that I own. Runs off a 12 volt auto or -preferably- deep cell marine type battery and has a remote operating switch.

 

>> Portable winch

 

So, let's follow the KISS principle. Tie down the winch at the end of the driveway. Use signposts, fence posts, stakes, or vehicle hitch. Add a small board to the back of the snow shovel and at the bottom scraping edge of the blade. Attach a yoke to the outside ends of the board and attach the winch line to the yoke. Pay out enough line to take a reasonable size bite -maybe 6 ft. ?- and with the remote switch & shovel in hand, stick the shovel in, turn on the winch, and guide the shovel by its handle and scrape out a gob o' snow. Rinse and repeat, side to side across the drive and resetting the winch as necessary to reach further back in the drive.

 

I don't see that the ad specifies line length; mine is 30 ft. Also, there is no reverse on the switch, rather you have to loosen a clutch nut on the side of the unit and drag the line out by hand. Neither the ad nor my manual give an amperage rating so I won't even hazard a guess how long it would run on a 100AH battery before you need to recharge. 'Course you could hook right up to your running vehicle's battery, presuming it's not stuck in the garage or otherwise inconveniently located.

 

Whatever you try, please favor us with photos! Good luck!

[Mordred]

Photos of the driveway would definetely help.

[CharonY]

I have not finalized it yet, but my idea involves a team of trained rabbits. Preliminary results suggest that keeping them focused on the task could be slightly challenging. Will continue after I re-captured them. That being said, I assume the cheap-ass snow blowers (which are around 200 USD) won't work either?

[Mordred]

Only for lighter snowfalls the cheaper ones simply don't have the needed HP and your Roller diameter limits the practicality for deeper snow. Particularly as your getting deeper and deeper as you progress with having to move the snow ahead of you.

 

PS them crazy rascally Rabbits.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Mordred

[Phi for All]

I've also heard that super short electric pulses can break the hydrogen and electrostatic bonds of ice so it's more easily swept away. I wonder if that type of technology would work with snow.

 

 

I have not finalized it yet, but my idea involves a team of trained rabbits. Preliminary results suggest that keeping them focused on the task could be slightly challenging. Will continue after I re-captured them. That being said, I assume the cheap-ass snow blowers (which are around 200 USD) won't work either?

 

I can see the ad on Craigslist now, asking for snow bunnies to "clear your driveway".

[Acme]

I have not finalized it yet, but my idea involves a team of trained rabbits. Preliminary results suggest that keeping them focused on the task could be slightly challenging. Will continue after I re-captured them. That being said, I assume the cheap-ass snow blowers (which are around 200 USD) won't work either?

Carrots on sticks Charon.

 

The problem, as I understand it, with the snow blower is that the driveway is a narrow passage between two buildings so there's no room to throw the snow.

[Sensei]

Instead of fighting with existing snow over and over again (Sisyphean labour).. wouldn't be easier to not let it snow (and gather snow) in the first place?

 

Is the road your own property? Can you do whatever you like with it.. ?

 

If it's yours, maybe cover it with metal.. below it put Peltier Coolers (dozen of them, array, can't be mangled during waking/driving on the road)... and below them yet another layer of metal...

Snow will create "cold" layer, on the top,

while all connected Peltier Coolers will create electricity which you will be able to use whatever you want in house..

and "hot" side of Peltier will be below road, or put there pipes with f.e. oil, and connect them to house and use that energy..

Your $500 for device looks like bargain in the amount of money you would need to spend on the above setup.

But it's one time job and one time investment, and life of using..

("build once, use 'forever' " is one of my motto )

 

ps. Water (snow after melting/rain) has to go somewhere to not make shortcut wires and damage Peltier Coolers..

 

ps2. Alternatively bake cakes (pumpkin cakes?). And tell child in your neighborhood,

"who will create the nicest snowman, will receive cake for free"..

The only rule is to use snow from your road, not others..

(and give other kids also cakes)

Edited December 8, 2016 by Sensei

[Externet]

180 degrees patterned sprinklers on each side of the driveway, directed onto it. Enough of them to melt your snowfall... or make a real icy mess if it is waaay too cold...

 

You can improve it with an electric valve remotely controlled for comfort. Sprinklers should be very discounted this season of the year.

 

I will buy all the snow you can deliver... in August.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Externet