Down pressure for a back blade?

BigTone · Jul 13, 2013

Never used a back blade before, especially on an M, should I start looking for a Christmas tree for the hydraulic system or should I assume the belly pump w/out down pressure will be fine. I live on a hill and the wash outs on my private road are horrible...thanks for the help, ~Anthony

David G · Jul 13, 2013

Put weight on it if you need to.

D Slater · Jul 13, 2013

I use a back blade on a M and have down pressure. Comes in handy for a small hard spot once in a while. Most of the time its not needed.
Also unless the tractor is traveling on a flat area when using down pressure you have to constantly move the control. Front tires hit a hump or dirt pile and the blade tilts down and the rear tires loose weight and traction. Even with 4 weights a wheel. I do have a aftermarket valve with float so I can do both. Lots of times I just pull the pin so the hitch will float up without going to the float position.
Should do a driveway okay especially if some angle is used. If the blade is a light one some weight could be added as the other poster said.

Crookedwrench · Jul 13, 2013

Fabricate some 1/4" plates to bolt on each end of the grader blade. Extend 12" to the front and 6 " to the rear. You will essentially have a box scraper. I have an eight footer on one farm and a seven footer at the other. A piece of 1 1/2 angle from the top of the blade to near the bottom of the front scraper gives needed support. will try to attach photo of the 8' unit. The unit is 20 years old and has moved loads of dirt and rock

old · Jul 13, 2013

If you think about it down pressure can and will cause more problem them it is worth. Think about the Ford 3 point system which has no down pressure due to the fact with down pressure you loose traction FAST so then your dead in the water and spinning your tires. Simple weight on the blade is by far better

Dan T in MO · Jul 13, 2013

I use a 6 foot blade on my H. The weight of the blade is enough to keep it down and doing its business.

CenTex Farmall · Jul 13, 2013

I would go with a spool valve with a float. With the spool valve you could plumb your M to use any implement with a two way cylinder.

georgeky · Jul 14, 2013

I'm with old and David on this one. weight on the blade is much better than down pressure.

IH fan · Jul 14, 2013

(quoted from post at 01:43:57 07/14/13) I'm with old and David on this one. weight on the blade is much better than down pressure.

+1... I have the capability of down pressure on my 240U and it's best to stay away from using it. My blade is fairly heavy duty, not the lightweight ones like TSC sells, so it works fairly well as it is. If I needed it to dig in more, I'd add weight, but I have a loader so I have the advantage of that instead of adding weight.

BigTone · Jul 14, 2013

thanks fellas, I really didn't want to go through the hassle of down pressure. ~Anthony

todd hamilton · Jul 15, 2013

rigged up a floater on an old SC case mechanical cultivator lift (up/down no in between) plowed snow with it for years, never tore anything up

todd hamilton · Jul 15, 2013

PS - don't push the blade backwards

Down pressure for a back blade?

BigTone

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David G

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D Slater

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Crookedwrench

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old

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Dan T in MO

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CenTex Farmall

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georgeky

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IH fan

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BigTone

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todd hamilton

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todd hamilton

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