Super snow shovel

You can’t do without a good shovel in winter, because every now and then you have to free the front doors, garage doors, a car in an open parking lot and just garden paths from snow drifts every day. In one season, many tons of snow have to be removed, which requires a lot of time and effort. But you can make your task easier with the help of a well-chosen tool. After all, a huge number of different shovels are on sale, the quality and ease of use of which vary. We will try to offer an overview of all possible options, note the advantages and disadvantages of various types of this hand tool.

Is it so simple a shovel

Not many people know that there are about 100 different types of shovels. They differ in their design and material of manufacture. Traditionally, a snow shovel was a wide scoop fixed on a handle. Even our grandfathers made this type of hand tool from wood. The wooden snow shovel is still used today. You can buy it or make it yourself. However, such a classic device has long been replaced by more reliable, practical and convenient shovels made of metal and plastic. The snowplow manufacturer tries to improve each specific model, making it more ergonomic. As a result of constant transformation, the design of some shovels has changed significantly, scrapers, engines, blades, and automated snow blowers have appeared.

Classification of shovels by material

When choosing a shovel, it is necessary, first of all, to pay attention to the material from which the handle and scoop are made. It is the material that largely determines the usability and durability of the tool. For the manufacture of a scoop, manufacturers often use:

• Plastic. It is the plastic tool that is the easiest and most convenient to use. Snow glides perfectly on its smooth surface, is easily captured and dumped. Even wet snow does not stick to a plastic shovel. When choosing inventory made of plastic, you should give preference to durable polycarbonate, which will withstand even strong shocks and frosts down to -40⁰C. Polypropylene tools do not have high strength, but they have a relatively low cost. Plastic shovels with a metal or rubber lining on the edge are more reliable, capable of better removing snow from the tracks.

  

• Metal. In the manufacture of snow shovels, manufacturers use aluminum, galvanized steel and duralumin. Metal shovels are very reliable and durable, but at the same time heavy, which greatly complicates the work. Aluminum inventory is the lightest among other metal options. Duralumin surpasses analogues in its strength. Steel shovels make a characteristic sound when interacting with snow, which can annoy the worker. Snow slides well on metal surfaces and even the melted mixture does not linger on their surface. In addition to a significant mass, the tool has another comparative disadvantage: high cost.

  

• Wood. The surface of a wooden snow shovel is made of plywood. Many craftsmen make this type of instrument with their own hands. Wooden shovels have a relatively low cost and many disadvantages: in wet weather, snow sticks to them, the wood absorbs moisture and becomes heavy. After work, the wooden shovel must be dried. Tool life is short. Additionally, manufacturers strive to protect the wooden surface of the scoop with an iron lining on the edge.

Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of materials, one can assess the adequacy of the cost of one or another shovel option. In this case, the cutting material plays an important role. Today, many manufacturers offer not only traditional wooden cuttings, but also lightweight, reliable plastic options. Telescopic and folding structures are modern.

Design features

Having only one snow shovel at home is not rational. So, for example, it is convenient to remove a packed, heavy snow cover with a tool with a small metal or plastic scoop. For light, freshly fallen snow, shovels with a wide plastic grip, like a scraper (engine), are great. Only a metal shovel can effectively remove ice from the tracks. If you use only one type of tool in all the above cases, then it will not last long and will not be able to do the job well.

Small snow shovels have a scoop width of approximately 35-50 cm. The plane of the main gripping element can be flat or curved. It is convenient to use shovels with raised edges, which prevent spontaneous snow sliding. You can fight ice with the simplest metal shovel with a working width of 30-35 cm. This type of tool is often equipped with a T-shaped handle made of plastic or wood.

It is very convenient to remove freshly fallen snow with a scraper. This type of hand tool for snow removal is characterized by a U-shaped handle and a very wide scoop. With the help of a scraper, or as it is also called an engine (scrapers), you can shovel snow into a pile, but it will not be possible to transfer it, for example, through a fence using such a tool. The shovel engine for snow removal can have a working surface width of up to 1 m, which allows you to increase labor productivity when working with a thin layer of fallen snow.

In an attempt to overcome the shortcomings of conventional snow shovels and scrapers, manufacturers have come up with a kind of constructive hybrid that easily rakes snow and allows it to be thrown aside. You can see such a unique shovel in the picture below:

Mechanized fixtures

All the models of snow shovels proposed above are manual, their work is based only on the use of human labor. But some mechanized devices can simplify the process of snow removal:

• A shovel with a rotor allows you to easily cope with even heavy snow drifts. This type of tool is a prototype of an automated snow blower, however, in the case of using a mechanized tool, a person becomes a replacement for a gasoline engine. It is the worker who drives the super-shovel for snow removal, as a result of which the rotor begins to rotate and move the snow layer to the side. In order for the work on cleaning the snow to be of high quality, a limiter is installed on the scoop of a shovel on one side. You can see the design of such a device below:

  

• A manual bulldozer is a special device for cleaning snow at home. It is a rigidly welded structure with 4 wheels, like a trolley. At the outer end of the snowplow, a blade of large width is fixed, which, depending on the thickness of the snow cover, can be adjusted by turning in one direction or another. The advantage of a manual bulldozer is that the worker does not have to constantly bend down and lift a heavy shovel. It is enough just to push a mini bulldozer in front of you and shovel the snow into a heap.

  

• A wheeled shovel is a variation of the conventional scraper. The wheel axle allows you to easily lift the shovel to overcome small obstacles. The disadvantage of the tool is low productivity.

  

• Shovels for snow removal on one huge wheel were invented in Europe and it is worth noting that they are enviably popular there. This novelty has not yet reached our stores, but for sure someday domestic users will appreciate its merits.

The essence of the idea is that the worker, without bending his back, moves the structure around the site. At the same time, the shovel handle is fixed on the wheel axle with a hinge, and as soon as the snow batch is delivered to the storage site, the person presses the handle and overturns the shovel. The disadvantage of such a shovel is the inability to work with a large snow cover.

Thus, the thoughts of the inventors make it possible to constantly improve an ordinary shovel, endowing it with great opportunities, increasing its productivity. If desired, each “Kulibin” will be able to independently make a wooden or metal structure for snow removal. Only a plastic shovel is not available for self-production, due to the characteristics of the material itself. Some ideas on how to make an inventory with a handle with your own hands can be emphasized from the video:

Detailed recommendations will help even a novice master to make a high-quality, convenient and reliable tool.

Snow plow on the Niva

In some regions of the country, the issue of snow removal is particularly acute. During heavy snowfalls, harvesting equipment is not enough and many streets, and sometimes even entire villages, are blocked by snow drifts. In this case, you can deal with snow with the help of a car and a special blade. Such a device can be designed for any brand of car. The domestic auto industry offers factory dumps with a reliable mount on the Niva.

The dump is a shovel, up to 2 m wide. With the help of a special fastening, it is quickly installed on a regular place of the car. The installation process takes no more than 2 minutes.

Such a blade does not have special lifting devices for dumping snow. The design of the bucket is such that it automatically tips over when the vehicle moves backwards. The cost of such a shovel for Niva, manufactured in the factory, is about 19 thousand rubles. A simple device makes it easy to solve the issue of cleaning roads on your own in small towns.

How to make a dump on the Niva with your own hands

The cost of a special blade is quite high, and not every owner has a Niva, so information on how to make a do-it-yourself snow blade for a car can be useful to many craftsmen.

To make a dump you will need:

1. One barrel, 200 l.
2. A 6-meter cut of a profile pipe, with a section of 20 by 40 mm.
3. 2-3 meters round pipe, 20 mm in diameter.
4. A 6-meter cut of a profile pipe, with a section of 40 by 40 mm.
5. Roofing screws and self-tapping screws for metal.
6. Conveyor tape.

With the necessary materials and some tools at hand, you can quickly and easily make a blade as follows:

1. Weld the blade frame from the profile. Its width must be greater than the wheel track of the vehicle. An example of a welded frame can be seen in the picture below.

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2. In a 200-liter barrel, cut off the bottom and lid, saw the resulting cylinder in half and slightly straighten the resulting planes.
3. Attach metal sheets to the frame with self-tapping screws.
4. Treat the lower edge of the blade with a conveyor belt.
5. On the car, find a place where the blade can be attached. For example, pieces of a U-shaped profile with holes can be welded to standard car lugs. Each time, as needed, the moldboard profile can be bolted to the welded profile.

   

When creating a blade, some craftsmen use springs that soften the blow to the car when interacting with various obstacles, as well as traction, which helps to control this design.

Another option for making a blade for a car with your own hands can be seen on the video:

In the video, the specialist will not only give practical recommendations and share experience, but also emphasize some of the most important points in the design of the blade.

Conclusion

Thus, the variety of models on the market poses a difficult task for the buyer to choose. Different constructive models with different price categories allow you to solve some problems pointwise. So, even in domestic conditions it will not be possible to use only an aluminum or plastic shovel. In the shed of a real owner there is always a place for several different types of tools at once. After all, only in this case it will be possible to perform any type of work as efficiently as possible, while maintaining the integrity and quality of the inventory. We tried not only to emphasize the variety of models and determine the features of materials, but also offered several options for making a shovel on your own. Maybe the hands of the next master on the eve of winter will create another new shovel that will meet all the personal requirements of the owner and will easily cope with even the most lush mountains of snow.