PlowsThe plow is the most commonly used in snowremoval operations. Push plows are commonly referredto as blades because of their different configurations.Three types of snow plow blades are the reversible,rollover, and combination.REVERSIBLE BLADE.— A reversible blade (fig.14-38) is a snowplow blade that can be positioned tobulldoze snow straight ahead or angled to throw snowto the right or left. This is a smaller type of blade and isgenerally mounted on light trucks.Reversible plows are most efficient for clean-upwork or for use in restricted areas where you desire tochange the angle of the blade, rather than dead ahead.These plows are also good for removing light snow fromroads, walks, platforms, and storage areas. Reversibleplows are intended for slow-speed operation and willnot remove snow as effectively as other plows; however,they can be used to plow airfield pavements, even if theymove less snow than other plows.ROLL-OVER BLADE.— A roll-over blade (fig.14-39) can plow snow to either side. It has a taperedmoldboard, formed to give snow a lifting, rolling actionand can throw snow a considerable distance at fairlyhigh speeds. To change from right to left, raise the plowas high as it can go and (as the name implies) roll theplow over. The toe will remain at the bottom of the arc,and the heel will be the top of the arc.NOTE: Come to a complete stop to preventdamaging the plow when rolling the blade over.There is only a few inches of clearance when theblade passes the center.After you roll the blade overand before you begin another pass, return the blade hoistlever to the float position to allow the plow to follow thecontour of the pavement.Figure 14-38.—Reversible blade.Figure 14-39.—Roll-over blade.The maximum speed at which snow removalequipment is allowed to operate varies with eachmilitary installation.Whenever possible, you shoulddrive a roll-over snowplow 20 to 30 miles per hour(mph) to get good action off the end of the blade. If youdrop the speed down to less than 20 mph, the snow doesnot have enough rolling action when it comes off the endof the blade, resulting in a high windrow.On the other hand, if you maintain a speed of 20 mphor more, the snow will be thrown off the end of the bladeand be scattered thinly. When plowing windrows with aroll-over plow or a reversible or a combination blade, youcan keep your speed up by taking less than a full blade ofsnow or by drifting out of the windrow until you regainyour speed and then pulling back into the windrow.COMBINATION BLADE.— A combinationblade (fig. 14-40) can be used in either of three of thefollowing positions:Figure 14-40.—Combination blade.14-33
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