Chain recommendations

Hi, Brian.Hart
I know NOTHING about snow chains but I CAN tell you this. The chains that you hang on the outside are not the only ones you need to consider when fitting snow chains to a grader. Any variation in the rolling diameter between any of the four wheels is going to be putting unnecessary loading on the drive chains inside the tandem cases so I would suggest putting chains on all four wheels.

I think it would be a pretty safe bet that you would NOT like the task of replacing a broken drive chain even if by sheer luck it had not damaged anything else inside the chain case before you discovered it was broken.

Just my 0.02.

Hi, Brian.Hart
I know NOTHING about snow chains but I CAN tell you this. The chains that you hang on the outside are not the only ones you need to consider when fitting snow chains to a grader. Any variation in the rolling diameter between any of the four wheels is going to be putting unnecessary loading on the drive chains inside the tandem cases so I would suggest putting chains on all four wheels.

I think it would be a pretty safe bet that you would NOT like the task of replacing a broken drive chain even if by sheer luck it had not damaged anything else inside the chain case before you discovered it was broken.

Just my 0.02.

Hi, Brian.Hart
I know NOTHING about snow chains but I CAN tell you this. The chains that you hang on the outside are not the only ones you need to consider when fitting snow chains to a grader. Any variation in the rolling diameter between any of the four wheels is going to be putting unnecessary loading on the drive chains inside the tandem cases so I would suggest putting chains on all four wheels.

I think it would be a pretty safe bet that you would NOT like the task of replacing a broken drive chain even if by sheer luck it had not damaged anything else inside the chain case before you discovered it was broken.

Just my 0.02.

[quote="Deas Plant."]Hi, Brian.Hart
I know NOTHING about snow chains but I CAN tell you this. The chains that you hang on the outside are not the only ones you need to consider when fitting snow chains to a grader. Any variation in the rolling diameter between any of the four wheels is going to be putting unnecessary loading on the drive chains inside the tandem cases so I would suggest putting chains on all four wheels.

I think it would be a pretty safe bet that you would NOT like the task of replacing a broken drive chain even if by sheer luck it had not damaged anything else inside the chain case before you discovered it was broken.

Just my 0.02.[/quote]

Given the amount of slippage in the snow, I would not expect diameter to be as big a concern as the fact that the chained pair might well have a lot more traction than the other pair, putting all the drive load on the chained pair.

So far, all the chains I can find start out at $300 per chain...

Hi, Brian.Hart.
That slippage in the snow bit ONLY applies if you NEVER come off the snow and your own comment simply reinforces what I said about strain on the drive chains. ANY difference between either front and rear or side to side is gonna load up those drive chains.

But it's YOUR machine. Me. I'm just a 'pore, dumb bulldozer operator'.

Just my 0.02.

[quote="Deas Plant."]Hi, Brian.Hart.
That slippage in the snow bit ONLY applies if you NEVER come off the snow and your own comment simply reinforces what I said about strain on the drive chains. ANY difference between either front and rear or side to side is gonna load up those drive chains.

But it's YOUR machine. Me. I'm just a 'pore, dumb bulldozer operator'.

Just my 0.02.[/quote]

But that was exactly my point; it is just not the diameter differential, which is absolutely insignificant, that is the issue. The diameter of a 48" tire (to use a round figure) would be changed, on average, perhaps 1/16" - 1/8", given that with ladder-type chains there is a "rung" only every four links, the tire diameter between those chains is exactly the same as on an unchained tire. Even if we increase that to 1/2" average diameter differential, it is only about a 3% difference--likely less than running with one tire slightly under-inflated. That means that one tire would have to travel only about 1-1/2" farther per revolution than the other tire--far less slippage than what would occur when turning moderately to sharply.

But your underlying point regarding giving proper consideration to the drive chain, which I had not considered, certainly is relevant, but for a slightly different reason than diameter: the differential in traction that could occur if, for example, running on pure ice. In that case, virtually all the traction would have to come from the chained tire, with the other more-or-less free to spin on the ice. On the other hand, I have yet to get out of first gear, and rarely run at full throttle, on our windy little private road, so there would likely be little shock to the drive chain.

I figure I might want six chains in the end; there seems to be no down side except the empty wallet and time involved mounting them, and plenty of additional safety, to boot--so long as someone does not see any reason why one should not use chains on all four drive wheels and the front, just to ensure no sliding off the road.

But I wish I could find them somewhere less than $300+ per chain!

I am not familiar with all the different chain brands and descriptions you use, however I never considered bar chains very suitable for snow/ice conditions, I always used what us poor downunder folk call diamond chains on all 4 tandem wheels. They ran at about $920au per chain, lasted a long time and gave traction in all directions and rode well at speed. Speed being what we used to throw the snow clear rather than form a windrow adjacent, I had a 140G that we used for some snow clearing. One of the local ski resorts had a four wheel Aveling B......d, maybe it was an Austin, the resort boys used to drive it like a race car snow clearing down the mountain, until one night one of them lost it over the side, it came to rest against a big mountain ash worse for wear, fortunately the operator was ok apart from the need for a change of underwear.

Wombat

stud your tires to save moola