Understanding the Carbide & Cover Snow Plow Blade Set-up:
Why Carbide and Cover Set-ups Don’t Work.

In the previous post, we covered the importance of proper alignment, installation, and the use of plow guards in your carbide and cover snow plow blade set-up. We provided quick reference list of great carbide and cover set-ups. However, even with the best practices in place, issues can still arise. In this post, we’ll explore common failures in carbide and cover set-ups and how to avoid them.

Why Carbide and Cover Blade Set-ups Fail

If you are losing carbide inserts, have shattered carbide inserts, or don’t wear into your steel cover blade until your carbide is gone, your carbide and cover set-up isn’t working correctly. This is primarily caused by improper alignment of the steel cover blade from choosing the incorrect height and/or gauge.

Alignment Failures

When the bottom of your steel cover blade hangs below the carbide blade by more than 1/2″, you’re not using your carbide blade. Eventually, the steel blade will wear into the carbide blade but you’ve wasted a lot of material to get there. However, it will protect the carbide inserts in your carbide blade once it wears in.

If the bottom of your steel cover blade is above the bottom of the carbide blade you are leaving your carbide inserts exposed. Exposed carbide blades can experience things like shattered carbide inserts, carbide inserts knocked out from impacts, and carbide insert washout that will leave you with a soft steel blade.

If the wrong carbide blade height and bolt hole gauge is chosen when using a center punched steel cover blade, the bottom could sit up to 1″ above the bottom of the carbide blade. A typical carbide insert is only 5/8″ tall. This means that by the time you wear into your center punched steel blade, your carbide is completely gone and the blade has worn down into the mild steel portion of the blade.

Bolt Failures

A standard carbide and cover set-up has another weakness even if the alignment is correct. There are more areas for debris to build up between the blades and the moldboard which can increase the chances of bolt failures.

Why Bolts Break on Carbide and Cover Blade Set-ups

Bolts are extremely strong under tensile forces but weak under shear forces. When bolts are properly tightened on a carbide and cover setup they work perfectly. Vibrations from the roadway or impacts from obstacles can cause bolts to loosen or stretch, opening a gap for debris to build up between blades or between the blades and the moldboard.

When these gaps open and debris fills in the gaps, the bolts start to experience shear forces. This can cause bolts to break and cause parts to fall off the plow, leaving hazards to motorists in the roadway. Carbide and cover blade set-ups create more spaces for debris to build up and increase the potential for bolt failures due to shear forces.

Now that we understand the potential issues with carbide and cover set-ups, in the next post we’ll go over an even more efficient solution: all-in-one carbide and cover blade systems.

By understanding the reasons carbide and cover set-ups, you can minimize downtime, wasted material, and keep your snow plow blades running at peak performance for efficient snow removal. While carbide and cover set-ups offer many benefits, they also require careful attention to alignment, bolt integrity, and overall maintenance.

< Previous Post

Next Post >

Understanding the Carbide & Cover Snow Plow Blade Set-up:

1. What is a Carbide and Cover Set-up?
2. Why You Need a Steel Cover Blade.
3. Selecting the Right Blades.
4. Mastering Alignment, Installation, and Use of Plow Guards.
5. Why Carbide and Cover Set-ups Don’t Work.
6. Streamlining Snow Removal with All-in-One Carbide and Cover Blade Systems.
7. Optimizing Your Carbide and Cover Blade Set-up for Peak Performance.