McKee snow blower

[Hooked_on_HP]

I just found a McKee econo plow 5+5 snow blower for sale. It is the 6' blower. I haven't been able to find much info on it. I know it is made in Canada. Are these decent blowers for the money. Are parts still available or is that not a concern because they use common parts. Here is a pic of the blower. How much do you think it is worth.
Bill

 

[art]

I just found a McKee econo plow 5+5 snow blower for sale. It is the 6' blower. I haven't been able to find much info on it. I know it is made in Canada. Are these decent blowers for the money. Are parts still available or is that not a concern because they use common parts. Here is a pic of the blower. How much do you think it is worth.
Bill

Bill, the company went out about twenty years ago! We have still got many around our area that are still working fine but you could run into problems. On the plus side many parts are generic off the shelf as far as bearings and shear pins and the bulk of the driveline. Many were built with a beveled gear power system to operate the auger and we have not found a replacement for those gears. Many snow blowers built today use a gear box to do the same and I do recommend the gear box although that could also be a problem if nobody changes the oil from time to time.

 

[KubotaSam]

It looks very much like my snowblower which is labeled as a Kubota but was built by McKee. As Art said, look at how the power is transfered from the center impeller shaft out to the auger drive on the side. If it uses an open bevel gear drive assembly look closely to make sure the gears are in good shape. If they fail you might need to have some custom made. $$$$$

 

[HiTech Redneck]

Hi! I have that same blower except mine is 6 1/2 ft. wide.I bought it about 25-30 years ago & paid $800.I've only had to replace the small idler gear on the chain adjuster. Still using it this winter.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Thanks for all the info. I picked it up today.It is 5'6" not 6'. I think I got a good deal on it.$450. It does have the open beveled gears. They are in verry good shape. Should they be lubed wih somthing. They are dry and show no signs of ever having any thing on them. The blades on the fan show no signs of wear. the edges are nice and square, My concern is that there is a 3/8 gap between the outer edge of the fan and the housing. I have read on TBN that you want the gap to be the thickness of a dime. Should I tighten up the gap. On the shaft going across to drive the auger there is a funny looking coupler with a 5/16 bolt in it is this a shear coupler. There is a shear bolt where the pto shaft couples to the center shaft. I plan on blasting the fan and discharge area and painting it so it is nice and smooth.

 

[KubotaSam]

As strange as it sounds my Kubota manual for the snowblower says the gears do not require lubrication.

 

[HiTech Redneck]

I checked my blower this morning,the shaft with the 5/16" bolt & coupler might be if you need to take the chain off? My blower also has approx. 3/8" gap between the fan & housing.Personally I wouldn't worry about that.Give it a try in the snow & see the distance it blows.I have a 1500 ft. driveway with hydro poles along side & the snow blows a good 18-20 ft. high.It is hooked to my 68 Ford 2000 tractor,6speed & live pto.I also do 5 neighbors drives along the road.Over the years,after many nights of blowing snow,I have gone through some big drifts & never been stopped yet.I think it will serve you well!

 

[doelake]

Bill, I bought my model 520, serial 4610 from a neighbour farmer a few years ago for about $450 CDN. It's heavy duty construction impressed me and I blow snow in my campground for about 4kms without any problems. I had to rebuild the drive shaft into the gearbox for a couple of hundred dollars of machining and found that replacement seals are hard to match...but now the blower runs like new for a third of the price of new, and probably better quality:thumbsup:

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

As strange as it sounds my Kubota manual for the snowblower says the gears do not require lubrication.

Thanks for the info. I guess if it lasted this long with out lube, I won't worry about it.
Bill

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Does it matter what angle I run the blower at. If I set the top link so the blower sits flat the pto shaft is at a pretty steep angle. If I lengthen the top link it tilts the blower back and streightens the pto shaft anglequite a bit. It doesn't have skid shoes so I am going to have to make them. Thanks for all your help.
Bill