Homemade Single stage Snowblower

[Koldsnap]

Hi Dave. I think this is a great project that will work through most of the winter for you. However, once it starts to warm up you will find that the snow packs into the scoop and will not slide into the impeller. What is needed is the front auger to push the wet snow into the impellor. You might try bolting a heavy plastic onto the scoop or coating the scoop with downhill ski wax that is used for wet snow. I have a single stage blower and I only use it if my two stage blower is out of service. In any event, good luck and keep us posted. Rocky

 

[David Devuono]

The blower will be used to clear a path into my remote camp. Currently it takes 2-3 hours to haul a weekends worth of food, water, sleeping bags etc wearing horseshoes pulling a tobagan. I am usually beat after that. I am hoping I just have to snowshoe in once and snowblow my way out. I will update the list on Monday with how things worked this weekend. The high temp for Saturday is -14C, 0F, probably closer to -20C when I get there so starting the tractor is usually a chore. I usually put a butane stove under the oil pan for 20 minutes.

Dave

 

[jgrieve]

we have had an Erskine snow blower on our farm in ND for 30 years or so. it is the same design exept the hitch is on the other side. you pull it forward with lots more forward gears easier to drive and you drive away from the storm comming out the spout. the 3 point is built heavy and still needed reinforcing. there is a stick breaker/snow beater flat bar propeller type thing on the shaft before the fan. this is an ideal way to blow snow on our farm with a really long driveway and airstrip.

 

[foggy1111]

Erskine (as has been said) made a pull thru for many years...may still make 'em. My dad was in the snow plow manufacturing biz during the 50's and 60's...he made what you are doing (as well as a few other models). Many of them are still going strong.

They work pretty well...but you cant "crowd" the blower with too much snow....and if its really deep it will go over the wings. I think your angle and width ougtta work pretty well tho.....a bit more angle then we had to deliver the snow a bit better. If I remember right....ours were about 5 feet wide with a similar size impeller.

We probably sold 500 of these little guys (more of the larger ones with double 36" blowers). Most people put them on the 3 point ...but many were equiped to go on the front end loaders....and we had an offset rear pto mounted chain/sprocket box to deliver the power to the front. Worked pretty well. We even had some driven with Wisconsin engines which were mostly used on bobcats back then.

I think your on the right track....good luck.

 

[foggy1111]

OH...and a later device was added to break up the big clogs.... It was about 2 or 3 feet long and bolted to the center of the fan hub...had two or three "clod busters" (cant remember the name) protruding about a foot or so from the shaft o break up chunks of frozen snow....which is the biggest problem with this type blower.

This may be the biggest problem you have with your blower design (as I see it) as you may not be able to feed wet chunks of snow into the fan/blower blade. That cross brace may hinder you and the small flat sections next to the fan may restrict the snow from getting to the fan too? For what its worth....ours had a somewhat longer shaft that was supported at the rear of the blower fan (with fafner flange bearings) and again behind that on a sub-frame....to eliminate the front cross piece in your design. That front beater may help you out....if you have feed problems.

If your test run gives you some problems...let me know. I will get you some pics of the blowers we made...may spark a solution. As I see it....feeding the blower may be the biggest issue...but you will overcome I'm sure.

The first (and most economical) chutes we offered had a pivot point about 1/2 way up so your could flip the chute to either side of the machine....worked pretty good for an application like yours. Keep it short and fairly open to prevent clogging.

What do I know?....been a loooong time ago. Good luck!!!

 

[David Devuono]

I am considering a propeller in front of the impeller but that will have to be a summer project as I have to have it ready to go(paint or no paint) friday night. The bearings and shaft were spare pieces and I do wish I had another 6" of 1" shaft. the prototypes I looked at were also the pull type but as I only go to the camp every three or four weeks I will always be driving into a foot or two of snow and my tractor only has 8-9" of ground clearance so I thought a push style might ensure I don't have to use my MF. The massey has no block heater or glow plugs so I always have a better chance of starting the Kubota. (No electricity) Plus the Kubota fits in my shed

 

[foggy1111]

Agreed on the push through....I always thought the erskine "pull-through" were backwards....but they did seem to work good for many....as its easier to pull the snow into the blower...."somethings gotta give".

The bearing setup for the blower you have should prove sound and reliable. Keep us posted on the trial run....and keep the RPM's up....I think it will work fine (but some type of beater in front may help you out).

 

[Scooby074]

Nice project. I dont think Erskine still makes rear pull single stage blowers, but Fransgard still makes one Fransgard Maskinfabrik

 

[David Devuono]

I got to try out the snowblower this weekend. To my surprise there was very little new snow at the camp and I was able to drive right in, save for one tree across the road. Initially I had to cut the PTO shaft down 2 inches shorter to get it to fit. ( I had made it adjustable) Once I tried running the plow I noticed that there is a lot of movement in the slip joint as my road has lots of dips. First time I raised the Snowblower the PTO shaft bottomed out slightly forcing the impeller into the bearing support. So I need to add a spacer between the impeller and the bearing so it will never contact the support. I could use another 1/2 inch out of the shaft length so I will have to make up a square shaft for next year with about 6-8 inches of slip. Before I use the blower again I will also add a propeller infront of the impeller. I found the blower works best in high speed reverse and my tractor is too light for deeper snow without some kind of auger\propeller to help the snow along.
Video's
YouTube - Homemade Single stage snow blower
YouTube - Homemade single stage snowblower 2

 

[foggy1111]

Great Videos of the operation! But....that was my fear on your project.....feeding the snow into the blower. It looks like it just wont break up the mass enough to feed into the blower....even with the steep angle of the "wings". I am going to look for some pics or a brochure with photos of the impeller that we had. I will post 'em or email them to you. I think this will solve much of the feed issue.

I think the reason you need the ground speed is that it's the only way to force the snow into the blower. Hopefully an impeller (or some auger arrangement) will help you.