Lorenz 730 Blower

[George2615]

Got a snow blower for my tractor. I wasn't really looking for one since my front QA snow plow is doing a great job plowing snow. While scanning the web the other day and I found a used older Lorenz 730 series double auger blower for sale at a price that was too good to be true. I know its an older model because 1) Newer models have paddles in the center of the augers that push snow into the fan and 2) it has a 3 blade fan and newer ones have either 4 or 6 blade. A brand new 7' double auger Lorenz with hyd. chute rotation sells for 5K and this one was less than 2K so I bought it. All the warning labels look new but the prev. owner always kept it garaged when not in use. Got it home last night and put in garage this morning. Pulled, cleaned, and lubed PTO shaft and U-joints. Replaced all shear bolts and installed spares in the holes provided. Serviced gearbox. Cleaned, lubed and adjusted chain. Cleaned and lubed chute rotating parts. Adjusted skid shoes. Sanded and primed rusty scratches and I'll repaint the whole thing this spring. I still have to install a flow restrictor in the chute rotation hose because it turns way too fast. Made some slight mods so it fits my quick hitch. Hooked it up and tested by backing into some snowbanks I have piled up and it works fine. Will try it on the next snow we get. Plus its an extra 700 lbs on the 3 pt so more weight for plowing. I've added a link to a new model version of my blower.

84" Lorenz 3-Point Tractor Snow Blower Model 731

 

[davesl708]

Good find. Great project restoring it. Enjoy.

 

[leonz]

A gallon of fluid film mixed 1 quart to one gallon of water to slick lube the entire snow caster and the impeller housing and one of Clarences large snow blower impeller kits will make the snow removal much easier for both of your snow plow and the snow caster.

 

[FatTire]

Good find, and quick work getting it ready to go. Post an update once you've been able to really test it.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Got a snow blower . . used older Lorenz 730 series double auger blower for sale at a price that was too good to be true. . .I still have to install a flow restrictor in the chute rotation hose because it turns way too fast.

Congrats on a beast of a blower.

If you just want to slow the speed, many will recommend adjustable restrictors. Fixed restrictors (little more than disks with small holes) are a fraction of the cost. My experience is that they are so inexpensive that my local hydraulic shop couldn't be bothered, and mail order shipping was disproportionately dear. I did finally get a fixed restrictor for the deflector which had been so fast as to be either full up or full down.

You may want to limit the rotation range of the chute. The chute of my Lorenz 310 series PTO snowblower rotates 360 degrees as yours also appears to (5th photo). I clear 3, pea-stone to 1-1/2" stone drives and did not wish to throw any stones back at me. At Lorenz's suggestion I installed two bolts in the appropriate notches of the toothed chute flange to limit the rotation to 270 degrees. The horizontal spur gear on the rear-remote-controlled hydraulic motor rode over the bolts, bent the "L" shaped motor mounting bracket, and continued to rotate the chute. I straightened the bracket and welded gussets to make it more robust. I also installed a crossover relief valve at the motor and adjusted the relief so the hydraulic fluid would bypass when the spur gear encountered the bolts. Worked faultlessly for 3 winters. This winter we have had wet snow/rain and the chute behaves as if water gets on the flange and freezes. I may be able to fit a 1/8" gasket of UHMW plastic under the chute and still install the clamp, or I may drill and tap the top flange for zerks and just pump in more grease than the pre-season re-lube.

(Keep an eye on the tightness of those chute clamp bolts. Even with jam nuts mine tend to back off.)

 

[George2615]

Good find, and quick work getting it ready to go. Post an update once you've been able to really test it.

It didn't really need anything other than a service and some TLC. Minor things like the PTO shaft was stuck and had a burr inside and same with the shoes. They also has burrs inside and couldn't adjust them. I expect minor repairs on any used equipment. Hopefully get to use it tomorrow as the snow prediction is 8" over the next 24 hours.

 

[George2615]

Congrats on a beast of a blower.

If you just want to slow the speed, many will recommend adjustable restrictors. Fixed restrictors (little more than disks with small holes) are a fraction of the cost. My experience is that they are so inexpensive that my local hydraulic shop couldn't be bothered, and mail order shipping was disproportionately dear. I did finally get a fixed restrictor for the deflector which had been so fast as to be either full up or full down.

You may want to limit the rotation range of the chute. The chute of my Lorenz 310 series PTO snowblower rotates 360 degrees as yours also appears to (5th photo). I clear 3, pea-stone to 1-1/2" stone drives and did not wish to throw any stones back at me. At Lorenz's suggestion I installed two bolts in the appropriate notches of the toothed chute flange to limit the rotation to 270 degrees. The horizontal spur gear on the rear-remote-controlled hydraulic motor rode over the bolts, bent the "L" shaped motor mounting bracket, and continued to rotate the chute. I straightened the bracket and welded gussets to make it more robust. I also installed a crossover relief valve at the motor and adjusted the relief so the hydraulic fluid would bypass when the spur gear encountered the bolts. Worked faultlessly for 3 winters. This winter we have had wet snow/rain and the chute behaves as if water gets on the flange and freezes. I may be able to fit a 1/8" gasket of UHMW plastic under the chute and still install the clamp, or I may drill and tap the top flange for zerks and just pump in more grease than the pre-season re-lube.

(Keep an eye on the tightness of those chute clamp bolts. Even with jam nuts mine tend to back off.)

Thanks for the info. I am going to install an adjustable flow restrictor and was also thinking of a way to limit the rotation as it does go 360*.

 

[Jimbo913]

I know this post is old but curious if you still have the blower and if you could provide me the p/n off the hydraulic pump?

 

[George2615]

I forgot about this post. I did get it all serviced and repainted. Got to use it one last snowfall in the spring and it worked great. Also got rid of snow banks that had piled up. Looking forward to using it this coming snow season.

PS to Jim, PM sent.

 

[Wild and Free]

How well does it blow the snow as in how far can it launch it? Your tractor handle it nice powerwise even in heavy snow? What works ours hard is when the snow blows in at 50+ mph it lays in like concrete and on top of that if the temps are just right and or the snow is wet when it comes like that can get and even harder crust on it which is hard as heck for a regular auger type snowblower to chew into which is why I chose to go with the Lorenz with the more aggressive beater style augers and awesome reputation they carry for durability and overall quality.