Why do blowers do better on a full load tham when half filled?

[Fluid]

Now I'm really lost, you used to many 20 dollar words for me.

 

[SPYDERLK]

So leaf blowers throw leaves? :laughing:

I understand what you're saying. And I agree with you. However, that's the definition of snow thrower vs snow blower. Throwers are single stage, blowers are two stage.

There is a functional transition here. Regardless of the similarity that these substances are being pumped, the leaves rely on an extreme volume of air. Without it they will thatch and clog - and even in the brief time before they do they would fall flat without the air. Leaves are light and springy and they wont hold a pack. Grab, squeeze and fling a handful of leaves and someone 10 ft away may get hit with a stem. Do that with fluff sno and that person will be powdered. Virtually all the [heavy] ice crystals will get there. On a machine with a rotating impeller, the air inherently included will aid the cast of both materials because a moving stream hangs together, better barging thru the stationary ambient air. This allows a light load to go further than it would if thrown without a moving air stream.

,,,Now crowd the pickup. Large volume airflow suffers and the leaves pack and clog whereas snow just keeps throwing further and further until the engine bogs. The leaves need a tremendous flow of air in order to feed thru the impeller. Load on the engine of a leaf blower is essentially constant whether passing air and leaves ... or air only.

A snow impeller turns much more slowly and the air moved is so small by comparison that it is difficult to detect any load to the engine. That is until you start feeding it snow. With lite feed the discharged air helps, esp with powder - but distance is anemic in comparison to what you get as you crowd the impeller. This blocks airflow almost entirely but the sno still feeds and that densified discharge stream is going 50 or 60 feet. Crowd it even more and the throw increases as the engine bogs a little before finally too much throw velocity/rpm is lost. Then you have to slow down a little. HST is perfect to hold the cusp of throw performance. If you have 2" sno youll have to go 6 or 8 mph.

 

[SPYDERLK]

You're taking the fun out of it.

Now I'm really lost, you used to many 20 dollar words for me.

I think leonz mixed and blended 1]blowing leaves with a jet of air, and 2]pumping leaves thru/via an impeller [aka Trac Vac].

 

[MossRoad]

Agreed. :thumbsup:

 

[CalG]

Are you talking about a snow thrower or a snow blower?

Does it matter? IF a "thrower" is a single stage device (Bolens uses the "SNO-Caster" moniker) It throws best when loaded to some "sweet" level. Not to much, and also Not too little, the topic aspect.

Two stage "blowers" do the same. They choke on too much or too little.

As to the comment about "packed snow" being dense and so push through and carring more momentum, I watch the plume of snow. It is NOT packed at all. In fact, most snow this year ended up going what ever way the wind blew after it left the chute. (Not all of it of course ;-)

I haven't got much out of this thread. It must be either black magic or rocket surgery.

Oh Well We just keep doing what we do and have a can of PAM around to spray on the chute when things start to get jambed.

 

[leonz]

You're taking the fun out of it.

====================================================

Nah!

I stopped herding cats when I lost the ability to speak cat thusly
losing the ability to effectively herd them without smelling like cat
treats.

Carrying bags of open cats treats always led to a behind
the cactus case of cat muggings, first by being knocked off the
quarter horse and then being swarmed by a mad band of crazed
sombrero wearing, Colt 45 slinging bunch of catnip crazed felines
wearing sunglassses bent on collecting reward money by getting
the gringo with the cat treats while he is on a cat drive from
Dallas to St. Louis.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Two stage "blowers" do the same. They choke on too much or too little.

As to the comment about "packed snow" being dense and so push through and carring more momentum, I watch the plume of snow. It is NOT packed at all. In fact, most snow this year ended up going what ever way the wind blew after it left the chute. (Not all of it of course ;-)

I haven't got much out of this thread. It must be either black magic or rocket surgery.

Oh Well We just keep doing what we do and have a can of PAM around to spray on the chute when things start to get jambed.

In interest of not addressing this wrongly pls describe what you mean by choke. ... Also, how you determine whether a discharge originates in a packed condition or not.
,,,Thanks,
,,,,,,,,,larry

 

[Fluid]

What if I was to clear the snow bank that was left from snow plowing a parking lot? What would the auger have to do to the snow to move the snow to the impeller so the impeller could throw/blower the snow out of the chute?

 

[Marveltone]

What if I was to clear the snow bank that was left from snow plowing a parking lot? What would the auger have to do to the snow to move the snow to the impeller so the impeller could throw/blower the snow out of the chute?

Something like that, I ease into very slowly, so I don't pop a shear bolt. I let the auger break it up and chew it a little at a time. At that point, I don't care how far it's throwing the snow. I just want to get through it in one piece!

 

[Fluid]

And I've never heard the term "caster" ever in my lift other than fishing reels and small wheels.

Isn't it in the Bible "he who is free from sin can cast the first shone". I believe Bolens calls their thrower/blower a snow caster.

 

[CalG]

In interest of not addressing this wrongly pls describe what you mean by choke. ... Also, how you determine whether a discharge originates in a packed condition or not.
,,,Thanks,
,,,,,,,,,larry

Larry

MY use of the term "packed" is entirely based on other posts in this thread that reference the "density" of the blown snow. Myself, I do not observe that typical snow removal machinery "packs" the snow to make it more "blowable". Contrary, the snow from my blower appears well mixed with air and is discharged with about the same density as it was introduced,

Regarding "choked", I will use the observation of blowing warm or wet snow. If the material is crowded, the chute chokes or becomes plugged. This same "choking" occurs when the snow is fed in too slowly. Often times, in my own experience, a chute choked by too little material can be cleared by advancing into more material more rapidly in order to properly load the blower. Hydrostatic drive is a real boon in this respect.
But, too much material,(too rapid forward progess into the snow) and the chute remains clogged, and must be cleared by additional efforts.

Cal

 

[Fluid]

Larry

MY use of the term "packed" is entirely based on other posts in this thread that reference the "density" of the blown snow. Myself, I do not observe that typical snow removal machinery "packs" the snow to make it more "blowable". Contrary, the snow from my blower appears well mixed with air and is discharged with about the same density as it was introduced,


Cal

Most of what you said I agree with, but the last sentence. If the county plow truck comes by and leaves wet packed snow at the end of your driveway and it stays there all night and freezes and you go to remove it in the AM, does it come out of the chute the same as it was introduced?

 

[Fluid]

I don't know what I said that was impolite to anyone. I'm sorry for whatever some thinks is impolite. I most have told the truth and somebody didn't like to hear it. Gee, So you have to agree with whatever anybody says or you are impolite. Thats seem funny to me.

 

[Fluid]

All I know is that I have a two stage snowblower, the company that manufactured calls it a two stage snowblower so I'm going by what they said it is and I have no problem going slow, going fast, half full, half empty it will blow the snow 50+ feet even if the snow is wet or dry, heavy or light, packed or loose.

 

[Mace Canute]

Isn't it in the Bible "he who is free from sin can cast the first shone". I believe Bolens calls their thrower/blower a snow caster.

No, it's "he who is free from sin can hast the first scone".

 

[Amvcane]

Fluid, I have admired your blower since I first saw it in a post in early winter. Now even more since I have seen it in action. I have never seen a blower that small with a rotating drum to aim the discharge. Not sure if others see it, but, your blower does not use the chute to direct the discharge. The chute is straight never changing the direction of the snow, the entire drum rotates. Snow is thrown off the impeller blade straight out the chute, no redirection no velocity loss, very efficient. Awesome attachment.
Check out some of the videos on the Schulte website, you can see the difference between chute and direct discharge.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I don't know what I said that was impolite to anyone. I'm sorry for whatever some thinks is impolite. I most have told the truth and somebody didn't like to hear it. Gee, So you have to agree with whatever anybody says or you are impolite. Thats seem funny to me.

There is some abhorrence of contention apparently. As long as everything persists as opinion, even if a thread becomes a disjoint cacophony, it can stay alive. Consequently there are many threads that come to no meaningful resolution even in the face of fact. The info imparted, if any, is a simplism. Connecting all the dots seems to be threatening to some and snideness often creeps in. Can it be self limiting? ... I think so.

,,,I expect the pruning was moderator generated rather than instigated by a crybaby on the thread.
larry

 

[SPYDERLK]

Larry

MY use of the term "packed" is entirely based on other posts in this thread that reference the "density" of the blown snow. Myself, I do not observe that typical snow removal machinery "packs" the snow to make it more "blowable". Contrary, the snow from my blower appears well mixed with air and is discharged with about the same density as it was introduced,

Regarding "choked", I will use the observation of blowing warm or wet snow. If the material is crowded, the chute chokes or becomes plugged. This same "choking" occurs when the snow is fed in too slowly. Often times, in my own experience, a chute choked by too little material can be cleared by advancing into more material more rapidly in order to properly load the blower. Hydrostatic drive is a real boon in this respect.
But, too much material,(too rapid forward progess into the snow) and the chute remains clogged, and must be cleared by additional efforts.

Cal

Thank you for clarifying.

1] Packing does not imply that the packed substance coheres. ... Thus is can spread as soon as it comes out of the chute.
2] Wet sno tends to adhere to the chute and then dam or otherwise foul discharge. I have only experienced this with sno so wet its dripping. I have never had any problem in "snoball wet" snow. This is probably because I always crowd the auger, thereby throwing the packed, and in this case cohered, stream of sno. - Most certainly not propelled by air.
3] Absent dripping sno, no 2 stage thrower Iv used has clogged. They run out of power and bog down.
,,, larry

 

[oosik]

WOW! I'm glad we didn't get any snow this winter. I wouldn't know whether to blow, throw or cast it. However, years ago I chickened out on this topic and now I plow the snow. Doesn't take all this brain power to understand how plowing works - ha,ha.

Hey - this thread is an excellent read.