Snow blower performance

[Zick]

Buy something like this to fill in the gap.

SNOW BLOWER IMPELLER KIT™ - 1/4" 4-Blade Universal - Modifies 2-Stage Machine | eBay

 

[jgayman]

Here are 5 pictures. After using a tape measure it looks like he gap is actually about 7/8 from empeller to housing at the 9:00 position

I was just getting ready to respond saying that the 5/8" gap should not cause the conditions you are seeing but if the gap is truly 7/8" at places then it is definitely something to look at. Still, I would do as one of the other posters suggested and have someone watch the impeller while in operation. It is also possible that the impeller key is sheared and allowing the impeller to slip on the shaft when under load. WITH THE TRACTOR OFF you should also be able to verify if the impeller is slipping by turning it by hand.

 

[Reb954]

When throttled up all the way (dash reads 582rpm) the snow is barely thrown out of the blower and just seems to puke out the top.

I just reread your original post. When you say "dash reads 582rpm", are you saying that is the engine rpm? If it is, no wonder it "pukes out" the snow.

 

[Dan33Klein]

No 582 rpm at the rear pto.

I have some rubber conveyor belt. I’m going to try to make the impeller kit.

I will do some more checking. But I know the impeller is solid with the pto shaft. When I got the blower the impeller has some dirt and debris in it and was froze solid. The pto shaft would not
Turn. I even put a pipe wrench on the yoke at the gear box and it would not budge(because the impeller was frozen). Once it all thawed out in the garage everything turned free

 

[Reb954]

I'm wondering if the blower is setup for a 1000 rpm blower.

Does there appear to be any gear reduction box on the blower?

 

[KennyG]

I'm wondering if the blower is setup for a 1000 rpm blower.

I initially wondered about this on mine but adding the impeller kit made it operate very well. I think my clearances were less than are reported here.

 

[RjCorazza]

I’ll put my vote in for WAY too much gap between the fan and housing. I looked at my LuckNow blower and the gap is less than 1/8 inch.

 

[Dutch445]

looking at the pto drive, and the chute rotator system, it looks like that blower
is quite old, and without a brand name who knows where it was made.
if it's from the 50s or 60s it may very well perform as designed
impeller kit may certainly help either way.

 

[Dutch445]

could this be a similar brand blower? if so, maybe it helps us narrow down what brand the blower is,
notice the spout rotation in this Loftness (pic stolen from another BB)

 

[Dan33Klein]

Don’t 1000 rpm pto shafts have a higher spline count?
There are other blowers out there with the same siZe or smaller fans that do a lot better job and are only splinting at 540 rpm.

I think the impeller mod is in order. To bad I will have to wait till next winter to see if it works better.