2650 Blower Mod For Gravel Drives

[amkfken]

I don't have the dimensions on hand-about 40-41 inches or so, basically outside edge of facory skid to out side edge of the other one. Shorter would work, just need to increase lengths of caster mounting brackets to widen out the casters.

Vertical pcs of 2x3 tubing mig welded to base tubing, angle iron caster mounts mig welded to vertical tubing, should not have painted assembly so welds could be seen.

Tubing is more than strong enough to support blower weight, could also use channel iron, I just used what I had on hand following my old principle-"The first rule of intelligent tinkering is save all the pieces"

I never get rid of anything that I may have a use for in the next _x_x_x___yrs.

Pack rat syndrome??

 

[WilliamBos]

I don't have the dimensions on hand-about 40-41 inches or so, basically outside edge of facory skid to out side edge of the other one. Shorter would work, just need to increase lengths of caster mounting brackets to widen out the casters.

Vertical pcs of 2x3 tubing mig welded to base tubing, angle iron caster mounts mig welded to vertical tubing, should not have painted assembly so welds could be seen.

Tubing is more than strong enough to support blower weight, could also use channel iron, I just used what I had on hand following my old principle-"The first rule of intelligent tinkering is save all the pieces"

I never get rid of anything that I may have a use for in the next _x_x_x___yrs.

Pack rat syndrome??

Pack rat, no, but why scrap it only to go buy it back again.

Excellent Job. We are going to remove our skid shoes and do the same thing.

 

[irvingj]

Sorry it took me so long to see it.... sorta like this, yes?

 

[Runner]

amkfken,

Nice job. I've always thought that blowers and blades should come with gauge wheels like that standard.

I'd be interested in knowing how your HF pneumatic tires hold up. I tried using a pair of those on gauge wheels I made for my 60 inch rear blade, and they blew out after about a half hour of use.

 

[amkfken]

Irvingj---you have it exactly right!

Runner-- The 2x3 tubing under the blower also acts as a super long skid, there doesn't seem to be an excessive lot of weight on the casters on first pass, this builds up a base of 1" snow over the gravel, can be trimmed down by a second pass if desired.

 

[irvingj]

amkfken- here it is, two years later-- how are your wheels holding up? I'm really thinking about those this time of year, wish I'd already made them!

 

[amkfken]

Irving:
This is the second year on the blower mod--wheels are fine, no problems but I am going to change the mount from a full length 2x3 tube to moving the 2x3 to the top of the triangular mounts(removing center section,use the same holes in the 2x3, weld a smaller pc of steel for bracing on the bottom between the 2x3 pcs, then lengthening the caster wheel mounts).

Reason is that the 2x3 full length is too much of a skid, by the end of the year I have a 6 to 8 inch snowpack which turns to ice!

Time to put the fel back on for the slushy wet snow and residual snow pack.

Mod will be done this summer, will follow with dimensions and pictures!

 

[irvingj]

I was thinking the full-length "skid" might not be a bad idea (I'm always nailing the crown in my driveway!:ashamed.... but I was also planning to remove the wheel set once I had a base built up. It can't take that long to install & remove, can it?

I take it you've been leaving it on all winter?

BTW, what thickness is your rectangular tubing? I'm sure 1/4" is overkill, but is anything less than .125" OK? I see it's available fairly thin, but I don't want to skimp and have it fold up. Also, did you do anything special with the blower skids?

I'll be anxious to hear how your mod's mod works out-- thanks!

 

[ray66v]

Amazing how similar this looks to what I did.

 

[irvingj]

Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say it was 100% satisfactory, but in desperation I tried a "quick fix"-- flipped the blower's skids upside down (daughter's suggestion :thumbsup and mounted some 5" casters that I had kickin' around. That gave enough room for the casters, while still allowing for height adjustment of the blower's lower edge from 3/4" to 2" off the ground.

At this point the ground's so soft it didn't help a lot, though it did some, but the #$#^%$ snow was so wet by the time I got after it this afternoon, it wouldn't even exit the blower's chute! Guess I'll just have to let it melt off now.

I think it will be useful in the long run, however, at least on the driveway where the gravel's pretty well compacted. I did a trial run on the driveway --no snow, but just to see if the wheels would keep the blower edge up, and they did.

When I had the skids off I noticed they were wearing down to the point they were really thin in one spot; I'll be ordering a new set of skids anyway, so I'll keep these with the casters mounted, for late fall/early spring use. (See pic of edge of skid)

Looks like this season's about over (I hope!), so I'll find out for sure how well it works next year. If not, back to amkfken's plan!