3 Pt. Hitch Leaf Blower

Rich D · Sep 22, 2000

There has to be a 3 Pt. Hitch leaf blower out there somewhere. One that is PTO driven and mounts on a "cat. 1" 3 Pt. Hitch. I've come to think that the only way to get one is to build it myself, but I prefer to purchase such a beast if one exists. Anybody out there know of such a thing?

Anonymous Poster · Sep 22, 2000

I finished making a 3 pt leaf blower for my B2400 a couple of weeks ago. It is impressive how much air it will put out! I made a variable size nozzle for the discharge. With the nozzle full open it takes most of the 18 PTO HP to drive it.

A friend gave me a basket-case industrial blower. I had to weld new metal to replace what was rusted through on the entire outer diameter of the blower housing. I also had to replace half the metal on the sides (cheeks). The rotor was in good condition. After all the new metal, two primer and two finish coats of paint it looks like new.

The blower needs to turn at 2500 to 3000 RPM for the best output. To gear up from 540 RPM, I used two jack shafts. The first one is 1/38" dia. The PTO attaches to this. There is a 12" dia pulley that drives a 4" dia pulley on the 2nd shaft which is 1 1/8". Also on the 2nd shaft is a 6" dia pulley that drives a 3 1/4" pulley on the blower shaft (diameters are approximate). All these are two V-belt type pulleys. This results in a blower speed of 3100 RPM at a PTO speed of 540. The blower actually works well at a slower engine speed of 2000 RPM which is only 2400 RPM at the blower.

I made the frame from c-channel and angle iron to connect the blower, jack shafts and 3 point hitch mounts.

At a future time I will make some additional pieces so it can be converted between a blower and a vacuum intake and discharge into a trailer.

I would be happy to post some photos, but as an unregistered user I am not allowed to. I the past I have been able to point you to Mike's tractor page to see the projects I have made, but this project is not posted there.

Andy

Anonymous Poster · Sep 22, 2000

There are several manufacturers that make 3 point hitch debris blowers. These include: Goossen (www.goossen.com/), Giant-Vac (www.giant-vac.com/), AgriMetal (www.agrimetal.com/), and Buffalo Turbine (www.buffaloturbine.com/). These are primarily intended for commercial or grounds-care operators. Steiner (www.steinerturf.com) and Ventrac (www.venturepro.com) both offer front mounted blowers for their articulated tractors.

scruffy · Sep 22, 2000

Andy, why not register? It don't hurt!

)
You to Jack!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by scruffy on 9/22/00 10:10 PM.</FONT></P>

Anonymous Poster · Sep 22, 2000

I am not interested in registering for several reasons including, I do not want another password, I already have more than 15 passwords.

After looking at "Who's Online" several times it seems that the unregistered users outnumber the registered users 3 to 1. Why not make things easier for the majority? What is the danger of unregistered users posting pictures or having a default setting to view posts set on "flat" instead of the cumbersome default setup currently in use? If things were easier it might even attact more users.

Andy

Anonymous Poster · Oct 8, 2000

Jack In IL.
Thanks for the recommendations, but Geez Louise! I wont pay $4650.00 for a leaf blower! I'm tempted to buy a Billy Goat Debris Blower (5Hp) and mount it to my 3 pt. hitch. I did find a local guy that modified an industrial blower for his tractor, but it is a real messy contraption. I will just continue to look for an inexpensive design. I will only use this thing once a year.
Thanks.

scruffy · Oct 8, 2000

Andy, you don't need to remember another password! It can be set up to remember for you. I too have a ton of passwords to remember, but on like kinds (not work systems) I use one password...one username (if possible). I know, I know, security. Well it works for me! Work construes a password for every aspect that you want to get too, so it does get to be a hassel. Soon, TractorByNet will be the one site most frequently visited, so make it easy on yourself!

dullpain · Oct 25, 2000

RichD - The commercial blowers are high priced. Saw a big one the other day on a JD at a Georgia State Hospital. It was doing a great job.

I have been thinking about building one of those thngs for some time. I have a small blower that came off of a Welding Fume Vent apparatus that should work well. Just got to find the time to engineer and build it. Sounds like the unregistered user had the homemade thing down pat. It's a shame he won't register and share photos with us. His idea and construction seems to be very close to what I have formulated in my mind.

If I build it I will post pictures and details for all.

Anonymous Poster · Oct 25, 2000

I would be happy to share the pictures with you. I can think of no good reason why an unregistered user should not be able to post them, can you? I think Muhammad is going to make some changes to allow this kind of posting.

If you are planning on making a blower, you need to start with the right kind. You need a radial blade blower. This type has an impeller with usually 6 or 8 blades that extend radially out from the hub to the edge of the impeller. It may or may not have a backing plate that attaches all the blades together. This type of blower will produce the high static pressures necessary. The two other common types of blowers ore backward incline and forward recurve. Both of these have many blades out at the circumference of the wheel. They will not produce the necessary static pressure to move leaves around. The radial blower will process material such as leaves and has enough suction to be used as a vacuum.

I have been giving my new blower a workout this fall. It puts out so much air that it moves huge amounts of leaves quickly. It takes me about 15 min to do what used to take 2 to 3 hours with a 5 HP push leaf blower. I have cleared my yard 3 times and two other neighbors yards as well. I am sure I will be clearing more yards this weekend.

Andy