Converting a belt run snow blower attachment to small engine ran?

[ray299]

So I have this snot blower attachment. I want the mount an engine on it to run it and then mount it to a three point hitch (which I already have a three or hitch quick release plate so I'd be running this thing with my loader).
Anyone have any info I should look out for? It's a 42 inch blower, good ng to run it with a 8hp horizontal shaft engine.
Tia

 

[tomplum]

Sounds like a fun project. Need to rig up a mount plate and tensioner. Throwing distance I would think would be an issue with the heavier snow. That being said, I think we had an old Ariens rider with a thrower on it that was like an 8 HP a hundred years ago. A modern walk behind if they made one that big would have double the HP.

 

[NormL]

So I have this snot blower attachment. I want the mount an engine on it to run it and then mount it to a three point hitch (which I already have a three or hitch quick release plate so I'd be running this thing with my loader).
Anyone have any info I should look out for? It's a 42 inch blower, good ng to run it with a 8hp horizontal shaft engine.
Tia

I had a 40 inch front mount single stage blower belt driven from the garden tractor engine (16hp) and because it would continually ride up on hard ridges under the new-fallen snow the belt slackened, the auger would immediately lose power and plug up. ARRRGGG!! So I rigged a 13hp engine to run it - still belt driven but not affected by aforementioned ridges. It worked ok but that 13hp had its work cut out and struggled with anything more than half load at moderate speed. You may be fine with 8hp but don't be surprised if you wind up wishing it was more. The fact that you are using a dual stage will certainly play an important role and maybe the 8hp can handle it. At present I use a dual stage blower belt driven from a 16hp garden tractor engine and if I address deep snow at too great a speed, that engine sure lets me know. I just got done clearing my long driveway and parking pads after a serious dump of snow. There were places where the snow was deep enough to fill the auger throat and if I didn't take it slow enough, it began "bulldozing". Good luck with your project! You're sure to have great satisfaction from working with equipment you've modified to your own specs!

 

[PILOON]

From having powered a 48" blower like U want to do I can offer some tips.
I found a 15 HP was overkill but awesome.
I had front mounted my rig replacing my FEL bucket.
You probably can get away with about 10HP.
I used chain drive as I believed V belts would tend to slip from snow.
U will need to design a tensioning of sorts for those V belts and I discovered I even needed one for chain drive.
One of your challenged will be a clutching mechanism of sorts.
Lots of design challenges but it can be done.
Have fun and good luck.