Couple of short Blowing Videos with an Inverted Blower

[CalG]

I have always wondered why they are called "inverted"? The design is certainly not inverted, in the customary meaning .

inverted

Definition, Synonyms, Translations of inverted by The Free Dictionary

www.thefreedictionary.com

"Pull behind" might be a better visual. "Forward charging" may fit as well.

Having had an early "single stage" model of the "drive over" and "forward advancing" configuration, I wonder if the present day "drive backwards" type didn't come after. The "Johnny Come Lately" stealing the lime light and making the "old School" out as a "backwards" and so inferior, execution.

;-)

 

[Hilbilly]

Line 2 of that definition states " To reverse the position, order, or condition of" and since these blowers are reversed they would comply with that definition. In any case they are often called Pull Type blowers. The model of mine is a PT840 and I'm pretty sure the PT stands for Pull Type. Some manufacturers call their blowers Inverted and some call theirs Pull Type. I think both apply but to someone seeing the description for the first time it may not seem to be appropriate or may even be confusing.

I honestly don't see why these cost so much more than the "standard" configuration. The only reasons I can think of are; 1) there are fewer made and as such the savings achieved through economy of scale, are lost and 2) the fan must spin in the opposite direction of a standard blower and therefore some minor changes to the mechanics need to be made. Number 2 only involves minor changes and therefore really comes back the lower sales volumes and economy of scale. Some of the higher end manufacturers have higher quality blowers and then I can sort of see the extra cost but for my blower, the manufacturer makes the blower in both configurations and the cost difference is substantial.

Edit:
I forgot to address the Johnny come lately explanation. This makes sense because the inverted blowers are not well suited to applications where there are deep snow conditions or drifting packed snow but the standard configuration is. Plus for most applications, driving backwards for short distances is not an issue. It only becomes and issue if you need to sit looking over your shoulder for extended time periods. If I only had to back up for short distances, I would would still be using my rear facing blower because it is suited to more applications. However for my conditions / situation, the inverted is the better implement.

 

[RickB]

Why would the fan need to turn opposite of a conventional rear mount blower?

 

[airbiscuit]

You're both right. If they didn't change the configuration or a rear push housing, and simply reversed it, then the fan would be running in reverse. However there are some other structural differences needed for a rear pull, so making a mirror image of the fan housing is no big deal.

I had a Meteor rear push, and now Meteor rear pull. The rear pull is a bit more robustly constructed, and the fan is deeper. I think sales volumes are the primary driver of the higher cost. I do think that if dealers stocked them and let people demo them, they would sell more, but they are creatures of habit.

 

[Hilbilly]

Why would the fan need to turn opposite of a conventional rear mount blower?

Because the input driveshaft is connected to the opposite side of the fan and the pto still turns in the same direction.

You're both right. If they didn't change the configuration or a rear push housing, and simply reversed it, then the fan would be running in reverse. However there are some other structural differences needed for a rear pull, so making a mirror image of the fan housing is no big deal.

I had a Meteor rear push, and now Meteor rear pull. The rear pull is a bit more robustly constructed, and the fan is deeper. I think sales volumes are the primary driver of the higher cost. I do think that if dealers stocked them and let people demo them, they would sell more, but they are creatures of habit.

I still have a Meteor rear push and now the Farm King inverted. The Meteor is definitely heavier construction on everything except for the 3PTH mount. The 3PTH mount is more than adequate, since it has stood the test of time. However it seems that Farm King put all the strength in to the mount rather than the rest of the blower. So far the Farm King has performed well, after getting a replacement for the first defective one. However I am sure I will end up having to beef up, reinforce or replace some parts on the FK before I am finished with it. I've already got a couple of small dents in the fan blade that would not have affected the Meteor because of the heavier construction on it. Still happy with the FK though, since I get to drive forward and it has completed each task I have asked of it, even blowing soaking wet sloppy snow.

 

[RickB]

Because the input driveshaft is connected to the opposite side of the fan and the pto still turns in the same direction.

Looks to me as if despite the Erskine's convoluted drive the fan still turns clockwise when viewed from behind the tractor looking forward and the discharge is to the left of the fan. Snow enters the fan from the front rather than the rear.

 

[airbiscuit]

On the Meteor, the fan discharges to the left of center line on push type and to the right of center line on pull type. Different, but not a huge design challenge.

 

[RickB]

Left and right are determined by standing behind the tractor and looking forward. Anyone who has ever sold parts for tractors and equipment has to explain that quite often.
All 4 machines pictured in the two previous posts discharge to the left of the fan.

 

[airbiscuit]

I edited my response to show I was referencing orientation in relation to the center line as you are looking at the business side of the snowblower.

If you tried to convert a push snowblower to a pull snowblower simply by rotating it 180 degrees and somehow connecting the PTO to the blower fan, it would run in the wrong direction, and the discharge chute would now be on the right side of the blower as determined by standing behind the tractor and looking forward. Again, this is not a design challenge for the manufacturer.

 

[RickB]

I edited my response to show I was referencing orientation in relation to the center line as you are looking at the business side of the snowblower.

If you tried to convert a push snowblower to a pull snowblower simply by rotating it 180 degrees and somehow connecting the PTO to the blower fan, it would run in the wrong direction, and the discharge chute would now be on the right side of the blower as determined by standing behind the tractor and looking forward. Again, this is not a design challenge for the manufacturer.

I get all that. The discharge could also be moved to whatever side of the fan made sense from a driveline perspective when reversing the rotation of the fan would add complexity and cost.
My point is the use of right/left has to be (and is) standardized in order to have consistent and useful meaning.
Most importantly everyone in a given discussion has to be on the same page when describing orientation.