Snow Attachments Do all blowers throw the same distance?

[jagyzf]

Is there a way to find out how far a blower can throw snow. I once had a Kubota on a GF1800 lawnmower that threw it 30'. My JD front mount 359 on my 4410 isn't even close. Now as I shop for a rear blower I want one that will throw it a decent distance. Does a 4 blade throw further then a 3 blade inpeller? I realize snow conditions will change but is there a spec I should be looking for to ensure good throwing distance.

As others have said the biggest factor should be rim (paddle tip) speed. Next would be number of paddles. I have seen front mount blowers out throw rear rear mount with larger impellers due to the fronts spin at a much higher speed. Impeller size has more to do with the volume of snow a blower can take in, yet again speed of the fan and number of paddles will have some influence.

 

[dstig1]

Cast iron pillow blocks? What's that mean?

The general term for bearing mounts. These things:

 

[ihuntbear]

I just bought a new N80 norman made in canada.Throws 150 feet or more .Like it allot better than the last one.It was an 78 "econor

 

[devildog1]

Quote-"I just bought a new N80 norman made in canada.Throws 150 feet or more":laughing::laughing: Now this has to be a mistake because that's a long way and even a front mounted Kubota won't throw snow that far, maybe 50 + feet but 150', If this is correct please send photo or vid. Because with the amount of snow:thumbsup::thumbsup: we're getting in upstate N.Y. this year I'm igoing to buy a 3 point blower.
DevilDog

 

[rbargeron]

Here's a typical 7-foot blower operating in 10" deep snow. Most of the snow is deposited 20 - 40 feet away, with some falling closer. The fan has 1/4"-3/8" clearance and is running at full 540 pto rpm. Like any pump, a snowblower works best with a full bite, plenty of snow being fed by the auger. If there's less supply available or if it's unusually wet, more of it will land short.

I think how far the snow goes is determined by snow conditions (wetness) and blower rpm (fan tip speed). A tip speed somewhere between 4600 and 5200 ft/min does a good job.

 

[dixstir]

blowing distance rpms rpms rpms took the rear blower of my jd 550rpm and put it on my jap thractor what a change they made it with 550-1000 rpm and it blowers a lot futher but no cab on it so it goes back on the jd.

 

[flyingcow]

The general term for bearing mounts. These things:

Thanks.

 

[ihuntbear]

The driveways here are 70 feet apart.I made a mistake of putting the chute deflector all the way up and the snow went into the driveway two driveways up that would be roughly 140 feet.the home owner came walking up to me ,i'm thinking he wanted me to clear his driveway but he gave me s**t for filling up his driveway.I told him I just got this new blower but didn't think the snow would go that far.He said he needed his driveway clleaned but wasn't going to pay to have it done.I said sorry and cleaned it up.This blower is 80" wide 36 " high.The impeller is 26" high x 11 " deep with four blades,auger is 23 "high.The chute is 4 feet when extended.Next time it snows here I'll get my wife to video and I"ll post.This is an awsome blower

 

[JFS2295]

I have to careful doing my driveway as well

I know the discussion is about 3pt blowers, but I don't have one. I've posted these pictures from when I cleared out company parking lot before, but the point is HP is not the only factor. The impeller design, tip clearance and RPM all factor in. Gravely blowers are often known to throw snow well, and these images are of my 32" with the 12hp tractor. It will throw snow about 60-70', and the 32" blower is not known as the best thrower in the lineup.

 

[Jerry/MT]

How far it throws should be dependent on the tip speed of the fan. the higher the tip speed the further the throw. If you know the gear ratio of the blower box and the tip diameter of the fan, you can calculate the tip speed:
Vtip = pi*Dtip*Nfan/60,where,(If D is in ft, the Vtip is ~ft/sec)

Nfan = Npto * gear ratio of blower. So Vtip =pi*Dtip*gear ratio * Npto/60.
For a 540 rpm pto,

Vtip540=9*pi*Dtip*gear ratio

If you can get the information on the gear box ratio and measure the tip diameter, you can compare blowers on the basis of tip speed. The higher the tip speed the further the throw.

 

[V1Rotate]

Just remember that it takes HP to move snow. Yes, a large fan diameter and high tip speed will throw the snow farthest, but in order to accelerate all that snow to such a high speed you will need more power than you would to move the same amount of snow a shorter distance.

 

[Jay4200]

If you can get the information on the gear box ratio and measure the tip diameter, you can compare blowers on the basis of tip speed. The higher the tip speed the further the throw.

My 3pt blower fan runs directly off of the PTO shaft - only the auger speed is geared down by the transmission. Since all of the available blowers are pretty much the same design, I'd guess this is the general case. As such, it boils down to only fan diameter (and how hard you yank on the throttle handle).

As for blade clearance, I'd think that any extra space beyond the blades would just about instantly get packed full of snow. Is that not the case?

JayC

 

[flyingcow]

Some other things matter. I had a Meteor 9ftx4ft. Powered by a 145hp tractor. 3 blade fan. Also the discharge chute was a little more restrictive than the Lucknow's I now have.

I had a 9ftx4ft Lucknow. Powered by a 125hp tractor. The Lucknow threw it further. It had a 4 blade fan, plus the discharge chute flowed better. Also have noticed the direction you turn the chute helps. Also the 125hp tractor had what I call a "Canadian Tune Up". It Dyno'd at 145hp.:thumbsup: You got into a good pile of snow, it blew black smoke like an ole' Mack.

 

[studor]

Clearance between the fan and the housing is very important as mentioned previously. I added to the blades on my previous blower and it improved the throw by over 100%. Switching PTO speed (and therefore tip speed) did very little when the gap was over 1/2 inch at the closest. JMHO

 

[Steuny]

Thanks for all the insite. I was holding out for a Pronovost but they are few and far between used. There is a Puma for sale near me. Would I be sacrificing quality a lot by buying it rather then the P620 I was looking for. I realize they are a lesser quality machine from Pronovost. It is 4 bladed with a 22" blade. Reading all the posts I have come to realize that one blower is not the same as the next.

 

[devildog1]

Ah yes have done that same thing before, except no other driveways involved. Chute straight up into the wind, got-ya now. Yes would love to see vid of your new blower in action, with the amount of snow we have been getting this year, vid should be coming soon.
DevilDog

 

[slowzuki]

I have a Lucknow that is worn out, about 3/4" gap just to the chute side of the bottom of the impellor housing. 3 blade. It throws snow about 40-50 ft at 540 rpm.

Neighbour has an Econor I believe? The impeller is 2" small in diameter, but much deeper. The chute is larger diameter/squarish. His tip clearance is similar. His can only throw 20 ft max, but can move a lot more snow/time with the same hp as mine. He is not happy with it due to distance.

I'm thinking of relining the housing and shimming the tips with uhmwp to see what happens.

 

[herringchoker]

The driveways here are 70 feet apart.I made a mistake of putting the chute deflector all the way up and the snow went into the driveway two driveways up that would be roughly 140 feet.the home owner came walking up to me ,i'm thinking he wanted me to clear his driveway but he gave me s**t for filling up his driveway.I told him I just got this new blower but didn't think the snow would go that far.He said he needed his driveway clleaned but wasn't going to pay to have it done.I said sorry and cleaned it up.This blower is 80" wide 36 " high.The impeller is 26" high x 11 " deep with four blades,auger is 23 "high.The chute is 4 feet when extended.Next time it snows here I'll get my wife to video and I"ll post.This is an awsome blower

The missus and I were driving through Shemogue today and ahead I spied a snowblower throwing a big plume of snow a great distance. I figured it had to be a big industrial rig. Getting closer, I could see it was a rear 3 pt. blower on a good size farm tractor (guessing maybe 80 - 90 HP). It was blowing away piles of plowed up snow beside the local Seniors Club. The blower was a shiny, new-looking Normand, probably 90 - 96 inches wide and it was throwing the snow a good 100 ft. (no wind either). I was so amazed by all this I never did determine what make of tractor it was, but it was red and had a Quicke FEL.

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have a Lucknow that is worn out, about 3/4" gap just to the chute side of the bottom of the impellor housing. 3 blade. It throws snow about 40-50 ft at 540 rpm.

Neighbour has an Econor I believe? The impeller is 2" small in diameter, but much deeper. The chute is larger diameter/squarish. His tip clearance is similar. His can only throw 20 ft max, but can move a lot more snow/time with the same hp as mine. He is not happy with it due to distance.

I'm thinking of relining the housing and shimming the tips with uhmwp to see what happens.

The depth of the impeller iand the tip speed influence the volume of snow and the tip speed sets the distance. The smaller impeller has a lower tip sped for the same impeller rpm.

 

[PILOON]

The 2 major Quebec manufactures of blowers are Pronovost and Normand.
The Puma is by Pronovost using same technology but with lighter guages of metal.
An excellent machine and used by many contractors.

Another is Rad technologies (formerly Bervac) and they make many colors for OEM's, i.e. Kubota, Deere etc etc.. Not considered commercial quality but rather home owner or DIY quality. These will usually have the gear box centered on the auger and the blower riding on the PTO shaft extension and behind the gear box. (tough to service)

Both Pronovost and Normand have the gear box outside of the blower where the PTO enters and rt angle to one side with a chain driving the auger.
Both of these brands sport 4 bladed blowers and generally about 24" in diam.

Look closely at most frt mounted CUT and SCUT blowers and you will notice that the gear boxes very strongly resemble Toro gear boxes; white metal castings.
I'd be afraid of chomping any logs or stones with those!
Also they generally spin at 1000 RPM or so, being front PTO driven, so that a sudden impact, like ice chunks or worse will tend to shear bolts often.