International Harvester Farmall Model 56 silage blower question

[Breakhart_Farm]

I am looking for someone with experience with a Farmall Model 56 Silage blower. I am considering converting one to a leaf blower. There are quite a few articles on You Tube and on the net from guys who have done this with other brand blowers, but I cannot find anyone that has used the Model 56. I have read that it was a very well made blower. It is a 540 RPM unit and I just want to make sure it will put out enough air to move leaves and small twigs. In my way of thinking a blower that will blow grain up a 60 ft. high silo pipe should have the required air output. Would like to hear from somone who has actually operated on of these units for their opinion on my question. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[RickB]

Do it.

 

[LouNY]

Mine is not an IH it's a New Holland, all I've done is rotate it as far as it would without cutting it up, I have been contemplating doing some cutting and changing on it to get more rotation and more air flow. In the following pics the leafs were wet and heavy.
View attachment blower 1.jpg View attachment blower 2.jpg View attachment blower 3.jpg View attachment blower 4.jpg
Also blowers don't have a lot of ground clearance and the PTO angle can get steep, it does work it's not the best and it would need some piping to blow were it is tracking, if you drive next to something you wish to blow the leaves away from it will leave a swath that it can't get.
But it's better then raking or using a hand held if you have a lot to do.

 

[Breakhart_Farm]

Mine is not an IH it's a New Holland, all I've done is rotate it as far as it would without cutting it up, I have been contemplating doing some cutting and changing on it to get more rotation and more air flow. In the following pics the leafs were wet and heavy.
View attachment 552101 View attachment 552102 View attachment 552103 View attachment 552104
Also blowers don't have a lot of ground clearance and the PTO angle can get steep, it does work it's not the best and it would need some piping to blow were it is tracking, if you drive next to something you wish to blow the leaves away from it will leave a swath that it can't get.
But it's better then raking or using a hand held if you have a lot to do.

Lou:

Thanks for the info and pictures. I saw one similar to yours on the net and they rotated it in the opposite direction so it put the discharge port right close to the ground.

Here is a link to the one I saw: FARM SHOW Magazine - Latest Farming & Agriculture News, Farm Shop Inventions, Ranching & Farming Tips, Time-saving Tricks & the Best Farm Shop Hacks, DIY Farm Projects, Barn Hacks, Boost your farm income, time-saving farming tips, farm and Ag equipme

I know some of the silage blowers can rotate much easier than others so some rework or fabrication can be expected. The rewards are great though considering what they get for a 3point leaf blower, even a used one.

Pete