New to me Shulte blower

[George in Spokane]

I just picked up a Schulte 7400 (74") blower. It is very heavy and seems strong. It was made in 2002.

It was in good shape and I just cleaned it up and painted. Do you guys think the blower blades look OK? They are a little bent. Should I straighten or replace them? Also I think that these are $5000 new so did I overpay ($1900)?

I'm not sure why blowers are so expensive. Volume? They seem about as complicated as a Bush Hog.

Thanks,

George

 

[teg]

"...Did I over pay?..." I think that depends on how much snow you get less then 24" yes... anything above that, no... of course that is just IMHO.

How does it run? Is it balanced? If it is and does not rattle and it works, I would leave it alone.

If you would do the work yourself (doesn't cost, too much) and it feels like it's out of balance, I would work on it. At least see if you can replace the blades and how much it would be. I would love to have a reason to "need" one of those...

 

[George in Spokane]

Thanks. It runs smoothly.

It's actually a bit of overkill for Spokane but the last two years we've had 4' drifts. The five neighbors and I had to pay a guy with a large cat over $2000 each year to get us out.

Of course now that I've bought it...

 

[teg]

A friend bought V-bar chains for Ice... going on three years, without ice!!! I say it was money well spent!

 

[Opti-Mist]

Since it runs smoothly, and the shape of the impeller blades are not so different from each other, leave well enough alone. Like teg says, its good insurance.

 

[irvingj]

Those bent impeller blades (good ol' rocks) will reduce the efficiency & throwing distance, especially if the clearance from blade to inner fan housing is increased. It may also lead to chute/fan clogging with wet snow. The difference can be significant depending on how far "out" they are, but perhaps in your situation reducing the throw won't be that much of an issue?

On my old 8HP walk-behind, bent blades reduced throw from 8-12' to about 4-6'. I straightened them twice, which helped a lot, then finally replaced impeller altogether. Big improvement!

So-- try it & see how it works... tractor-mounted blowers are pretty amazing! You can always attack the blades later....

 

[JJZ 109]

Of course now that I've bought it...

Now that you've bought it, your neighbors should pay you because it will guarantee no snow for the next several years!
Same thing happened to me in mid February when I traded a non cab JD 790 for a Kubota B3030 with cab. No snow and no need to use the blower since the day the tractor came home.

 

[George in Spokane]

I really need some serious snow next year or my wife will be insufferable.

 

[Northland]

$1900 is a good deal for a 74" Shulte blower if it is in good shape and yours looks like it's brand new. They make top quality blowers. Be Happy!

I bought a Agrotrend 60" blower, like new, for $700 last winter-we got too much snow and my rear blade/loader combo just could not keep up

 

[mikescruggs]

I have a used 74" schultze, but the drive line is a little different. It had a second gear box that runs the feed auger off the center auger. Paid $800 for it when buying a new Kubota (they had it priced at $1000.00).

A few shear pins were required to make it through the year, but they were easy to replace. A couple were from rocks and the second was from setting it down too fast. It worked great this past year.

You will enjoy yours if/when you get enough snow.

Mike