Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Side discharge / Rotating Drums

[slowzuki]

This year I replaced my old 84" Lucknow with an 86" Normand with side discharge. The sort and more steeply angled regular chute on the Normand does not throw snow as far as the old Lucknow now matter what position you aim the top, but open up the side drum and wow does that snow fly and it seems to decrease the power required by about 5%.

If you do long drifted driveways, its a great upgrade.

Not my video but another Normand blower using the side chute, the snow throwing is the same. I don't have the better regular chute these guys have.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLNUPDsZkB0]NORMAND SNOWBLOWER + FENDT 930 in action - YouTube[/ame]

 

[leonz]

Can you still upgrade the chute and spout on your Normond?

They disabled the video so now it can only be watched on youtube.

 

[devildog1]

Can you still upgrade the chute and spout on your Normond?

They disabled the video so now it can only be watched on youtube.

Why would they do that>
DevilDog

 

[slowzuki]

I could upgrade the chute but to be honest the side drum works so well, I'm going to leave it. The one problem client that I had to throw the snow over a fabric car shelter has removed the shelter (I tried not to be to excited when he told me!) so I don't have to throw the 30 -50 feet over the top of it. He had parking for almost 20 cars that I have to clear out and it all had to go over the shelter, even when the wind blows the wrong way.

 

[koopster]

side discharges with rotating drums work awesome. So many people I know this morning were wrestling with clogged chutes on their little walk behinds as well as a neighbor's 3pt 54" blower. Once again my Pronovost p800TRC worked great. With about 5" of pure water slush I was a skeptic on what would happen. I figured I would try to shoot the slush up the chute first. Like a fire hose the slush shot out of the chute and across the lawn. The second stop at the end of the pass, with time given to allow the blower to clear itself and time spent repositioning for the next pass provided enough time to let the remainder of the slush to freeze and plug the chute.

The Pronovost allows the drum to rotate either direction. Knowing it would not be worth unclogging it, I hit the valve lever and tipped the drum sideways. For the the next two hours and 5K feet of driveways and lots I cleared all this miserably heavy slush effortlessly. If the drum's throat seamed to close up I rotated the drum to the opposite side which put the clog on the upper side of the throat, allowing it to loosen and fall out. I never had to get off.

Once I finished I hosed it down with good and warm water to loosen the clogged chute, which never loosened on its own. Gave a bath, a good greasing to force water out of any bearings and joints, and gave the Pronovost and the McCormick a well deserved nap in the warm garage to dry out.

I know they are a bit more money but if you get a chance to buy a new or used blower with the rotating drum, you will never regret it.