Snowblower snowblower advice...

[BigBob]

I ran across a deal on a 50" wide, 3pt.2 stage snowblower. Very good shape for $450.00. My problem is the rear wheels on my tractor are 58" wide. It is 30hp so I know I got the power to run it. Do you think I could put 4" wings on the sides and have it work properly, or would I be overloading it? We usually get 4-8" of snow at a time, with it being a dry snow about 70% of the time. Any thoughts would be very helpful. If I'm being an idiot, go ahead and tell me. Won't be the first time. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I'd try it, I blow lots of snow and 4-8" of dry snow isn't much trouble to blow. Can you set your wheels in by flipping the rims or moving the centres? Seems like a good price if the blower is in good shape. Good luck.

 

[BigBob]

Thanks for the advice. The wheels are in as far as they go. I couldn't see why it wouldn't work, but there are times I have been accused of overlooking the obvious.

 

[hwp]

Two things you might want to check. The first is the diameter of the impeller. At what rpm are you going to run it and will it give you a high enough discharge velocity? You should have a discharge velocity of at least 5000 fpm. (discharge velocity = 3.14 x rpm x impeller diameter in feet). Second, check for the gap between the impeller and the drum. Ideally the gap should be about 0.020". For a quick test put a dime on the flat at the bottom of the drum. The impeller should pick up the dime at the bottom of the drum and carry it to the point of discharge a quarter turn later. Try this for all blades of the impeller. If they won't pick up a dime, try a quarter. If one or more blades won't pick up a quarter, some maintenance work is required - either rebuilding the tips of the impeller blades or putting a sleeve in the drum. In either case, the blades have to be refitted to the drum and the impeller rebalanced.

 

[JJT]

The price is certainly right. You shouldn't have any problems adding a few inches on either side of the blower, especially if you're only blowing 4 - 8 inches of snow with 30 HP. I only have 30 PTO hp, run an 80" blower and have cleared miles of road with 12 - 24 inches of snow.