Snowblower PTO speed
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snowman
Gold Member
I forgot to mention that I keep the blower on a dolly when it's not on the tractor; much easier to roll around and line up for hooking up and storing. There's not much clearance when the blower's lifted all of the way up (it only goes up about 5"), so I drive the front wheels up on some 2x6 boards to give me a little extra height.
hwp
Platinum Member
<font color=blue>"...operates my mid PTO at 2500."</font color=blue>
Wow! that seems rather fast to run a snowblower impeller? Or is there a gear reduction box before the impeller? What is the diameter of your impeller? I assume on that size of tractor that it will be at least 24" in diameter. If so, that would give you a discharge speed of almost 16000 feet/min! That would sure throw the snow a long way. On my machine, I can run my PTO at engine speed or half engine speed, so with the snowblower attached I put the PTO in low range or half engine speed, which as I indicated in an earlier post in this thread gives me a dishcarge speed of about 5000 feet/min. I've never tried to run the snowblower with the PTO in high range and I don't think I want to try. I suspect that I may get too much runout from my bearings as I only have 0.020" of clearnace between the impeller blades and the drum.
If your impeller is rotating at 2500 RPM you want to make sure it is well balanced, otherwise it will shake the snowlower to pieces in a hurry.
Snowman, what is the diameter of your impeller and how fast do run it?
Wow! that seems rather fast to run a snowblower impeller? Or is there a gear reduction box before the impeller? What is the diameter of your impeller? I assume on that size of tractor that it will be at least 24" in diameter. If so, that would give you a discharge speed of almost 16000 feet/min! That would sure throw the snow a long way. On my machine, I can run my PTO at engine speed or half engine speed, so with the snowblower attached I put the PTO in low range or half engine speed, which as I indicated in an earlier post in this thread gives me a dishcarge speed of about 5000 feet/min. I've never tried to run the snowblower with the PTO in high range and I don't think I want to try. I suspect that I may get too much runout from my bearings as I only have 0.020" of clearnace between the impeller blades and the drum.
If your impeller is rotating at 2500 RPM you want to make sure it is well balanced, otherwise it will shake the snowlower to pieces in a hurry.
Snowman, what is the diameter of your impeller and how fast do run it?
snowman
Gold Member
The PTO doesn't run at 2500; the engine is what is at 2500, which equates to the PTO at 540, I believe. Sorry for not making that clear in my original post.
My blower is a Kubota 5' 2 stage (model B2660). The impellar blades are, I think, probably four to five inches long.
In one of the first few times I used it, a rock jammed up the impellar and bent one of the blades slightly, enough to it was hitting the housing and it turned. Just took a hammer and whacked it a few times to get it bent back in and it's been fine ever since.
My blower is a Kubota 5' 2 stage (model B2660). The impellar blades are, I think, probably four to five inches long.
In one of the first few times I used it, a rock jammed up the impellar and bent one of the blades slightly, enough to it was hitting the housing and it turned. Just took a hammer and whacked it a few times to get it bent back in and it's been fine ever since.
hwp
Platinum Member
<font color=blue>"The PTO doesn't run at 2500; the engine is what is at 2500, which equates to the PTO at 540...</font color=blue>
OK, now I understand - you had me wondering for a while. But I would think the impeller on your machine must be larger than 8 to 10" in diameter to get a decent throw.
Stones and rocks don't do nice things to snowblowers, and stones thrown by snowblowers don't do nice things to what they hit, especially animals and people, which is why I am leery about using snowblowers on gravel surfaces.
OK, now I understand - you had me wondering for a while. But I would think the impeller on your machine must be larger than 8 to 10" in diameter to get a decent throw.
Stones and rocks don't do nice things to snowblowers, and stones thrown by snowblowers don't do nice things to what they hit, especially animals and people, which is why I am leery about using snowblowers on gravel surfaces.
looch
Veteran Member
The front PTO speed on my B7500 is 2500 rpm. Unless the PTO shaft connects directly to the impeller, I'm sure the blower doesn't operate at that speed. The impeller should be spinning between 500 and 1000 rpm. This would be achieved through some kind of gear reduction at the blower.
As for rocks and stones, yes - you avoid them when you can. But snowblowers throw things. It isn't any safer not to use it on gravel - pieces of ice and other debris can fly out with equal force. No one/animal should be in the path of the blower discharge.
As for rocks and stones, yes - you avoid them when you can. But snowblowers throw things. It isn't any safer not to use it on gravel - pieces of ice and other debris can fly out with equal force. No one/animal should be in the path of the blower discharge.
snowman
Gold Member
See specs for the B2660 front blower here:
http://www.kubota.com/bseriesimpl.CFM
Per this page, impeller is 15.5" and fan speed is 903 rpm.
http://www.kubota.com/bseriesimpl.CFM
Per this page, impeller is 15.5" and fan speed is 903 rpm.
snowman
Gold Member
"Does this mean that on a B7500 you have two ranges for the mid PTO, one at 540 and one at 900 rpm when running your engine at 2500 rpm? "
You can adjust the PTO speed, but I'm not sure if it's just for the middle, rear, or both.
I've never done it but recall when I read the manual when I first got the tractor that you could change the PTO speed by unscrewing some plate/restricter, making the adjustment, then screwing it back it. It's not a simple lever that you can just move and it's not something that you can change by accident (ie: like bumping a lever or something).
I'm also not sure what implement would require the higher PTO speed; I think they listed some in the manual, but I don't recall too many.
Basically, all I've ever done it hook stuff up and run it. All I have is a MMM, tiller, and blower. Everything's worked fine "out of the box".
You can adjust the PTO speed, but I'm not sure if it's just for the middle, rear, or both.
I've never done it but recall when I read the manual when I first got the tractor that you could change the PTO speed by unscrewing some plate/restricter, making the adjustment, then screwing it back it. It's not a simple lever that you can just move and it's not something that you can change by accident (ie: like bumping a lever or something).
I'm also not sure what implement would require the higher PTO speed; I think they listed some in the manual, but I don't recall too many.
Basically, all I've ever done it hook stuff up and run it. All I have is a MMM, tiller, and blower. Everything's worked fine "out of the box".