Standalone 6ft Wide 3pth Snowblower Power Source?

[Jaynen123]

Sorry if this has been answered before. But I will be getting a 6ft wide 3pt hitch snowblower and I wont be running it off a tractor so I need a power source for it. Seems like my best option would be some sort or air cooled engine. My question is how much power would I need?

Im thinking a 30hp gas engine would be enough. If I go diesel does it still need to be 30hp or can it be 25hp because the torque comes in at lower rpm?

Speaking of rpm does the blower require 540 rpm? If my gas engine has peak torque at 3600rpm does that mean i will need to reduce the rpm from the engine with some sort of gear box?

Any information would be a great help.

 

[5030]

I've seen pictures of self powered blowers on the net, but they are all commercial units and mostly diesel powered.

You can build anything so long as you have the mechaical capability and the fabrication tools. Rule of thumb for any powered implement, PTO driven or self powered is 5 horsepower per foot of width. Far as diesel or gas is concerned, torque rise on a blower is important when the blower is really working hard in deep snow and diesel will give you that whereas a gas motor won't. The issue is, a diesel engine will be expensive compared to a gas motor and both will require some sort of a transmission to drive the blower as well and a diesel in cold weater will have starting issues unless equipped with a proper cold weather starting package.

Most all that I've seen pictures of are front mount, not rear mount and most are a lot larger than the width you are contemplating. You could probably find a used front mount self powered unit for sale on a tractor site like Tractor House but then you most likely will have issues because used units on municipal use will be run hard and not maintained properly.

Of course anything is possible, it all depends on the depth of your wallet and mechanical ability.

I will say that I own a 72" Lucknow rear mount that I use very infrequently and it's a power hungry implement. My tractors make 90 pto horses and when the Lucknow encounters a drift or deep snow, it can make my tractor grunt.

Good luck.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Out of curiosity, why do you want to re-invent the wheel ? Are you bored and just looking to take a huge risk on spending a lot of time and money on a project that may, or may not work satisfactorily ?

 

[RjCorazza]

I ran a 6 foot blower behind a 25 pto HP diesel tractor for many years. Yes, you can bury a much larger tractor using an even smaller blower - it all comes down to speed, cutting width, and snow consistency.
There are fabricators out there that enjoy projects such as what you are considering, but it would not be for the faint of heart.
Maybe take a look at some of the commercially available front mount / loader mount units and see what engines they use.

 

[WinterDeere]

Understanding to what you plan to mount this blower might help with the responses. I can't imagine you're mounting handlebars and lawnmower wheels on the thing to push it up and down the driveway. Even Jeeps and pickup trucks often have PTO-optioned transfer cases, if you plan to mount this thing to an on-road vehicle. I remember we had one on an old Dodge Ram Charger many years ago, and I've seen many more on 4wd pickup trucks. Might be easier to drive it off that, if an on-road vehicle is indeed your intent.

 

[oldnslo]

Sorry if this has been answered before. But I will be getting a 6ft wide 3pt hitch snowblower and I wont be running it off a tractor so I need a power source for it. Seems like my best option would be some sort or air cooled engine. My question is how much power would I need?

Im thinking a 30hp gas engine would be enough. If I go diesel does it still need to be 30hp or can it be 25hp because the torque comes in at lower rpm?

HP required depends on several factors like snow type, snow depth, desired minimum speed of travel

Speaking of rpm does the blower require 540 rpm? If my gas engine has peak torque at 3600rpm does that mean i will need to reduce the rpm from the engine with some sort of gear box?

Yes you need to keep the input speed in the 540 - 600 RPM range

Any information would be a great help.

What are you mounting this on?
How will you control chute rotation and discharge chute deflector angle?
Engine start and throttle control: Will this be remote or manual by standing next to blower?
What type of engagement clutch will you use to engage blower after engine starts or disengage with engine running?

 

[Rustyiron]

You'll also want a clutch or some way to disengage the motor from spinning the blower.
This could become a bigger (successful) project than I think you know.
Like many others have mentioned, there's many variables for you power requirements...
Snow consistency
Depth
Rate of travel.
Someone mentioned 5hp/ft, I would start by doubling that. It's not a practical approach, but there's no such thing as having an over powered snow blower.

 

[hayden]

If you are only blowing light, fluffy snow, and no more than a few inches, 30hp is probably OK. But in deeper snow, or wet snow. my former 6' snow blower consumed every drop of my tractor's 50hp PTO. And that was going slow. If you ever expect conditions like that, then I would go for 50hp as a minimum. I'm sure you don't want to be repowering in a year or two, so use enough to get it right the first time.

I'd love to hear more about the project that this fits into.

 

[chim]

Out of curiosity, why do you want to re-invent the wheel ? Are you bored and just looking to take a huge risk on spending a lot of time and money on a project that may, or may not work satisfactorily ?

His tractor is listed as a mini-X. If true, no PTO.

 

[WinterDeere]

His tractor is listed as a mini-X. If true, no PTO.

Seems it'd be a hell of a lot easier, cheaper, and more convenient to pick up an old Jeep and mount a snow plow to that, or even one fitted with one of the common Spicer PTO's, to drive a snowblower.

One real common personal plow vehicle around here was the Jeep Comanche. I had more than one friend who kept one of those for the primary purpose of pushing a 6 ft. plow up and down their own driveway. Shame they rusted too quickly, though.