Travel limiter for hyd. cyl.

[Mace Canute]

J_J, I hope you're calculations are right. There was no room to put a chain on the cylinder it self, so I mounted the chain as close to the cylinder as I could without interfering with the travel of the cylinder. Drilling holes in a brand new snowblower can be a little nerve racking, but I figured if I mess it up, somebody can fix it. In theory, this will limit the travel of this 6" stroke cylinder to 5". Since 5" is the over all travel of the blower chute and I couldn't find a 5" stroke cylinder and a 4" stoke retracted length was too short. I really never plan to test this theory. It is more of an insurance policy if I would happen to fall asleep with my finger on the valve lever some day. Thanks everyone for your input. Once I get the plumbing done, I'll let you know how it works.

Couple of Achers did say initially that he needed to limit its extented length but later he said said the maximum chute travel was five inches, so I took it to mean that he needed a maximum of five inches of stroke to prevent damage to the chute.

He-heee. For all that trouble, you could have cut an inch off the rod and welded the end back on.

I do like your idea, and if I can get by with an inch shorter retracted length, I will adopt it.
Thanks.

Retracted length would be the same as now. Didn't really know the exact reason why you needed to limit the stroke or I would have suggested this in the first place.

If you cut an inch off the end of the ram and weld the end back on, how in the world do you think the retracted length won't be one inch shorter?

Yep, I see loads of factories using a chain to limit the travel of a cylinder. Was that a joke?
What he wanted to do was not limit the stroke, but to shorten the overall length. To take an inch off the rod is the simplest, most dependable way to avoid future problems that there is. While the chain will work in this situation, hopefully, I don't think anybody short of Jeff Foxworthy or Larry The Cable Guy will mistake it for being factory.

No, it was not a joke. I didn't said it looked factory installed, I said it almost looked that way. It was a compliment to Couple of Achers for coming up with a solution to his problem that didn't involve welding, (he said he had no way to weld it back on). It certainly doesn't look like some of the absolute abortions that I have seen, in person, added onto various pieces of equipment over the years. Far from it in fact.

Couple of Achers, if having a six inch stroke cylinder with an inch shorter extended and retracted length works for you, go for it if you wish! If your chute cannot travel more than five inches, definitely install your chain travel limiter.