Unbelieveable - small rant on snowblower

[dmacneil]

Good call on the PTO length.

I'm just trying to brainstorm some more here, so please take no offense. How tight are the shear pins? If they are cranked down could they be clamping to the shaft and not serving their purpose? If not loose and creating a clamp effect I could possibly see that these wouldn't break but the gear box might take the brunt of the force. Just going out on a limb.

 

[StrangeRanger]

I didn't have time to start the dis-assembly last night but I'll answer some more questions and address some points.
638: When the first gearbox broke I was running at full PTO speed. I never said I wasn't. When the second gearbox went I was running at a reduced speed, about 2100 rpm instead of 2500. I refuse to believe a difference of a couple hundred rpm will affect the systems integrity. If it does all my other PTO driven gear would have died ages ago.
To the others that addressed the PTO shaft angle: The PTO shaft was supplied by Meteor w/ the blower and the first install was done by the dealer. So if it had to be cut they did it. But the times I've had the PTO shaft apart for lubing etc I looked at the ends. It doesn't look like anyone at the dealer cut it. Very "finished" / "factory" looking ends.
I never raise the blower w/ the PTO spinning. Trust me, I wish I could as it would save a lot of steps in the snow removal process, but I never do it.
I was looking at other brands of blowers online and noticed something interesting. My 60" blower has a weight of 396lbs. I've looked at Pronovost, Lucknow, Erskine etc and all those blowers of similar sizes are at LEAST 2 x as heavy. I know I bought a bargain priced blower, but wow, what is my blower missing out on that it weighs so much less? That weight difference really makes me take notice.
As for shear bolt tightness they are snugged down tight. But they have to be. If your shear bolts are loose they will not function properly.

 

[shvl73]

I was looking at other brands of blowers online and noticed something interesting. My 60" blower has a weight of 396lbs. I've looked at Pronovost, Lucknow, Erskine etc and all those blowers of similar sizes are at LEAST 2 x as heavy. I know I bought a bargain priced blower, but wow, what is my blower missing out on that it weighs so much less? That weight difference really makes me take notice.

My Blizzard B64 weighs 434lbs, per their website.
The Provonost Puma-64 weighs 382lbs per their website.
Both are well liked units, as per TBN discussions.
Yours is no lightweight. I think checking pto shaft length is certainly worth doing, can't hurt at this point. I certainly can imagine your frustration. I hope you get to the bottom of the problem.

 

[StrangeRanger]

You're right, I was a little off w/ the weight. The Pronovost is light as well, but Lucknow, Loftness and Erskine are all almost 600-900lbs. Hmm...

 

[JDeerekid]

You're right, I was a little off w/ the weight. The Pronovost is light as well, but Lucknow, Loftness and Erskine are all almost 600-900lbs. Hmm...

The heavier brands are for more commercial use and everyday heavy snow and ice.

I wish mine would way more as when the snow is heavy and wet it wants to still ride up and over the snow.

 

[638]

Sorry, I was reading between the lines and assumed you were running slower both times the box failed. A tight shear bolt will have a clamping effect on the shaft and will require much more torque to shear. The bolt should just tight enough to not be loose in the hole. Use self locking nuts to prevent them from coming loose.

 

[escavader]

To the others that addressed the PTO shaft angle: The PTO shaft was supplied by Meteor w/ the blower and the first install was done by the dealer. So if it had to be cut they did it. But the times I've had the PTO shaft apart for lubing etc I looked at the ends. It doesn't look like anyone at the dealer cut it. Very "finished" / "factory" looking ends.
I never raise the blower w/ the PTO spinning. Trust me, I wish I could as it would save a lot of steps in the snow removal process, but I never do it.
It would not matter if it was turning or not.If the shaft had no room to "close up" enough it will break something.SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE.If you bought the blower the same time you bought the tractor ,then the shaft is THEIR responsibility to size correctly.If the tractor was already had it is Yours.
Where i bought my blower they would not cut mine.They said its because tractors are different and there are too many factors such as pto height ,arm length .Lift height etc.It is of the important to have it just right ,so you have the most possible shaft splined togeather when its operating yet the shaft ends can never touch each other at any point or damage to shaft and or equipment may occur.Ihad to cut my own and i bet i trimmed the ends off 6 times before it didnt bottom out.Dont think if the dealer did it its got to be right.When i bought my chipper they cut it too short.It flew apart one day during operation.
Ihope you find a solution to your problems.Since the damage is already done,if it is a drive shaft not short enough ,all you need to do is shorten it.Thats alot cheaper than in my case not long enough and having to replace the splines
ALAN

 

[StrangeRanger]

I finally had time to inspect things last night. I'll post some pics down below.
Escavader I'm sure it's not the PTO shaft because I have double checked it's length and how it fits. It's well w/in specs that are given in the manual and does not bottom out.

Honestly I'm beginning to feel like my dealer has steered me wrong and should have suggested a bigger or beefier blower. The gearbox is a Comer Industries L-25J. It must be older b/c I couldn't find the spec sheet on Comer's website, but I did find it on other sites. And all spec sheets I've found state it as being rated for 15HP. And then I have to question MK Martin/Meteor's website because they rate the max horsepower for the blower as 20HP. While my L3400 is like 29HP at the PTO. I'm not sure what to think anymore. But here are some pics of THIS year's gearbox:

 

[StrangeRanger]

And here's a pic of LAST year's gearbox. It appears the gearbox is OK, but the propeller shaft is, well, you can see:

 

[StrangeRanger]

On a side note I have to say I'm discouraged that I have not heard from MK Martin Enterprises. I emailed them a couple days ago and have not heard from anyone there. I was not b*&ching or anything, I simply explained my situation and asked for their opinion on the tractor / blower combination.