Which Side Of The Impeller, Does It Matter?

[Chaos USMC]

ArlyA, look for something later tomorrow...

oosik, in my case, I believe this particular blower/impeller issue was designed into it. The impeller is a beast. I'll plead a bit of ignorance though. I acquired it earlier this past year and I am owner #3 so can't really tell what original specs were, and, how old the beast is. Bottom line though, it really doesn't matter as I'm on a quest to improve it's performance. Thanks again for everyone's thoughts. Be safe and be well...

 

[Chaos USMC]

As promised, a few shots for entertainment...

 

[ArlyA]

Huuuummm, I'm not sure they are worn off or if adding to them, will help it blow any further....

 

[Chaos USMC]

Neither am I :-(

 

[Fallon]

Those dont particularly look worn on the impeller or the housing. But I bet getting tighter clearances will definitely improve performance.

 

[aczlan]

Those dont particularly look worn on the impeller or the housing. But I bet getting tighter clearances will definitely improve performance.

That measurement looks like it's at about 5 o clock (as seen standing behind the blower looking towards what the front of the tractor would be).
Double check that the clearance is not tighter around 9 o clock, on our Loftness blower, it is almost touching there but there is a similar amount of space around 5 o clock.

Aaron Z

 

[PILOON]

In my area most driveways are gravel.
The local welder used a slip roller to re line many blower 'cages'.
LOL, re lining is one way of closing the gap.

Sure, manufacturers could design a tighter gap but it would probably add considerable cost to the end product.

 

[ArlyA]

I'm not sure if the gap was reduced from the 1" he has now, to lets say 1/2, would throw his snow 5ft further. Maybe someone with experience with this will pipe-in. My amateur mechanical engineering head says the speed of the impeller is what counts the most.

 

[Reb954]

I have never been of the opinion that having a tight fit between the impeller tip and impeller housing will make much difference in how far or how much snow a blower will throw. To me that gap just fills with packed snow anyway so the gap isn't there in real use. But, with that said, a 1" gap provides the opportunity to lengthen the impeller blades which will throw snow further due to faster tip speed. To determine how much further you would have to try it which is easy to do on that blower.

The specs on that blower show the impeller is 24" in diameter so adding 3/4" to each blade would be a 6.25% increase in length which equals a 12.9% increase in circumference. In my mind that is enough to make it worth while to try adding the length and the design of those impellers makes it easy to add the length which is a further incentive to try it.

Cut some 3" wide, or wider, 5/16" or 3/8" mild steel flat stock to fit between the side flanges on the backside of the impellers. Bevel the corners to allow for the existing welds so the extensions fit tight against impeller blades. Clamp the extension in place allowing 1/8" gap between the extension and the housing. Rotate the impeller full circle to make sure it will clear the housing all the way around. Then tack weld it in place. Do the same on all three impellers. Once all extensions are in place, rotate the impeller full circle to make sure everything is clear and final weld by welding the top front of the extension to the blade, weld the sides and bottom of the extension on the backside of the impeller. You want plenty of weld on these as they take a lot of abuse.

Doing this will probably make it so you can't remove the impeller due to the lip on the edge of the housing. If at some point you do need to remove the impeller you can always use an angle grinder to grind 3 notches in the lip so you can get it out.

 

[Chaos USMC]

Aczlan, great question. The smallest gap, measuring the entire 360 circumference, is 7/8". Thanks for the question.

Piloon, I am at a loss. I have never heard of a "slip roller". What might that be? Sounds interesting. Thanks.

Reb 954, your calculations are impressive. I was hoping you would provide the increase in "tip speed"; oh well... Only kidding! The points you detailed are great especially the point about possibly needing to grind 3 notches in the lip to remove the impeller at some future date.

Thanks to everyone for your great discussions and thoughts for possibly improving this beast.

Be safe and be well. KAG!