Widening Snowblower Front

[doxford jim]

Hi Guys,

I have a TPH snow blower 73" wide at the business end. My tractor rear wheels are 76" outside to outside. The end result is that the rear wheels rub against the newly cut snow bank and cause some spillage back onto the driveway.

I have read somewhere on this website, of another owner who has widened his snowblower by adding "wings" on each side of the front of the blower, to make the effective clearing distance wider.

In my case I would like to widen each side by 4" to 6", so that I could blow snow and have a clearance for the rear wheels - a couple of inch clearance on the rear wheels would be great.

Does anyone have a design or arrangement that they would be willing to share?
I have a design in mind but thought I would toss this out for discussion - I am always willing to learn something new.

I have searched this website and have not come up with anything - possibly because of using the wrong search criteria wording.

Anyone out there with some good idea's please feel free to comment.

I should mention that I don't intend to widen the complete blower by installing extensions - but rather was thinking of bolting "wing tips" to the outside (made from heavy gauge sheet metal) only. I don't have the equipment or skills to widen the screw, shaft and casing.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jim

 

[beenthere]

Give your design a shot, and let us know how it works.

A sketch or two, or pics of what you have to work with now would help.

It will have to be strong enough to handle the snow and ice, but also any objects that might be in the path (or be flexible enough to fold out of the way or be easily replaced).

 

[zzvyb6]

The 'wings' experiment that was reported was 'retracted' because the snow stuck to them and fouled the auger. He used a steel dogleg style wing instead of a straight angled plate, so I can see how the inbound snow would get jambed up.

What about using a heavy plastic wing made from, say, a heavy truck mudflap? Heck, I'd even try a piece of plywood at first.

What about narrowing the wheels inward a few inches and/or offsetting the blower to the drift side?

 

[ruren]

The blower on my Kubota has exactly what you are describing, 'Z' shaped pieces of sheet metal on each side that widen the cut a few inches. They came that way when I bought the machine used and look like a factory part to me. They are bolted to the inside of the blower and have a triangular brace at the top that bolts back to the top of the blower. The bottom edges are radiused so they don't snag. They work fine and make the blower an inch or two wider than the tires on each side. Here's a picture of the whole thing.

Hi Guys,

I have a TPH snow blower 73" wide at the business end. My tractor rear wheels are 76" outside to outside. The end result is that the rear wheels rub against the newly cut snow bank and cause some spillage back onto the driveway.

I have read somewhere on this website, of another owner who has widened his snowblower by adding "wings" on each side of the front of the blower, to make the effective clearing distance wider.

In my case I would like to widen each side by 4" to 6", so that I could blow snow and have a clearance for the rear wheels - a couple of inch clearance on the rear wheels would be great.

Does anyone have a design or arrangement that they would be willing to share?
I have a design in mind but thought I would toss this out for discussion - I am always willing to learn something new.

I have searched this website and have not come up with anything - possibly because of using the wrong search criteria wording.

Anyone out there with some good idea's please feel free to comment.

I should mention that I don't intend to widen the complete blower by installing extensions - but rather was thinking of bolting "wing tips" to the outside (made from heavy gauge sheet metal) only. I don't have the equipment or skills to widen the screw, shaft and casing.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jim

 

[doxford jim]

ruren,

Thanks for showing the photograph.
Yes, that is exactly what I had in mind. Interesting to see that top brace - I had visions of reinforcing with 1/4" x 1" flat bar, bolted on to make it easy to remove/repair/straighten etc.

Need to go measure my blower and get the sheet metal cut and bent - now that I know this might just work. Gonna be a big improvement I think.

I thing the clogged auger is more a function of ground speed (too fast) than the extra width. Travelling too fast feeds too much snow into impeller casing.
Slow and easy with good PTO revs seems to throw the snow a good 25 - 30 ft for me.

Thanks for all input.

Jim

 

[goodbyeNJ]

Jim
I made wings as per your plan for my 47" blower on a JD 2520.
Total added width was 6", 3" per side. I used 11 Gauge (1/8" thick) steel; not sure of the grade, but really tough stuff. It has held up perfectly. I your case some bracing may be required for 6" per side extension. There are some pics in this thread: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ng/112422-2520-just-keeps-getting-longer.html

Last year we had a big snow with plenty of big drifts up to 7 feet and everything worked well, but could have used the drift cutters which I put on over the summer.

The angles on the wings are 45 degrees with a nice radius in the bends (not sharp).

Keep in mind that the wings will gather a lot of snow (especially wind driven hard pack) so you may need to slow down a bit.

Any questions, let me know.

 

[beenthere]

goodbyeNJ
Looks like a great addition.

How, after three years, have the wings made out? Still pretty straight?
And what are the drift cutters that you mention adding over the summer?

 

[doxford jim]

Jim
I made wings as per your plan for my 47" blower on a JD 2520.
Total added width was 6", 3" per side. I used 11 Gauge (1/8" thick) steel; not sure of the grade, but really tough stuff. It has held up perfectly. I your case some bracing may be required for 6" per side extension. There are some pics in this thread: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ng/112422-2520-just-keeps-getting-longer.html

Last year we had a big snow with plenty of big drifts up to 7 feet and everything worked well, but could have used the drift cutters which I put on over the summer.

The angles on the wings are 45 degrees with a nice radius in the bends (not sharp).

Keep in mind that the wings will gather a lot of snow (especially wind driven hard pack) so you may need to slow down a bit.

Any questions, let me know.

NJ,

Thanks for the link. I checked it out and your wings look good and are exactly what I had in mind - inscludiing the 1/8" thick steel.

My snowblower will cut up to 30" high (measured height to the top of the casing) and is 73" wide. It is pretty well built, just not quite wide enough. At $800 I thought it was a pretty good buy - though I know other have bought more cheaply. So, with just being a few inches short in width, it makes sense to put on a couple of wings as you have done.

The other day i went through 24" snow that was blown in front of my gate, by the highway maintenance snowplows. I expected some real resistance, but the blower went through it very well and the sight of the snow being blown into the ditch about 30ft away, was something. Much better than using the FEL bucket.

I think the material thickness of 1/8" would be ample for my needs. I will be bracing the wings at three places - top, midway and bottom.

I will post pics when I get them done.

Thanks to all - the idea's have helped me a lot. Much cheaper than getting another snowblower and I can always unbolt them if they don't work well.

Thanks again guys :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:.

Jim

 

[beenthere]

Rather than bracing, I'd suggest letting the wings bend if/when they meet an immovable object. Adding bracing will just mean the stress will be placed somewhere where you may not want it.

Bending the wings back to original position will likely be easier than fixing what else breaks of bends.

Think of them as adequate until you find out they are not.

Just a suggestion.

 

[goodbyeNJ]

Beenthere
After three years the wings are "straight as new". I did change to a larger radius on the bottom after the first year. When my downhill drive meets the road, which has a crown, the bottom corners got a little dinged - larger radius - problem solved. Drive is double wide and about 850 feet long with large, wide aprons at the garages and barn and parking area next to garages - blower gets a lot of use.
The drift cutters are the stock JD cutters that came with the blower - just a piece of 1/4" steel about 21" long and 1 3/4" wide slightly bent in the center along it's length, for rigidity.

Jim
Glad to be of some help. My original plan called for braces, but decided to try it without - braces not needed. I'd be a little more concerned with your planned 6" extension. Beenthere has a good point about going without braces.
The wings become sacrificial, rather than busting something else. The most expensive part of the wings was the JD primer and paint.
The biggest problem I have is deep hardpack with a crown on the drive and ice underneath - it wants to suck the tractor in to the working side - turn brakes a must. Good luck, let me know if you need assistance.
By the way, sounds like you got a great deal!
Pics attached of Feb snow debacle.

 

[doxford jim]

Beenthere
Jim
Glad to be of some help. My original plan called for braces, but decided to try it without - braces not needed. I'd be a little more concerned with your planned 6" extension. Beenthere has a good point about going without braces.
The wings become sacrificial, rather than busting something else. The most expensive part of the wings was the JD primer and paint.
The biggest problem I have is deep hardpack with a crown on the drive and ice underneath - it wants to suck the tractor in to the working side - turn brakes a must. Good luck, let me know if you need assistance.
By the way, sounds like you got a great deal!
Pics attached of Feb snow debacle.

My drive is around 350 yds long from gate to the house, plus about 75 yds from the house to the workshop and then 100 yds from the workshop back to the drive way. A fair bit of snow removal. It also has some bends and a bit of a small hill - I have in the past, slide off into the snow banks at the side (forgot to engage 4x4 ).

Have attached a couple of pictures. The one of the snowblower is a shot of the previous owner using it. The second picture is of the workshop from the driveway - fork in the road up to the house.

So, yes, we can get some good dumpings of snow too. I previously used the old JD450 I have, to clear the snow but all I did was make snow banks and the driveway got noticeably narrower :-( I like being able to throw the snow away from the drive where it is not in the way.

Thanks guys, for your interest and help. I will try it without bracing and see how it goes - though what I will have will be quite a bit bigger as will be the forces involved. I am not sure how big to go with the increase - either 4" or 5" each side. Hopefully, being careful with the ground speed should make all the difference.

Cheers

Jim

 

[beenthere]

Jim
What machine made the path through the snow in the second pic?

A JD450 is a crawler. Was it that machine?

Look forward to your build of the wings and the pics.

 

[flowerfarmer]

My wings have worked out well so far. I added about 5.5 inches overall. A lot of snow is funelled into the auger, overwhelming it in deep and/or heavy snow so I have to go VERY slow at times. Mine are made very stout with bracing. Some have suggested making them bendable so as to allow the wings to fail before a more expensive part. While there may be some merit to this idea, I find that my snow blowing speed is slow enough that nothing is likely to bend or break if a wing contacts an immovable object.

 

[doxford jim]

Beenthere

Yes, the JD450 was used to clear driveways - the bucket removed and an outside frame with a 8.5ft dozer blade fitted on the front. Worked OK but doesn't compare to an appropriately sized blower - the snow banks grow very quickly in a heavy snow winter . And yes, a heated cab would sure be nice too

flowerfarmer

Thanks for your photographs and I note your bracing as well. That is what I had in mind. I don't know how tall your blower is, but mine at 30" would suggest probably three braces as I had in mind. I will try it without the braces and see what happens. The braces can be added as needed as they are fairly simple construction.

Thanks again for all your comments. I feel that this will be a worthwhile improvement.

Cheers

Jim

 

[beenthere]

flowerfarmer
That does look like a good build too.
I'd think a large radius on the lower corners would help ward off catching on something, like goodbyeNJ had on his. But if it works, that is really all that counts.

 

[crazyal]

I've thought about adding a wing to one side of my blower. Going straight I'm fine but on some of the sharper corners the inside tire will pull snow back into the road so I have to go back and clean it up. I like seeing what others have done. I would love to make the wing hydraulically controlled, maybe with an electric diverting valve alternating between the chute rotater.

 

[doxford jim]

Hi Guys,

Here is w hat I ended up with. The extra width is 4" on each side. That amount makes a big difference and I now have around 2" clearance each side, on the rear wheels - no more pulling snow down.

I have only used them the one time so far - and of course I found snags and bent each wing just a little at the bottom (rocks protuding from soil and frozen solid into the ground ?). Gonna put extra skids or runners on the bottom of the snow blowers - which should help.

Thanks

Jim

 

[goodbyeNJ]

Jim
Thanks for posting final results, with pic. Looking good. Always good to know final results.I think you made a wise choice to change original plan of 6" per side to 4" per side.

 

[sparrowhawk]

Has anyone on here built the same setup except for the top lip of the blower? The reason I ask is I would like to better protect the pastic rotation hydraulics housing from snow coming over the top of the blower. I just scarred my covering up (no biggie but could be a pain if i have to reattach frequently in high snow). I would say a bolt-on of no more than 6" angled forward a bit would be perfect.

Anyone seen this before?

THanks

 

[crazyal]

Has anyone on here built the same setup except for the top lip of the blower? The reason I ask is I would like to better protect the pastic rotation hydraulics housing from snow coming over the top of the blower. I just scarred my covering up (no biggie but could be a pain if i have to reattach frequently in high snow). I would say a bolt-on of no more than 6" angled forward a bit would be perfect.

Anyone seen this before?

THanks

My old neighbor has a set up like what you are talking about. He used 1/8" clear lexan. The glass shop he got it from put it in a break and bent it to the angle he needed. He did put a couple of braces to help support it. Being clear you can see through it (not perfectly) and the headlights can shine through it.