Snow Size of 3pt blower

[radair]

I have a 60" Meteor on my BX23; it works great. This is my second winter with it. I have a 1/4 mile long, steep gravel driveway and have chains on the rear tires. Most dealers will tell you to go with 50" to 54" but I'm quite satisfied with the 60". No issues with power at all. Quite honestly I don't think the tractor knows there's an extra 6" of auger on there, and the weight of the unit is not an issue.

Those who say 60" is too big have probably not used one.

 

[leonz]

Man... are you guys scared of Lawyers!! :confused2:

1. I'm Not going to "Copy the Lorenz design" (There are many points I think could be improved) ... but thanks for the vote of confidence.

2. Patent infringement is a bugger to prove, and as I'm a private individual making 1 blower for my own use (no profit), Lorenz probably wouldn't even sniff in the direction of Sweden even IF I were to make a visually identical copy. (Which I'm not going to do anyway)

My blower's going to end up with an impeller and augers.... like ALL 2 stage machinery... The only question is, "Paddles or spiral-augers?" Lorenz are neither the only ones to use paddles, nor the only ones to use a pair of augers instead of one. :thumbsup:


So Back to my original Question....
I was just wondering if you (or anyone) had an opinion or experience of the paddle design instead of spirals: I see the cutting of rings as a waste of material: (unless you cut 120 degree arcs and then weld them together), and Given that I have unlimited access to an abrasive water-jet at work, and am one of 2 people who know how to make the programs for it, the cost of getting someone else to cut rings isn't something that'll ever bother me: it's only a question of function

If for example it turns out that you guys reckon spirals are WAY better than paddles, (I get the feeling they "sweep" the ground better) I'll obviously be going for spirals!

I've also been thinking that the paddles might not be as good at turning the packed snow into blowable powder, whereas toothed spirals probably break it all up a lot better.


There's another question I have though... (sorry if this is turning into a thread hijack) ... I see a lot of videos of blowers that *do* get bogged down... is it possible that a blower could benefit from having a less speedy auger? Would that help to ensure that you never overfed the impeller, or would it turn into a hindrance when you're only dealing with a light snowfall?

Hope this helps to clarify that I'm not simply a copy-cat... There are a few patents out there with my name on, and a few more applications waiting to be filed (my company likes to protect it's designs) ... so there's are few things that irk me more than a simple copy/paste approach to design!!

All the best,

/Nick


EDIT!!! I now realise that you DID answer with Paddle info... I had just missed it because it appeared in the quote itself. Thanks again!

Save your money and your time Nick,

Buy the smallest Schmidt/Beilhack
Single stage propeller snow blower
for a farm tractor if you want an
excellent example of simple engineering.

If not;

1. the smaller the distance between flights.
a. the more serrations/teeth per foot of auger ribbon actual length.
2. the shallower the angle of the flight.
3. the more regulated the delivery of material no matter the width of the
auger flight including the center shaft.
4. the further any snow will be cast with less effort and power per inch of
width.

You can thank Archimedes for the 'Screw", principals of the auger, and propeller every day.

 

[SensibleNick]

Save your money and your time Nick,

Buy the smallest Schmidt/Beilhack
Single stage propeller snow blower
for a farm tractor if you want an
excellent example of simple engineering.

If not;

1. the smaller the distance between flights.
a. the more serrations/teeth per foot of auger ribbon actual length.
2. the shallower the angle of the flight.
3. the more regulated the delivery of material no matter the width of the
auger flight including the center shaft.
4. the further any snow will be cast with less effort and power per inch of
width.

You can thank Archimedes for the 'Screw", principals of the auger, and propeller every day.

Excellent!

So... I should be aiming for the following:
1. A toothy auger with many teeth,
2. A tightly wound auger (or maybe a double helix?) to ensure near-constant snow-feed
3. ..and (assuming I understand "flights" correctly) an impeller with 4 or more blades to it for more consistent blowing/sucking and efficient use of power.

The Impellers are usually designed to run at 540rpm, but what about the augers? I'm guessing 300ish?

I agree the single stage systems with a 'V' plough are engineering beauty, however my main problem is a light tractor and a need to clear fairly confined places from time, with heavy snow-dumps. The need to munch slowly into a big bank of snow is definitely there. I need a self-feeding system!

The OP question here was about Size... and Fish6942's justification for going that little bit wider makes a lot of sense to me. I'm not worried about speed, but do really want to clear the track of my tractor

 

[leonz]

Nick if you are going to hack and wack steel:

all you need to do is the following:

order 1 single helix solid auger with fifteen degree angles 8 inches in diameter having a six inch tubes from martin sprocket and gear with serrated flighting that is 1/2 inch in depth.

Order the auger flighting 2 inches in width wide and you are home free and simply use a 4 blade impeller which is shaped like the typical propeller with a wide skirt that is only 4 inches wide.

The blower can simply have a vertical wall rather than a scoop and you can employ and old haybalers flywheel for added impeller torque if you can find a ag parts junk yard- we have a herd of them on this side of the pond if you want to buy one cheap.


The auger or augers are operated by the impeller gearbox via a shaft driven chain drive from the spur gear.

The sprockets are always as large or larger than the augers so its a give and take situation the faster the augers the more snow is moved but the auger serrations break the snow and packed drifts into smaller bits.

 

[SensibleNick]

Flywheel: Smart. I like it.

You won't find me ordering parts, and nor will you find me trying to make things in a certain way "just because it's a bit easier". I'll be starting with plate steel and some oil pipe - the aim is to create a blower that anyone with a Plasma-cutter and a MIG can copy with relative ease..
When I get round to it I'll do a thread and hunt you down to let you know so you can see where I'm going wrong :thumbsup:

Cheers,

/Nick

 

[nathow]

Would you mind sharing the make and model of the snowthrower you went with?

I went back and forth between a 50" and 60" rear blower for my BX2350. I ended up with the 60" and am glad I did. I have some good drop offs near the edges of some parts of the driveway and the extra width keeps me a little farther away. Also, even with the wider unit, I still end up running over unblown snow with the front tires when making steering corrections.

FWIW, I also have chains on all tires due to a 10% grade in part of the driveway.

 

[diesel85]

On my BX2200, I've got a Braber 50" snow blower with manual chute. I can make it wider by getting the bolt on wings to make it a ~60" cut.

I will get the wings when I get a bigger machine.

I love my Braber. EVERYTHING is easy service on it.

Have had it a few seasons, and it does an excellent job.