Snow B2782B NOISE

[NEPA guy]

Bought the B3350 and the B2782B for the upcoming season. I had one friend who owns 3 tractors take a look at the blower and he said it doesn't sound right, maybe the chain was too tight.

I checked the gear box and lubed everything I could. I'm new to tractors and not very experienced when it comes to mechanics. I haven't taken it apart and rebuilt it yet.

I've done as much searching as I could without truly finding out what is and isn't normal. I've sent an email to the manufacturer to get their answer, if they decide to respond.

What gets me is that I had this loud sound stop momentarily and the chain was flowing smoothly, then it went back to the screeching sound you hear in the video.

I am waiting to hear back from the dealer but it will take another week or two before I get a visit from his mechanic.

I hope to find a person with a a working B2782B that can upload a video documenting the sound, or any other advice someone is willing to impart.

Please visit this link to a youtube page I just created for the sole purpose of sharing this issue.

Thank you

https://youtu.be/7-dCmiC_u_0

 

[Citydude]

If the noise went away momentarily and it came back, that tells me there is something binding. Is it under warranty?

 

[s219]

Something is rubbing or binding. If you can't track down the source of the noise yourself, don't run it until you are able to get a qualified diagnosis.

 

[NEPA guy]

If the noise went away momentarily and it came back, that tells me there is something binding. Is it under warranty?

Yes it is under warranty, waiting on the dealer but he's notorious for keeping people waiting for extended periods of time.

 

[Citydude]

Yes it is under warranty, waiting on the dealer but he's notorious for keeping people waiting for extended periods of time.

That's unfortunate. I hope it doesn't snow before he decides to repair it!

 

[Kanook]

I am on my second B2782B front mount blower. The 1st was replaced by the dealer for a failure (unrelated to noise). The 2 blowers made the exact same racket that can be heard in your video that originated in the chain reduction drive. The 2 different techs that heard mine both said they all made that noise but do get a little quieter with age. I tried loosening the chain tension and it made no difference so I reset it to the deflection stated in the manual. The chain requires lube every 4 hrs usage. Do I find the noise acceptable? Not really, but acquiring a 3rd unit that makes the same noise won't please me either. I put 60-70hours on mine last winter with no problem other than having to turn the volume up on the tunes to overcome the chain racket.

If your dealer come up with a way to quiet it down, please pass along.

 

[NEPA guy]

Thank you for your reply.

That's insane. Do you think the benefits outweigh using a snowblower over the plow? From what I was told the advantage was purely in throwing the snow far enough so you wouldn't have to deal with it later. Does it clean the road up better? I've used a hand pushed snowblower before but it doesn't work well when the snow gets wet either. Clogs it up. So I got the snowplow as an alternative to snow blowing, especially if it ices up too much.

 

[Kanook]

Thank you for your reply.

That's insane. Do you think the benefits outweigh using a snowblower over the plow? From what I was told the advantage was purely in throwing the snow far enough so you wouldn't have to deal with it later. Does it clean the road up better? I've used a hand pushed snowblower before but it doesn't work well when the snow gets wet either. Clogs it up. So I got the snowplow as an alternative to snow blowing, especially if it ices up too much.

The snow blower itself does an excellent job of moving snow and does a better job than a blade..(I have a blade on my RTV900). A blade requires that you have a place to put the snow pile as it piles up, a blower distributes it over a greater area thus avoiding piles and allows you to direct the snow away from building, vehicles etc. I have 16 estate lot driveways signed up for this winter (so far) and the front blower on the 2650HSDC with a box blade at the back to pull snow away from garage doors etc works well. The RTV with blade does a good job on the longer laneways but still require a pass with the blower to prevent snow bank build up along the sides. Last year was a moderate snowfall season but the previous one had 157inch accumulation.....8-12 feet is typical. This blower handles Wet snow well. The chain noise does decrease somewhat when the blower is under load throwing snow.

 

[NEPA guy]

The snow blower itself does an excellent job of moving snow and does a better job than a blade..(I have a blade on my RTV900). A blade requires that you have a place to put the snow pile as it piles up, a blower distributes it over a greater area thus avoiding piles and allows you to direct the snow away from building, vehicles etc. I have 16 estate lot driveways signed up for this winter (so far) and the front blower on the 2650HSDC with a box blade at the back to pull snow away from garage doors etc works well. The RTV with blade does a good job on the longer laneways but still require a pass with the blower to prevent snow bank build up along the sides. Last year was a moderate snowfall season but the previous one had 157inch accumulation.....8-12 feet is typical. This blower handles Wet snow well. The chain noise does decrease somewhat when the blower is under load throwing snow.

I see. My driveway is 3/10th's of a mile long, wooded area, with an incline and paved. I just moved here few months ago and and I heard last winter was rough. One guy I spoke with had a hard time because he had no place to put the snow. I didn't want that to happen to me, or deal with using the loader for hours on end. I thought making this purchase would be a long term investment not only for snow removal but for working the land. It looks like I have a lot of reading to do and techniques to master.

One last question, and of course I will have to try it out myself to see what works best. I have the BH77 backhoe and the guy I know who owns several tractors said to leave it on while plowing/blowing. It will give me better stability. The guy who delivered the tractor said I won't need it to make it up and down the incline. I have the mid tires, and obviously don't want to slip or slide off the side of the road. (some part are treacherous and would destroy the tractor if I were to go off the edge) Also, I was afraid chains might tear up the pavement. What would be the recommended setup?

I know I'm going off topic here, but would appreciate if you or someone could chime in. Thanks again for your valuable input!

 

[Kanook]

2 of the lanes I keep clear are about the length of yours when combined. If I were you I'd hang a box blade off the back for pulling snow away from garage doors etc and head out and have some fun. Plenty of traction and you won't need chains. I have R4 tires but the turfs work well and provide better lateral traction so less slippage sideways. Remember the portion of the road you are travelling on has already been cleared by your snowblower.

 

[smfcpacfp]

Bought the B3350 and the B2782B for the upcoming season. I had one friend who owns 3 tractors take a look at the blower and he said it doesn't sound right, maybe the chain was too tight.

I checked the gear box and lubed everything I could. I'm new to tractors and not very experienced when it comes to mechanics. I haven't taken it apart and rebuilt it yet.

I've done as much searching as I could without truly finding out what is and isn't normal. I've sent an email to the manufacturer to get their answer, if they decide to respond.

What gets me is that I had this loud sound stop momentarily and the chain was flowing smoothly, then it went back to the screeching sound you hear in the video.

I am waiting to hear back from the dealer but it will take another week or two before I get a visit from his mechanic.

I hope to find a person with a a working B2782B that can upload a video documenting the sound, or any other advice someone is willing to impart.

Please visit this link to a youtube page I just created for the sole purpose of sharing this issue.

Thank you

https://youtu.be/7-dCmiC_u_0

You sent me a personal message regarding your tractor and blower problem. I have the predecessor tractor (B3030 HSDC) and blower (B2782). I have a male quick hitch & subframe (B2791 to convert the mid PTO to drive the front mounted blower). I assume you also require that part. I listened your video several times. I assume that the noise occurred when you engaged the PTO drive lever, not intermittently as Citydude above implied. I have been using it for 8 winters. We get 15 to 30 feet of snow a year and it seldom gets above freezing from late November until the end of March, so the snow comes and stays. I have never used it less than 20 times a season usually about 3/4 of an hour each time, unless we get a lot which isn't weird for us. It was one year old when I got it and had about 70 hours on it (don't know how much it was used for snow blowing). I have a little over 400 hundred hours on the tractor now.

I don't think mine was ever that loud, but the pitch of the noise is familiar to me. Certainly it was not that loud inside the cab. I would want the dealer to look at it as you plan on doing. I have never adjusted the chain and do lube it occasionally, but not as often as recommended in the owner's manual. I do change the gearbox lubricant every 2 years and make sure the level is correct and grease all of the grease fitting once a year.

Here is a movie that I made last November made inside the tractor under load, however. I should tell you that I always wear headphones to quiet down the noise as it is quite loud, but as you can hear it doesn't make the grinding noise your does.

-

Here is another movie I made in 2008. It is 8 minutes long but it starts out with the tractor running inside my garage under no load. It is loud but you don't hear the grinding noise. I think this movie was made at the end of my first year of use. The snow was deep and the temperature was around 30F when I made the movie.

- https://youtu.be/6h2kjvWF2uU

Regarding your other issues - joystick My joystick is on the right side of the cab and I am left handed. It is slightly harder to rotate to the right as you are rotating away from your body to turn right. To go to the left, I rotate my arm to my body which is always a stronger move, so yes for me it is somewhat harder to rotate the chute to the right. Incidentally, I have taken off the chute rotator hydraulic motor to replace the seals which started to leak last winter. I am doing that and all of the maintenance tomorrow (greasing, replacing gear housing fluid.

- Plowing v snowblowing If I lived in an area where we got small amounts of sporadic snow and most of it melted between snow events I would have a plow. However we get lots of snow and it seldom melts until sometime in late March. Consequently it gets to be 5+ feet deep and very dense. The more permanent snow you get, the better it is to have a blower. I would not consider having a plow even though I live in the woods in the boondocks with plenty of room to push snow. It takes a little longer with a blower but I am retired.

- Rear weight My rear tires are fill with a liquid that doesn't freeze. I have a back box which I may put of the tractor, but because snowblowing for me involves going around corners and obstacles and backing up regularly, I prefer to keep my tractor as short as possible, so I probably won't make the tractor longer by putting anything on the rear. My snowblowing area is fairly flat and I have what I think are called "industrial" tires, so I don't need chains.

Since you are new to snowblowing I recommend that you read a posting which I made several years ago called, "Snowblowing rules of thumb" which I did several years ago based upon my experience. It is the first sticky item in the SNOW REMOVAL FORUM.

Below are pictures of my tractor in the main part of my driveway

 

[sandyc]

I run a B2781A front blower that makes a racket at idle but once under load the noise is greatly reduced. I have also drilled a large hole into the top of the chain guard so that I can lube the chain as required. Additionally, I will switch out the blower for the plow depending on the type of snow or if the ground isn't frozen.
If I am blowing snow I run the tractor pretty close to WOT so as not to lug the engine in deep snow. I also think that doing so seems to decrease the chance of breaking shear bolts. Remember to get a supply of bolts for both the auger and impeller.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I run a B2781A front blower that makes a racket at idle but once under load the noise is greatly reduced. I have also drilled a large hole into the top of the chain guard so that I can lube the chain as required. Additionally, I will switch out the blower for the plow depending on the type of snow or if the ground isn't frozen.
If I am blowing snow I run the tractor pretty close to WOT so as not to lug the engine in deep snow. I also think that doing so seems to decrease the chance of breaking shear bolts. Remember to get a supply of bolts for both the auger and impeller.

I agree, gets lots of shear bolts. The impeller bolts break a lot more frequently for me - probably 3 or 4 a year. Also when I engage the blower, I start with the engine running slowly and then speed it up as needed to reduce stress.

 

[Kanook]

Any one know what the difference is between a B2782a and a B2782b?

 

[NEPA guy]

You sent me a personal message regarding your tractor and blower problem. I have the predecessor tractor (B3030 HSDC) and blower (B2782). I have a male quick hitch & subframe (B2791 to convert the mid PTO to drive the front mounted blower). I assume you also require that part. I listened your video several times. I assume that the noise occurred when you engaged the PTO drive lever, not intermittently as Citydude above implied. I have been using it for 8 winters. We get 15 to 30 feet of snow a year and it seldom gets above freezing from late November until the end of March, so the snow comes and stays. I have never used it less than 20 times a season usually about 3/4 of an hour each time, unless we get a lot which isn't weird for us. It was one year old when I got it and had about 70 hours on it (don't know how much it was used for snow blowing). I have a little over 400 hundred hours on the tractor now.

I don't think mine was ever that loud, but the pitch of the noise is familiar to me. Certainly it was not that loud inside the cab. I would want the dealer to look at it as you plan on doing. I have never adjusted the chain and do lube it occasionally, but not as often as recommended in the owner's manual. I do change the gearbox lubricant every 2 years and make sure the level is correct and grease all of the grease fitting once a year.

Here is a movie that I made last November made inside the tractor under load, however. I should tell you that I always wear headphones to quiet down the noise as it is quite loud, but as you can hear it doesn't make the grinding noise your does.

-

Here is another movie I made in 2008. It is 8 minutes long but it starts out with the tractor running inside my garage under no load. It is loud but you don't hear the grinding noise. I think this movie was made at the end of my first year of use. The snow was deep and the temperature was around 30F when I made the movie.

- https://youtu.be/6h2kjvWF2uU

Regarding your other issues - joystick My joystick is on the right side of the cab and I am left handed. It is slightly harder to rotate to the right as you are rotating away from your body to turn right. To go to the left, I rotate my arm to my body which is always a stronger move, so yes for me it is somewhat harder to rotate the chute to the right. Incidentally, I have taken off the chute rotator hydraulic motor to replace the seals which started to leak last winter. I am doing that and all of the maintenance tomorrow (greasing, replacing gear housing fluid.

- Plowing v snowblowing If I lived in an area where we got small amounts of sporadic snow and most of it melted between snow events I would have a plow. However we get lots of snow and it seldom melts until sometime in late March. Consequently it gets to be 5+ feet deep and very dense. The more permanent snow you get, the better it is to have a blower. I would not consider having a plow even though I live in the woods in the boondocks with plenty of room to push snow. It takes a little longer with a blower but I am retired.

- Rear weight My rear tires are fill with a liquid that doesn't freeze. I have a back box which I may put of the tractor, but because snowblowing for me involves going around corners and obstacles and backing up regularly, I prefer to keep my tractor as short as possible, so I probably won't make the tractor longer by putting anything on the rear. My snowblowing area is fairly flat and I have what I think are called "industrial" tires, so I don't need chains.

Since you are new to snowblowing I recommend that you read a posting which I made several years ago called, "Snowblowing rules of thumb" which I did several years ago based upon my experience. It is the first sticky item in the SNOW REMOVAL FORUM.

Below are pictures of my tractor in the main part of my driveway

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View attachment 448915

Thank You! Very informative. I'm still waiting on the dealer to show up or send his mechanic out, hopefully soon! I will post an update once I have the final prognosis. I will do a search and review your video. Are you able to use the "float function" on your snoblower? I think I read somewhere that it wasnt available on the blower. (reading up on a hundred different topics) It was explained briefly to me by the dealer when using the snowplow. I never tried to engage it yet. Not sure what to expect.

 

[NEPA guy]

I run a B2781A front blower that makes a racket at idle but once under load the noise is greatly reduced. I have also drilled a large hole into the top of the chain guard so that I can lube the chain as required. Additionally, I will switch out the blower for the plow depending on the type of snow or if the ground isn't frozen.
If I am blowing snow I run the tractor pretty close to WOT so as not to lug the engine in deep snow. I also think that doing so seems to decrease the chance of breaking shear bolts. Remember to get a supply of bolts for both the auger and impeller.

I'll pick up a supply of shear bolts, thx. My "reduction box" already has a hole in it for oiling the chain, which I did with my stihl chain oil. I noticed it was delivered dry though.

 

[nfowler]

There isn't really much I can add to what SMFCPACFP has already said. His comments and videos served as my virtual mentor when I bought essentially the same rig (B3030HSDC, B2782A, B2791A) back in 2011. I have his blowing tips printed out! I do have chains on my rear R-4's as my 1200 ft driveway has some steep slopes.

There are a couple of additional things. When I first got mine, the impeller rubbed ever so slightly on the inside of the impeller housing at one spot; it was not perfectly centered, and there wasn't any adjustment I could do about it. It eventually wore off the rubbing parts. If you shut off the tractor, and leave the transmission and PTO in neutral, and put the PTO selector in "rear" you can turn the entire drive train of the blower by hand. As you spin the impeller, you might feel some binding or rubbing you can track down by eliminating parts of the drive line.

I lub my blower religiously by the manual. Indeed, I lube the reduction chain and sprockets before every use, by squirting some Castle Iron Man Heavy Duty Chain & Cable Lub (sold at my Kubota dealer but E-Bay is cheaper) through the existing holes in the reduction box while slowly rotating the chain. It only takes a minute or two, and after four years of use, the chain and sprockets look brand new. I've also not had to adjust the chain tension. Annually, I take the cover off the reduction box and make sure all the bolts inside are tight, they do come loose occasionally.

While I have plenty on hand, I have not yet broken a shear bolt in use! I am also religious about trying to not feed anything but snow through the blower. Occasionally, some small crushed rock or road sand goes through, but walk your path before it snows and get rid of anything (sticks, stones, tree limbs, etc) that might get sucked in. You won't like the result otherwise.

Finally, as others have said, engage and disengage the blower (PTO) with the engine at or near idle; it will save a lot of shear pins. I run mine near WOT when blowing deep snow. The rig is noisy, but the blower noise seems to lessen once it is fully blowing snow, which it loves to do! Enjoy the fun.

N. Fowler

 

[NEPA guy]

There isn't really much I can add to what SMFCPACFP has already said. His comments and videos served as my virtual mentor when I bought essentially the same rig (B3030HSDC, B2782A, B2791A) back in 2011. I have his blowing tips printed out! I do have chains on my rear R-4's as my 1200 ft driveway has some steep slopes.

There are a couple of additional things. When I first got mine, the impeller rubbed ever so slightly on the inside of the impeller housing at one spot; it was not perfectly centered, and there wasn't any adjustment I could do about it. It eventually wore off the rubbing parts. If you shut off the tractor, and leave the transmission and PTO in neutral, and put the PTO selector in "rear" you can turn the entire drive train of the blower by hand. As you spin the impeller, you might feel some binding or rubbing you can track down by eliminating parts of the drive line.

I lub my blower religiously by the manual. Indeed, I lube the reduction chain and sprockets before every use, by squirting some Castle Iron Man Heavy Duty Chain & Cable Lub (sold at my Kubota dealer but E-Bay is cheaper) through the existing holes in the reduction box while slowly rotating the chain. It only takes a minute or two, and after four years of use, the chain and sprockets look brand new. I've also not had to adjust the chain tension. Annually, I take the cover off the reduction box and make sure all the bolts inside are tight, they do come loose occasionally.

While I have plenty on hand, I have not yet broken a shear bolt in use! I am also religious about trying to not feed anything but snow through the blower. Occasionally, some small crushed rock or road sand goes through, but walk your path before it snows and get rid of anything (sticks, stones, tree limbs, etc) that might get sucked in. You won't like the result otherwise.

Finally, as others have said, engage and disengage the blower (PTO) with the engine at or near idle; it will save a lot of shear pins. I run mine near WOT when blowing deep snow. The rig is noisy, but the blower noise seems to lessen once it is fully blowing snow, which it loves to do! Enjoy the fun.

N. Fowler

I just googled wot and now know it stands for wide open throttle, I'm always learning...lol I haven't heard about engaging and disengaging at low rpm before, will do, thanks. Does the snowblower operate in a float mode like a snow plow? So the height is set at the road automatically? Or is it set manually, and id so, how? I have a steep paved hill to clear. I see you operate the blower at full throttle, would you pull it back if it was only a few inches to clear?

 

[Kanook]

Float Mode.....push your hydraulic joy stick all the way forward. You will feel some resistance and then you'll hear a click as it engages float position.

 

[NEPA guy]

2 of the lanes I keep clear are about the length of yours when combined. If I were you I'd hang a box blade off the back for pulling snow away from garage doors etc and head out and have some fun. Plenty of traction and you won't need chains. I have R4 tires but the turfs work well and provide better lateral traction so less slippage sideways. Remember the portion of the road you are travelling on has already been cleared by your snowblower.

Thanks Kanook!