Pretty bummed out ------> UPDATE: All Fixed

[MXD]

UPDATE: Check page 4 to see it all fixed.

I just took delivery of my 1723 with 2360 blower and we got 12 inches of wet cement two days later. I cleaned my driveway up and went to help my neighbor whose blower died on his first pass. His driveway is paved but we had huge wind gust during the storm and it must have blown a branch down. It was maybe 12 inches long by 2 inches thick. It was buried under the snow, I didn't even see it. It got sucked up and wedged in the impeller and ripped the corner of the impeller shroud and rolled it up into the throat. I did my best to bend it out of the way. It also but a slight bend on one of the impeller wings. Not even enough to see with the naked eye. It was barely enough for it to just skim a weld on the way by. After some prying I bolted it all back up and it seems fine but man am I bummed out. Brand new.

 

[Tomtint]

No good deed shall go unpunished

 

[MoKelly]

Sorry. But, it happens. As you note hopefully all is ok mechanically.

MoKelly

 

[MXD]

No good deed shall go unpunished

After I got it all buttoned up I blew back some snowbanks on my street and made a few passes across the yard and all seemed normal. I'm confident that the damage was all cosmetic. I guess in the spring maybe I'll strip it and try to neaten it up and paint it. Still bummed out though, it was only about 30 minutes old. Oh well.

 

[Tinhack]

We have so many "engineers" on this site, I wonder why one of them hasn't come up with a guard to handle events such as this. Especially if you do this for a living. How hard would it be to put vertical guards (grill) on the front? Something like a grapple bottom but not as heavy. Just an idea.

 

[kenmbz]

Anything in the path of the snow will get blocked up by wet snow.
Sorry this happened to you MXD, but a little bending and paint and it'll work fine. Tractors get dinged, we call them war wounds and have the stories to tell about them.
You now have your first snowblower story to share, and no one got hurt!

 

[CobyRupert]

Yep, I feel for ya.
Same thing happened with my snowblower when it was brand new. Was having an addition built on my house. Thought it would be nice to clear a path for the contractor.
They’d left a framing hammer in the middle of the yard....under 8” of snow! Grrr!!
Not perfect, but some bending with a pipe wrench and hammering got it usable where the blade doesn’t hit the fold.
Like a fool, I actually gave the hammer back to them.

 

[MXD]

Thanks guys. I'm bummed for all of you too but glad to know that I'm not alone and it's not a big deal. It's pretty ugly at the moment but bent far enough out of the way to clear everything and function normally. Maybe in the spring I'll strip it down and fix it right or maybe by then it won't bother me so much and I'll just slap some paint on it and call it good.

 

[oosik]

Wish I had a picture of what a fist sized rock did to my blower impeller. I beat the two wounded blades back out and used it for an additional seven years with no problems. If your intention was to have it brand new forever - just put it up on a pallet in your garage and leave it there.

 

[Industrial Toys]

First driveway I ever did for money with a brand new lucknow blower, picked up a stone. Broke the chain. Long time ago, thought it was the end of the world. Cussed people who left debris on their driveway!

 

[MF RED in MT]

Wish I had a picture of what a fist sized rock did to my blower impeller. I beat the two wounded blades back out and used it for an additional seven years with no problems. If your intention was to have it brand new forever - just put it up on a pallet in your garage and leave it there.

Yes, I had the same issue with "Rocky Mountain Rocks"...

KC

 

[Thomas]

Yup that would put sour taste in my mouth, least no bulging marks dents on the outside.

 

[ray66v]

Sorry for your luck.

I learned this lesson many years ago.

You have to consider that you are taking some risk every time you use your tractor. And, you should decide if that risk is worth what could happen.

For me, if it means a neighbor thinks I am a jerk for not volunteering to take the risk of an expensive repair, to do them a favor, than so be it.

I may try an explain the situation to them, but I have found they really don't care.

That doesn't mean I don't help people out. I have donated many thousands of dollars of labor over the years. But, things are tight right now. And, I could live without a breakdown.

 

[Seven Gables]

Sorry for your bad luck , I had a new 8' loftiness and picked up a decorative rock bout the size of a basketball that bent my lower auger pretty good . Had to take the auger off and heat and beat it back into shape, cussing all the while. I'd C clamp a strip of about 1/8"-1/4" x 2" steel to that leading edge and weld it for reinforcement, then paint. Just make sure your auger has clearance .

 

[coolconnection]

Look at it this way, its like a new car, truck, tractor you keep it clean and show it off but once you get that first ding, scratch or chip it now just becomes the item you bought and now you use it without thinking about that slight damage. For you it just happened sooner than later. I hope you like that GC1723, I certainly like mine.

 

[irvingj]

Yep, these things happen. In a couple years you probably won't even notice it -- but for now, you could use a flat body-shop dolly (or some other heavy, flat piece of steel) and hold it behind, then hammer that dent flat.

Here's what mine looks like, now on its 13th season -- (Yes, for some reason mine came in black....)

 

[stuckmotor]

I'm glad you got it working.

 

[MoMower]

Mine has a dent (bulge) in the same place. If you use your tractor, more will happen.

 

[duffer]

I did some moderate damage to my tractor about 2 years in. Felt like a complete idiot. But as my neighbor told me..."Hey, you just added some "character" to it"

 

[ray66v]

Yep, these things happen. In a couple years you probably won't even notice it -- but for now, you could use a flat body-shop dolly (or some other heavy, flat piece of steel) and hold it behind, then hammer that dent flat.

A heavy "C" clamp could press it back into place with less skill, and little effort.