Snowblower Woods SS74 snowblower bad performance

[hamdog]

I have an older Woods SS74 rear mounted snowblower that I purchased used 3-4 yrs ago. It never worked great since I got it, only blows snow 5ft and chute plugs up constantly then if not paying attention it will cause the main auger shear pin to break. The past two years it has sat in storage and I use my front mount push blade (purchased used) which has worked great for the most part.

I would like to start using a snowblower again so I contacted Woods about the issue and they said that they had performance issues with the 3-blade blower prop and to purchase there new 4 blade blower prop with no guarantees.

Before spending the money on the upgrade has anyone else experienced the same performance issues, if so what was the fix? Is the upgrade worth the $300-$400? Or should I put towards a new blower $5000-$6000

And yes I run the rpm’s of the tractor at pto speed. Tractor is a Kubota MX5400.

Any help would be appreciated thank you!

 

[metalbender]

Check the fan to body clearance. Might have to make some heavy rubber blade extenders.

 

[hamdog]

There is probably 1/4-1/2” gap. See attached picture. I should see if the new 4 blade propeller clearances are tighter. Thanks

 

[nyone]

I have the 60in version and the shoot really necks down alot where it pivots. I prob gained 20-30% more open shoot by cutting that metal out. Take a look down the shoot.

 

[hube2]

I can't give specific advice about the 74 inch blower, but I have a woods blower, SB54S and smaller tractor. My blower is 2 sizes smaller than yours and it is a newer model with the 4 blade fan. My blower has no issue throwing the snow 30 to 40 feet. Even with wet and heavy snow it still does a fair job and I've only seen less than 10 feet on the sloppiest of slushy snow.

If it were me I'd try replacing the fan.

A couple of things. One is that I'm sure most people are aware of is that have to be careful how fast I try to push through the snow. If the augers are feeding to much snow into the fan too fast that can bog down it down.

The other, I know that you said you run at PTO speed... I keep mine at PTO speed while it is actively working on moving snow, so when I'm not moving snow my tractor is actually running above PTO speed.

You posted your picture while I was typing. My blades also have about 1/4" clearance and that does not affect it.

But looking at your picture I would double check the depth of the fan before trying a replacement. Your fan and the fan opening do not look as deep as on my smaller blower. That could potentially be another performance issue. It could be different on the bigger blower but mine is 6 1/2" deep and it's hard to tell from images but the fan on the new 74" model looks deeper than mine.

 

[JJT]

1/4" - 1/2" gap is too big. My 25 year old agro trend blower will still pickup a nickel, so the gap is less than 1/8". I think your issue is more than the fan gap, but it certainly is a factor.

 

[hube2]

Fan depth on the new 74" model is 8"

https://woodsequipment.com/products/snow-blowers/sb74c/

 

[hamdog]

Thanks everyone. I will verify the fan blade depth to see. The manufacturer sent me the 4 blade model number, so I assumed it would fit. But you know what they say when you assume…

Does anyone currently own a 3 blade ss74 that did some upgrades to improve the blower efficiency.

Thanks again.

 

[hube2]

It could be a different part number for the old model. The part number for the SB74C is 1033218

 

[hamdog]

Yes the part number they gave me for 4blade upgrade is 1033746 which is different than the SB series. They said this is an upgrade blower for the SS series because of the poor performance issues with the 3-blade prop.

 

[hube2]

These appear to touch on the same subject

Woods SS 74 snowblower

The question I have is there anybody out there, that has the same blower. Do you think the impeller is big enough to handle the volume of 6' of snow that is being pushed thru it ? To me I think it should be deeper or wider. If you feed it to much snow it will just start plowing it instead. Now...

www.tractorbynet.com

Snowblower - woods ss74 with updates.

Ok, I thought you all might like to see a short video of my Woods ss74 snow blower. This snow blower only has a 24" three bladed fan. The snow blower is on a 1964 Ferguson 35 deluxe with power steering and live pto. The tractor has the four cylinder Perkins gas engine with only 2,500 hours on...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[nyone]

Mine is a 3 blade but honestly the small amount of snow I have blown with it I cant tell how quick in clogs up. For the price i would definitely start by doing the very cheap impeller mod.

I drilled my impeller for this so i can do it later if i feel the need.

 

[seville009]

Snow sticks to rust/bare metal easily; plus it’s not slick to help in moving/throwing the snow.

What i do each year is get enamel spray cans and paint all of the augers/fans/chutes, etc. - wherever snow moves through it.

It won’t be the end all to solve your issues, but it does definitively help.

Also keep your rpms as high as possible

 

[diesel85]

I know this doesn't help too much, but I got a nice Braber 60" for my BX2200:

Snow Blower

www.brabereq.com

All I can say is that this machine will put snow back where it came from with it's massive 24" impeller and thoughtful and simplistic design. I have never had it clog even through the wettest of snow. There has even been plenty of times where I don't need it shooting snow that far and I'll run it half power.

Everything is in-view serviceable. I've never had an issue with it.

The paint is great too! Only places I've had to touch up were in the chute and the impeller from normal use.

 

[oosik]

I used a 60" blower on my mile long gravel driveway - for 27 years. I might have problems - clogged chute, iced up auger, blown shear pins - if I tried to blow when the snow was too wet.

Otherwise - it would blow - 30 to 35 feet. Company has been sold now. At the time it was called The Blue Machine.

 

[leonz]

Your snow blower lacks the partial plate weldment to prevent excess snow from
entering the impeller housing in the upper left corner.

It is time to look at a new snow blower.

 

[hube2]

Your snow blower lacks the partial plate weldment to prevent excess snow from
entering the impeller housing in the upper left corner.

It is time to look at a new snow blower.

I didn't notice that in the image, but it's a good catch. Having snow pack in right below the chute would tend to clog things up.

Edit: or this blower fan turns the other way.

 

[sd455dan]

There is probably 1/4-1/2” gap. See attached picture. I should see if the new 4 blade propeller clearances are tighter. Thanks

View attachment 768869

That is an interesting Impellor It looks like they built it with a face,
that seems like it would partially block the flow of snow from the auger.?. ,

this is a pic of a more common design and similar to even walk behind 2 stage units

Looking at the newer version Woods now shows on their 74 inch also appears they have adopted an open face, back plate and forward tipped blade ends on the impellor as well
Actually if the new Woods part isn't to pricey It mat be the best way to go.

The original impellor does look to be a less efficient design

 

[nyone]

Your snow blower lacks the partial plate weldment to prevent excess snow from
entering the impeller housing in the upper left corner.

It is time to look at a new snow blower.

Missing a little piece of metal is no reason to go buy a many thousand dollar attachment. How ever it may be a reason to fix it.

 

[nyone]