Snowblower 3pt snowblower woes

[emery]

Eager as a beaver I went out to try using 3pt snowblower and it just kept clogging. I had rpms up to 2000 but it just would not work. Mostly it acted like a plow and just pushed a clump of snow instead of drawing it into augers.
Is this normal for for the kinda 'sticky' snow we had? The blower's a Woods so I would think it has a time tested design.

I actally thought I might enjoy a storm or two with the new equipment, but I sure am dissapointed!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

This is normal with sticky snow, having new paint makes it worse. If it is just the chute that plugs clean good and spray with none stick cooking oil.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I waxed the entire inside of my 54" Agrotrend snowblower with "Gulf Candle Making Wax". Just rub the wax block on the paint on a relatively warm day (50-60 degrees). This was two years ago, and most of the wax is still visible...except in the chute..... really works good in all snow conditions.

 

[RichZ]

I was going to start a similar thread. I was going to use my Ford 715A 3pt snowblower yesterday for the first time. The shear pin is a 1/4" diameter bolt. Everytime I started pushing in the snow, the shearpin broke. I tried it 4 times! The snow was pretty light, and I wasn't getting rocks stuck in the beaters. How do I fix this? I never used it before, but I bought the blower with my tractor last March, and I went first looked at the tractor, the blower was on it, and the seller was using it, so I know it worked then.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Rich

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Richie...

Is it a Grade 2 bolt that's on it now... shearing...?

Try a Grade 5 bolt, but watch it closely... perhaps you may have another issue with the blower... a stick or debris lodged maybe you can't see....?

Hey... that was fun unloading that 3 bottom plow off my truck in the slippery snow mini-storm... /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[snowman]

Assuming that the guy was using it with those actual shear bolts, make sure that:

(a) everything's greased up okay, or

(b) that the impeller and/or auger is not rubbing against the housing. I had a stone bend one of my blades last year just enough so that it was banging against the housing. Whacked it with a hammer a few times to bend it back.

(c) If everything's greased okay and spins freely without any rubbing, just change the shear bolts. Get bolts rated #2.

 

[RichZ]

Thanks, John! Yeah they were grade 2, and I thought of upgrading, but I was afraid that if something was wrong and I put in a grade 5, I might damage something if they didn't shear. I thought there must be some reason why they're breaking. If you think it's safe I'll try grade 5. Just a little trip to Carl Trinkle's for some more bolts.

I was thinking of you Saturday night, after the auction. You didn't believe me when I said we were in for some snow, and I was wondering if you had trouble getting the plow off your truck. It would have been easier if you had forks on your bucket. Oh, wait, you didn't buy those, did you? (I know, I know, they had to be modified, just busting your chops./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif)

Rich

 

[RichZ]

Thanks for the suggestions, Snowman. I did all that, and everything spun perfectly until I put it in the snow, and then each time, the bolt would snap!

Rich

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi Rich,

If you purchased that locally, call the ex-owner and ask if he changed/lowered "grades" at the last minute {quick substitution}

If the unit has been working fine the last 10 years using Grade 2 bolts, then something is obviously wrong, and I don't want you to compound the problem with grade 5...{especially at my suggestion /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif}...

I as a rule would not go UP from Grade 2>5 {with the exception of a rotary cutter/driveline on a 50+ PTO hp tractor & the gearbox was rated accordingly} (and actually now I would spend $100+ for a slip clutch instead /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif)

 

[RichZ]

Thanks, John. The guy I bought it from has moved to North Carolina. As luck would have it, my local tractor repair guy, who fixed my three point hitch is coming over to make some adjustments on it. I asked him to take a look at the snowblower to see if he could see the problem. I'll post it when I find out, for everyone's info, in case it's something that would be helpful to all.

Rich

 

[tbarber]

My JD dealer sold me grade 5 bolts for the blower .
He said not bother using grade 2 they break to easy, also
he dosn't even stock the grade 2 bolts.
Tom

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

I got a JD 724D snowblower last winter, and I sheared a few bolts too.. until I realized that I was getting hung up in some small brush and branches underneath the snow. I have no idea what grade bolts I have.. it's just what the Deere dealer gave me when I bought more. But it's hard to imagine the bolts being so weak they shear under a simple snow load.

Something sounds wrong, but maybe I just haven't run into really crappy shear bolts before.

Good luck with it!!

Bob Trevithick

 

[emery]

I was also sold grade 5 bolts from JD dealer to use as shear bolts.

Any of you ever run your snowblowers at higher rmps then 540?

 

[WSchubert]

I have a new allied 74" blower and if I remember correctly it came with grade 5 shear bolts. I've used it three times already this season with good results. One of the times was with slushy snow. It clogged up three times on a 1/4 mile driveway. Each time it clogged it was in an area with little snow. Seems if I have a lot of volume its able to push the snow through, but when it got down to about 2 inches on the ground it had a chance to build up in the chute. The other two times it was just heavy snow (about 6-8 inches) and I had no problems. So far I have not sheared any shear bolts, even tossing some hefty rocks.

The manual on my blower indicated to never run it over 540rpm, so I have never have.

 

[Pks]

RichZ,

One test I always make during my preseason shake down, is to rotate the blower impeller by hand (while not connected to the tractor). If your hand cannot easily rotate all the parts, then there is a problem. Look for hay and other grasses.

Another test is to try and rotate the auger rakes while the shearpins are removed.

After reading all the posts, I suspect the rake(s) won't move by hand. For the shearpin to break, the power shaft will rotate but the auger rake won't. Look for grass or a missing bearing spacer at the end of the auger rake tube. IMHO, something very strong is holding that auger.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...something very strong is holding that auger...</font color=blue>

Peter,

You just don't realize the strength of that snow up in Washington County, New York...

I think this is one of those Florida snowblowers.../w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[RichZ]

Peter, pay no attention to John, he's stuck in silly mode!

You are right. I missed it, but I had an adjustment done on my 3ph, and my friendly tractor repair man looked at the blower. There was a pebble stuck in there. I didn't think that would be enough to do it, but both he and my silly friend John assure me that this is all it would take.
My friendly tractor repair man advised me to use a backblade instead of a blower until the ground freezes sufficiently to prevent it from sucking up pebbles, rocks or gravel. He also suggested that I adjust the shoes on the blower to raise it a little.
I think this closes the case of the blown shearpins!
Thanks everybody for all your help!

Rich