After the end of this snow season, I took a look at the cylindrical housing which houses the impeller blades (i.e., the area where the snow is shot out of the blower) on my Kubota B2782 snowblower. I am not sure what the official name for this part is, but it doesn't appear to have a replacement part. It is showing signs of signifcant wear after 4 seasons. I probably run the blower for 20 hours each season. There are some pretty good groves forming and the outside shows some distortion, and the paint is gone of course. It looks to me like this is the first thing to go on this machine.
I looked at a friend of mine's Kubota blower on his L5240. It is a beast compared to the B2782 blower. Whereas all of the major components of the B2782 are made from 1/8" steel, his blower uses 1/4" steel. After 2 seasons his show almost no wear and he snowblows an area slightly larger than mine.
I was contemplating taking the thing apart, which would be a major undertaking, and hardsurface welding the surface that is wearing in the cylinder?
I know that there are a number of guys with this blower that live in areas with a lot of snow. Have you guys noticed much wear?
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Good Morning Dr.,
About your snow caster the wear issue in the "Impeller drum" is common pest affecting the service life for the front mounted and self propelled snow casters for all makes.
My John Deer which is an RAD snow caster as well is no different in construction.
The reason it happens is due to the wear created by the snow and ice entering the impeller drum and being rotated through and out of the chute.
I will offer you a suggestion that will solve this issue for you forever;
Please look up
Agricultural Supplies, Fabric Structures, Equine Buildings, Grain Storage, Livestock Buildings from FarmTek and you wil find bed lining slick sheet material that you can attach inside the interior diameter of the impeller drum to add a slick surface and protect the interior from wear for a considerable period for you and it is easy to install by removing the impeller and sliding in a strip to fit and cut for the chute hole in the impeller drum after you secure it to the drum with small cariage bolts with the bolt head exposed in the drum which is holding the sheet/strip in place.
I will suggest that you order a 4 by 8 sheet of 1/8 inch material to allow you to line the snow blower auger housing and end walls the same way as it will aid in snow casting prevent any buildup of ice due to the heat created by the action of the impeller and the cross augers.
The folks at Farm Tek will also be able to provide you with the fasteners if desired. Be sure to use nylock nuts for the carriage bolts to be sure they do not loosen up on you.
You can cut the narrow sheet to length for the inside diamter of the impeller drum and outline the chute hole wherein you can place the ends together and cut half moons out of each end to allow for the opening of the impeller drum for the chute of your snow caster
If you add one of Clarences impeller kits you will be able to throw the snow much further and the rubber paddles will also keep the impeller drum clean of snow and ice.
Please be sure to measure the width of the impeller blades to assure that they sell you the right size impeller kit as Clarence is selling impeller kits for the rear mounted snow blowers as well and you may be able to use a kit for the rear mounted blowers easily-
You will need to remove the impeller to attach the slick sheet so you can do both jobs if you desire to purchase an impeller kit from Clarence.
As you store your unit indoors it will be less likely to have the rubber paddles freeze to the drum as well- I use a kerosene fired salamader heater to deice and heat up all my machinery and it provides a huge advantage for me in my case as the equipment is stored outdoors.
leonz
