Blowing very wet snow with loader mount blower

[slowzuki]

I have a similar roof setup, 35 feet of steel dumping onto our car parking area. Frequently the snow would unload and instantly have a 10 ft tall pile of wet freezing snow packed from the fall.

I don't think the posters here have moved stuff quite like this, its more like cement. My 100 hp tractor on the 7 ft blower has a hard time. The blower rides up as the skid shoes ride up on the snow as its so dense. I usually will use the loader to scrape and build piles, then turn around and blow. You don't want to go too far as once you pack it with the tractor tires it nearly instantly goes to ice. With the 100 hp tractor it was a 45 min job to clear the pile (10 ft wide x 10 ft tall x 68 ft long). The same tractor/blower can blow 10 ft high plowed banks without breaking a sweat, its just not the same stuff.

Fast forward to this year, I built a 12ft wide shed roof extension with a very flat slope. The weight of the snow further up the roof propels it out past the extension without problem, dumping the snow somewhere it is fine to leave for the winter. Should have done it 6 years ago like I had planned.

 

[doxford jim]

I don't care for the lack of torque in the impeller drive, something isn't set right. The input auger's sole responsibility is to chew through snow pack, break it up and move it toward the fan, not quit turning.

I didn't really observe the tractor engine being loaded down with hydraulic pressure head in the video, something that you should hear and the operator should feel..... something is fishy
_________________________________________________________________

Two very valid comments.

When my PTO powered snow blower gets into deep snow, the tractor's fuel pump governor works and can be heard by the initial slow down and then revving of the engine.

When I put wet snow through my old blower, it never stalls the auger, but instead, forms a casing of snow whilst the auger continues to turn with much reduced snow put through it.

The shear pin in the drive for the auger is supposed to shear when the load is too much - thus preventing damage. Your auger is stopping much too easily and is indicative of a hydraulic problem ( too low operating pressure, volume reduction of oil, too low relief valve setting etc) with your set up.

There should be no need to frequently "bang or tap" the blower on the ground to free up trapped wet snow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wet - it hasn't frozen yet so should offer next to no resistance to auger.

Thanks

jim

 

[Dutch445]

thanks for the vid GRS,
what brand is that blower?

when in lighter snow, can you ever hear
the tractor working under the load?

 

[rayclar]

for the money you spent i wasn't impressed, i think i would have dropped the blower and put the bucket on???

 

[crazyal]

I have a similar roof setup, 35 feet of steel dumping onto our car parking area. Frequently the snow would unload and instantly have a 10 ft tall pile of wet freezing snow packed from the fall.

I don't think the posters here have moved stuff quite like this, its more like cement. My 100 hp tractor on the 7 ft blower has a hard time. The blower rides up as the skid shoes ride up on the snow as its so dense. I usually will use the loader to scrape and build piles, then turn around and blow. You don't want to go too far as once you pack it with the tractor tires it nearly instantly goes to ice. With the 100 hp tractor it was a 45 min job to clear the pile (10 ft wide x 10 ft tall x 68 ft long). The same tractor/blower can blow 10 ft high plowed banks without breaking a sweat, its just not the same stuff.

Fast forward to this year, I built a 12ft wide shed roof extension with a very flat slope. The weight of the snow further up the roof propels it out past the extension without problem, dumping the snow somewhere it is fine to leave for the winter. Should have done it 6 years ago like I had planned.

I agree, it's hard to watch a video and say my blower would have gone through that without clogging. Also I think starting with 36 pto hp then figuring the loss of the pump and then the loss of the motors (I'm assuming that the auger has it's own motor) and any other loss and maybe he's at the bottom end of the required power for a set up like that.

Clearly it's not a set up for everyone but I do see it having it's place.

 

[4shorts]

Its running at 540. But did bog down in the wet snow. Like i said, this was really wet stuff. In the past my pto powered blower would clog up on the stuff and not blow it at all.

i have posted a video of it blowing dry snow between 30-35 feet.

It's a nice set up but there has got to be something wrong. As 3030 stated the auger should look after the amount going into the impeller plus chew it up without stalling the full system. I'd be calling the manufacturer and asking them or better yet let them view your video. I've had snow so wet that my rear mounted blower was shooting water. You've put allot of good coin into your system so you shoud try and get the best performance out of it. To me it sounds like your PTO isn't up to 540 rpm but if your sure it is then its time to pick up the phone and find out what's wrong. You were using that nice blower more as a plow and that's not right. Just say'en.

 

[grsthegreat]

OK.... all the negative posts got me to thinking that maybe i best check with the manufacturer...even though i thought it did a good job with this wet junk.


Well, you were right...and i was wrong. There is an adjustment that im supposed to make as needed...turn it down in dry powder (as shipped from mfg) and turn it up in wet snow. The problem was... i never received a small manual that detailed it.

I have it now (fax) and i made some adjustments. The bypass valve can be adjusted up to four (4) 360 degree turns to increase blowby pressure. The only thing is as i increase it i am also increasing the chance that i can hit a rock and cause damage. So they suggest trying it at 1 full turn at a time (max 4) and see what happens.

So im going to go and blow the junk the remains on the side of one of my buildings (if it has shed yet) and ill film that....then cancell the other video.

Lets see what happens.

 

[5030]

I have a similar roof setup, 35 feet of steel dumping onto our car parking area. Frequently the snow would unload and instantly have a 10 ft tall pile of wet freezing snow packed from the fall.

I don't think the posters here have moved stuff quite like this, its more like cement. My 100 hp tractor on the 7 ft blower has a hard time. The blower rides up as the skid shoes ride up on the snow as its so dense. I usually will use the loader to scrape and build piles, then turn around and blow. You don't want to go too far as once you pack it with the tractor tires it nearly instantly goes to ice. With the 100 hp tractor it was a 45 min job to clear the pile (10 ft wide x 10 ft tall x 68 ft long). The same tractor/blower can blow 10 ft high plowed banks without breaking a sweat, its just not the same stuff.

Fast forward to this year, I built a 12ft wide shed roof extension with a very flat slope. The weight of the snow further up the roof propels it out past the extension without problem, dumping the snow somewhere it is fine to leave for the winter. Should have done it 6 years ago like I had planned.

Hey bud..... Not to veer off thread and certainly not to demean your technique but you need to change the attack angle of the blower and it won't climb, in fact it will hunker down and dig in, why I run oversize plow shoes on mine.

Have I ever steered you wrong in all these years?????

Lower the attAck angle of the blower in relation to the front edge, angled down a bit (I set mine on my concrete pad, level it with a bubble level and drop both sides equally a full half bubble. Mine is always down on the skids and the more dense and packed the snow is, the more downward pressure is applied to the blower housing from the rotational direction of the infeed auger.

I blow 'concrete' snow all the time, loaded with dirt, stray car parts, maybe a dead animal or two (probably run down cats...lol), limbs, ocassional bricks or rubble, whatever gets on the road and buried under the snow....

I never have a problem making the 105 get seriously on the turbo and blowing some smoke......

and of course I'm seriously sold on Helm Welding and Lucknow. I've shoved that blower through some serious rubbish (including some serious horse manure opening a path to the feed stands) and never an issue.

Horse manure looks neat making a 40 foot high arc actoss the field......:laughing:

 

[5030]

OK.... all the negative posts got me to thinking that maybe i best check with the manufacturer...even though i thought it did a good job with this wet junk.


Well, you were right...and i was wrong. There is an adjustment that im supposed to make as needed...turn it down in dry powder (as shipped from mfg) and turn it up in wet snow. The problem was... i never received a small manual that detailed it.

I have it now (fax) and i made some adjustments. The bypass valve can be adjusted up to four (4) 360 degree turns to increase blowby pressure. The only thing is as i increase it i am also increasing the chance that i can hit a rock and cause damage. So they suggest trying it at 1 full turn at a time (max 4) and see what happens.

So im going to go and blow the junk the remains on the side of one of my buildings (if it has shed yet) and ill film that....then cancell the other video.

Lets see what happens.

Good deal.

I'm glad you didn't take my less than positive posts as seriously as you usually take my posts.........

My faith is hopefully restored in those implements. After your vid, I has visions of my new spear breaking off with a puny 4x4 bale on it.......

 

[grsthegreat]

Ok...heres a few videos showing me moving some nearly frozen and packed piles of snow that fell off of my shop roof.

Man. you guys were right. A simple 360 degree turn of the bypass screw made a huge difference.

This snow was so frozen, it kept my tires spinning out with chains and in 4x4 mode, yet the blower didnt get clogged up. A few times i let the rpm's fall to much and distance of throw decreased, but overall it worked alot better.

I was so use to my old PTO blower binding up and clogging up i thought that this was normal.

Thats why i love this site. I learn something every day.

I want to thank all of you that told me i was nuts to accept it as is...

I also will post 2 other vids. One is blowing thru 12-14" of non frozen and non compacted snow , and the other is blowing thru a berm about 4' deep and very compacted along the roadway im plowing. This plowing proved very hard, cause the tractors right tires kept slipping down the slight embankment, but it didn't clog.

Now i just need to remember to loosen the nut when using the blower in the first part of the season (rocks) and tighten it later in the season.



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD_AFy6HbS0]adjusted hydraulic snowblower 2012.mpg - YouTube[/ame]

 

[grsthegreat]

Good deal.

I'm glad you didn't take my less than positive posts as seriously as you usually take my posts.........

My faith is hopefully restored in those implements. After your vid, I has visions of my new spear breaking off with a puny 4x4 bale on it.......

Im actually glad alot of posters thought something was wrong...... and i will try the change in attack angles also next time. Ive been setting it level with the bucket level rod. Ill try what yo suggest....bit i need to find some cats :laughing:

 

[grsthegreat]

Ok, for the next video. This was taken in the horse arena. This area is fresher snow, and is non compacted. this is how the blower works on my driveway also. I went ahead and left the blowby setting alone.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGFsmrNjqNU]snowblower in fresh snow 2012.mpg - YouTube[/ame]

 

[grsthegreat]

And the final video. I went and tried it out on the berm that i have left on the main road. This section is about 4' deep, and its all the crud i have plowed from the last 4 road plowings. I was just checking how it would work on the roads . The biggest problem here was the tractor kept trying to creep into the ditch.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAAj82uYTkg]cutting thru hard pack plow slop 2012.mpg - YouTube[/ame]

 

[5030]

I take it the second vid is with the bypass cranked down a bit???

I have the same issue with the 105 and the ditch with the rearmount. I keep my pedals unlocked and apply a bit of brake steer. Of course I have gear transmission so I don't need 3 feet to brake steer and move at the same time....

Even with my big tractors I keep my pto right at 540 all the time when engaging snow. You want that impeller fan cooking in the housing (in case some wayward, hidden in the snow) object gets sucked in.....

I can pretty much tell how compacted the snow is or the moisture present by how much the turbo is screaming and/or the level of black smoke.....

The 105 especially gets up on the turbo and holds it's torque and PTO rpm. The 9000 gets on the turbo but I can bog her down if I get anxious. Amazing what 10 PTO ponies do.....

I remember blowing with my older Landpride on the 5030 HST and I engaged the cruise and unlocked the brake pedals and feathered them to stay straight.

The Landpride was about half the blower the Lucknow is.....

...and keep the blower attitude down and let it dig in. That should be easy as tilting the front bucket linkage and observing the bucket level rod. I purposely left my rod full length and paint marked it for various front QD mounted stuff. The bucket levels different than a bale spear or the forks..... Each is marked in a different paint color on the rod......

I thought those blowers came with skid shoes. I'll have to look in the catalog. My Lucknow came with no skid shoes, I welded on the bolsters and aadded Meyers style mushroom skids. I set mine about 1/2" above grade. keeps gravel out and preserves the driveway.

 

[5030]

...as long as we stay out of politics, I'll give you the straight scoop......:laughing:

 

[grsthegreat]

...as long as we stay out of politics, I'll give you the straight scoop......:laughing:

:laughing:.. Im actually trying to stay out of all political threeads..they get too messy.

And thanks for the blower info.

I will have to play with the angles the next time i blow. I have shoes set pretty high cause i had gravel still unfrozen. But its all frozen now, so i need to lower the shoes.

I adjusted the bypass down for the arena. Just 1 turn. It always worked great on the flat, fresh snow. I just am afraid if i over torque the pressures, the auger WONT stop if i hit a large rock or buried tree/root.
I really don't want to trash this blower.

probably 80% of my snow blowing is fresh snow. And it only takes 30 seconds to dial it up.

 

[4shorts]

Ah now you got a blower. Great to see how it's actually supposed to work. What a difference. When I started reading this thread everyone was completely possitive and that's ok and I told myself not to go against the grain but I had to say something so I hope you don't hold it against me that I was negitive about the blowers porformance
You have a very nice set up now thats its sorking as it should and I really enjoyed the new videos. Good stuff :thumbsup:

 

[grsthegreat]

Ah now you got a blower. Great to see how it's actually supposed to work. What a difference. When I started reading this thread everyone was completely possitive and that's ok and I told myself not to go against the grain but I had to say something so I hope you don't hold it against me that I was negitive about the blowers porformance
You have a very nice set up now thats its sorking as it should and I really enjoyed the new videos. Good stuff :thumbsup:

Not at all.. i thought it was working ok. Im glad i did post the original video, or i would be using it like it was for years...and never know any different.

I was so use to my old blower jambing up, i didnt think twice about it.

Yes, i am very happy with this set up now.

And thank you for your input.

 

[mjncad]

Much better, and the fix was simple, which is a bonus.

 

[srs]

I adjusted the bypass down for the arena. Just 1 turn. It always worked great on the flat, fresh snow. I just am afraid if i over torque the pressures, the auger WONT stop if i hit a large rock or buried tree/root.
I really don't want to trash this blower.

probably 80% of my snow blowing is fresh snow. And it only takes 30 seconds to dial it up.[/QUOTE]

grsthegreat, glad you got the blower working properly. Love the videos too! Just a quick suggestion if it might help. I was wondering if once you finally get your adjustments where you are happy with them that you should somehow mark the bypass valve with a little dab of pain or something so that there is no guessing each time you dial in/dial out the pressure. Different color for fresh fallen dry snow vs hard concrete like snow/ice. Just a thought. Good job!!!!!!! Stanley