Can anyone identify this blower?

[Bob Rooks]

I saw this blower unit on CL for $25 so I jumped on it. I can't match it up to any of the known brands. I had a pressure washer cart and a 12HP Harbor Freight engine on hand so I decided to make a pull-behind leaf/debris blower. The unit has pillow bearings, four blade impeller, and a 1" shaft. It is about 30" in diameter. Any suggestions/advice is also welcome.

 

[scaredychicken]

no clue, but very interesting. at that price it was a great deal

 

[Dwellonroof]

Looks like someone making a blower from old and new parts. I have a small 3 point model.

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[Jchonline]

@Bob Rooks what part did you buy from CL?

 

[MossRoad]

@Bob Rooks what part did you buy from CL?

Yes. A "before" picture might help some one recognize it easier.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Looks like someone making a blower from old and new parts. I have a small 3 point model.

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Yes, "someone" is me. That is a good looking unit you have there, but I dare say it appears much larger than mine.

 

[Bob Rooks]

@Bob Rooks what part did you buy from CL?

The blower unit only, as stated in my post.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Yes. A "before" picture might help some one recognize it easier.

I did take a couple of pics after I bought the blower unit, but danged if I know what happened to them. All it had was a stepped pulley on one side, and there was no evidence of any mounting points. The sides were clean except for the pillow bearing mounts, which seem to be at an odd angle too. I used hurricane bolts to mount the Unistrut, which gave me some flexibility in mounting. I don't believe this is a home made unit. Currently waiting on new pillow bearings.

 

[Jchonline]

It looks like you fabricated (or are fabricating) most of it yourself! Nice work.

 

[Bob Rooks]

It looks like you fabricated (or are fabricating) most of it yourself! Nice work.

Thank you. I just took it all apart and cleaned it up. The pillow bearings were questionable so they are being replaced as well as the 20 1/4" bolts that hold it together. Using Unistrut as a mock up to see how well/if it performs. If it goes well then I may weld it all together. Stay tuned.

 

[Richard001]

OK being from the north, I have no idea what a "I used hurricane bolt" is. Can you explain ?

Also i would suggest that you use a coupler rather than a universal joint to connect the engine to the blower.

Something like this from Northern Tool:

 

[Bob Rooks]

OK being from the north, I have no idea what a "I used hurricane bolt" is. Can you explain ?

Also i would suggest that you use a coupler rather than a universal joint to connect the engine to the blower.

Something like this from Northern Tool:
View attachment 712411

Also called "sidewalk bolts". They are stainless steel with full threads and a very low profile and large (truss) head (great for using on sheet metal instead of fender washers). I used these to maximize impeller blade clearance. Sidewalk Bolts Slotted Stainless Steel Hurricane Bolts 3/8"-16 x 1" Qty 25: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Originally I thought about using a Lovejoy coupling, but neither the crankshaft or blower shaft is long enough to permit close coupling, and I needed the engine moved back anyway so the cart will balance. So I'm using a jack shaft with two U-joints. And alignment won't be that critical either.

 

[Richard001]

Also called "sidewalk bolts". They are stainless steel with full threads and a very low profile and large (truss) head (great for using on sheet metal instead of fender washers). I used these to maximize impeller blade clearance. Sidewalk Bolts Slotted Stainless Steel Hurricane Bolts 3/8"-16 x 1" Qty 25: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Originally I thought about using a Lovejoy coupling, but neither the crankshaft or blower shaft is long enough to permit close coupling, and I needed the engine moved back anyway so the cart will balance. So I'm using a jack shaft with two U-joints. And alignment won't be that critical either.

OK thanks for that info. I never heard of them and being SS, quite pricey.

And on the use of U-joints, just remember, they don't like to run straight, they need the shafts to be offset a little.

Richard

 

[Bob Rooks]

And on the use of U-joints, just remember, they don't like to run straight, they need the shafts to be offset a little.

Richard

Yep. Make those needle bearings earn their keep.

 

[Richard001]

Yep. Make those needle bearings earn their keep.

You should always research what you are talking about before you post. For best lasting use, there must be at least some angle on the u-joints.

From Here:

Driveshaft Angles: Why They Matter And How Keep Them In Check

It's important to keep in mind what your driveshaft angles are when you are building a car with a custom drivetrain. A few degrees can make a difference.

www.chevyhardcore.com

An Expert Opinion, And Why Driveline Angles Matter

We know enough about driveshaft angles and transmission swaps to get ourselves into trouble, but we aren’t experts like the folks over at Silver Sport Transmission. So, we reached out and got their input about driveshaft angles. We talked to Dick McCord, vice president of engineering and operations, and got his thoughts on driveline angles for a street car setup – what can go wrong, and how to make sure your angles are within acceptable tolerances.

“If your driveshaft operating angle is too small, there will not be enough rotation of the needles in the u-joint caps and you’ll wear out your bearings due to lack of lubrication,” Dick explained. “You have to have some angle, a minimum of 1/2-degree, or the needles will brinell the surface of the u-joint, cross-bearing journal. U-joints were designed to operate at an angle, and if they don’t have an operating angle, they will wear out prematurely.”


From here:

Pinion & U-Joint Angles

www.therangerstation.com

U-Joint Angles - U-joints need a slight angle for proper lubrication. Without the correct angles, the needle bearings in the u-joint caps do not rotate. Those needle bearings need to rotate in order for the u-joint to operate reliably and smoothly. These u-joint angles should always be at least 1-degree to avoid wearing out the yoke bearings. U-joints fail at 30* degrees.

Years ago, I researched drive shafts and u-joints as I was in the process of designing a drive shaft to connect my Kawasaki Liquid cooled snowmobile engine to a water brake dynamometer.

Richard

 

[Bob Rooks]

Thank you for your concern Richard. I'm a Chief Engineer and have been doing shaft and coupling alignments for many years and am also schooled on the subject. I just thought in the interest of brevity I wouldn't go into details. My last ten-point alignment task was a 3 megawatt TEWAC alternator to a EMD 710-G diesel engine. That took a little while considering vibration isolators were involved.

 

[MossRoad]

 

[Bob Rooks]

I also did a water brake dyno when I was in R&D at PACCAR.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Hahahaha! The TEWAC alternator was 4,160 volts.

 

[Erik M]

That impeller looks very primitive and I wonder if it was balanced, likely not which could explain the wear in the pillow blocks. With the square ends it must be very loud. How is the vibration in use?