Newspaper in Impeller

[Topesrule]

Helping out a neighbor today with the snow and got a bag of fliers stuck in the impeller. Stalled tractor and seized the snowblower up solid. Tried burning it, utility knife, screw driver and hammer before I read online that an oscillating multi tool was the best. It still took me a while after trying it but finally dug and cut it out.

It actually bent the drum bad enough to chip the paint on the outside:

Anyone have experience with removing stuff like this? What a racket.

 

[RjCorazza]

Wow. I’ve never caught paper in the blower, and I would not have expected it to damage the drum. Shouldn’t the shear pin have given way? Most blowers I have seen have one on the pto shaft.

 

[Einthewoods]

That really sucks. I don't have a blower on a tractor, but with my walk behind I have seen branches and rocks get chucked out without issue. I sure hope there was a coupon in the bag for a free Whopper or something.

 

[MossRoad]

Disconnnect the driveshaft and see if you can use a large pipe wrench to turn it backwards.

 

[Thomas]

Indeed a P.I.T.A. trying to remove...better than a rope believe me.
Zailsaw also works.

 

[300UGUY]

I had the same thing happen. I tried for years not to get the darn thing delivered to my house, they just throw it in the drive, wrapped in plastic. I wrote my only letter to the editor about it, didn’t get published, naturally. I even collected a bunch, threw them at their door, along with a note. No response to that either. It also took 2 days for them to pick them up off the sidewalk. I never liked the paper that they publish either. They never, ever, publish anything critical of the locals. Just feel good crap.

 

[zzvyb6]

That is why I have stopped being so helpful to others with my equipment. Been there. One even wanted me to pay for a new kid's bike that was left out in a hay field. Imagine what it did to my 9' mower ! I know what's in my driveway, fields, and fences. I no longer trust others to know what's in theirs. Since they don't have the tools, they don't know the pitfalls in they way of using it. Once had a guy help himself to a roll of my silver soldering wire to Rube his car's exhaust system up until he could get it fixed. "Gee, really?". Tilling a garden for another neighbor ("There's nothing in there except dirt") pulled up a bowling ball (bent the main shaft) and wrapped enough chicken wire around it to ruin my week. "Sorry about that." doesn't cut it anymore. Repairs, parts and down time are too big to gamble on for me. It's just a theory (unproven), but the model works for me until a better one comes along. How about "Give me a cash deposit for the full new value of my equipment and I will wander over to your place at my convenience to take a brief look at the job you propose". $250 barn call, btw.

 

[bobmisi]

I had the same thing happen. I tried for years not to get the darn thing delivered to my house, they just throw it in the drive, wrapped in plastic. I wrote my only letter to the editor about it, didn’t get published, naturally. I even collected a bunch, threw them at their door, along with a note. No response to that either. It also took 2 days for them to pick them up off the sidewalk. I never liked the paper that they publish either. They never, ever, publish anything critical of the locals. Just feel good crap.

If you don't want the papers that they drop, here's what to do. It worked for me. Send them a registered letter stating you do not want the paper and the next time they drop one you will make a formal complaint to the police, and have them arrested for littering. I tried everything' and nothing worked until I did this. It stopped immediately and has never happened again.

 

[Topesrule]

Disconnnect the driveshaft and see if you can use a large pipe wrench to turn it backwards.

I did try that. It's hard to believe how solid it jammed. Once I cut away the paper on both sides of the blade I had to hit the impeller with a maul to get it to move.

It was the first time the tractor ever stalled. The blower has two shear pins.

I spent two hours snowblowing after that and everything seemed to work fine. I imagine with the drum bent like that there's more opportunities for objects to jam in between the drum and the impeller with the increased clearance. we'll see.

Neighbors will be getting ploughed not snowblowed from now on.

 

[Billy Bee]

Obviously not "Fake News", nothing but HARD facts. Not really funny,must have felt like hitting a log.

 

[Avondale]

Been snow blowing others drive ways for some time now.Despite my pre-season requests to clear away obstacles, I'm still amazed at what I hit. Two worst, 1. Rubber garden hose, 2. Yellow polypropylene robe tied to a dogs toy (Kong). Both stretched and wound up, did not shear any bolts, (my machines all have two shear pins each) resulting in stalls. Took a long time to get out and almost every type of tool I own.

 

[Deere Dude]

I came too close to my doghouse and snagged the 20'+ dog chain with my blower with the 60# golden retriever hooked to it.

It was a front mount and I got it shut down with about 3 feet of chain left. He was getting sucked toward me with all four paws dug in. Lucky him it was a front mount and I could see. I would hate to unwind him fro the impeller.

 

[Topesrule]

Been snow blowing others drive ways for some time now.Despite my pre-season requests to clear away obstacles, I'm still amazed at what I hit. Two worst, 1. Rubber garden hose, 2. Yellow polypropylene robe tied to a dogs toy (Kong). Both stretched and wound up, did not shear any bolts, (my machines all have two shear pins each) resulting in stalls. Took a long time to get out and almost every type of tool I own.

A person I know got a hydraulic hose in the blower. He said he was hours with a grinder getting it out.

 

[disney]

Snow removal is not an issue for me (yet) but if I lived in the snow belt and asked/stated to my neighbors about the need for keeping driveway clear of objects, and had preventable issues (news paper not really their fault), They would be shoveling their own driveway for a long time...

 

[Z-Michigan]

That is why I have stopped being so helpful to others with my equipment. Been there. *** It's just a theory (unproven), but the model works for me until a better one comes along. How about "Give me a cash deposit for the full new value of my equipment and I will wander over to your place at my convenience to take a brief look at the job you propose". $250 barn call, btw.

Sounds like a plan. As a young man you wonder why so many old men are grumpy, ornery, and assume everyone is trying to cheat them. Then life experience explains it to you. (Don't think of me as a negative person, just a realistic one.)

OP, what brand/model of snowblower do you have? Just curious.

 

[oosik]

Fortunately no newspaper in my blower - when I had one. First trip of the season, down my mile long gravel driveway, was always a "surprise". Rocks, limbs and chunks of wood - that first trip usually cost - two shear pins. Not all that bad - remainder of the winter - some years as much as two more shear pins.

My 80 acres here is the remainder of an old 320 acre homestead. The couple that homesteaded here LOVED barbed wire. Its the old "flat wire barbed" kind. Main strand is around 10 gage. Over 20 years of opening and expanding our garden site with my Troy Bilt - I've wrapped up enough of that old barbed wire to sink the QE ll. Its NOT a lot of fun removing old barbed wire from a tiller. As I can imagine how the bundle of newspaper must have wrapped up in the impeller.

Helping neighbors is a very nice gesture. Helping neighbors that have no knowledge of tractors can be a real nightmare. First snow of the season - I went directly across the county road and plowed the brand new neighbors driveway. He said - "smooth as silk, no big rocks". I should have worn my seat belt - fortunately I went dead slow but it still tried to throw me out of the tractor. When finished, all I did was clear my throat because his face was red as a beet. Then the famous utterance - "Well, I guess I won't have to worry about those big rocks in the driveway any more". I still talk to him, but only because his wife baked me a strawberry/rhubarb pie.

 

[Topesrule]

Sounds like a plan. As a young man you wonder why so many old men are grumpy, ornery, and assume everyone is trying to cheat them. Then life experience explains it to you. (Don't think of me as a negative person, just a realistic one.)

OP, what brand/model of snowblower do you have? Just curious.

It's a Kubota BL2664, a rebranded Blizzard I believe. Truth be told I'm pretty disappointed it didn't have the power to shred it and throw it out the chute. I would have thought it would have no trouble with a roll of papers.

And it was my own fault going in their with the snowblower. The guy is unemployed dopey with a messy yard. I should have known better.

 

[herringchoker]

Ad flyers jammed in the auger - been there, done that. Thankfully have never had any get to the impeller. The only thing that I have found to work is oxy-acetylene torch. The oscillating saw sounds like a great idea - I hope I never have the chance to try it.
And the shear pins never break because it is not an instantaneous stop, it's a (relatively) slow wedging. Just like a tire jamming the bush cutter - been there too.

 

[mcfarmall]

I came too close to my doghouse and snagged the 20'+ dog chain with my blower with the 60# golden retriever hooked to it.

It was a front mount and I got it shut down with about 3 feet of chain left. He was getting sucked toward me with all four paws dug in. Lucky him it was a front mount and I could see. I would hate to unwind him fro the impeller.

That's awful but fortunate you were able to shut down in time. I read the post to my wife and she was in tears! Another good reason to keep animals and bystanders far away from equipment while in operation.

The newspaper bundle in the impeller reminds me of the idiots at work that dump a wad of flattened cardboard boxes in the compactor and then get them wedged between the ram and the top of the throat opening...we had to get the disposal company to pull the bin away from the compactor in order to get the cardboard un-jammed. Due to human stupidity, this is a recurring problem. This is why the compactor is bolted to the concrete slab as well!

 

[oosik]

If I still had the blower and would have used it on the neighbors new driveway - I would have to have brought a bucket full of shear pins. Fortunately, with the new Kubota I have a very heavy duty rear blade - no shear pins.

When I would use the blower - my dog was always kept in the house. ONCE - the dog got to close to me plowing with the rear blade and like the snow - he was tossed to the berm. No damage done but he quit following/playing around the tractor while I plowed snow. Scared the living snot out of both of us.