Rad Technologies Blizzard B64

Teleskiah · Sep 13, 2009

All winter I had a hard time rotating my manual chute rotator on my blower. So I said before the snow flies this winter I am going to figure out what is going on. I pulled the chute off tonight and discovered a nylon ring that the chute actually sits on. It appeared corroded and chafed. I cleaned it up and then looked at the bottom of the chute where it actually rests on the nylon ring. It also was corroded and had minor rusting. So I sanded that and applied rust-oleum to that. Before I reassemble...Is the nylon ring suppose to be lubricated or is it designed to be left unlubricated. If anyone has any experience with this, could you please let me know? Thanks...think snow!

Ductape · Sep 13, 2009

I would leave it unlubricated. Any grease will collect sand and salt and just hold the grit in there. The nylon ring is slippery so it alone should allow your chute to turn easily. If I used anything, it would be something really light. I had to replace one of those nylon rings once...... IIRC it was between 25 and 30 dollars (for the record).

Teleskiah · Sep 13, 2009

Excellent suggestion...That is what I was thinking of doing, but before I put it back on I just wanted to make sure. At what point did you decide to replace your nylon collar? Greasing it seems like the natural thing to do...But like you said, it does invite debris that could increase the friction during rotation! Do you think WD-40 would be too heavy or just leave it alone?

Ductape · Sep 13, 2009

I would maybe use a graphite, or maybe a white lithium spray lube. Just enough to lube the surface, trying to keep the lube from splooging out. Mine was pretty thin, and made for (what I felt was) too much play, allowing the chute to be wobbly. Mine was a Kubota blower (made by RAD)...... no idea if that would, or wouldn't make a difference in price when the time comes to replace it.

Scooby074 · Sep 13, 2009

Our blower has some UHMW plastic on it too, I lube all the cables and UHMW with Fluid Film. It has worked good for me. I wash any gunk off seasonally, but usually there isnt too much there.

CowwFace · Sep 14, 2009

Hey Tele,

I would try some "Break Free CLP". It's mainly used for firearms, but I love the stuff. It Cleans, Lubricates, Protects (CLP). I use it on my trailer ball's (NOT Trailer's Balls btw) and it prevents all the greasy mess of traditional grease.

Just spray it on to clean all the gunk off, whipe it clean, and leave it... I'd then spray the chute and whipe the execss off once in a while.

Carry on,
Phill

Teleskiah · Sep 14, 2009

Spoke with RAD today...tried e-mailing them last night and there e-mail address on their website was not working. I informed them of that as well. Anyways...they were suppose to send me an instruction manual today for the chute installation, which I never did receive. So I proceeded tonight with installing the chute again but before I set the chute back on the blower body I purchased a can of white lithium lubricant and applied it to the nylon ring. After I bolted it down, I was able to move the chute almost effortlessly. I would like to thank everyone for their help and suggestions!