Snow Attachments snow blower in heavy snow

[mike194]

I have an old lorenz snowblower that i just rebuilt. it has a fairly large diameter fan probably around 25" or 26" and also has 4 blades. so i just finished it this morning and wanted to try it out but it was about 40 degrees out and the snow was heavy so I got the tractor up to 540 and backed into some snow and the snow just tricked out of the spout maybe went 3 feet. Is this just because the snow was heavy ? has anyone else tried to blow heavy snow and had the same results.

here is the blower

 

[PILOON]

Heavy snow is the hardest to handle, tends to clog the shute as it just wants to pack things up.
Generally in that heavy stuff I just make a small cut, like maybe 1/3 of the width for best results.
Also don't back in faster than the the blower can handle as you really can pack the slushy snow in there and then you'll need a crowbar to free it up.

You'll soon develop tacticts with practice.

 

[kebo]

Super job with the rebuild! Looks like you even painted it to match the tractor?? Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Max2310]

Nice job!

Are you sure its not a 1000 rpm model? I have a push behind blower and nothing stay as close as you mentioned. I know we are not comparing apples with apples but 3 feet seem kind of odd... Then if it's the case and its normal, I may want to stick with my push behind and not invest in an over 2k unit... Hope not!

 

[53gravely]

Wax the chute, fan housing and business side of the fan blades with paste car wax (turtle wax)

 

[mike194]

I will try waxing the chute, i will probably not have a chance to use it until next year. I sure hope it throws dry snow at least 20 ft or so.

 

[WilliamBos]

Nice Job!! Heavy/wet snow is by far the toughest to blow. It sticks on the chute, or will clog up. Not much you can really do about it. Just make sure the chute is smooth.

 

[Builder]

Do you have enough PTO HP?

 

[shvl73]

Was it heavy snow or slush?

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Hmmmm...Dunno much about the Lorenz blowers, but the last "Blowable" snowfall we had was heavy wet-ish snow and while it took a ton of power (had to go slower) I didnt have any clogging or throwing problems with my Blizzard...

Did you check shear pins, keyways, etc? The Keyway on the fan might be sheared if there is a keyway...I've seen what you describe happen with a busted fan key.

Given the size of the blower this is a long shot, but is your snowblower designed for 540 RPM input? Some of the larger models are 1000 RPM models...Easy way to check is to make sure the fan turns 1 revolution to 1 revolution of the PTO shaft.

 

[mike194]

the fan is driven right off the pto shaft so the fan is spinning 540 rpm. I think i am going to move the fan farther back in the housing. I looked and had around 1/2 inch of gap between the fan and the back of the housing. on the side of the housing there is probably about 3/8" of gap, but the housing is not perfectly round so it goes from about 1/4 to a little over 3/8. i may add some rivet some rubber to the ends of the paddles so they sort of squeegie the inside of the housing or at least get closer.

 

[cdcole]

Mike, I just bought the same blower. The chain on the left side as you look at the augers. It is very robust and heavy. Like you I repainted it, replaced the chains - readjusted, etc.. It looks like you did a complete teardown and did a wonderful job. Now for my question: Did you get it to work properly? I am very concerned as I have no way to test mine until next winter. It looks like mine was well used so it must have satisfied someone but geez, after hearing your 3 feet throw job I am a little concerned.

 

[George2615]

In post #10 Dave says an easy way to check is if the fan turns the same speed as the PTO. Post #11 Mike says its spinning at 540 RPM the same as the PTO.

Does Daves post mean a blower fan that turns the same as the PTO is a 1000 PTO RPM unit or a 540 RPM unit. If it means a 1000 RPM blower fan turns 1:1 with the PTO then Mike's 540 RPM PTO speed is too slow.

 

[mike194]

Yeah the snow i was blowing was very wet, the next day , i then set the fan further back in the housing and tried some more wet snow and i probably got about 10 feet out of it. i also sprayed some silicone on the fan and chute and i am sure that helped out too.

 

[mike194]

Cdcole,

Send me a PM if you need any info or where to get some parts. I usually buy everything i need from surplus center like a lot of other people on this site.

i also think that the curtis gearbox is a little light for the unit
https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2009050320352012&item=1324&catname=powerTrans


if you look at this page it has a chart and i figure that the gearbox is going maybe 200 rpm and it says that the gearbox will only handle about 6 HP at this rpm which is pretty low, so i always find the cheapest chinese bolts i can find to use as shear pins.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

In post #10 Dave says an easy way to check is if the fan turns the same speed as the PTO. Post #11 Mike says its spinning at 540 RPM the same as the PTO.

Does Daves post mean a blower fan that turns the same as the PTO is a 1000 PTO RPM unit or a 540 RPM unit. If it means a 1000 RPM blower fan turns 1:1 with the PTO then Mike's 540 RPM PTO speed is too slow.

1:1 on blowers usually means its a 540 RPM input...I know all the blowers in the 48-80" range are pretty much only 540 input...I havent seen a blower in that size range yet that wasnt 540.

 

[George2615]

Thanks for straightening that out Dave. I was confused as to which snowblower fits a 1:1 rotation.

 

[cdcole]

Mike, I think the gearbox HP is ok. The bulk of the HP is consumed on the blower right? You would know better because you have actually used yours!

 

[irvingj]

Mike194-- in my experiences with a walk-behind, the single most important factor behind throwing distance (other than a stretched belt) was clearance between the impeller blade tips and the inside of the round fan housing. Just a little "extra" clearance will decimate throwing distance. Check to see if the impeller blades have been bent from rocks-- that'll do it every time!

You might want to look for clearance specs on your blower, but I doubt that it should exceed 1/4". Nice refinishing job!

Oh-- and a really dumb question.... I suppose you verified direction of fan rotation? Looks like it should be clockwise as you face it from the rear....

 

[ritter2008]

I just bought a George White & Son 87-Super Blizzard. I've tried to locate the mfg. but I guess their no longer in business. We had about 5" of snow and I used it and was very disappointed in the way it performed. It was a better plow than a Snow Blower. I'm using a 60 hp. tractor. I would like to know if anyone knows how many rpm this should run at. Thanks for any help you can give me..