Snow Attachments Snow Blower Packing Up With Snow

[EquineNetworkCO]

Colorado got hit with a pretty powerful spring snow storm last night - 20" of wet heavy snow for me. Anyways, I spent a few hours moving snow from point A to point B this morning, but my snow blower chute kept packing up. I have a JD 4520 with 72" Farm King blower. I was running the PTO at the proper speed. I would normally liberally apply some Fluid Film to the chute, impeller, etc before working, but I couldn't this time. This normally seems to help, but I was wondering if anyone else has some good ideas to keep the chute from packing up.

 

[thetaxman]

" I was wondering if anyone else has some good ideas to keep the chute from packing up. "


metamucil ?


sorry just couldnt help myself, i have the sense of humor of a 3rd grader.

but to answer your question i use spray vegetable oil in a can (pam, but from a buddy that owns a restaraunt) and i use it every time. no buildup at all. your fluid film prolly does the exact same thing.

 

[arrabil]

I find the faster you go in wet snow the less it clogs. But I haven't done that in twenty inches of snow.

 

[jjmarotz]

Never had good luck with the "faster thru the wet snow" method here.

I have had better luck taking only 1/2 pass at a time. IE... blower is 60" wide.... take a 30-40" bite at it. Takes more time but has worked for me. Also I use Prestone silicone spray on my chute, impeller, and auger, and has helped "slick" things up.

 

[Toyboy]

I've also used silicone spray with good results.:thumbsup:

 

[red4now]

Colorado got hit with a pretty powerful spring snow storm last night - 20" of wet heavy snow for me. Anyways, I spent a few hours moving snow from point A to point B this morning, but my snow blower chute kept packing up. I have a JD 4520 with 72" Farm King blower. I was running the PTO at the proper speed. I would normally liberally apply some Fluid Film to the chute, impeller, etc before working, but I couldn't this time. This normally seems to help, but I was wondering if anyone else has some good ideas to keep the chute from packing up.

My first thought was your RPM but you said you were up to speed. Always found that made a difference with the heavy wet stuff - especially when we are getting into the spring. Just curious - 3 or 4 blade fan? Based on the Farm King web site - looks like 4 blade is an option? Discussions here on TBN, have suggested 4 blade snow blowers have an easier time with the heavier snow.

 

[EquineNetworkCO]

I have a three blade fan. A four blade fan is a good idea - I'll check into that. From the sounds of it, not using a spray lube may have been my problem today.

 

[studor]

I find slower and or less bite tends to work best in heavy wet stuff -- JMHO

 

[pitt_md]

I have the Farm King 74" blower. It has the 4 blade fan and I have not had a problem. I just looked at the specs online and it says that the 24" 3 blade Fan is standard. I didn't order anything special and not sure why I got the 4 blade fan.

 

[Craig Clayton]

Dear Sir
I hate wet snow also. I have found you need to keep a steady flow through the machine but not let it over load. 1/4 cut or 1/2 cut depending on the depth of snow. I have found that if I lift the blower at the need of the pass and the blower empties it self out I get alot less pack ups. I also keep a shovel handle as a poker stick to unpack the chute.
Craig Clayton

 

[Andrew Johnson]

try lining your chute with slick self lubricating plastic. I have an erkstine blower on a cat 277b and it has that. Its seems to work well. :thumbsup:

 

[EquineNetworkCO]

We got hit with another quick, strong storm two days ago. The temp never got lower than ~25 deg F, so the snow was really heavy and wet. Oh, the joy of spring mud. Anyways, *this* time I made sure to use a liberal amount of silicone spray lube in the chute, impeller, auger, etc. That made a HUGE difference - I'm convinced now.

In one of the posts, someone mentioned some kind of slick plastic - anyone have more info on that stuff?

 

[HSSC]

Well I can relate to the wet snow as I live on the east side of the Sierras here in Reno/Mt Rose HWY area. What has worked for me at times is to let the wet snow freeze over night and get at it early the next morning. If you can.

 

[Andrew Johnson]

try this. Cut it into a correct width strips and line the back face of the chute. Rivets should hold it in very well. I find that if the chute does not clog nothing else does either.
UHMW Full Sheet | U.S. Plastic Corp.

 

[ihuntbear]

I used a piece of plastic they use for the hockey rink boards .White plastic very durable and slippery:thumbsup:

 

[rbargeron]

We got hit with another quick, strong storm two days ago. The temp never got lower than ~25 deg F, so the snow was really heavy and wet. Oh, the joy of spring mud. Anyways, *this* time I made sure to use a liberal amount of silicone spray lube in the chute, impeller, auger, etc. That made a HUGE difference - I'm convinced now.

In one of the posts, someone mentioned some kind of slick plastic - anyone have more info on that stuff?

A 3/16" or 1/4" thick sheet of UHMWPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) attached to the long curved surface of the chute with flat head screws, counter sunk so they're flush. UHMWPE is tough, strong, abrasion-resistant and slippery.

 

[AlbertaDan]

We got hit with another quick, strong storm two days ago. The temp never got lower than ~25 deg F, so the snow was really heavy and wet. Oh, the joy of spring mud. Anyways, *this* time I made sure to use a liberal amount of silicone spray lube in the chute, impeller, auger, etc. That made a HUGE difference - I'm convinced now.

In one of the posts, someone mentioned some kind of slick plastic - anyone have more info on that stuff?

Lee Valley tools sells smaller sheets of this stuff. It is basically what is used around a hockey rink. Very slippery when wet. It comes in different sizes.

Just type in Lee Valley Tools, under item search type in UHMW. You will get 4 results for this. Take you pick of what may work best for you.

BTW-Lee Valley is a mail order catalogue from Canada nad sells high quality woodworking tools.