Snowblower - B7500

Anonymous Poster · Mar 2, 2001

Took delivery of my B7500 a few weeks ago. Used the front snowblower for the first time last night; had
used a B2400 with a rear blower for about a month to that as a loaner from the dealer while I was
waiting for my B7500.

I have a gravel driveway. I try to be very very careful about the rocks - I have shoes on the blower
and I try to keep the blower raised enough to avoid picking up rocks.

However, I can't miss all of them and the end result is that I end up breaking the shear bolts about
five minutes into the job (about 10% of the job done). I decided to just use the blower as a plow
last night, as it was only about five inches of mainly powder, instead of replacing the shear bolts every
five minutes.

My question - does anyone have any advice as to a better method of using the blower to avoid
shearing the bolts? I think these are #2 grade bolts (low/weak) and I will put on #8's.

I may end up putting some type of "filter" along the bottom of the lip of the blower so that snow can
get in, but large rocks can't. I'm thinking of using some strips of metal that would welded or bolted on
that have, say, a 1 inch gap that would let the snow in, but would ride over the gravel (only two or three
strips, so it would only come up three inches or so).

Thomas · Mar 2, 2001

snowman,
I don't think it would be a good idea to go from a grade 2 to a grade 8 bolt.
Grade 2 if they shear than there doing there job in protecting your blower,but a grade 8 may not shear and ending up damage your blower. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Placing a filter or some sort of screening at the bottom may work,but on the other hand w/wet snow it may not filter etc..thru.
There best way I have found over the years until I swtich to a plow setup,walk your driveway and remove the rocks which may bother.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

RAllen · Mar 2, 2001

I use a 2910 with a front mounted blower. Have ALOT of gravel drive and private road. First, I could not tell where you live but I have to establish a base of hardened snow before I can use the float control. The round feet on my blower are too small and dig in in unpacked snow. Early in the season, I try to leave 2" of snow by raising the blower. It is tricky if your drive is not flat. I have also extended the feet as far as they go.
Next season, I am going to get larger pads welded to the feet for better floatation. If I was in an area that will not allow a season long base of snow, I would consider a plow rather than a blower.

Rick

PS Even on a packed base with extended feet, I average about one shear bolt per mile of plowing. That average is much higher early in the season.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by RAllen on 03/02/01 10:40 AM (server time).</FONT></P>

tralderman · Mar 2, 2001

DITTO!
Plleeaasse do not use grade 8 bolts. You'll understand why when you get the bill for replacing the snow blowers gearbox.

richfromPA · Mar 2, 2001

HEY SNOWMAN,
how do you like your b7500. im gonna get one once i unload my jetski. what kind of tires do you have and how do they work on the snow? rich

GlueGuy · Mar 2, 2001

Snowman,

I'll have to pass on what to do about the snowblower, because I have no knowledge of managing that sort of thing. We also don't get enough snow here for me to get any experience in the foreseeable future /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif.

However, I do have experience with shear bolts, and have to tell you it would be very unwise to switch to grade 8 bolts. The blower came with the #2 bolts for a reason; to protect the gearbox and other rotating components.

Putting grade 8 bolts in place of grade 2 would be like putting a 20 amp breaker on a 15 amp circuit. The breaker might not blow, but you have a good chance of melting wires or causing a fire.

The GlueGuy

markcg2000 · Mar 2, 2001

Snowman,
Absolutely!! Never use greater than 2 on your shear bolts!!

I use a 3PH blower, so this might not work on the front, but can you tilt the blower up the way I can by tightening my top-link? You'd only want a slight up angle - too large and the blower will plane up over the snow when the snow is really wet/dense.

mark

tbarber55 · Mar 2, 2001

Snowman
I don't know if this would work , but would it help if you put somekind of rollers or wheels on it. Just a thought.
Tom

Anonymous Poster · Mar 2, 2001

Thanks for all of the replies...

Relative to the #8 grade bolt, they guys at the shop where I bought the tractor had suggested using
#5's or #8's, hence the reason I mentioned it.

I just moved to this house in the middle of January - is in Central NY - 300' long driveway and
large turnaround area - the driveway is very rough and uneven. That is really what is
causing most of the problem.

Since I've been there, there hasn't been enough snow to build a base.

I don't let the blower float; I actually try to keep it raised so that even the shoes are not on
the ground, but because of the uneven driveway (such as the V in the middle of the driveway),
I still end up catching junk from the ground towards the middle of the blower.

Instead of some type of guard along the whole front of the blower, it may be best to put some
type of shoe or other lift at the center of the blower (the shoes are only on either side).

Regarding tilting it up like you can do with the rear blower, you can't do that with the front one. But
that is basically what the problem is; the blower bottom is just scooping up too much.

I have an FEL, but I'm too new at it to try and take the blower off and put the FEL back on in the
middle of winter. The blower actually works pretty good as a plow (when it ain't blowin') other than
the fact that you can't angle it.

Tires - I have the R4's; haven't had a problem yet. I chose these over the turf tires mainly because
my lawn (about 6 acres with another acre of shrub/trees) is also kind of rough at this point, so I'm
not too worried about scarring it.

Thanks again. Didn't know if maybe there was some type of aftermarket kit that would help, but
it seems to be a "do-it-yourself" project.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 3, 2001

Snowman, those guys at that shop must make a few extra dollars selling gear boxes, and drive components for what they sell. Bad advice, I know I experimented with the grade #8 idea on a 5' blower with a chain driven auger. I was getting tired of replacing the wimpy little, hard to get at 1/4 inch shear bolt on the drive sprocket so I thought a grade 8 would still shear just not as often. Well the next time I caught a rock and the auger stopped turning it wasen't the little bolt but the #60 drive chain that snapped, I though it might have been a weak link so I replaced it. The chain snapped again, must be a crappy made in China chain I thought so I went and bought a piece of decent grade roller chain. Guess what,snap again. Ok back to the soft grade 1/4 inch bolt that was doing it's job so well.

One suggestion I might give you is to get yourself a rear blade so you can plow in reverse until you can get a good snow base built up and the ground freezes. That is the arrangement I have used for years. Pretty handy too for dragging snow out of tight areas and away from buildings where you may not want to run the blower. I can sympathize with you and the gravel drive. I was dealing with the same scenerio today, the weather here has been mild and the ground has thawed and I had about 5 inches of wet snow last night. I was quickly reminded how much the front blower liked to dig into the drive. So it's just the blade for now until it gets real cold again, which could be next season!

Hey you could even use it in the spring to smarten up the drive so it'll be like driving on a paved boulevard!