Snow Equipment Buying/Pricing Snowblower gearbox

[bumperm]

Or, if you don't happen to have a static balancer, most motorcycle shops do, so you might be able to get them to balance the fan for you. Alternately if you have a way to rig a couple of straight edges so that they are even and level, you can balance the fan using it's own shaft. I use modeling clay and make the temporary weights from that. When balanced, the fan should stop turning with no preference for a particular point down. Weight the clay and that will be the additional weight needed at that spot (or alternately, metal removed from the opposite side of the fan.

Balance may be somewhat academic, for as soon as some snow sticks on one blade and not the other . . . Still, one should at least start out right. I have a computer balancer for aircraft props - - every fan in my house runs perfect (grin).

 

[PILOON]

IMHO precision balancing the fan for 500 RPM is not all that critical. We are talking 500 RPM here and not 100MPH.

 

[aczlan]

IMHO precision balancing the fan for 500 RPM is not all that critical. We are talking 500 RPM here and not 100MPH.

While its not super critical that it be perfect, a 12" fan spinning at 540rpms has a tip speed of 17-18mph. A 14" fan at 540rpm has a tip speed of about 27mph. That's fast enough to feel on a car, I would at least set it on a mower blade balancer to make sure its close before installing it.

Aaron Z

 

[bumperm]

While its not super critical that it be perfect, a 12" fan spinning at 540rpms has a tip speed of 17-18mph. A 14" fan at 540rpm has a tip speed of about 27mph. That's fast enough to feel on a car, I would at least set it on a mower blade balancer to make sure its close before installing it.

Aaron Z

You beat me to it, Aaron!

Balancing a blower impeller may not be critical, but I think it worthwhile, especially if you have it apart for any other reason.

On a car, even a few ounces of weight makes a difference you can feel as you say. On a snowblower, you may not feel it through the steering wheel of the tractor (as there's a lot of mass and structure to absorb the vibration before it gets to that point). Just as with the prop on aircraft, any work or energy the engine must expend in vibrating the engine and structure due to an imbalance, is energy wasted and not available to do work (e.g. move the plane faster, or throw more snow, or consume less fuel doing it). Many people are surprised, after a prop balance, when their aircraft, besides being smoother, flies a a few knots faster too.

Another consideration, vibration causes fatigue failure, loosens fasteners, and causes addition loading on bearings etc. May not be a big deal on a snowblower, but if you correct an imbalance, the machine will run smoother and more efficiently for it.

bumper

 

[dslanec]

Here is where I am. The manual says to now pull the long shaft along with the gear out. Well I guess im missing something cause the shaft wiggles a bit but will not pull out. I can rotate it easily though. Last night I got the whole fan assembly disconnected.

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[dslanec]

Well I have the next 2 days off so I called my father in law and he is gonna come over and help me. He has been around tractors his whole life so it should be back up and running by Wednesday night.

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[aczlan]

Did you pull the circlip on the other side? If not, I would pull that to let you get the gear out of the gearbox,
If you dont need to remove that gear from the shaft, I wouldn't. One less thing to put back together.

Aaron Z

 

[PILOON]

Say, do you even need to pull that long shaft?
You are only needing to replace the short shaft that broke and I believe it can be persuaded out by prying while twisting (unscrewing motion). There might however be a circlip that holds the screw shaft in place, if so it would be located inside the bearing where the broken shaft enters the casting.

 

[dslanec]

Say, do you even need to pull that long shaft? You are only needing to replace the short shaft that broke and I believe it can be persuaded out by prying while twisting (unscrewing motion). There might however be a circlip that holds the screw shaft in place, if so it would be located inside the bearing where the broken shaft enters the casting.

Yes there is a circlip holding it in place. According to repair manual the long shaft and big round gear have to come out before I can access the rest so I can remove the broken shaft.

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[dslanec]

Here is a diagram of it.

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