Snowblower skids excessive wear?

[Zick]

Used the BX5455HD for the first time last week and looking at the skid shoes it looks like they are wearing excessively fast?
Ran for probably only about 30-45min on concrete in float mode (in case anyone was wondering).

I wish I looked at the skids when they were brand new but I'm guessing the front part was just as thick as the back half.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I am guessing if you have a concrete drive it probably has a rough finish - like a brush finish - for good traction. So you can expect the shoes to wear but that does look like a lot for 30 minutes. The fronts are worn because they don't lay flat when you are pushing. They may be flat when you are stationary but when you start to push the blower is going to try to role forward and will because there is always some degree of slop in the push connection joints. You might have to experiment with the angle but you can see from the wear how much it roles. I don't have a blower like that but other implements do the same thing so I am assuming your blower will too.
I could be all wet !!

gg

 

[Rustyiron]

Shorten your top link a turn or 2.

 

[Zick]

I am guessing if you have a concrete drive it probably has a rough finish - like a brush finish - for good traction. So you can expect the shoes to wear but that does look like a lot for 30 minutes. The fronts are worn because they don't lay flat when you are pushing. They may be flat when you are stationary but when you start to push the blower is going to try to role forward and will because there is always some degree of slop in the push connection joints. You might have to experiment with the angle but you can see from the wear how much it roles. I don't have a blower like that but other implements do the same thing so I am assuming your blower will too.
I could be all wet !!

gg

Shorten your top link a turn or 2.

Should have mentioned this is a front mount blower, thus no way to change the angle.

 

[Peter 315]

weld some wear plates on the bottom

 

[Gordon Gould]

Should have mentioned this is a front mount blower, thus no way to change the angle.

I probably wasn't clear in what I said. What I tried to say was change the angle of the shoes so they are flat on the pavement while pushing - They have adjustment bolts. You will no doubt need to build them up with wear plates from time to time as suggested.

gg

 

[mikester]

It’s a wearable item and you are just grinding it up on concrete.

Your options are to keep buying replacements, buy some hard facing weld rod and build up the bottoms of the wear pads, try different wear pad materials ie. bolt on UHMW pads (really going to be the same problem), or add wheels to the back of the blower to take some of the load.

 

[Zick]

Guys, I understand these are wearable items (skids and scraper bar) but I just thought this looked a little excessive wear for only about 30min of actual use. Doesn't seem like these will last very long.

I'll try playing w/ the skid shoes to see if I can get them to lay flatter to wear more evenly.

Also, I can't image needing to weld on a wearable surface to a brand new piece of equipment (especially one that costs so much).

 

[JerryK]

You could take them off and hang them on the wall... They will stay like new that way....... [ It's just a wear item, will wear the concrete smoother over time, too... ] I would weld some wider/longer pads on them... that way they will not wear down as fast... Or you could rope some big helium balloons to the front of the blower to lighten up the load they have to carry.... AND, make sure you are using float and not trying to lift the front of the tractor on the little pads....

 

[mrmikey]

I would weld some wider/longer pads on them... that way they will not wear down as fast

Did that with my walk behind, used 2 x 3/8 flat. Doesn't want to wander all over the place and last a couple of years on a frozen crusher dust driveway. I would imagine that would be equivalent to a 10 grit sandpaper, least ways that's what it felt like when I slipped and landed on one knee ...............Mike

 

[Rustyiron]

Guys, I understand these are wearable items (skids and scraper bar) but I just thought this looked a little excessive wear for only about 30min of actual use. Doesn't seem like these will last very long.

I'll try playing w/ the skid shoes to see if I can get them to lay flatter to wear more evenly.

Also, I can't image needing to weld on a wearable surface to a brand new piece of equipment (especially one that costs so much).

Zick they are most likely just mild steel, but expensive to replace. You could (rather than welding) stop by your town/county roads dept. and see if they have an old cutting edge from one of their road snow plows that they'd give you. They are pre punched with holes that just might be close enough apart for you to drill a pair in your skid shoes to bolt them on. Most town's around me use carbide edges that are 5/8 or 3/4" thick. I would think you might get years out of a set. You would have to find some plow type bolts for a flush face to attach them with.

 

[oosik]

You know - I don't think they have worn that much at all. I think the skid shoes have been installed backwards. Unbolt them and turn them around or reverse sides. Install them so the thicker portion of the shoe is toward the front. When you do that - adjust them so they sit flat on a flat surface.

I think they are designed to have the thicker portion of the shoe toward the front. Looks to me that about all that has worn off so far is the paint.

 

[Texas Fella]

I am not from snow country, so this may be a stupid comment (I am from South Texas). Do you run the snow blower in "float." It looks to me like you may be applying down pressure to the snow blower and applying too much weight (transferring weight from the front axle to the snow blower skid shoes) to the snow blower. Running a front mount snow blower in float may be a "no-no" but I am not sure. I would say flip the shoes and try it with the loader valve in float and see what happens.

 

[oosik]

Unfortunately - my search for pictures of skid shoes on other identical units has netted - zero. You CAN adjust the angle on the blower skid shoes by loosening the bolts, tipping the unit forward(place something under the back of the unit to hold it forward), tighten the bolts. Lift the rear about as much as it will roll forward when it use.

From what I found - looks like a new pair of skid shoes will cost around $45 to $50.

 

[diesel85]

To the OP: If I was your neighbor, I'd make you a couple of these with my plasma cutter, welder and my pile of scrap steel.

Here's a tip... lots of Colleges (especially trades/community colleges) have welding shops that you could show this to the instructor, and they could get the students to make you a few of them for free. I work at one, and I could make you an exact copy of that with the equipment we have there. For all that matters, we could try different grades of steel to see which one wears better or worse. This is a very simple part to make if you have have a CNC plasma cutter and could make a great demo or project for the students. I know I asked once to have something made, and I wound up getting like 8 copies of it... had more than I would need in my lifetime of the machine.

 

[sandyc]

Maybe you mentioned it.....Are you using the float position. If not you should, I think...

 

[crazyal]

If you own a welder just build up the surface with some beads. You can even get some hardfacing rods if you have a stick welder. But I would wait until the it's worn down to the point where it's rubbing flat on the shoe. I know with my front mount blower there's no front adjustment. The carriage bolts fit pretty tight so without drilling out the round holes in the blower to over size them to give adjustment (which I wouldn't do) I don't think you'll find much adjustment. If your subframe is like mine then it was very tight when new but given a few years of use it now has some play so the shoes sit flat.