Turf Saver for B2782 Snowblower

[number two]

My friend finally dropped off my new Turf-Saver pipe for my new snowblower. I've been tearing up the driveway and blowing gravel,scratching up the new blower,skid shoes just don't cut it. I've finally got it on and will find out tomorrow how well it works. He made me one for my old B2660 blower and it worked well.
The pictures aren't real clear,but I've included several for good measure. The pipe greatly reduces the tendency of the blower(or plow blade for that matter) to sink into the soft,unfrozen gravel. Once the driveway is frozen,the pipe can be removed. Sometimes they're left on all season in a mild winter.
We used a piece of 1" galvanized pipe I had on hand. He cut a slit the length of the pipe the width of the cutting edge with some very good 3" cutoff wheels. Then the end attachment pieces were made from some flat stock he had around,welded to the ends of the pipe. We then installed the pipe on the blower and bolted it to the sides through the skid shoe bolt holes. The flat cutting edge was different from any pipe we've made up before. Plows and my older blower had the blades angled down toward the ground,while the B2782 blower's edge is parallel to the ground. Hence the narrow slit so the pipe wouldn't go on too far and hit the blade attaching bolts. Sorry if I got a little long winded. Good Day.

 

[herringchoker]

I've got the slit pipe on my blower. With that and the top link adjusted to suit ground condition (frozen or not), it's good-bye gravel gouging and so-long sod stripping.
Good job and great description and pictures, number two.

 

[bx24]

Great idea ... Is 1" pipe ideal or would 2" work better? I know you said you had it on hand, but something a little larger diameter would work that much better???

 

[number two]

Thank you for the replies and compliments. Sure would be nice if these Kubota front blowers had an adjustable top link to allow the front to be tilted back a little. I think I've seen something like that on a John Deere blower. Actually a 3-point hitch on the front would be interesting. You could eliminate the chain reduction box from the deal. Wow,I'm getting off on a tangent again-Sorry.
Bx24-I would suppose a larger diameter pipe would float over the soft ground easier due to having a larger radius. I recall my old Dodge Power Wagon we used for 20 years had a 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" pipe on it. We've always determined pipe size by looking at what would fit best. In this case any larger would have lifted the blower higher and would have been harder to attach,possibly requiring notches to be cut into the pipe to clear the cutting edge mounting bolts. Plus having material on hand is nice. These do wear with time. I've thought about maybe Schedule 40 pipe if I have to make a replacement. Eight inches on the way tonight so I'll know soon how it works. Thanks again.