Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

In full snowblower hunt mode and came across this, http://smllengns.tripod.com/  . apparently this gizmo will increase the throw of a blower. Had a kookey idea eariler tonight of getting a used blower, a 24/25" Aries, Toro, etc. and putting a 9 hp motor in it, and changing pulley size to make it throw snow greater.Must have been the 2 beers cause in reality I do not have the time to work on a blower, thus buying a new one.

hirschallan wrote:

Does it make sense? - It depends. The impeller kit helps make up for "gaps" between the ends on the impeller & the impeller drum. Most better quality, newer units don't have a large air gap, but if the gap is significant (more than 1/8"), then the kit will improve throwing distance & will eliminate drum clogging.

However, I would NOT install it on a new machine, for it would void the warranty.

Marty

Marty, Thanks alot. Gota go to get some sleep.

On Ariens anyway, changing the height of the crankshaft on a new engine creates a lot of extra work. Most 5-7 hp motors have one spcing, and the larger models have another. You can check the drawings online.

The Ariens ST824 I have came with up to a 12hp engine and that's an easy upgrade. Similarly, I put a B&S Intek Snow 7.5 on an old Ariens (originally 5hp) and it is relatively easy - you need to reroute the chute crank and put in longer mounting bolts but they are in the same location and the shaft diamter and height are the same.

That Aries must work like a son of a gun with the 7.5 OHV engine! That motor could work in a 28" blower. I bet the snow hits the powerlines when it comes out of the chute.

drumsonly2002 wrote:
Things to watch for when you change engines.

1. Mounting hole pattern

Some blowers are drilled for more than one pattern. You don't see it until the old engine is off;

2. Mounting plate

If the hole patterns are different you can cut the plate into sections and move the sections around. Its not as secure as having the correct plate.

3. Engine shaft height

It can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the mounting plate but having the same height is much easier.

4. Engine shaft diameter

The diameter changes at certain horsepower ratings. My 10.5HP tecumseh was .75" while my 11HP Intek Snow is 1".

If you have more horsepower then you are putting more strain on parts that weren't necessarily designed for it and this might lead to premature wear.

I moved fron an old 10.5HP Tecumseh to a new 11HP Snow Intek OHV, changing the pulley ratio to give me a slightly faster set of ground speeds. The axle on the drive chain broke within 2 months. It could have been due to normal wear and tear since the unit is over 10 years old and I've done 20-30 driveways for the last 2 years, it might have been the extra power and changed pulley ratios. We will see how the new axle holds up.

nibbler wrote: All snow engines from B&S and Tecumseh are available in 3/4, 1" and often 7/8" shaft. Another option is an output shaft on the camshaft, used by some Craftsman and MTD units.

You can get a 7 hp with a 1" inch shaft, or a 10hp with a 3/4" - as well as 1", 1 1/8, and tapered.

Tulsa and some others have the line drawings. Or you can call Tecumseh or B&S up and ask them. B&S faxed me a  data sheet on replacing an  Ariens. Tecumseh confirmed I could use 5-7 hp HMSK as a bolt-on replacement.

Garandman wrote:
I must have gotten the wrong part number for the engine. I exchanged e-mails with B&S several times and thought I had picked the correct one. It was my understainding that the shaft size got bigger with the larger HP engines so they wouldn't break.. I'm actually slightly happier with the larger shaft size, I got to play while doing the install and the shaft is hopefully a bit more "robust".