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

O.k... this was my first use of my new machine. It is an ariens st1236  converted to a 24" auger. Today was the first snow and when I fired up the new machine, I was dissappointed to find that I would only throw the snow about 10feet. That is real weak, as I have a 12 hp machine. The snow is real fine and powdery, the kind that you can basically just push with a shovel. I was wondering if anyone might know what my problem  is? I already ruled out belt slippage, the auger turns just fine. And to note, the motor is running superbly.  I suspect that it might have to do with my discharge chute and the real powdery snow. The 24" auger has the real short, stubby chute, The newer chutes are much longer and more streamlined. If this is my issue, I can easily convert to a new chute.  Also, Does anyone out there find that when the show is really light, it doesnt go as far?

Suggestions, commentary and opinions would be great
Thanks in advance
Mike C

70Chev,

Light snow will always reduce your throwing distance. Try to throw a snowball once with light fluffy snow without packing it; certainly a good analogy.

Did you change from a 14" impeller to a 12" when you changed housings? If so, you'll likely could us a new engine sheave and belt to speed up your impeller. Historically, Ariens snothros turn 14" fans at 1100-1200 RPM, while the 12" fan spins at 1100-1400 RPM (depending on model). It's important to maintain tip speed which means you should really speed up your fan by ~14% if this is the case. You just need to be careful (stay at or around 14%) that you don't adjust the ratio in excess of your engine's torque curve or speed the impeller up so much that the snow simply recirculates.

Also, the chute (and discharge section/impeller discharge geometry) has alot to do with throwing performance. If the impeller is efficient and the discharge geometry is not restrictive, a good chute profile will redirect the snow in a gradual manner so as not to remove the energy of the discharged snow (only to redirect that energy). To provide for such, a taller more upright chute with a gradual redirection will always be better (providing the rest of the system is efficient enough to provide energy to use a taller chute). Ariens, Simplicity, Honda, and Yanmar all have tall upright chutes, while most others are lesser so.

Your unit likely has an advertised maximum throwing distance of around 35 feet. The new Ariens 926 series models (and 2004 model 924,XXX snothros) have a maximum throwing distance of over 50 feet due to various improvements. In order to get more performance, my suggestions would be as follows:

Wait for some heavier snow to see if your throwing distance is still under your desired expectations.

If they are still too low (and you changed from a 14" impeller to a 12"), increase your fan speed by purchasing a new sheave and belt. If you let me know the model numbers for the original unit, and the unit your blower head came from, I can let you know what part numbers to purchase.

Thirdly, you may want to see if you can get your hands on a more recent chute. You won't be able to use the current chute (due to fitup restrictions), but there may be one that is better than yours. Again, I may be able to help you with part numbers for that if I know the original model and serial numbers for your unit and any that contributed parts to it.

Lastly, I would simply like to discourage you and anyone from mixing and matching components for any snothro (or altering their original configuration). There are obvious safety implications. I won't lecture you on that now as you've already taken the leap.

I hope this helps.

PK

Wow... You really know your sh*t Snowmann. What I am running is a 24"auger from an Ariens st824 (model #924050) it has a 12" fan and a 9" sheave. The st1236 (model# 924321) that it is attached to had a 36" auger with a 12" fan and a 9" sheave. So the only effective change was to the width of the bucket and the profile of the chute. Taking all this into consideration, I think you may be right on about the chute profile and the light snow. I would really like to change the chute for two reasons. One is that the more streamlined profile of that longer chute would get me more distance. the other is that the new chute does not have the capability to accept the cable for the remote chute deflector. I am assuming that the st1236 chute (PN02449959) will interchange directly with the one on the st824 chute (PN02434900) and bolt right on to the st824 bucket with no modification. If you happen to know of a chute that I might be better off with, please let me know. It would have to be one that will run with the worm gear design and also accept a remote chute deflector. If that doesnt work, then I may be on the lookout for an 8" sheave. Do you know why, with a 14" fan, the newer machines throw so much further? Is it the size of the sheave??

Thanks again
Mike C

Chevy,

You might try the Impeller Kit.

http://smllengns.tripod.com/

                                                  Fred

70chevrolet wrote:

What is the size of the upper sheave?

upper sheave = 2 5/8"....+/- 32nd.
auger sheave = 9"

"Also, Does anyone out there find that when the show is really light, it doesnt go as far?"...

Absolutely. As a brand new 7524 owner Ithought there was something wrong with my machine when I went out to blow about an inch of dry powder, as it only threw 5 or 6 feet in kind of a filmy haze. When we got a foot and a half it threw that stuff 30 feet or more. I asked the same question and the answer was unequivocally yes, the lighter the amount and especially if it's really light stuff, the shorter your throw distance will be. I have found that to be true every time. The deeper and heavier stuff it ingests, that farther it throws, every time.

[quote]Absolutely. As a brand new 7524 owner Ithought there was something wrong with my machine when I went out to blow about an inch of dry powder, as it only threw 5 or 6 feet in kind of a filmy haze. When we got a foot and a half it threw that stuff 30 feet or more. I asked the same question and the answer was unequivocally yes, the lighter the amount and especially if it's really light stuff, the shorter your throw distance will be. I have found that to be true every time. The deeper and heavier stuff it ingests, that farther it throws, every time.[/quote]

Well now... when you put it like that, my perspective changes a bit. Now I'll definately wait for the next showfall before I make any major mods. But I still want to change the chute to get the remote chute deflector working.

Thanks for all the input guys.