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

Why havent manufactures of snow blowers designed their snowblowers with a piece of rubber that touches the housing?Is there a gap for a reason??

mikiewest wrote:

 

Rubber wears so, manufacturers build the impellers out  of steel to within tolerances they feel are sufficient to do a reasonable job.  An all steel impeller will perform well enough and last much longer than a rubber tipped impeller.   The rubber tipped impeller would out perform the steel unit initially but once it wears, it's performance will begin to fail to the point where the all steel impeller will out perform it.   A well built unit with a stock impeller will throw snow a good long distance.  I was clearing my driveway today with my 9.5 h.p. 28" Simplicity and it was easily throwing huge volumes of snow some forty feet or better.  The clearance between the impeller blades and the impeller housing on my unit appears to be less than 1/8".  Probably closer to 3/32".  This machine is a serious snow mover.   

Added complexity costs money.  Precision costs money.  Most  inexpensive machine will not be built to the same tolerances or durability as a more expensive machine.  However, in some instances,  additional quality and precision is way over priced.  For instance, a Honda costing twice as much as a Simplicity will probably not throw snow any further nor last any longer.  If it does throw snow further, the additional distance would be minimal.  Hardly worth the additional cost.   Excellent domestic machines can be had at reasonable prices. 

mikiewest wrote:

MW, It certainly wouldn't reliably pass the CE/EU stake test. Detachable components connected to the impeller could become instantaneous projectiles.

PK

I believe you are refering to this item:

http://smllengns.tripod.com/

The concept is a great idea and makes alot of sense, especially with wet, watery snow. A snowblower is nothing more than a glorified pump. The tighter the clearances, the better the performance. I bought the impeller kit, but I am having second thoughts when I heard the mention of projectile.....or, lets say a nut or bolt gets loose, etc. I'll bet it would be OK if elastic stop nuts were used (those nuts with a tiny ring of plastic inside that you can't tighten by hand and need a wrench).

I also called Ariens Tech Supt and they were fully aware of the item but the lazy $5/hr ding-dong said he never brought the issue up with his engineering dep't nor did he know if they were considering it. What a dolt.

I have a welder and now that I think of it I may WELD some tabs onto my impeller to tighten up the clearances. I have about a .25" - .38" gap in mine!....its pretty big!

I may 'proto-type' the idea first with the rubber and see if it works. If it does not work I can easily fill the holes w/ weld. I can back away from the idea with minimal inconvenience. If it does work I can easily fill the bolt holes w/ my welder and weld on steel tabs, which is a fair investment in time getting the clearance on each tab JUST RIGHT, making sure the same ammt of metal is used (balance), etc. Probably a better job to do on a nice spring day  with a beer out in the garage.

I'd have to say from a conceptual standpoint its a good idea and I doubt the guy is a liar (see his before & after pics). I think the bigger issue is maintainence and wear. Lets say you suck a rock in. It will probably damage the rubber although you can flip the squeeges one time. If you have a gravel driveway I'd say no way to rubber.....

Comments?..........

para wrote:

I had a used set of rubber from a Toro single stage on my bench- so i made my own.        My first impressions are. . . WOW!!!!        It increases throw dramatically.    The only down side I've seen so far is that it restricts the reverse turn of the impeller.   So a stick/stone that jams between the impeller and housing becomes a major PITA to remove. [like go get a 6' bar & relieve the pressure with one hand while freeing with the other]    Of course that is all theory because I wouldn't ever try to put a 1x3x18 through my snowblower. . . .or a wedge shaped rock.    The rubber, however, seems to stand up fine.     I'd like to hear from someone who has a couple seasons on theirs, though.

As far as creating projectiles with lose nuts, bolts or pieces of rubber. . . well, I throw the occassional stone & constant chunks of ice around, so I try not to point it at the expensive cars driving past my house. [I'm fortunate to have some wide open spaces on 2 sides of my driveway.]

As far as welding something in, I'm not sure I'd want to.     First problem is not getting the clearances right- and tearing something up when you start it.    I cut my rubbers one at a time.  And burned them in one at a time.    There's a spot on the back side of the impeller housing that took a big gouge out of the rubber.    If they were metal I'd probably have a hole in my housing now.      In the event of a catastrophic impeller bearing failure, I think the rubber will prevent some damage, where metal extending beyond the reaches of the bearing clearance could make matters worse.

[If I was a welder I would consider putting some teeth on my augers.  Has anyone tried that?  Are the serations on the new machines effective at all for eating EOD or are they just to suck us in by our machismo?]

Jim

You know Elbrecht, you may be right.

I was in there the other night and I'm not terribly impressed with the precision of the mechanism. The impeller/pulley/bearing has alot of end play and a little radial play.

The housing has a couple of big seams and I'm not even sure how round it is.

I was surprised to see how much abrasive wear has occurred over the years. I have about a 3/8" gap between the impeller and housing! I COULD weld something in there to take up SOME of the space (allowing for tolerances, etc), but I think I'd be selling myself short.

I think I'm back on the squeegee idea. But I'm definitely going to use elastic stop nuts to secure it. The last thing I want to do is have to tighten those thingsfrom time to time. I suppose once they wear I can flip them too.

It looks like alot of work to do though. Did you remove the auger assy to do it? Did you have to undo the rusty set screws holding the impeller on?

para wrote:

Well, my machine is a 1976 Bolens so YMMV, but I took off the 4 bolts that hold the chute, and the cotter pin in the chute adjuster- and set it all aside.

I pre-drilled the metal strap. [I used 1/8 x 3/4 soft steel]   Cut the rubber with a sheetrock knife lubricated with pb blaster- water might work just as good-- but *some* lube is the key.

Then I brought up the first vane and vice-gripped a rubber in place with the metal strap attached.  The vice grip serves as a stop so the vane doesn't turn.  Drilled a hole with my newly purchased 1/4 by 6" drill bit. [with a drop or two of cutting oil it gobbled up the vane like butter.]   Put the bolt in- I used 1/4-20 bolts and nylon locknuts.   Repeated 2 more times.       On the Bolens the vane has a 90degree bend in the front, so I had to change position and drill the 4th hole from a different angle with a 12" bit.

Bolted one in- and burned it in.   I was surprised at how smooth this thing ran with just one.    I'm sure that for an extended period it would eat the bearings, but to burn it in it worked fine.       I took that piece back out and used it as a pattern for the next three.     Repeated the install & burn in process on each  rubber.

I am slower than slow, and I doubt I had 3 hours invested from the time I got home with the locknuts and long drill bits to when I attacked my first snowbank.

I should take the chute off and take some pictures of how they look after their first hour of use- and see if they change much season to season.

Jim

[BTW- for $30 I almost feel guilty for not buying the kit from Clarence at http://smllengns.tripod.com/ , but I had those paddles staring at me asking to be recycled- and we had a snowstorm on its way. . .]

I bought recently the impeller kit, yes it's safe and very good product to get, if you installed the right way its good for 10 years, the only thing is after its used you must replace with another new one or leave bolts in the hole heheheh.

Denis

Snowmann wrote:

Paul- What is the CE/EU stake test ? 

- Kris