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

I have a Craftsman 2 Stage Snowblower.  I got a rubber toy stuck in the impeller (stage 2).  The rubber dog toy is jammed really tight bewteen the impeller blade and the metal wall (about a 3/8" gap).  Now....I need some suggestions on how to remove it.

Here is what I gathered up so far online, please let me know if I'm missing anything to be safe

- Remove key, pull spark plug so it cannot start

- Pull the shear pins out, so that the augers don't release stored up energy and get my hand once the item is out (is stored up energy a big issue?)

- Cut the toy out using a small hack saw or sharp blade

Just want to make sure I have everything covered so it's safe.  Let me know if anyone has any tips.  This rubber toy is jammed very tight in the impeller...doesn't budge at all.

I'm having difficulty understanding how there could be stored energy in the impeller.  If the engine isn't running, where would the energy be coming from.  Being that the rubber is cold and not very flexible, that would make it difficult to dislodge.  Personally, I'd put a torch to it to soften it up then use a three foot piece of hockey stick to pry on the impeller blade to rotate it enough to get the dog toy to the ejection opening.  Be careful that there is no gasoline on or in the immediate vicinity of where you will be directing the flame.   Chances are the rubber might start to smoke so you'd be best off doing it outside.  Also, try to direct the heat so that it doesn't put excessive heat on the impeller shaft bearings.  Good luck.  Let us know how it goes.   

I know of one person that shut engine off before (stupidly) sticking his hand into the impeller chute to remove something.  I don't know where the energy was stored (perhaps a belt still under tension?), but once whatever it was came free, the impeller rotated just a little bit and almost took his thumb off.  He had to drag the snowblower with him back to the house because his hand was stuck and his wife couldn't hear him yelling. 
I would go one step further and just make sure the belts seemed without tension.  You can't be too safe when your digits are on the chopping block. 
Burning out the offending part might make it smell bad, but not necessarily a bad idea.  If you can get a blade in there, all the better.  Perhaps heating it up might help the cutting. 
Good Luck.
Ralph

just two weeks ago l ran over a windsheild washer jug and it got mangled in the impeller, l tried everything to move it cut  it wack it u name it nothing worked, so l got pissed off and got the torchs out melted the $#%* out of it and it finally came out.

I used a sawzall the last time I got a newspaper stuck in the machine.  The blade width was perfect for the job.

Kids left a 10 foot jump rope in the snow and I ran all of it into a 3650 single stage toro before it killed it dead. It took two of us almost a half hour to cut all that rope out of there!!! I smile now but wasn't smiling that morning! Ha!

I did the same thing.I took the chute off,and it seemed i had better access.after  a hour or two of foul language it came out.Good luck.

Oh yeah, been there done that. Had some reflectors mounted on aluminum poles marking the side of the driveway. One got knocked over and I didn't know it, and it snowed over it. About 18" of the shaft got twisted around the impeller shaft and the rest was sticking out the top front. I cut off the part sticking out easily, but couldn't get at the rest. It stayed wrapped around the shaft for the rest of the season until I had nice weather to cut it out ... in 2" pieces. Took hours cause I couldn't get an angle with any kind of saw and resorted to using end nippers taking a little at a time.

Where the energy comes from.

The entire drive train from the engine, through the belts to the impeller shaft and onward can all be under tension. They act like a very stiff spring. When the object is removed the spring releases its tension by moving the auger blades a little bit. Any squishy bits in the wrong place can get stuck, mangled or cut. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does its not nice.

I try to jam a 2x4 down the impeller when I fiddle with the auger. Removing the auger belt also sounds like a good idea but it may be hard to do if the system is under tension. I also use pliers ( channel locks), cutters, screw drivers,  what ever to keep the squishy bits away from things that can go squish. I hadn't thought of a torch but its a good idea.

Thank you NickM!!! My snowblower sucked up a rubber stepping stone that was totally jammed between the auger and the casing. I used my reciprocating saw to cut it up and I'm back in business!!

Flame is dangerous! Raise the front of the blower grap a vise-grip on the rubber toy then pour a few bucket of boiling water on the toy until It smooth out, It will come off easy. Good luck Denis