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

Gentlemen,
I haven't posted here since last winter but I would like to thank Borat and the other regulars for their guidance and excellent advice. After much research I purchased a new Simplicity 24" 9 HP (B&S) snowblower. We had quite a lot of snow here in the Chicago area last winter and the Simplicity handled it flawlessly. I have an 80' concrete driveway with a mild slope. But, I live on a relatively busy street so when the city plow passes by I am left with a small mountain of snow at the end of my driveway. I learned NOT to plow the two feet or so closest to the street because small concrete chips and pebbles are dug up by the city plow and hidden in the plowed snow at the end of the driveway, and as a result my impeller and chute interior became very scratched. So I shovel the remainder of snow by hand.

Two things...a headlight was optional for my snowblower but none were in stock at the time I bought it. Sears has a universal kit for $59 which I though was rather expensive. So I purchased a "tractor auxiliary light" at Wal-Mart for about $15 and easily connected it to the snowblower's alternator lead. It works perfectly and looks factory original.

Here's my question...my Simplicity is equipped with Skid Shoes. I removed the shoes in the spring and sanded and repainted them. But after another season of use I will have to repeat the process as the shoes take a beating on the concrete. Wouldn't it make sense to install small, thin wheels instead of skid shoes? The wheels would roll smoothly along the surface as opposed to the friction and grinding of the skid shoes. Does anyone know if Simplicity makes wheels for this blower or could something be fabricated? Your suggestions?

Inline skates may be something to consider. But..

The wheeled skids idea is great on paper. I think it real life they would freeze up.

there are space age plastic skid shoe replacements. HD started selling Ariens for 39$ and universal ones for 29.

BTW, HD watertown mass started carrying Ariens belts and shear bolts.

AND....... it marked a lot of spark lugs, uncluding N4C,  to .50$

When I was a teenager in the 1970's our family had a Jacobsen snowblower. I remember that the frame was white and the auger was painted red. It had a crank-rotated chute, a manual choke and around 8 horsepower. But, instead of skid shoes, the scoop had 3" or 4" round by about 1/2" thick flat steel wheels mounted on either side. The drive wheels were traditional steel with rubber tires. This is where I got the idea for replacing the skid shoes with wheels. I remember that snowblower worked very well, so I was curious why modern snowblowers are not equipped with wheels. It seems to me that skid shoes create a lot of grinding and friction on a concrete surface where the wheels would roll right along.

Speaking of Jacobsen, are they still in business?

If it's worth the work and expense and parts can be found to do the job, give it a shot. Take some pics to show us how it turns out.

A co-worker of mine did that with a blower mounted on the front of his Ariens tractor.  He used some thin, heavy steel wheels.  I wish I knew more, but I do know they lasted quite some time.

http://www.samsbolens.com/images/726_parts_list_5.jpg

I just picked up an old Bolens 726 to restore. Take a look at the Optional Roller Set in the photo. You could always do something like that.

Looks similar to a skid mount arrangement but with a steel disk for a wheel. That would work. I think I'd just weld a bolt to a worn through skid to use as an axle mount for the wheel and try to find a couple super large/thick washers to use for wheels. Put a lock nut or drill a small hole through the axle and nut for a cotter pin to keep the wheel on. I've already welded some plate to the bottom of my skids, so I won't be doing this any time soon.

i just got an old craftsman 7hp 27inch..not sure how old it is but it has wheels where the skid plates are on modern machines..they are just steel discs..this is my 1st snowblower so i cant comment on how they work yet..although i think i might have to lower them because my driveway is in a bad way and changing shear pins does not seem like a good time! i've seen other older machines with these same wheels on them..i'd think they would be less likley to wear away..but being u dont see them anymore leads me to believe there is a reason they went away.

rob

"Steel Discs" is a much better term to describe the "wheels" I was referring to on the old Jacobsen. If my memory serves me, I used to push downward on the handles which tilted the scoop upwards onto the drive wheels in order to turn the snowblower right or left or 180 degrees. It would not turn on the discs.

Question: My Simplicity came from the dealer with the scraper bar adjusted to sit flat on top of the driveway surface. Would it be better to adjust the skid shoes so that the scraper bar sits 1/2" or 1" above the surface? This would leave a little snow on the driveway but the scraper bar would last longer and the snowblower would be less likely to pick up small rocks and pebbles. Your thoughts?

If you have an unpaved/gravel driveway, I'd go with half inch clearance or so. If your driveway is paved, you can set it to about 1/8-3/16 inch. I use a couple of paint stirring sticks to set my skids. I put the machine on a flat level surface, put a paint stick on each side under the scraper and make sure the machine is sitting evenly on them. I press down on the machine to get the machine in positive contact with the paint sticks then start to tighten the skids. Keep an eye on the skids while tightening. They sometimes will move out of adjustment when applying torque to the lock nuts.

There's another thread already started concerning wheels vs. skids.