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

husqvarna higher end snowblowers have a high speed impeller.Honda impellers rotate at a higher rpm compared to toro,ariens simplicity etc.Is this just a company decision ?Are there reasons why an Ariens or Simp dont set their rpms higher?

snowmachine wrote:
Nothing wrong with modding as long as you know what you're doing.  Having spare parts around also helps too.

No stickers please.  I know they add horsepower, but $2 for 3 HP gain just isn't fair.  I had to spend $750 just for an extra 4 HP. 

Knee_Biter wrote:
I feel a group hug is in order.  Can we sing kumbaya?

I've been reading a lot about this subject here & would like to add my 2 cents. Since I am only a second year user, I am concentrating on understanding how to use my MTD 8-24 machine and it's limits. I have already re-powered up from 5 to 8 hp but I'm still not happy with the distance in general & specially for EOD. I have to take small slices to ensure it doesn't choke itself & bog right down. I have been considering impeller design among other thing as a cause. I noticed that my impeller has a large hook or hockey stick at the leading edge of the impeller (see photo). I postulate that this causes the machine to pull too much snow into the impeller too fast & helps cause the bogging.


If you look at some of the photos of other impellers a lot seem to have smaller hooks (except Simplicity). Also the better machines seem to  have heavier more substantial impellers in general. I'm thinking that like a car flywheel, the heavier impellers also help to keep up the speed of the impeller as you move through heavier or deeper snow.
Any thoughts?

left to right top, John Deere, Simplicity, Murray, Bottom: Toro, older Ariens, Craftsman ( they are all for 24 & 26" machines)

aa335 wrote:

That video is awesome!!! They could be brothers.

I'm thinking these hooks on the impeller do seems to gather snow better.  These hooks are beneficial for lighter snow.  However, for really dense heavy snow, this may have a negative effect.  I am thinking there's compaction of the snow which makes it more difficult for it to leave the blower housing.  Just a postulate and throwing out my thoughts for discussion.

aa335 wrote:

Or even some cheap orange Krylon in an attempt to make it more of a Husky :-) I think I have 30 shear pins now and have yet to break one. 3 belts and two auger pulleys. Clay from the "John Deere 1130 SE" thread even sent me some of the spare parts he had. He had one of these units before he got the JD.