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

I have a Ariens 924108. My snow blower will not blow slush. I see other folks bragging about it. I also see some folks using there snowblower as as pump throwing water from the house. When I go into slushy stuff all It does is vomit out of  my shoot 3 inches. Is there something wrong? It blows snow poor too. 10 feet of heavy wet snow.20 feet of regular snow. My blower has  a 8 hp Techumseh. This snow blower is rated to throw snow 50 feet . What can I do to improve performance.

The 924108 has an auger speed of 110 RPM and impeller 1100 RPM.  These days I believe Ariens machines are running at 130 RPM and 1300 RPM.   Your machine is about 10 years old and won’t perform distance wise to the level of newer machines.  It’s an excellent machine but the newer machines are designed differently and not necessarily better in all aspects because they can toss further than older machines.

 

 Your model has serrated auger tips which are better for chewing than collecting wet slush.

The 924108 is distance rated for 5-45 feet.  For decent conditions of eastern Massachusetts I would think it would toss around 30 feet.  That 5 foot figure is interesting.  The Ariens company is saying in their specifications that in some circumstances their machine will only toss 5 feet.  What conditions were they thinking about for dribbling out 5 feet?  

 

When people mention slush and problems or phenomenal performance it’s impossible to really get an idea unless you are there and can see just what conditions are.  There is great variation in the terms “wet” and “slushy” conditions.   Most of those descriptions do not list the specific model machine.  Unless you know the conditions and model in a boast or complaint the description is too vague to understand.

Someone with the same machine as yours could brag about tossing vary far on a storm where your machine did not do well.  Maybe he was out there in the morning right after an overnight storm and you cleared late afternoon after the sun hit the know for several hours.  Those are very different conditions.

   

>>When I go into slushy stuff all It does is vomit out of my shoot 3 inches.

Some conditions are just too tough to toss.  For some conditions barfing out wet snow is indicative of a healthy machine in that it did not clog and had enough power to keep pumping out cylinders of heavily compacted almost ice that do not break when they hit the ground.   Throwing just a few feet in some conditions is fine.

 

>>I also see some folks using there snowblower as as pump throwing water from the house.

   If working 3-5 inches of water it would be enough to “wave action” water up to the impeller.  Less water would probably be much tougher and collecting watery slush even harder.

Your machine is about 10 years old and used in Maryland.  This year was tough but on year to year average you don’t get a lot of snow compared to Mass.  The snow you get is probably a bit tougher to toss than here.   With proper use and maintenance over the years your machine should have excellent compression and do very well.   

>>What can I do to improve performance.

You could check your belts for slipping. 

 

You could pickup a leak-down tester from Harbor Freight for $30 and see just how healthy your engine is.  A leak-down test is easy to perform and will give you excellent feedback you can’t get from a compression test. Sometimes just a valve job is enough to turn a wimp into a tiger. 

"Slush" is a general term.  In general very few snowblowers past and present will toss "slush". 

Have you ever adjusted the attachment (auger) belt drive? A slipping auger belt is a common cause for poor slush performance. Is the engine bogging down (RPM) or just the snow stream?

My engine never bogs down. I never had a carb problem eather. last month I did treat it to some cynthetic oil. It is its second oil change sence new. It sounds a lot better. I gave it a set of new belts too. That was it's first set. I'm scared to play with the gov for more power. I truly believe that is why folks throw rods in there engines. What do you think ? Will 200 rpm make a difference?
It doesn't sound like much. If so do I play with the gov or high speed screw? I never changed my spark plug. I'm not sure it needs one.  The snow plows never come through my street, knowone else has a snow blower eather. I have to blow snow 4 blocks to get to main road. I can't afford my blower to quit on me. That is why in my other posts I've asked about other engines as a back up.

The extra RPM would come from changing the pulley sizes giving a different gear ratio up front.  There are some discussions on various places and youtube videos about it.  Most people seem to do that when they put a bigger engine on an older machine.  Another thing that seems like a lot of people are trying are the impeller modification kits that basically amount to bolting pieces of rubber to the end of the impeller paddles to close the distance between the impeller and the housing.  A google search for "snowblower impeller" or "snowblower impeller speed" can give some interesting reading.  I have not tried any of them yet, but was considering some of them.

I don't think a bigger pully on my engine will do me any good. Yes I will gain speed but will loose torque. That will bog down my engine. I need a bigger engine for that.I do not know how good those rubber incerts really help. I wasn't impressed with the guy on u tube. He didn't even show them mounted in his blower. I don't here of anyone else eather . That thing can throw your impeller out of ballance.

        I believe the thower would not be affected by the wiper impeller kit,  The unit does not operate throwing snow in a state of balance, every bite of snow thrown is not even..  Also the kit pieces are all the same (weight)  for each blade-- Dynamic  and static,  the balance should be the same as a unmodified blower impeller.

      One large problem with thowing slush is the wet snow is easly pressed into the gap between the impeller and housing..  This gap with wet / lubed snow allows the slush to loose speed and slip past the blades (lost efficiancy and waste of slush speed for ejection)..  The kits sold take away any gap and wipe the housing clean with every stroke.

    I highly recommend the kits,  I made one for a friend of mine who has a cabin.....I made the kit out of some rubber conveyor belt  material and pop rivets,  You can use bolts or screws if you wish, the the rubber is not under much load,  I think i took me 2 hours.. and  5 bucks

Good Luck,

Friiy 

I'm seriously considering the impeller kit for my blower. Not that I have any complaints so far. I haven't had to blow any slush yet though. For what it costs, it would be a neat experiment. You can't argue with the logic.

Guys ... I have only seen a few of these kits installed and working in front of me. I have seen a remarkable improvement in throwing wet snow... I consider wet snow lubricated snow, meaning it slides to where it wants to go.... The wet snow under pressure from rotating impeller is slung to the outside of the housing impeller, this wet "lubricated snow" is jammed to the edge where it slows down with the friction of the housing and easily slips between the impeller and housing .. This slurry just rotates not being ejected from the chute... The added pressure of the spinning impeller slams the wet snow flat into housing allowing the impeller blade to slide past without ejecting it... If you don't believe this happens, Try taking a 7-11 slurpie and cutting a hole in the bottom of the cup the same size as the gap of your impeller / housing .. The slurpie may stay in the cup static for awhile, then try spinning the slurpie at the end of your arm (like a water pail) and tell me how much you still have in the cup.. The slow spinning slush on the outside resembles the margarita in a blender, the outside spins slower than the stuff next to the blade... The impeller kit cleans the housing of all snow by wiping the sides clean with zero clearance with every blade pass.. The velocity of the wet snow is the same as the impeller blade tip speed... the snow is easily injected at those speeds, the auger has a easier time throwing snow to the impeller housing because there is less/ no slurry in the housing... -Friiy

I haven't put the Clarence kit on mine yet.   I have it but will install when the warranty is up.    I did a pulley upgrade that gave a substantial boost to the throwing distance.  I didn't get a real chance to test out in the slush last season.  It was a bad "no" snow year in the Pacific Northwest.

Second picture shows stick pulley.  I had to put a larger Husky belt cover on as well since new larger pulley rubbed somewhat.