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

Ariens mounts there motors behind the axle, moving weight of the scoop. It definitely makes it easy to handle; so far, it is the only 30" that doesn't scare my wife. However, not scaring my wife isn't the main criteria.

If the weight is on the nose it resists riding up. If the weight in on the rear wheels it aids traction. Going uphill, additional weight transfers to the wheels. Going downhill, it transfers to the scoop. Although that may or may not be significant.

So which is better? The most bias to the wheels as possible?

As a side bar, several snow blowers have optional weights to go on the scoop. These typically are on the top, a bit forward of the skid shoe. And rather small, 10#. More like an offset for a cab. Is higher overall weight better? Is it better to have 80# on the nose and 170# on the wheels or 150# on the nose and 170# on the wheels?

The weight on the nose depends on the traction at the wheels. You need enough to have a net force holding the nose down. The more traction, the more force holding it down. Which is what wheelie bars do.

Now that I think of it, it may be a practical solution. It wouldn't have to be much.

Tracked blowers don't need it because the tracks perform that function.

Well, sort of. It acts like a wheelie bar because the pivot point moves backwards as the bucket rises. The tracks also has a mechanism to shift the more weight forward or backwards as needed. I don't think 150 pounds on the bucket to stop the bucket from popping up is practical, but you can try it and report how it works.

aa335 wrote:

Wheelie bars don't move the pivot. They act like sticking out an arm to brace yourself has you are falling. As shown, the force raising the nose should be in the 75 pound range at the skid shoes, limited by rear wheel traction. If the nose is heavier, it will stay down.

I was referring to track on snowblower.

But whatever. You are the man. It is what it is.

If two snowblowers had the same weight on the rear wheels, say 185#, but one had 90# on the skid shoes centered 22" from the axle and the other had 50# centered on the skid shoes centered 20" from the axle, which would be preferable? What if the one with 90# up front had 16" tires and the other had 15" tires?

The shiny one that has more horsepower, bigger tires, and comes with a wheelie bar.

DavidNJ wrote:

Go ahead add 75-150 lbs.onto the front end of YOUR snowblower that would make turning fun. The bucket might support the weight but you'd be shaving the bottoms off the shoes of people living in China.

All the guy needs to do is buy a 25 lb. weight plate at Dicks Sporting Goods or Sports Authority and use a bunch of wire ties to hold it on the front of the bucket if he actually needs even that much weight. Dicks charges .89 cents a lb. for grip plates and if you go to a place that sells bodybuilding equipment you can buy a rubber coated weight plate for about $2 per lb.

75 lbs.of extra weight on the bucket is looney!

DavidNJ wrote:
Can you draw a free body diagram showing where the flux decapitator is in relation to center of rotation of the nut behind the handlebars?

Are the skid shoes plastic or metal?  What's the torque on the nut behind the handlebars?  How many times was that nut overtorqued? 

Are those tires all season tires?  mounted on alloy rims or steel rims?

aa335 wrote:
I think the nut was under torqued and vibrated loose while reversing with the auger engaged.

Other factors to consider: What time of day was the snowblower purchased? Were the stars aligned in retrograde to the atmospheric conductivity? Is the air in the tires standard or metric and is said air rated for winter or summer use? etc, etc, etc.... The list is endless but must be compiled completely in order to determine which snowblower is best at this particular moment in time!