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

what size pulley should iput on 305cc engine there is a 51/2'' pulley on blower .it is a 36' cut blower for a lawn mower but i am modifying to go on atv .its a single stage so i want to get most power i can out of it.any help would be appreciated thanks..

As a single stage blower owner and being extremely jealous of all of you knowledgeable 2 stage owners I read all of these threads with great interest. I was thinking about the issue of impeller and auger housing clearance and thought about the possibility of using something like a roll-on truck bed liner like dupli-color bed armor or something similar. Enough coats would probably help with the auger clearance while protecting the housing at the same time. Good idea or bad?

I wouldn't think that the bed liner material would be a good idea.  Although it would be durable.  You need a smooth surface for the snow to travel over. The smoother and slicker the better.  Most bed liner material is textured. It's designed to produce somewhat of an anti skid surface. 

Just to clarify, it isn't really about auger clearance.  On a single stage tractor type blower.  The clearance issue is limited to the two or so blades in the center of the augers. That actually catch and throw the snow up the chute. The augers to the left and right of the center blades/paddles simply move the snow to the center for discharge.

On a two stage blower.  It's the impeller blade to housing clearance is the important issue. 

thanks for all the info iguess ineed more hp.just wonderin would a 2 stage blower work better or would it be the same as a single stage.

A two stage would work. But you'd have the same sort of problem.  A 10hp engine would not be big enough to run a 36" 2 stage blower.

ralphfr wrote:

Is your auger adjustable? Some large single stage blowers have a means of adjusting the auger clearance. Check your manual if you can't tell by looking, or even the parts manual. It makes a HUGE difference.

JRTREBOR - Makes sense. I had a feeling the texture might be an issue. Initially I thought this was just an impeller issue until I read a post earlier in this thread alluding to auger clearance as an issue. Thanks.

BILL_H - Not an issue for my Toro SS as the housing is plastic and the auger is rubber and wears with use but thanks for the suggestion.

checked my rpm on engine today it is at 3640 rpm.would it be safe to turn it up,iread on here someone had turned up to 4500 with no problem.

Most OPE four stroke engines are designed to run at 3600 rpm.  You could spin it at 4500 but who knows what effects it will have?   I have no reservations spinning up two cycle engines.  Not sure I'd want to be spinning an OPE four stroke engine too high.   Go-cart racers do it all the time but they also rebuild their engines every so often. 

I had 4 stroke Honda 160cc engine running above 4000 RPM and it didn't feel right.  The noise was quite loud with the existing muffler.  The vibration was unbearable without some kind of isolation engine mounts from the chassis.

Increasing the RPM isn't really going to accomplish much.  On OPE engines an increase in RPM at the high end won't do anything to increase the torque. It fact it will probably drop, the higher you rev the
engine.  So the auger may spin faster, until you put a snow load on them. There is no short cut to take if your you don't have enough HP to run a blower.  And that is the problem you have. 
A 10HP engine simply isn't large enough to power a 36" blower. 

If there was a way around that problem with gearing someone would already be doing it.  Blower augers (single stage) and blower impellers
(2 stage)  need the right mixture of power and RPM to operate well.