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

I would like to install a CLARENCE kit on two more snow blowers. One of them is a no-brainer since there's allot of clearance.I can easily get my finger between the impeller and housing (MTD). The other one, new to me is a snapper 1132 (2005 series). What would be the clearance to necessitate adding a kit.

The pictures show the original HM-80, that threw a rod on like the third time I used it and was replaced by an 11HP GX340 clone.  That used too much gas so when I tore it down to repaint and replace the gearbox seals I put a 7HP 212CC Predator on it.  If it is underpowered I'll go back to the 11HP as that was unstoppable.

(This is only a 24" Ariens)

The first time I did it I put the rubber on kind of tight, but second one I did I just lightly butted them up.  I don't think it is necessary to make them super tight.  I am still waiting for snow to see how it performs now.  I never did take any pictures of it repainted.

Were you running the big engine at full rpm all the time? 

With that kind of power, you could probably cut back on the revs to about 2500 and still be in the best torque range.  You'll save fuel, and still toss snow respectably.  When you want to dazzle the locals, you can crank it up.

borat wrote:
Hmm, never thought of that.  Yea, I was running full blast unless I was idling it while doing something else.

you could probably throttle it back 25 to 30% and still get decent performance.  You could also put a larger auger/impeller pulley on the engine and have the same impeller speed at 3/4 throttle and still over 8hp available and have a monster blower at full throttle when needed.

Shryp wrote:
Try it and let us know how it works out for you.

I used a tach to find the best rpm for torque (2800 rpm I think) on the engine for my log splitter.  I put a line on the engine near the throttle lever to mark the position for best torque.  Not so much to save fuel but just to run the machine with considerably less engine noise.  It's an 8 h.p. B&S  Industrial Plus and seems to make more than sufficient power at reduced rpms to operate the hydraulics.  The only sacrifice with going to lower rpm is cycle time.  Not a big deal because the machine is fairly fast at full throttle. 

Your right about running at a lower RPM.  Last winter with that same engine on my 32" Ariens.  I would sometimes just kind of putt down the sidewalk at about half throttle +.  While blowing 6 or so inches of snow in second or third gear.  A very relaxing way to blow snow.

If the Chonda clone is as strong as a genuine GX340, that's a lot of ponies.  On a machine with a 28" or less bucket, there's an excess of power on tap.  Running at 60% of 3600 rpm would be 2160 which would be near peak torque range.  If that rpm translates to 60% of 11 h.p. it works out to approx. 6.6 h.p.  and the torque would much more than an engine rated at 6 or 7 h.p. at 3600 rpm.   Lower engine speed, quieter operation, lots of torque, less fuel consumption, sounds like a good a good deal all the way around if one can resist the urge to launch the big arch and hurl for distance.  

Well, I currently have the 6.5-7HP Predator on it.  I have enough parts to put another blower together I think so I might either put the 11 back on it or switch them around.  The pulley is slightly larger already.

borat wrote:
Therein lies the problem.

That would be pretty cool. Have the larger engine spinning more slowly, with a larger engine pulley, so less noise, but still enough torque, and the same auger speed. Then, when you need to send the snow into the next county, go to full throttle. Makes me think of a diesel generator, humming along at 1800 RPM, vs a gas one thrashing away at 3600. I wonder at point you'd overwhelm and break the belt.

Interestingly, my MTD has 2 parallel pulleys for the augers, I think, then 1 for the drive system. I wonder if that could make it more tolerant of added power. It might simply blow the auger gearbox or something, though, as it's just an aluminum gearbox. Some way to change the impeller/auger ratio, to speed the impeller up, without having the augers whirling away, might be interesting. Would help get more distance, without adding more stress to the auger gearbox.