Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > How much clearance for a "CLARENCE" ?
Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions |
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carlb
Joined: Nov 16, 2010
Points: 279
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Re: How much clearance for a "CLARENCE" ?
Reply #15 Dec 6, 2011 10:25 am |
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A person could also put on a simulation video. Of how to damage a gear box and how to put excessive load on all of the blower components. By by using to fast a forward speed for the
snow conditions. Or by plunging into an EOD pile that has chunks of frozen snow and ice.
The impeller kit does one thing. It improves the efficiency of the impeller. It creates a smaller gap between the blades and the housing. So that more of the snow that is in front of the blade is
expelled out the chute on the blades first pass by the chute opening. Can that put more load on the engine and belt than the way it came from the factory, yes. But would that load be any greater than than trying to blow 12" of wet snow in third gear instead of 2nd or first gear? No I don't believe it would. I guess my point is that with or without an impeller kit a person can damage blower components by using it incorrectly. And you see people, or hear people doing it all the time. As I said there is a small learning curve when using a blower with a kit installed.
A person can easily shorten the life of blower components by using it incorrectly.
The gear box issue.
Putting an excessive load on the impeller has no effect on the gear box.
The impeller and gear box spin off the same shaft. So when the impeller slows down due to a load so does the gear box. You can't blow a gear box because of a heavy load on the impeller.
I would go so far as to say that if you have the correct OEM shear pins installed and the augers are free on the shaft. You can't blow a gear box period. All the gear box does is spin the augers
which moves the snow horizontally. That is not a tough task for a screw auger. What happens to often is that people get the idea that a snowblower is half snow plow and half snowblower.
Anytime you feed the blower housing more snow than is has the capacity to process. Your putting an excessive load on it. Just listen to the engine.
Blowing deep wet snow is like cutting long wet grass. Again, I have to agree with Jetrebor 100%. All of the additional load is put on the impeller, belts and blower housing bearing. The torque is being passed through the impeller via the shaft to the gear box. Overloading the impeller will either stall the engine or slow the engine making the auger either spin slower or stop completely. If the impeller can not process the snow fast enough you are going to fast. If the impeller is clogging then you would need to stop to clear it first. In any case I have been clearancing my impellers for years using either steel plates welded in, or running a bead of weld on the edge of the impeller and then fitting it for 1/16" clearance on the blower housing and have never broken a gear box or anything for that matter. I have blown slush, wet snow and dry snow with no problems and have never had the chute plug once. I wish i had video of my old large frame Snapper blowing slush more than 25' last year like a fire hose. On my current machine which is an 11hp 26" mid 80's Cub Cadet the 14" impeller has less than 1/16" clearance on all four blades. Carl
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Knee_Biter
Wicked Pissa
Location: just outside of BOSTON
Joined: Dec 14, 2008
Points: 147
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Re: How much clearance for a "CLARENCE" ?
Reply #17 Dec 7, 2011 7:20 pm |
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I have posted this many times on both forums. I purchased my Ariens 1128dle new. The first season we got his with heavy wet snow that quickly turned to rain. My Ariens turned into a sausage maker. Slush would fall out of the chute like a Sweet Italian sausage and then plug. I was discusted with my machine and ready to sell it. I put the Clarence impeller kit in and it became a new machine. It goes through the wettest of snow, slush, and even throws water like a cannon. Without this kit I would have sold my machine. My Honda's throw like that right out of the factory and no need for the kit. I have also installed them on many other machines and have never had any problems.
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RedOctobyr
Location: Lowell area, MA
Joined: Nov 5, 2011
Points: 282
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Re: How much clearance for a "CLARENCE" ?
Reply #18 Dec 12, 2011 10:57 am |
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Can anyone tell me how thick the rubber is in the Clarence kit? I am going to try to make a homemade version of the kit. I have some 1/8" thick rubber sheet that I'm planning to use. If that's too thin, I can use 2 layers. That, plus some metal brackets (the flat ones with holes in them at the hardware store), and some bolts, and I should be in business. Do people typically install these, including the drilling, with the impeller still in the machine? I assume you remove the chute, of course. It seems like it might be easier to do it in place, rather than removing the augers and impeller from the machine. This is for an Ariens ST824. Thanks.
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Shryp
Location: Cleveland, OH
Joined: Jul 26, 2010
Points: 532
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Re: How much clearance for a "CLARENCE" ?
Reply #20 Dec 12, 2011 11:49 am |
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FrankMA
Location: Merrimack Valley/Northeastern Mass
Joined: Jul 1, 2010
Points: 587
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Re: How much clearance for a "CLARENCE" ?
Reply #22 Dec 12, 2011 1:19 pm |
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They look like they will wear like the paddles on a single stage. I agree, that is one serious snow machine - Nice job shryp!
Toro Wheel Horse 522xi GT, Honda HS928TA, Honda HS621AS, Honda HS520A, Toro CCR3000 (work in progress), Honda HS624WA (sold 08/23/2010), Stihl BR550 Backpack Blower, Stihl MS250, McCulloch MS1635, Honda EM6500SX Generator
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