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

I never realized that by explaining how the friction wheel drive on another thread would cause such feelings of inadequacy in one poster that he felt compelled to pretend I had personally attacked him, which was never my intention.  But now that this has come to be a subject worthy of discussion, let's explore the comparison.   Most snowblowers of the two stage variety use the very simple, easy to understand friction wheel drive to propel them.  Here then is the system explained so we all can begin with a clean slate. 

  The snowblower engine drive shaft will have a pully on it to drive a Vee belt that is attached at the other end to a 'Drive Plate'.  So long as the engine is running, the plate is spinning thanks to that belt.   The wheels or tracks of the snowblower are connected to the drive system through a rubber faced friction wheel that rides at right angle to that 'Drive Plate', and the shaft the 'rubber faced friction wheel' rides on is one the rubber wheel can slide along from one side to the other.  That sliding motion then positions the rubber tire like friction wheel on the 'Drive Plate' depending on where you place it.  This is done with the cable running from the notched speed change lever on the operators console of the machine.  When you, the operator, squeezes the handle that engages the drive you are lifting that engine driven 'Drive Plate' into contact with the rubber faced 'Friction Wheel' and if the rubber is in good condition, and properly adjusted , it makes contact with the drive plate and the snowblower will begin to move.  How fast or whether you move forward or reverse is dependent upon that speed control that usually has something like 6 forward speed noitches, and two reverse.  That cable running to the friction wheel will allow it to ride across the drive plate at the center, for low speed, closer to the edge for high speeds, and even on the other side of the drive plate's center to make the friction wheel spin the opposite direction.  This puts the machine in reverse.  This then is what plays the role of a transmission on all 'Friction Wheel Drive' snowblowers.

The problem is that if the drive belt slips, the machine will not move.  If the rubber tire like friction wheel becomes hard and glazed, it will not properly grip the flat metal Drive plate, and you again, won't move.  In fact if the plate surface is slick from wear, or the friction wheel rubber is worn down, like when the tire on your car becomes bald it will again not properly contact the drive plate and transfer the engines power to those tracks or tires. Usually before this occurs you get a period of use when the machine requires the operator, You, to push it when it encounters greater resistance.  So it may move forward until it has to push itself into that heavy salt laden "end of the Driveway" pile, and then the friction wheels reduced 'Friction' ability causes it to spin no longer as the drive plate becomes polished from rubbing against the immobile rubber surface.  Here you have two options, first is you shove the 200 pound machine into the snow, or second, you stop, take it back into the garage where you better have the new friction wheel rubber and the tools and know how to replace the worn one that has rendered your snowblower useless.  This happens to such machines as a result of normal use, and depending upon how much wear that friction wheel suffers from the normal use of the machine.  Thus a snowblower moving light powder all the time will go much longer than the same machine used to throw, and push itself into wet heavy snow which wears the friction wheel more, and thus wears it out much faster.  If you happen to live in a climate where the snow is often wet and heavy, rather trhan light and fluffy powder, you should evalutae your ability to deal with this maintenance item.  Your owners manual will supply the repair procedure for this in most cases, as well as a parts diagram so you can order, and have on hand the necessary new rubber tire for that friction wheel.   The manufacturer supplys that information precisely because they recognize the fact that your snowblower will, at some point, require this work be done.  I personally understand all this from about ten years owning an Ariens Snowblower, followed by 15 years with an MTD built Sears Craftsman snowblower, both with the same friction wheel drive mechanism.    Where I live in southeastern New York State, wet heavy snow is the rule, light fluffy powder is the exception.  This resulted in having to change these friction wheel rubbers about every two years on average, so my next new snowblower choice eliminated the problem entirely, albeit at some considerable cost.

The alternative system employs an actual 'Transmission'.  My John Deere Lawn Tractor ( X-300R) has such a transmission, and it has been problem free for many years.  So I paid as much for a new Honda, hydrostatic Transmission Driven snowblower (HS 928 TAS) as I paid for that John Deere tractor.  The extra cost to me was worth it. 

Now I do not tell everyone to buy the same machine I did, or even to avoid the friction wheel drive system common to most other snowblowers.  I simply think that BEFORE you spend the money on that new snowblower you know what you are buying.  The manufacturers, store clerks, and even Consumer Reports magazine will NOT tell you, as I just did, the Reality of owning those simple less expensive drive systems.   By reading this you now understand : A)- How the thing works, B)- What To expect, and WHY, and C) - You now can buy based on an Informed Choice without discovering the hard way what will happen from normal use to your snowblower. 

carlb wrote:

I don't know about that ... keep caring for it like you obviously have been, and it'll probably go 38 or 48 more!! But I'd plan on an engine rebuild/swap somewhere in there :)

borat wrote:

Maybe so, but something doesn't sound right. 

I've moved a lot of snow in my day, including five foot high e.o.d. using a few brands of machines with regular friction wheel drive.  Some jobs were tougher than others and some machines were nicer to use than others but I've yet to experience the difficulties you've mentioned. 

borat wrote:

 I have used many different makes of  "friction wheel" snowblowers in various  sizes over the years to do the end of driveway snow, but none have done the job  as easy as my hydrostatic Husqvarna.

I am nothing against any  friction drive machine, most do a fine job, but  in my opinion   , It is  not as easy as  with  hydrostatic drive.

I have no doubt that a hydrostatic drive is superior to a friction drive, but if your at all mechanically inclined and keep your blower in good repair, you can replace quite a few friction disks for the cost of a hydrostatic drive, and if the hydrostatic ever needs repair, pull out your wallet.  

In my opinion.  Any problems that are encountered with moving EOD piles and the friction drive system. 
Are not really short comings in the drive system.  It is the fact that most blowers using that system simply don't have a slow enough first gear. 
Which is why the blowers with hydro drives seem to perform better under those conditions.
They can be slowed to a snails pace. Which is sometimes the speed that is needed.  To keep the blower operating at peak efficiency.
There is no question that the deeper and denser the snow gets. The slower the forward speed must be. 
And that forward speed will need to be slower on a 5hp than it will be on a 10hp blower.  With the same bucket size and running components being of equal size.
I hoping that having added a slower first gear to my blower this fall.  Will prove out my thoughts on this issue.  We'll see.

jrtrebor wrote:

l agree 100% with jrtrebor comment/opinion

I too have my machine adjusted so that it is very, very slow in first gear, but with 5 forward speeds it is still plenty fast,  actually it's faster than I can comfortably walk in fifth gear.  Another advantage to slowing down first gear is that you also speed up the reverse gears.

Slowing down first gear in a 'friction wheel" snow blower: 

 Cutting down the engine rpm is not the answer as this reduces power and would also slow down the impeller

  Reducing   the size of the engine pulley that drives the disc .

Making sure that the rubber clutch wheel is properly positioned to make contact with the disc  as close as possible to the center of the disc.

Changing the size of the  rubber clutch wheel,

 Recalibrating the engine to develop its max power at 3000 rpm rather than 3600 , the impeller could be speeded up with a larger engine pulley.

Changin the size of the gears or sprockets  to reduce ground speed in all gears.

Any other suggestions?

"Any other suggestions?"

Leave them as they are.  They work just fine right off the assembly line.