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

With all the crazy weather happening in the last 2 or 3 years I've been thinking about getting a 4000 to 6000 watt generator for emergency use. At the same time I was wondering about using a snow blower tractor unit to power it a la Ariens Trac Team.
I would attach the generator to a shaft that went through a plate & had a pulley attached. There would be a couple of pieces of angle iron attached to the plate, configured so that when you wanted to use the generator, you just loosened the 4 bolts & split the snow blower, then connected the tractor section to the generator & tighten the 4 bolts. Thus way you get more use out of your blower (4 seasons).

Call me crazy, but I was wondering if the blower engine would stand up to running for long periods to power the generator since most generators run at 3600 rpm???

Cheers

most generators engines use a tapered shaft and your snow blower would be a straight shaft engine.   While you could make it work it would not be worth the trouble.  Even an 8hp snow blower will only be able to produce 4kw of electricity.   You would be better off looking on craigslist for a non running generator and fix it.  Most of the time these non running generators are not running because the owner left the gas in it from last year or the year before and it has now turned to green slime/sludge.   I have purchased several used non running generators and in all but one case the old fuel was the problem.  The one exception was old fuel and a bad set of brushes in the generator so the fix was a set of brushes (10.00 dollars) and a carb overhaul.

The engine would be fine running for long periods in the cold/winter. In fact, the engine usually lasts longer than the snowblower it's attached to.

The conversion to a "snow engine" makes engines ill-suited for summer duty. Removal of the air cleaner is the biggest concern here - The engine would be sucking in whatever dust/debris happens to get near the carburetor. On top of that, the heat box/trim on the engine might cause overheating...Snow engines usually have max temperature ratings on them for these reasons (That, and emissions requirements change for summer duty vs. winter duty).

It's a better idea to get a standalone generator.

I knew about the tapered shaft, but I have seen some generator units (just the generator, no motor) for sale with a straight shaft. As far as winter & summer temps & air cleaners, I hadn't got that far yet, but it is a valid point. You could always hook up a foam air cleaner.
Looks like I need to keep thinking about this, thanks for your inputs.

Cheers