Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > Weld up all the seams on the bucket?

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

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eleckster

Location: Saint Anthony Village, MN
Joined: Dec 22, 2012
Points: 5

Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Original Message Dec 23, 2012 10:24 am

Hi all, first post.

I moved to a new house with a bigger driveway this year and decided that I needed a bigger snow blower. I picked up a Simplicity 860 and pulled it apart. The bucket has some rust on the bottom and I will need to cut out the area that the cutting edge bolts to and weld in new. Ill then have it blasted and repaint.

So while I have the welder running, I'm thinking of welding up all the seams on the bucket that are currently stitched in. Other than taking time, and the possibility of warping the metal if done incorrectly, is there any reason I should not do this?

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carlb

Joined: Nov 16, 2010
Points: 279

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #1 Dec 23, 2012 3:32 pm

I would not weld the entire seam. If you do and it is not water tight it will retain moisture and cause the metal to rot from the inside out. At least with the stitch welds most of any trapped water can drain and the steel will dry out. When you try to weld up the entire seam you will have to remove all of the surrounding paint and you will never be able to paint behind the weld to protect the steel.

eleckster

Location: Saint Anthony Village, MN
Joined: Dec 22, 2012
Points: 5

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #2 Dec 23, 2012 10:08 pm

That's a good point. I guess I'll have to find some other part to put more time into than I should. Thanks

specialkkl

Joined: Dec 27, 2009
Points: 8

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #3 Dec 24, 2012 8:28 am

What I did when my snowblower was new was seal those and other spots with clear exterior caulk to keep salt and water out. Has worked pretty well no rust in 4 years.

jrtrebor

Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #4 Dec 24, 2012 8:41 am

The bucket on my Ariens 1032 looked about like yours.
My cutting edge area looked even worse.
I closed all he seams and have been very happy with the results.
I did two things to seal the seams. I welded some areas.
And used automotive Seam Sealer on the rest. You just need to make sure that you
strip the steel down to bare metal as best you can. Blasting the seams would work the best.
But sanding or grinding works almost as well. You've got to do the interior seams as
well so as not to allow any water to get in anywhere as carlb stated.
After I had things weld up and the Seam Sealer in place I went over and round all of the
seams and corners. Primed it, checked for any small pits or spots that I missed.
Then painted it. This will be my third season since the rehab and all the seams are
still looking good and tight.

This message was modified Dec 24, 2012 by jrtrebor

borat

Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #5 Dec 24, 2012 9:01 am

Nice work guys.

Salt is more of an issue than water. The crap left over from the street plows is usually laced with salt and sand. When I use the Simplicity to remove the EOD, i always leave a good portion of clean fresh snow to run through the machine when I'm finishing up. That usually flushes out whatever salty snow might be in the machine. It's going on seven years old and still looks new. Got a bit of surface rust on the inside of the impeller housing but nothing to be concerned about.

That's another reason I like the single stage machines. Most of the snow handling area surfaces are plastic. So, rust isn't an issue with them.

jrtrebor

Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #6 Dec 24, 2012 11:46 am

borat wrote:

Nice work guys.

Salt is more of an issue than water.

Your right, salt on bare steel is really bad.
It's not so bad in the dead of winter.
But towards the end of the season when things get
a little more liquid. Salt really starts to go to work.

carlb

Joined: Nov 16, 2010
Points: 279

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #7 Dec 24, 2012 12:00 pm

I usually blow a path to the EOD and clear that first so if there was any salt put down i get it through the blower at the beginning of my snow blowing then I do the rest of the driveway and walkways letting the clean snow flush the salt and slush out. While i like the idea of Automotive seam sealer I think that on a snow blower they will see a lot of vibration you might be better served using a more flexible product such as GE Silicone II. It will stay flexible down to -30 degrees i think and it is very sticky when applied and has excellent adheason and really does a great job of sealing up joints. Some of the GE silicone ii products are also paintable.

jrtrebor

Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #8 Dec 24, 2012 12:01 pm

By the way, nice blower.
I love the solid feel that the Simplicity handles and control levers have.
Overall they are very rugged blowers.

borat

Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #9 Dec 24, 2012 12:32 pm

You have to wonder how people can take such a great machine and grind it into the pavement??? One can only assume that the original owner was unaware of replaceable scraper bars?

If the skids are set properly, the scraper bar will last a very long time. I set mine about 1/8 from the pavement. Easier to replace skids than a scraper bar.

However, I made thick skids out of flat bar to replace the relatively thin stock skids. When the original skids wore down, I had a couple shaped pieces of 5/16" flat bar welded to the bottom of the old skids. They'll probably last for decades now.

Bill_H

Location: Maine
Joined: Jan 12, 2008
Points: 354

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #10 Dec 25, 2012 12:14 am

I'll +1 what jrtrebor said. I rebuilt mine a few years back and after blasting, phosphorous treating, and priming, I sealed all the seams (both sides) with auto body caulk. Top coated over that and it still looks great, not a single rust bubble anywhere.

Who the hell let all the morning people run things?

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