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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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?

eleckster

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

Re: Weld up all the seams on the bucket?
Reply #11 Dec 25, 2012 7:12 pm

Merry Christmas everyone.

Body work is lower on my list of things I like to work on, but it needs to be done before I move on. I did just get a wire feed so I am itching to use it. Higher on the list is performance so if I stick with this project, more power will be added and welding would add strength as well as seal the seams up.

My auto body buddy says any place I weld a seam to spray it with a lot of weld thru primer so it soaks all the way in. Weld it up and then clean off any exposed primer, as it is better at protecting the hidden area, than as a primer under paint.

jrtrebor, that looks great. I saw the post on your Honda re-power. I’m dreaming of a v-twin, Honda or Vanguard, but first things first.

I never thought about flushing out the salty snow, but I will be doing that from now on. My new house is on a cul-de-sac so I get an extra large pile at the EOD.

This rust appears to be from sitting in a pool of the salt water. I have an Ariens ST504 that I redid the bucket on 7 years ago. More often than not I fog it with some oil that I have laying around after I dry it out with a heater. It has very little rust on it.

I do like the solid feel and looks of the handle on the Simplicity enough to pay more than it probably was worth. I was looking for a Gilson as it would match my tiller and looks even more solid, however it appeared that the parts are harder to find.

I like the idea of welding on a piece of metal to the shoes. I was just going to flip the shoes to the unused side but I will probably weld a piece on the wore down side.

Currently I'm thinking I will weld up some areas I think will add strength. I’m not sure about sealing the seams. Ill have to have a couple of beers in the garage and think about it.

Thanks for all the advice.

This message was modified Dec 25, 2012 by eleckster

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