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

Well........finally getting around to starting a thread on this impeller mod for the snowblower.  Perhaps a little late in the season, but it will give us something to talk about!  In light of the recent thread about plastic liners, I thought I should get this started.

I have to admit that when I first heard of this, I was a little skeptical at first.  Sounded interesting but as with most mods, they are usually more hype than improvement.  Some had been telling me about it and said that it made a real improvement.  Yeah, right.  I checked out the web site and, have to admit, I was being drawn in.  Clarence lives in the same city as I do, so this gave me some more interest in checking it out.  Still back burner though.

So.........one day we are out doing driveways and this occasional client that lives across the street from my client sees that I am having a little trouble with the slush getting plugged up in the machine.  He tells me that he just got the kit installed on his machine and is going to give it a try.  Now I know how his machine performs usually, as I have seen him do his driveway  many times over the years, so this should be interesting.  Well, the next thing I know, is that I almost wet myself!   He was blowing that slush out of his machine like it was being shot from a cannon!  Now we all know that slush usually goes about 2 feet, so seeing  this stuff fly 20+ feet was nothing short of unbelievable.  We tried some snow with it and it was going 30-40 feet.  Normally his machine throws about 20-30 feet.  By the next day, I was over at Clarence's and getting it installed on one of my machines, to check it out for myself.  I have NEVER looked back.  Now, ALL of my machines have been fitted.  My favourite machine is an MTD Pro 13/33 (1986) , with the 13 hp B&S engine, and it will honestly throw snow 50-60 feet!    The Ariens and other MTDs have been fitted too.

ABSOLUTELY no snow or slush will slow down this kit! EVERYTHING that goes in, will come out!  EXCEPTIONS include: newspapers and extention cords!  Havn't picked up a squirrel yet!

Most kits now have roughly 2000 times on them now and the belting is holding up quite well. I see no need for any replacement yet.

Installation will require medium skill, I guess, as you will have to remove the chute and drill the impeller to install the kit.  You are working through the opening for the chute. 

For the first several times you use your machine, the sound will be quite different as the rubber will be dragging slightly on the housing until it gets worn in.  THAT MEANS THAT IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE PAINT COMING OFF OF THE IMPELLER HOUSING, THEN THIS KIT IS NOT FOR YOU!  It will make the metal quite shiny, I must say.  BUT, if that is not a big deal for you, then the perfoermance upgrade will be more than a fair trade off.  Other than the paint coming off, the metal is not being worn out.  With all the use that my machines get,  they are still in fine shape.  With typical homeowner use, you should still get 50 years out of your machine.

So........which machines are likely candidates?  I would say every 2 stage machine out there, with the exception of Hondas and Yamahas.  They already have a tight gap between the impeller and the housing and would not show any improvement.

Clarence is a super guy and I send all of my equipment to him now, (that I can't fix) for repairs.

Hope this helps.

Got any questions............fire away!

Ken

PS Thanks for the push.............Fred!

GreatCanadian wrote:
First check the gap between your impeller and the housing.  If it's less than 1/4", adding an impeller kit would not gain anything except pumping slush and water.

Considering your machine is fairly new design, I would think that Ariens have "closed the gap" between their models and the Honda/Yamaha competition.  

aa335 wrote:

Right on. The impeller kit closes the gap when it's too big. If your gap isn't too big it's not going to do enough to make it worth it.

I have installed an impeller kit (home made) on my Ariens Platinum 24 (2010 model).  I can tell you that it does improve the throw distance and slush capability a bit, but probably not nearly as much as on some of the older machines.  Would I do it again?  Yes, because I seem to always want to fix things that aren't broken  .   But it's a bit of work and don't expect miracles out of it on these newer machines.

GreatCanadian wrote:
I'm sure your Ariens works fines in powder snow. What I would consider before installing the Clarence kit, is if you are satisfied with how it works in wet snow and slush.

If your machine currently plugs when throwing wet snow, then longevity will be improved. A lot of stress is put on the machine when it plugs, as snow don't come out but still comes in. The result is that more and more snow (and weight) accumulates in the housing putting stress on engine, belt, and auger gear case.

When the wet stuff comes out the load (weight of snow) is less.

/SnowStorm

snowstorm wrote:

Hi Snowstorm,

I have thrown some heavy snow (quite heavy in fact, but I wouldn'g go so far as to call it slush) - although I did test it on the cul-de-sac where the snow was thick and gray with salt, and it threw it on top of the 15 foot high pile of snow in the middle of the cul-de-sac with ease. The 342 cc engine seems to be powerful enough. It hasn't even come close to clogging. So perhaps I don't need the kit. Might have to wait til next year to find out. Seems like winter is fading here (at least storm wise). 

GC

GreatCanadian wrote:
Even a Honda snowblower can clog, although rarely happens unless I overdrive it faster than it can pump out snow.    In this case, I rather have more cc and hp so that the impeller tip speed is maintained high, rather than slowing down and churning around slowly like homemade ice cream.

Not sure how wide your snowblower is, but 342cc on a bucket 30 inches or less is a good healthy combination.  If the impeller kit is a magic sauce for modern 2 stage snowblower, it's a shame that none of the manufacturers have equipped it from the factory.

If the snowblower can't handle wet heavy snow, you'll know for sure.  No need for a solution go looking for problem.

Not to dissuade you from modding, but it seems this is a project that is high on effort, low on gain.

aa335 wrote:
Thanks to all for your responses.

jrtrebor is right. If your impeller has too much clearance, check if it is equal all the way round. It should at least be less that 3/16" in the area shown in my "drawing".

Just measured. It's a full 1/4 inch space...perhaps a touch more.

GC