Impeller kit on snow blower?

[MstrCarpenter]

Until this past week, we haven't had much snow, either.  A warm spell already made that 8" disappear.  I'll do the mod, but it might not get really tested this year.


I definitely need to close the gap on my machine.  I don't know why they would engineer such a gap into my machine.  I think this gap is the real cause of my dissatisfaction with the machine's performance.  Maybe they decided the machine needed to be a little more rock tolerant?  A wider gap would do that; I've never broken a shear pin in the 9 winters I've had the machine.  I only have concrete up near the house.  The rest of the area is gravel and asphalt millings.  I don't use it scrape the area clean; I have it raised 1/2" off the ground to keep the scraper bar from digging up gravel.

If they haven't been out in 8 years, I would suggest you remove one side at a time to make sure the augers aren't rusted to the shaft. A lot will have grease fittings but adding grease alone doesn't necessarily ensure they they will rotate (and shear the pins) when necessary.

B.T.W., Ski wax works on the chutes. Only takes a minute to rub some on, and you can choose the color that matches the snow type.

[Bill Wilson]

I thought about adding an auger kit to my Husqvarna, but when I looked at it closely, the impeller is within a 1/4" of the housing, so I suspect my results would be minimal.  I really don't have a lot of trouble with mine.  Under good conditions, I can readily throw snow 30'.  I knew a guy who did this years ago on his old Gravely and he said it worked wonders.  That is what gave me the idea, thinking I could get even better performance, but I have no idea what the gap was on his machine or even what hp it was.

[R Clark]

If they haven't been out in 8 years, I would suggest you remove one side at a time to make sure the augers aren't rusted to the shaft. A lot will have grease fittings but adding grease alone doesn't necessarily ensure they they will rotate (and shear the pins) when necessary.

B.T.W., Ski wax works on the chutes. Only takes a minute to rub some on, and you can choose the color that matches the snow type.

You're right.  I never even thought about that shaft until I watched several vids this week.  I need to do that.

I thought about adding an auger kit to my Husqvarna, but when I looked at it closely, the impeller is within a 1/4" of the housing, so I suspect my results would be minimal.  I really don't have a lot of trouble with mine.  Under good conditions, I can readily throw snow 30'.  I knew a guy who did this years ago on his old Gravely and he said it worked wonders.  That is what gave me the idea, thinking I could get even better performance, but I have no idea what the gap was on his machine or even what hp it was.

30'  ....  I wish I had that.  I might make 30', but only if the wind is blowing in the correct direction at 30 mph...

[MstrCarpenter]

My old 27" J.D. snowblower put me to the test today. Before I could use it I had to put on a new drive chain. The worn sprockets along with the stretched and worn chain produced enough slack that it would bind on itself when shifting to reverse. Of course the new chain came with the wrong size master links. I had some of those but the half link required a short trip. That repair worked well enough but I broke a shear pin within 10' of the shop. It's all gravel or lawn, so no surprise. Then I broke two more, so now I'm using bolts and I see that the holes on the auger are elongated to about 3/4". The generator cord was neatly coiled, sitting on top, with just enough hanging that John Deere could reach it and neatly coil it somewhere else. Took a half hour to put it back; minus the cord cap.


F.Y.I. You don't necessarily need to use rubber to extend the paddles on the impella. Years ago I watched a lot of videos on this modification and they were using rubber to basically scrape the sides during the second stage. HDPE will remain ductile to -40F, so I plan to use a dollar store cutting board (or steal one from the kitchen) for mine. I'll let you know if they snap off with the first rock.