48" Snowblower w/ 15 HP Engine

[SkidRoe]

This is a build that I have been thinking about doing for while, because I was not sure how much I would use it. My local snow removal business picked up significantly last year, so I decided to go ahead with it, as moving snow with a 50" bucket was getting old fast.
I decided that driving the blower with an independent engine would be ideal, as my old 440b only generates about 8 hp at the auxiliaries. Also, it would leave the aux connections available to rotate the chute.
After accruing most of the parts that I needed last winter, I put it all together over the Christmas break.
The blower is a Case L84 off of a '70's era Case garden tractor. The motor is a 15 hp 420cc Chonda from Princess Auto.

After building a mount for the engine with some square tubing and some 12 gauge plate, a clutch/drive arrangement was constructed using an over-center belt tensioner and a belt guide. The drive is transmitted through 2 - 6" pulleys and an A-width vee belt. Speed reduction to the auger is handled by the original chain drive on the blower. At full throttle, the auger spins at 1350 rpm.

To rotate the chute, the original worm-drive system was retained, but driven by a hydraulic motor. The worm had to be moved slightly as leaving it in the original position would create an interference with the engine mount. To prevent the hydraulic motor from over-loading the worm drive at the end of the chute travel, the drive torque is transmitted through a piece of rubber hose that will slip on its connection to the worm drive.

Last night was its maiden voyage, and everything worked as expected, thank goodness!! The engine seems to have plenty of power, and it handles heavy wet snow very well. Blowing distance is adequate, but because this machine is to be used in residential areas, I am not aiming for distance. The chute rotation works well, speed is good and it will rotate under load no problems.
The blower engine has electric start, but I have not mounted a battery yet. The engine starts easily with the pull start, and I just leave it idling while travelling between jobs.
As I said, so far, I am impressed.
Cheers - SR

 

[TriHonu]

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Nice looking build!
Is that a hose you're using for a slip-clutch on the chute rotation? That is a nice and simple solution. My chute is rotated by an electric winch. I had to install a circuit breaker since the fuse would blow every time the chute hit the rotation stops.
My neighbor has one of those single stage blowers on his yard tractor. It works very well. I asked him about it and he stated similar results; it doesn't throw the farthest but it rarely plugs.
I've seen it work with very wet snow; the same snow I had plowed because it was so wet.

 

[Hotrod1830]

Awesome build Roe. I have been wondering if this has ever been done, as both my machines dont have enough Aux to run a drive motor for one of these. Nice to know it works. Now if it would only snow enough here to need one. Lately we havent got enough snow to even get the skid out....I have just been shoveling by hand. cool idea and good job, I like it.

 

[SkidRoe]

Awesome build Roe. I have been wondering if this has ever been done, as both my machines dont have enough Aux to run a drive motor for one of these. Nice to know it works. Now if it would only snow enough here to need one. Lately we havent got enough snow to even get the skid out....I have just been shoveling by hand. cool idea and good job, I like it.

Yes, that is a piece of hose, and it works very well. I got the idea from a silo unloader we have on the farm. The ring drive gearbox is driven through a piece of hose.
We have had a pretty light winter so far too. We had our first streamer off of Lake Huron yesterday, dropping about 8" of snow on us.
There is a guy on You Tube that built one with a 2 stage blower, which inspired me.
Single-stage blowers are not elegant, but they get the job done. I had a 38" single stage blower for my John Deere lawn tractor, which always worked well no matter what the condition, but was a pain in the butt to put on and take off. I sold it when I got the Bobcat.
Cheers - SR

 

[Tazza]

Yes, that is a piece of hose, and it works very well. I got the idea from a silo unloader we have on the farm. The ring drive gearbox is driven through a piece of hose.
We have had a pretty light winter so far too. We had our first streamer off of Lake Huron yesterday, dropping about 8" of snow on us.
There is a guy on You Tube that built one with a 2 stage blower, which inspired me.
Single-stage blowers are not elegant, but they get the job done. I had a 38" single stage blower for my John Deere lawn tractor, which always worked well no matter what the condition, but was a pain in the butt to put on and take off. I sold it when I got the Bobcat.
Cheers - SR

Very nice job, glad it worked as well as you had hoped it would right from the start. Even better that it will help you earn some extra cash.