# Crary Bear Cat 824



## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

I thought I'd share some pictures and information about this machine with folks here. I recently traded it in on a nearly-as-old Yamaha YS-828, because I wanted to try a machine with tracks instead of tires.

It's a Crary BearCat 824 "snowthrower" (as they call it). 8hp Tecumseh motor, 24" width. Originally the machines were called Bob-Cats. I haven't been able to find too many images of the machines online so I took some pictures and posted them up.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1111726...eat=directlink

It's a real beast of a machine. It must weigh 350 pounds. The auger and impeller are heavy, heavy, heavy steel plate - probably 1/4" thick. It has no shear pins, instead using a clutch mechanism to drive the auger and impeller. If anything jams up the clutch just slips and no more snow comes out; walk around the front, unjam it, and off you go again. I used the machine for 20 years and only ever adjusted the clutch once.

Everything is inline - there are no direction changing differentials or the like. All of the drive mechanisms run down the left side; a mix of chains (auger and impeller) and belts. The auger is driven off the impeller, so there is a lot of up-and-down gearing going on. 

I kept a spare set of belts on hand because it chewed them up fairly often. Not too hard to change though. The wheels are held on with cotter bolts and spring clips, so they come off in a flash. Then 4 bolts remove the drive cover, after which the belts were hugely accessible.

The machine threw snow well enough but had trouble with traction and snow removal in icy conditions. Even with chains I wrestled with it a lot. And I have a gravel driveway, so I was always trying to keep the nose as light as possible so it wouldn't dig in; the weight of the thing, especially with its unusually long inline layout, made for extra work sometimes.

But it was sturdy. Nothing ever broke besides belts. Everything worked as well the day I traded it as it did the day I got it. It was a sturdy, reliable tool to move snow. And it was an odd beast besides. If I had a place to keep old stuff like that I would have kept it.


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## Bob Cat (Jul 15, 2014)

Nice machine!


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## Eddie Hansen (Sep 4, 2014)

*very nice...*

I just got a bobcat 820 5 hp I am still trying to figure out changing the belts though...


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## BobCat520 (Oct 24, 2013)

Great Machines
I have had a 5hp 20" Bob Cat for more than 40yrs. Two years ago I fitted it with a new OHV Briggs now I like it even better. It cuts through half frozen plow berms like they aren't there. The belts...the short belt is a standard transmission house belt. The long belt is a purpose built belt that's a little hard to find, as it is not only an odd length, but also a unusual pitch however there is a small engine shop in upstate N.Y. that has them made up and usually sells them on ebay. To change the belts the twin pulley has to be removed from the engine.


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