# Welded Impeller Mod was a Failure



## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

I like the impeller mod so much that I installed it on all of my two stages snowblowers. This time though, I decided to weld it instead. It was a mistake. My welding looks great, but I can't cut the blades evenly, so that they will fit in the impeller housing. The welding beads made it extra thick and hard for me to cut through (even with a 14" metal cutter). I decided to call it a quit, as it will take me a long time to get it done. It probably won't turn out well either.

Well, learn from me folks. My lost is your gain. I wanted to do the impeller mod right, but it was a lot harder than I thought. Welding was never be easy (I heard welders complain about their jobs a lot). You only know how hard it is once you get involved. We all busy in life and those things can take a lot of times from us.

My impeller is Ariens 3 blades 14". The shape of it made it hard to do the impeller mod. The best you can do is bend some stainless steel blades to shapes and then bolt them on. Make them adjustable. If you was to weld it, weld right inside of the impeller housing.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

*Re: 6 blades*

I found this picture somewhere on this site. I hope the owner of this picture doesn't mind me re-posting it.

I think that person did a nice job at it. I might do the same, with the cost of a new impeller.

I don't like rubber on it, because of the shape.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

*I would NEVER make an impeller kit out of metal.. Just begging for trouble IMHO.*


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

On my previous 3 blades impeller, I did it with tire parts fastened with 2 bolts and washers on each blade and It worked without any problems. Even if 3 blades fan are cup shaped, It is not worse to do than straight shaped blades. With correct size rubber paddles it fit nicely on the blades only with washers bolts and self locking nuts.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

never heard of a metal impeller kit.

you can make home made rubber adjustable kits using an old mudflap and some nuts and bolts.

the main problem is that the inside housing for the impeller is not a perfect circle so it hard to get a perfect seal but you can come close. i put them snug and then spray some lubricant and run the impeller for a short while until the pads are broke in. takes very short time.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

micah68kj said:


> *I would NEVER make an impeller kit out of metal.. Just begging for trouble IMHO.*


Well, it doesn't matter what material you used, there is always weaknesses in the impeller mod (for examples: throwing rocks, rust and ice freeze up). That is why I always recommend people to not do the impeller mod when not needed. I like to have fun a little, but sometime it costs me a lot.

I didn't want rust, rubber flex, wear/tear in rubber and loose bolts, so I decided to weld it. I saw a few people did it with metal plates. You just have to leave a little gap with it. With a smaller gap, you can always add thinner rubber on it.

Thick rubber takes space and make the blades narrower. I wanted the blades to be as wide as possible and cupped. Yes, there is a reason why they are cup shaped.

Well, I will just keep working on it. A little at a time.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

orangputeh said:


> never heard of a metal impeller kit.
> 
> you can make home made rubber adjustable kits using an old mudflap and some nuts and bolts.
> 
> the main problem is that the inside housing for the impeller is not a perfect circle so it hard to get a perfect seal but you can come close. i put them snug and then spray some lubricant and run the impeller for a short while until the pads are broke in. takes very short time.


That looks good. I also used metal plates on top of rubber paddles instead of washers.


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