# My impeller mod



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

I did this during the summer.. so far I only had a chance to use it in an inch of wet snow.... Threw ten to fifteen feet.
I had a huge gap.. the impeller housing was close to thirteen inches rather than 12.. It was round though.. pretty much within a mm.
It is easier to just remove the chute assembly.. rather than try to work through a hole.
The upper chute half will need to be trimmed where I shaded in green.. the green is what has been trimmed away.
Buy some small C clamps to hold your rubber pieces in place while drilling..and doing your testing for drag.
I used a short piece of lumber to jam the impeller to the the auger shaft.. that wedged up to an auger.. it wasn't very long...few inches .If you have some scrap two by four laying around just grab a few short pieces.. one of em will be the right length.
I used the side wall from an old tire.. I used a steak knife to cut the pieces.. then a utility knife for trimming after.
I did not wedge my pieces tight. I clamped on a piece to just barely touch the housing..
I took the auger cable and pulled it up on the big plastic wing nut that locks the bars.. that was enough to release the impeller brake.. now I had easy spinning.
This is a Craftsman blower 24 inch ..The Cub Cadet Troybilt and other MTD blowers will be the same ..Just remove the chute out of the way and this job is pretty easy









Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## whimsey29 (Jul 9, 2016)

Looks good. I took the easy way out and bought the impeller kit. I have a 24" Troy-Bilt with the 179cc engine. It made a huge difference in the ability to throw the snow, even wet snow and the EOD mess.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

whimsey29 said:


> Looks good. I took the easy way out and bought the impeller kit. I have a 24" Troy-Bilt with the 179cc engine. It made a huge difference in the ability to throw the snow, even wet snow and the EOD mess.


I added washers under the bolts and trimmed the inside edge of the rubber but can't find those pictures..
I had an old tire laying around so it wasnt to bad..It was kind of rough cutting though at thickest part of sidewall.
Figured by the time I found what I needed online I could already have em cut
Did you have as huge as gaps as mine did?...nine sixteenths to five eights inch gaps on mine



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

Another angle.. shows what a huge difference it is by just removing the four bolts for the chute.. all kinds of room









Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i got to do the same to my machine. i tried doing the impeller mod the other day but that plastic piece you trimmed destroyed the peices i used for the impeller mod. got to take it all apart just to trim that silly piece


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

i have 2 honda hs 80's. one with kit , one without. used both today on about3-4 inchesofslush.

one without threw theslush about a foot.

one with kit threw it about 15 feet. no clogs. wellworth the time.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

crazzywolfie said:


> i got to do the same to my machine. i tried doing the impeller mod the other day but that plastic piece you trimmed destroyed the peices i used for the impeller mod. got to take it all apart just to trim that silly piece


Must have not been belted rubber you used..you should be worried about tearing the chute up and not the paddles...You want heavy rubber so it doesn't bend over on load..I put the thicker part of my cuts to the housing side.
Remove spark plug wire.
The easiest way is to take all chute pieces off.
Cut a paddle. clamp it where it needs to go with a small c clamp or small vice grips.
Rotate the impeller past the "big hole".
Hold the upper chute piece where it goes.. reach in and feel where it overlaps... Trim off chute with a utility knife.. I used a knife to shave off the overlapping part rather than cut it.. kind of have to cut corners though.... Shave off eight inch or so and hold it on there and see what you have.. then turn the impeller back to it with your clamped on piece and see if it clears the chute piece
Naturally we can not have the paddles jammed tight to the housing for they won't have any tension on them in the outlet area of the housing..then when it rotates to the housing and edge of chute it's going to hit it.

Since you already have holes drilled in the impeller I would do one paddle at a time and use old piece of existing paddle for template



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

the stuff i used was strong enough to not bend much but you could just hear it hitting off the piece of plastic until pieces started coming out of the shoot. the large gap on these machines seem like they were needed to clear the silly piece of plastic you trimmed. all my pieces broke off flush with the impeller edge.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

I found an old piece from my 'trim to width'.. that a 10 mm wrench ..so I am about a half in plus thick there where it sticks over the paddle.. no way it can break.. and flex would bring the leading edge tighter to the housing.
The sidewall of the old tire got much thicker up the side wall before it got closer to the tread.
Old tire sidewall worked perfect for me... Granted all old tires won't be the same.. but one with a decent sidewall shouldnt be to hard to find









Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i got some mudflap somewhere. i just couldn't find it when i was trying to do the mod. i have a feeling it in under the snow in the back of my truck and hopefully i should be able to find it tomorrow with all the much warmer weather we got tonight.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

orangputeh said:


> i have 2 honda hs 80's. one with kit , one without. used both today on about3-4 inchesofslush.
> 
> one without threw theslush about a foot.
> 
> one with kit threw it about 15 feet. no clogs. wellworth the time.


This is all I have blown this year..I got about 10 to 15 feet of throw using sixth speed...about an inch of snow there..Was able to get out there before it melted away










Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

crazzywolfie said:


> the stuff i used was strong enough to not bend much but you could just hear it hitting off the piece of plastic until pieces started coming out of the shoot. the large gap on these machines seem like they were needed to clear the silly piece of plastic you trimmed. all my pieces broke off flush with the impeller edge.


It's real easy to trim once you unbolt it..you only have to trim as wide as your rubber paddles are as well..so it's not much work really..hard work is re making those paddles..I feel for you there.




Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## all3939 (Dec 21, 2014)

I use super grip flat belting https://www.mcmaster.com/5753k413 In all my snowblowers. I line the Impeller in the flat area and all the way through the curved portion creating a larger area to catch and fling the snow.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i finally got this done on my snowblower. had to get new bolts for the plastic piece that bolts to the impeller housing. i got a couple different types of rubber on the impellers to see what lasts. had to remove quite a bit of plastic but it doesn't sound like the rubber is hitting anything this time but i did initial break in with the plastic piece off. so far it throws a lot better which is both good and bad lol. i can throw over my vehicles but it is landing about 40-50' away on the neighbors lawn getting close to their driveway lol.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

crazzywolfie said:


> i finally got this done on my snowblower. had to get new bolts for the plastic piece that bolts to the impeller housing. i got a couple different types of rubber on the impellers to see what lasts. had to remove quite a bit of plastic but it doesn't sound like the rubber is hitting anything this time but i did initial break in with the plastic piece off. so far it throws a lot better which is both good and bad lol. i can throw over my vehicles but it is landing about 40-50' away on the neighbors lawn getting close to their driveway lol.


Bolts flat instead of rounded?
I had thought about those but just notched the rubber a little..I remember using those flat head carriage bolts years ago for material handling ..didn't have any corrosion protection and we had to use anti seize on em.
Snowing here now So I be will be able to blow snow later 



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i had to replace the carriage bolts that hold the plastic piece to the impeller housing. most were rusty and snapped when i went to take it off. probably wouldn't have hurt to toss some anti seize on them but doubt i will have it off again any time soon unless i am replacing the plastic piece at will point i will just another $2 on new hardware.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

crazzywolfie said:


> i had to replace the carriage bolts that hold the plastic piece to the impeller housing. most were rusty and snapped when i went to take it off. probably wouldn't have hurt to toss some anti seize on them but doubt i will have it off again any time soon unless i am replacing the plastic piece at will point i will just another $2 on new hardware.


Good thing they twisted off rather than round out the square hole..I was hoping the bolts were decent..but it looks they saved a little money there too.



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## m.breen (Dec 30, 2018)

whimsey29 said:


> Looks good. I took the easy way out and bought the impeller kit. I have a 24" Troy-Bilt with the 179cc engine. It made a huge difference in the ability to throw the snow, even wet snow and the EOD mess.


Wait a minute.....You can buy an impeller kit? Google here I come.


----------



## melson (Feb 9, 2015)

Yep. The "kits" offer the convenience of having precut belting / rubber material. Some kits include hardware as well.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

1 of the holes did round out but the nut was far enough off by that point that i was able to just cut the bolt. it was part of the reason i used a mix of normal and nylon nuts. normal nut to hold things together and nylon nut behind that to make sure the nut can't back off. rest pretty much snapped off but i was using a impact gun. they were either coming out, snapping or rounding the hole. it is not like they are very big bolts.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

i make elongated holes in the rubber so that i can adjust flaps once i install the impeller. I tried doing it thru the chute without taking impeller out but had a hard time doing an accurate job.

since i remove the augers and impeller it's a good chance to clean up shafts , change shears , check side bearings , and apply anti seize grease. killing two birds with one stone.

it only takes an extra 4 beers' time.......( kidding , I don't drink until the shop is closed up )


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

orangputeh said:


> i make elongated holes in the rubber so that i can adjust flaps once i install the impeller. I tried doing it thru the chute without taking impeller out but had a hard time doing an accurate job.
> 
> since i remove the augers and impeller it's a good chance to clean up shafts , change shears , check side bearings , and apply anti seize grease. killing two birds with one stone.
> 
> it only takes an extra 4 beers' time.......( kidding , I don't drink until the shop is closed up )


How do you "pill" shape the holes?. I had thought about doing the same thing but couldn't think of a way to "pill" shape them

Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Shovel, drill out the holes, then use a "Reamer" or a "Mill" type tool or one of those little tools with a Dremel tool and slide it in the direction you want.
It takes time, makes a bit of a mess, and sometimes smells of burning rubber, but can be time consuming and messy job.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

ST1100A said:


> Shovel, drill out the holes, then use a "Reamer" or a "Mill" type tool or one of those little tools with a Dremel tool and slide it in the direction you want.
> It takes time, makes a bit of a mess, and sometimes smells of burning rubber, but can be time consuming and messy job.


I remember when I worked at a place that used alot of conveyer belts..we had punches to create the holes..the center was hollow and you picked the 'buttons' out down a groove on the side.. If you had to pill shape it you could as long as you were doing half holes..I guess a guy to do another half punch for a total of three punches for a hole with double length. I haven't seen the same tool since.




Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## JayzAuto1 (Jul 25, 2016)

I use the hollow punches also. Available from Grainger or your favorite Industrial Supply Co. Probably a Leather Punch or Maybe even Gasket hole punch would work. I use 2 overlapping holes yo get a slightly elongated hole...... doesn't need much of an adjustment. Worx Great!!!

GLuck, Jay


----------



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

A hole punch works great. They come in different sizes. You put a 2x4 behind it to hammer in to. A good Harbor Freight item for your toolbox. I also use it to make an extra belt hole when I've had too many... Hagan Daz.


----------



## all3939 (Dec 21, 2014)

I do things differently. Easier then the recommended way there is a better tool for this kind of stuff. By the way it can change your belt size too if you had too many HaganDaz.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/112321974626


----------



## NMLHoldingsLLC (Dec 15, 2019)

Get a truck mudflap at NAPA.
Buy 4 1-1/4" x 1/4" hex cap stainless steel bolts, washers, lock nuts at home depot

Remove chute
Drill holes in impeller
Install cut mudflaps
Bolt in place

Probably a $10 job
Takes about 20-30 minutes of work
You'll spend more time in home depot buying hardware than on the upgrade.
Look up on youtube if you need a little more convincing or further instruction

Best upgrade you will ever accomplish.
Entirely changes how machine will perform.
I did it on all 3 machines and couldn't believe the difference.

Good luck!!


----------



## NMLHoldingsLLC (Dec 15, 2019)

Shovel said:


> How do you "pill" shape the holes?. I had thought about doing the same thing but couldn't think of a way to "pill" shape them
> 
> Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


You might be able to punch the holes with an empty 45 shell casing if you're a shooter or have access, depending on the thickness of the rubber of course
I just drill mine with a 5/16 drill, wiggle it around.
I use 5/16" stainless washers with 1/4 SS bolts and thru bolt these with nylock nuts.
Never had any trouble with stuff moving around after it was crushed into place.

good luck!


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Shovel said:


> I remember when I worked at a place that used alot of conveyer belts..we had punches to create the holes..the center was hollow and you picked the 'buttons' out down a groove on the side.. If you had to pill shape it you could as long as you were doing half holes..I guess a guy to do another half punch for a total of three punches for a hole with double length. I haven't seen the same tool since.
> 
> 
> see below
> ...


see above.


----------



## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

@Crazywolfie @Shovel 



I did the impeller mod on my Troy-Bilt 2410 and found a similar issue with the chute housing destroying the rubber paddles. It took me a while to discover exactly where the interference was, but trimming the flange off of the chute housing was no big deal. (see my thread on the 2410 impeller mod)


The initial paddles were from a mod 'kit' and were solid rubber (no fiber reinforcement). Upon fixing the chute interference issue, I went with some very thick reinforced rubber that I had lying around. Never looked back.


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

JLawrence08648 said:


> A hole punch works great. They come in different sizes. You put a 2x4 behind it to hammer in to. A good Harbor Freight item for your toolbox. I also use it to make an extra belt hole when I've had too many... Hagan Daz.


Will take a look.. I should be alright for at least a year but I want to have one on hand.
Thanks



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## Shovel (Mar 26, 2019)

tpenfield said:


> @Crazywolfie @Shovel
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I got lucky as I was feeling around in there on the bolts and noticed the plastic stuck down in the way so tackled the plastic at the same time.
I watched a couple of your videos...is the blowing the 26 inches before of after you put the 305 on there...seems to be getting rid of the snow pretty good there.



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

The 26" storm video is actually BEFORE I did the impeller mod and the 305cc engine upgrade. Mother nature has been afraid to challenge the machine since doing all that mod work. :grin:


----------



## BlowerMods1 (Jan 11, 2020)

Bought a new blower last year to replace a 6 year old 8.5 hp. It worked well but became to unwieldy. Bought a little 179 cc. 5.5 hp. Yard Machines to replace it. The new blower worked great until this year. Our first snow was 10 inches and super wet. Chute clogged on me every 15 ft. It has an impeller mod now and of course we haven't had enough snow to try it out. MTD marked down the same blower this year by more than half so I picked up another one as a spare parts machine. First thing I did was an impeller mod. Several other mods as well, about 17 in all. Even a cup holder. These little guys are loaded for bear now. Don't wait till the last minute to do this mod it's great if works like I hear ! I'll let you know, we're supposed to get slammed this weekend.
.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i got to really put the impeller mod on my machine to the test today and it did awesome. no clogging at all while blowing slush. might have to try the noma out on some slush tomorrow to see how it works before i ship it over to my sisters place. i currently only got 2 of the 4 impeller blades modded. not sure it is worth doing all 4 or not.


----------



## Snowbelt_subie (Dec 20, 2016)

Put an impeller mod on my tracked hs624 the other day I think I'll get to use it this weekend.









Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## BlowerMods1 (Jan 11, 2020)

I did the impeller mod on my blower this year because I had not experienced the clogging issue in the previous season. This year however I did the mod after a 10 inch shower of wet snow. I was clogging up every 15 feet. Couldn't find anything but plain rubber. Auger has four paddles so I did two of them. Since doing the mod on my working machine and my back up I found some nylon reinforced rubber. Think I will use this on the other two. I have finished every possible mod I could think of (even added a coffee cup holder) and I need something to do Forgot to say where I got my reinforced rubber. Tractor Supply has it. I will use one of the paddles I have as an extra as a template.


----------

