# Ariens 926LE with 420cc Predator HF engine



## non applicable (Aug 6, 2013)

So, I picked up an Ariens 926LE and I'm wondering how to make this thing move through snow quicker. 

I'm not saying that the machine is not a capable machine, I just want to move as quickly as possible, and snowblowers in general move much too slowly. I use this machine commercially and moving as quickly as possible means more opportunity for cash. 

So I'm thinking that if I put a Harbor Freight 420cc engine on it and increased the size of the pulleys I can increase the speed that my auger and impeller move at. 

I imagine I'd also need to replace the bearings, I'm guessing they're just sleeve bearings so it would be good to go to ball bearings. If the axle needs to be upgraded I'd probably pick up one of the 48" tractor attachments that people dump on craigslist for $50 and use that. 

Now I'm not looking to jog behind the snowblower or anything like that, but moving along at 5 instead of at 3 would be ideal.

Has anyone ever done something similar to this? 
Can people please list the difficulties that I'm likely to encounter along the way?

I should note that I have a plasma cutter, and I'm good at welding and metal fabrication in general.

Thanks for any input.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

What you are proposing is possible. If you are going to increase the pulley size I would only increase the impeller/auger pulley and not the drive pulley. I don't think you will need to upgrade the axle if you don't increase the drive pulley. I would replace all of the bearings and if you are inclined to replace the sleeve bearings with roller bearings that would be a plus. Make sure the roller bearings are sealed because once you get water in them they won't last long. 
420cc / 14hp is more than enough hp to get you through most snow conditions at a very good pace. I have an 11hp greyhound on a 26" and it does just fine. An impeller kit may also help in processing the snow more quickly, but, with the increased impeller speed any out of balance of the impeller will be magnified, so care must be taken not to imbalance the impeller when adding the impeller kit.


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## non applicable (Aug 6, 2013)

CarlB said:


> What you are proposing is possible. If you are going to increase the pulley size I would only increase the impeller/auger pulley and not the drive pulley. I don't think you will need to upgrade the axle if you don't increase the drive pulley. I would replace all of the bearings and if you are inclined to replace the sleeve bearings with roller bearings that would be a plus. Make sure the roller bearings are sealed because once you get water in them they won't last long.
> 420cc / 14hp is more than enough hp to get you through most snow conditions at a very good pace. I have an 11hp greyhound on a 26" and it does just fine. An impeller kit may also help in processing the snow more quickly, but, with the increased impeller speed any out of balance of the impeller will be magnified, so care must be taken not to imbalance the impeller when adding the impeller kit.


Thanks for the feedback Carl! 

Do you have any recommendations for where to get the larger impeller/auger pulley from (at a decent price)?

I looked up the impeller kit on youtube and it seems like a good idea. I wonder why the manufacturers don't put them on to begin with?


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

They are many places to get pulley at a good price. You first have to determine what diameter pulley you need and i am assuming the bore will be 1" on that engine. Does you original engine use a single shaft or double shaft engine? If double shaft you will have some extra work to do to get the predator to work. If you are currently using a single shaft engine does it use two separate pulleys or two pulleys ganged together on a common shaft?

if you have two pulleys on one shaft you will need to get two pulleys. The inner pulley closest to the engine should be the same diameter as the original. The auger pulley the one furthest away from the engine you want to increase in size by XXX amount depending how fast you want to spin the auger/ impeller I would not exceed 1300 to 1400 rpm on the auger. To determine the auger rpm take the auger pulley diameter and divide it by the engine pulley diameter, then divide 3600 by that number. That will give you the auger rpm for an engine running at 3600 rpm. I would not suggest more than a 15 to 20% increase in impeller speed. Understand that this will put a fair amount of additional stress on the impeller bearing, the auger gear box and auger bearings.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Pulleys & Idlers | Lawn Mower Parts | MFG Supply

The "Steel V-Belt Pulleys" section is the cheapest, but some of the other areas have some odd sizes.

Also, Tractor Supply Company has some if you have one close to you. I didn't care for theirs though because they were for 5/8" belts instead of 1/2". Well, they were for either, so the belts just sat extra deep. That did have the one advantage of acting like a built in belt guild, but it made them hard to measure.


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