# Finished Impeller Kit, 1st start, What should I expect?



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

I finished the impeller kit on 2 machines, one has no carb right now, the other is ready to start but it was dark, I was outside, cold, and dinner time. Tomorrow!

What should I expect? Whirling noise? Will the engine struggle until the rubber wears in? Pieces of rubber being thrown out until it wears in? Does it need to wear in? How long does it take to wear in? How long should I run the snowblower?


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

Should wear in enough to use in a few moments, Would even wear in if used, should not have very much affect on the blower as it’s much less stress than being filled with snow.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

Yes rubber will be popping out
Should take 2 min to break in
start it on full rpm
motor might struggle if you made the pads to long or wide

I've had 1 kit stall the blower my bad
i now break them in 20 seconds each pad
then run 3 min for all
yes it will sound harsher for 2 or 3 min


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## Cold1 (Dec 20, 2017)

There was nothing too startling when I ran mine for the first time with the kit - the engine labored a bit for a short time and there was the smell of burned rubber as the paddles wore in. A few tiny pieces of rubber were thrown out, but not much. That was all over in a few minutes and I've never looked back. I think it may have sounded slightly different at first, but I don't really remember - if so, it was nothing terrible. I ran mine for a few minutes a couple of times before the snow arrived, but the second time probably was unnecessary. Wait till you try the machine in snow - it will be well worth the time and effort!


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

JLawrence08648 said:


> I finished the impeller kit on 2 machines, one has no carb right now, the other is ready to start but it was dark, I was outside, cold, and dinner time. Tomorrow!
> 
> What should I expect? Whirling noise? Will the engine struggle until the rubber wears in? Pieces of rubber being thrown out until it wears in? Does it need to wear in? How long does it take to wear in? How long should I run the snowblower?


I did this mod on my 2 snow blowers, you will love it. Just make sure you lube the impeller housing with something like fluid film or whatever you use. It makes the break in period go better. JMTC.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

My first startup was pretty uneventful, as I recall. I adjusted my rubber flaps so they were just barely touching the impeller housing. You don't need them hitting hard, they'll end up just barely touching anyways, as they wear in.


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## Snowbelt_subie (Dec 20, 2016)

it shouldnt be much of anything. if you installed them too close to the housing it will cause the belt to slip from the drag.......... ive done that once :grin:


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

the first couple i tried to make a perfect fit. it doesn't matter . they will wear in.


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## vinnycom (Nov 6, 2017)

be careful where you aim the chute


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## Homesteader (Jan 12, 2019)

Make sure your engine is warm and running strong without choke at full throttle. 

Feather the impeller clutch to test how much resistance the kit is causing. I’ve seen no resistance, engine struggling, belt slippage and a complete engine stall. All depends on the material used, thickness of material, and distance from impeller to housing. 

Take your time and feather the clutch until you have the impeller moving well. May shake a little until the kit seats and extra rubber burns off. Once full clutch engagement is achieved allow the impeller to spin until you notice a consistent speed, vibration reduction, and engine no longer struggling. Turn off engine.

Inspect the hardware you used to install the the kit and confirm it hasn’t loosened. 

Check your belt(s) for wear or glazing and replace if necessary. 

Good luck!


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## Bill in ILL (Jan 28, 2019)

Is this a kit you can buy or a DYI like the Youtube videos I've seen? Thinking about adding these to my new Ariens in the summer if it is worth it.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

You can buy it on eBay or you can make your own. I'm using 5/16"? thick rubber mat with a hardness of 70 for the price but most are buying baling belting at Tractor Supply because it is fiber reinforced. Then my suggestion is buying 1/4"x3/4" stainless hex head bolts, I bought truss head Phillips, and then buy fender washers, 2 way reversible lock nuts, also would work are prevailing torque nuts or hex lock nuts nylon insert.


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## Hereafter (Oct 11, 2018)

A friend recently told me of this modification and raved about the improved performance. Why haven't any manufacturers (Ariens, Toro, etc.) implemented this mod on their units? I would think it would be a differentiator in the marketplace.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

Hereafter said:


> Why haven't any manufacturers (Ariens, Toro, etc.) implemented this mod on their units? I would think it would be a differentiator in the marketplace.


The only places I've heard of the modification were here and one on youtube. For myself, I'm not going to bother because in 27 years of using snow blowers I've never been unhappy with the way the machine threw the snow. As long as it gets the snow off the driveway or sidewalk I'm satisfied. But maybe I'm easy to please, I use it from a homeowner's perspective and I'm not using it commercially where maybe they need to throw it the width of a parking lot or something. For those guys the mod makes sense. But how big is that segment of the market?

So from the manufacture's perspective it is just another expense, complication (i.e., something else to break and have to fix under warranty) and that the general marketplace is not crying out for.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

the difference is worth it to me since we have a lot of wet snow.

I have installed them both ways .....thru the chute and taking the impeller off. for me it's better to take the impeller off to do it right.

plus i can clean everything, check side bearings, clean and grease auger gearbox arms etc. . do it right the first time or do it twice the half ass way.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Well I finished the impeller mod on 2 snowblowers and started both of them this morning for the first time because we are going to have our first snow, 2"-3" this afternoon turning to rain at dinner for 12 hrs with temps going to 55. I want to get out to test it out. One is a Ariens made John Deere 826D, the other is a real John Deere 1032.

One thing I noticed, after it was running for a couple of minutes I carefully walked around the front of the blower. Wow, the wind coming out was like standing in front of a large commercial stand up fan. I have never felt the wind coming out from any impeller before. There was wind. I can easily see how this will blow the snow further and with greater force. This greater force will cause less clogging in wet snows.

My comments to your responses. Everybody was right on.



1132le said:


> Yes rubber will be popping out
> Should take 2 min to break in
> Start it on full rpm
> motor might struggle if you made the pads to long or wide
> ...


Rubber was popping out! You can see it. And smoking! It took 2-3 minutes for it to break in. I started it on full throttle as the engine was struggling a little.



Cold1 said:


> There was nothing too startling when I ran mine for the first time with the kit - the engine labored a bit for a short time and there was the smell of burned rubber as the paddles wore in. A few tiny pieces of rubber were thrown out, but not much. That was all over in a few minutes and I've never looked back. I think it may have sounded slightly different at first, but I don't really remember - if so, it was nothing terrible. I ran mine for a few minutes a couple of times before the snow arrived, but the second time probably was unnecessary. Wait till you try the machine in snow - it will be well worth the time and effort!


The engine labored a bit for a short time and there was smoking and the smell of burnt rubber. I was concerned the auger belt was slipping and burning. A few pieces of rubber were thrown out, you can see it in the air, it was kinda of funny to see it! It sounded a little different at first. I ran it a couple of times to ensure there was nothing wrong before the snow arrived but it was unnecessary after the first time.



aldfam4 said:


> I did this mod on my 2 snow blowers, you will love it. Just make sure you lube the impeller housing with something like fluid film or whatever you use. It makes the break in period go better. JMTC.


I did not lube the impeller housing but I should have, the first time I engaged the auger it stalled the engine. It would have made it go better. Any type of soap, all purpose cleaner would have worked.



Snowbelt_subie said:


> if you installed them too close to the housing it will cause the belt to slip from the drag.......... ive done that once :grin:


The auger belt on my John Deere is too big, it's slipping, I need to order a size smaller. The auger did not turn.



vinnycom said:


> be careful where you aim the chute


You have to! Pieces of rubber was coming out.



Homesteader said:


> Make sure your engine is warm and running strong without choke at full throttle.
> 
> Feather the impeller clutch to test how much resistance the kit is causing. I’ve seen no resistance, engine struggling, belt slippage and a complete engine stall. All depends on the material used, thickness of material, and distance from impeller to housing.
> 
> ...


I did wait until the engine was running strong and without the choke. There was a lot of resistance at first until the rubber was worn in. The engine stalled the first time. I feathered it a little bit but I wanted to fully engage it asap because of belt slippage from feathering. There was vibration and the engine was struggling until the rubber wore in which took 3 minutes.

"Baby it's cold outside", I did not check for loose hardware or a glazed belt.


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