# How Far Does your 10HP or Larger Snow Blower Throw?



## SharpAndCunning (Mar 1, 2019)

I've got a 12.5HP Craftsman Blower, Model 536.881230. All the belts have been replaced, and I've upgraded one of the pulleys for the Auger to be slightly bigger, to put a little extra tension on the belt, and I'm struggling to get height out of the snow.

It's 12.5HP and 33" wide, am I wrong to think this thing should be a work horse? The last storm was about 3 1/2", and the **** thing struggles to throw slush out at the end of the driveway (from the plows). 


It doesn't smoke, and I checked the plug and it looked great. There are no dead spots in the throttle, and it doesn't skip, except for a a couple pops out the exhaust as start up. It does seem to run a little bit better with the choke on the 1st click, over being off. I did add some Seafoam to the latest tank of gas, and ran it WOT while cleaning up the driveway. No change. 


Is there a spec sheet that says what the Shaft RPM's of the motor are supposed to be? Maybe it's not revving as high as it should? I've got a timing light that measure RPMS, but I don't know what else to investigate. 12.5hp is more HP than a damned 250ci motorcycle, and those will do 100mph+. This snowblower should throw snow more than 15 feet out and 6 feet high.


I imagine you guys with 10hp+ blowers can bury your neighbors house with them?


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## Snowbelt_subie (Dec 20, 2016)

SharpAndCunning said:


> I've got a 12.5HP Craftsman Blower, Model 536.881230. All the belts have been replaced, and I've upgraded one of the pulleys for the Auger to be slightly bigger, to put a little extra tension on the belt, and I'm struggling to get height out of the snow.
> 
> It's 12.5HP and 33" wide, am I wrong to think this thing should be a work horse? The last storm was about 3 1/2", and the **** thing struggles to throw slush out at the end of the driveway (from the plows).
> 
> ...


Some blowers throw better than others. Some have deeper impellers some have narrower.

I bet If you look at the gap your blower could use a impeller paddle mod. Do that and I bet you will be happy with the performance.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

How are you able to measure rpm with a timing light ?


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

To the best of my knowledge everything struggles with snow when it's more like slush. Most people who have done the modification to the impeller think it's the way to go. 
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=snow+blower+impeller+modifications&t=chromentp&atb=v185-1&ia=videos

My Toro PowerShift 1332 will pretty much do 40' or more with anything but slush if I have the right angle on the chute's deflector. It is amazing how much snow it can eat. I also have a 1032 Craftsman Driftbreaker. It too can chew it's way through the nastiest EOD and toss it to the neighbors yard (back when I lived in the city). Like the Toro it does get a bit challenged with slush.

Without looking it up I would guess you should be around 3600 RPM for the engine. If you get a cheap tach/hourmeter off Amazon, Ebay, ... it's easy to check. I think Harbor Freight has an optical tach for cheap but I have the Tach/Hourmeters to monitor hours of use on my machines, especially the riding mowers for oil change. 
You can usually find them 10-20 bucks and there are sealed and replaceable battery types. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hour+meter+tachometer&t=chromentp&atb=v185-1&ia=shopping
If you're running on that first click of choke the carb is likely starting to gum up and needs to be cleaned. The alternative would be using a cleaner, I recommend Lucas fuel injector cleaner (measured) and run a couple tanks.
With the popping it could be a number of things but depending on the age and run time of the engine you might be nearing the time to do a valve adjustment. I'd try the simple things first.

.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

RIT333 said:


> How are you able to measure rpm with a timing light ?


I think he has a timing light with a built in digital RPM readout.
I never thought about it but if you dragged a battery over to the blower for power and clipped on the lights inductive lead it should read rpm. For each impulse it's 2 RPM just like a car. 

.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

OK if throwing is your thing....do an impeller kit...try it out....then increase your RPM's to the point that you think it may blow up the engine, and back off a hair...then if not throwing far enough, increase the auger pulley some what...if not enough distance...increase horsepower......repeat as needed


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

heres my impeller kit result in heavy wet snow ( was raining while blowing) , 28" bucket, 208 cc, 15 cm of snow. 
do the impeller mod, check rpms, and make sure your belts are adjusted and arent bottomed out in the sheaves !


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Does the engine slow down while it's blowing? Definitely check RPMs, I'm with K4aF, I'd expect it should be around 3600 RPM, but looking up your machine's/engine's details will give you better info. 

An impeller kit closes up the gap between the impeller and the metal housing, improving throwing performance, especially with slushy snow. 

Has the machine's performance changed, or has it always been like this? When you say a larger auger pulley, you mean at the engine, presumably? So it's spinning the augers and impeller faster than stock? 

Mine is 24", 10hp, with an impeller kit. In good snow conditions, it throws maybe around 35-40'? I've never tried to measure. I'm sure a Honda would throw further, but I don't have distance complaints.


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## BlowerMods1 (Jan 11, 2020)

I had a 28 inch 8 hp. MTD - Tecumseh that would throw everything it hit at least 25 feet or more. No problems. Always readjusting to keep from hitting passing cars. Totally stock, no mods. Thing was a beast. Problem was it beat me up every time I used it. Never had it clog either. Electric start did go out on it right after warranty expired though.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I think he has a timing light with a built in digital RPM readout.





Kiss4aFrog said:


> I never thought about it but if you dragged a battery over to the blower for power and clipped on the lights inductive lead it should read rpm. For each impulse it's 2 RPM just like a car.
> 
> .



My timing light only flashed. It didn't give an rpm reading. Must have a fancy one. I had a separate TL and Tach.


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

i would agree that it sounds like you need to do the impeller mod. my machine has a 250cc engine and will throw the snow about 10-15ft up and 30-40ft away from it with the impeller mod which has force me to change how i clear my driveway. also did the impeller mod on a junky little 8/24noma and it went from throwing snow 5-10ft to throwing snow about 20ft. definitely makes a huge difference on how the machine throws. it also allows you to throw slush or even water easily and without clogging.


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## SharpAndCunning (Mar 1, 2019)

RedOctobyr said:


> Does the engine slow down while it's blowing? Definitely check RPMs, I'm with K4aF, I'd expect it should be around 3600 RPM, but looking up your machine's/engine's details will give you better info.
> 
> An impeller kit closes up the gap between the impeller and the metal housing, improving throwing performance, especially with slushy snow.
> 
> ...


The engine doesn't noticeably lug unless its clogging. Which really only happens with 4+inches of slush. The performance hasn't really changed, maybe it's a little worse than last year, but tough to say.

The pulley I changed is the free spinning pulley attached to the auger engage handle. The one that adds tension to the belt. I have the correct belt, and it's new, but it seemed a bit loose, Tractor Supply had a good selection of pulleys, so I swapped the one that was there out with a slightly larger one, just to all a little more tension to the belt, it case belt slip was the problem - And it doesn't appear it is. It doesn't change the speed of the augers. 

What impeller kit did you use? The link above is to a google search, lots of options.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Gotcha, so your pulley swap just increased belt tension, rather than changing auger speeds. 

I made my own impeller kit, using baler belt from Tractor Supply Company.


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## Snowbelt_subie (Dec 20, 2016)

SharpAndCunning said:


> The engine doesn't noticeably lug unless its clogging. Which really only happens with 4+inches of slush. The performance hasn't really changed, maybe it's a little worse than last year, but tough to say.
> 
> The pulley I changed is the free spinning pulley attached to the auger engage handle. The one that adds tension to the belt. I have the correct belt, and it's new, but it seemed a bit loose, Tractor Supply had a good selection of pulleys, so I swapped the one that was there out with a slightly larger one, just to all a little more tension to the belt, it case belt slip was the problem - And it doesn't appear it is. It doesn't change the speed of the augers.
> 
> What impeller kit did you use? The link above is to a google search, lots of options.


If you can find some free used single stage paddles that's what I use with self tapping screws.









Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

SharpAndCunning said:


> The pulley I changed is the free spinning pulley attached to the auger engage handle. The one that adds tension to the belt. I have the correct belt, and it's new, but it seemed a bit loose, Tractor Supply had a good selection of pulleys, so I swapped the one that was there out with a slightly larger one, just to all a little more tension to the belt, it case belt slip was the problem - And it doesn't appear it is. It doesn't change the speed of the augers.


are you talking about the idler wheel that puts tension on the belt when you press the handle down? usually there is ways to adjust the slack. sometimes there is a slot in the arm that it bolts to or sometimes they got adjusters on the cable to remove the slack. it shouldn't have needed to be replaced. if you replace a pulley you definitely need to make it clear which one. a larger pulley on the engine would help make the auger spin faster but a larger pulley on the auger would make the impeller spin slower. still sounds like your machine could still use the impeller mod. it would never clog with the impeller mod.


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## SharpAndCunning (Mar 1, 2019)

Snowbelt_subie said:


> If you can find some free used single stage paddles that's what I use with self tapping screws.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk



Awesome. thanks for those. I'll definitely be on the lookout for some. Seems like an easy, 1-2 hour mod. I'm sure, there's an old car tire around somewhere, I could probably use too. I've gotta watch a video or two to better understand why this makes such a difference. 

​


crazzywolfie said:


> are you talking about the idler wheel that puts tension on the belt when you press the handle down? usually there is ways to adjust the slack. sometimes there is a slot in the arm that it bolts to or sometimes they got adjusters on the cable to remove the slack. it shouldn't have needed to be replaced. if you replace a pulley you definitely need to make it clear which one. a larger pulley on the engine would help make the auger spin faster but a larger pulley on the auger would make the impeller spin slower. still sounds like your machine could still use the impeller mod. it would never clog with the impeller mod.


Yes, in my morning haste, I could not come up with the word idler pulley. I'm going to find some rubber, either from paddles or a tire and do an impeller mod. 

I played with the pulley because I wanted to rule out belt slipping, and I couldn't think of another way to do it, instead of adding "extra" tension to the new belt.


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## Snowbelt_subie (Dec 20, 2016)

SharpAndCunning said:


> Awesome. thanks for those. I'll definitely be on the lookout for some. Seems like an easy, 1-2 hour mod. I'm sure, there's an old car tire around somewhere, I could probably use too. I've gotta watch a video or two to better understand why this makes such a difference.
> 
> ​
> Yes, in my morning haste, I could not come up with the word idler pulley. I'm going to find some rubber, either from paddles or a tire and do an impeller mod.
> ...


yea its faster once you do a couple but the first one will be a little harder. the gap between the impeller and the housing robs of throwing distance and gives space for slush to build up. also you are making the impeller larger even if its only 1/4" it makes a bigger difference than you would think.

if you can drill holes in the rubber if they dont already have them. than use a washer with the self tapper. use a block under the impeller so you can push down on it once you take the schute off you can get to it with an extension and a impact driver. 

that is what i do. if you dont drill and try and go through the rubber it will spin and get out of place on where you want it to be.


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## 3vanman (Nov 21, 2017)

Are the blades on the impeller "bent"? I have seen several Craftsman snow blowers in the past year where the impeller blades have started to bend from wear, and the snow is thrown less and less distance. Seems the newer machines are made with a lesser tensile strength, which over the course of years will cause it to bend from the continuous use, especially in "heavy" snow.
This I believe is due to our (the consumers) demand for lower prices and the manufacturer's desire to increase profits.
Look at the impeller blades, are they bent?
I have included a picture for reference. Impellers on left used and bent, on the right new.
Both are impellers from Murray built Brute or Craftsman machines, both machines less than 8 years old.


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## Tompaul (Mar 19, 2020)

*Impeller mod success frontier 1028*

‪I just finished an impeller mod on a frontier st 1028. This machine simply was not throwing much further than 10 feet. My snapper 11306 throws easily 40-50 including wet mank. Thanks to input from this forum I finally noticed the impeller gap was as great as 1/2” while the snapper was 1/8” - 1/4”. The install was not particularly challenging to be honest. My 1/2” corded Milwaukee barely fit in chute but did and used the proper pilot point bit and through bolted with stainless lock nuts. I tend to overkill. 3/8” holes for 1/4” fasteners allowed me to adjust paddles so they barely touch housing and impeller spins freely. More importantly the results: this frontier threw heavy wet old snow just like the snapper on test. I live in Wyoming, move huge amounts of snow all winter and need the throw to distribute the accumulation.....like to Idaho.‬

‪By the way, if you see an older snapper 11306 cheap, just buy it and fix it up......this thing is a horse and not particularly hard to work on. The generation I have is the pro model and heavier built throughout as compared to the newer, vastly more complicated, and cheaply built models from most manufacturers. The snapper is my go to machine with the frontier and a John Deere 1027 as back up. At any one time something or another comes up to shut one of my fleet down in the middle of a storm cycle. We had 10’ in Jan, 8’ in feb. ‬

‪I heartily recommend the mod for any sub par performing machine out of warranty if the impeller gap is at all excessive. The difference was dramatic on my machine.‬


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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

I have to say, I have never owned a blower (7 to over 12HP) that was not capable of throwing further than I needed it to, with the exception of very infrequent uber bad conditions. If anything, I have needed to back off to avoid hitting things with the stream . . .


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## Dogpatch (Jan 1, 2019)

I went to a Semi Truck store and bought a mud flap and used it for the impeller mod. I’ve done it on a few machines I’ve owned. Here are a few pics of my process.

Remove the chute.
Cut the rubber material to fit the flat portion of the impeller blade.
Attach the rubber to the impeller blade using self taping screws. I used 1”.

I can almost throw the snow over my neighbours house. LOL
Not quite, but easily 30-40’ and now have no issue with any kind of snow including slush which was the biggest reason I did the mod.


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## SharpAndCunning (Mar 1, 2019)

nwcove said:


> heres my impeller kit result in heavy wet snow ( was raining while blowing) , 28" bucket, 208 cc, 15 cm of snow.
> do the impeller mod, check rpms, and make sure your belts are adjusted and arent bottomed out in the sheaves !



I've got to be honest, this is very impressive. My craftsman with a 22 cubic inch (340cc) 12.5hp motor should throw snow like this, I would think. How much you want for it? Ha.

But mine just clogs, almost immediately. I checked the belts again when it jammed tonight, and I noticed something. If I pull on the belt and wiggle it, I can see the engagement pully "bounce" or flicker a little. I'm starting to think that when snow puts a load on the pulley it bounces and releases tension, then the belt starts to slip, and the augers jams.

I can't seem to figure out what would be causing this. I looked at the mechanism and tightening it doesn't' seem to change that.


The only reason I didn't do the impellor mod yet, was because the snowblower can't be this bad. I want to figure out why it's unusable before I finish the impeller mod. (I already cut a few pieces of an old tire and have them ready). But there's clearly something else wrong here. I thought I had fixed it when I replaced the belts and greased the auger shaft and gear box.


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

With my 25 years of blowing snow I have noticed it also comes down to the snow depth and speed of machine as well as not all wet snow is equal. Snow where I live western Canada and snow a few hundred miles away wet could be a huge difference.


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

The Ariens ST1032s and 1332s, while powerful, don't throw snow considerably far vs the more modern stuff, but it does throw it far enough for me. Probably would throw further if I did impeller mods but I don't have the tools to do that right now


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

It's also relative to the engine RPMs, pulley ratios, condition of the belts, exit chute size, impeller speed AND size, cut width.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

SharpAndCunning said:


> I've got to be honest, this is very impressive. My craftsman with a 22 cubic inch (340cc) 12.5hp motor should throw snow like this, I would think. How much you want for it? Ha.
> 
> But mine just clogs, almost immediately. I checked the belts again when it jammed tonight, and I noticed something. If I pull on the belt and wiggle it, I can see the engagement pully "bounce" or flicker a little. I'm starting to think that when snow puts a load on the pulley it bounces and releases tension, then the belt starts to slip, and the augers jams.
> 
> ...


==========================================================================================

Is your replacement V belt a kevlar reinforced V belt? It sure sounds like your belt(s) are slipping.
The impeller belt should have no more than a 1/4 inch of slack after you install it and the V belt should be very tight with the tensioner engaged.
If you could upload a few images of the belt drive that would help us to help you with your snow blower.


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## SharpAndCunning (Mar 1, 2019)

leonz said:


> ==========================================================================================
> 
> Is your replacement V belt a kevlar reinforced V belt? It sure sounds like your belt(s) are slipping.
> The impeller belt should have no more than a 1/4 inch of slack after you install it and the V belt should be very tight with the tensioner engaged.
> If you could upload a few images of the belt drive that would help us to help you with your snow blower.


Attaching a couple of photos. I'm not sure if the belt is Kevlar Reinforced. I'll check the belt number, I have a spare somewhere. I bought two. This belt was obviously slipping yesterday when it jammed, I could see it.


*Loose:*









*Auger Handle engaged:*










*Pulling with a finger with Auger Angle Engaged:*


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## deezlfan (Nov 8, 2017)

SharpAndCunning,

I agree something is wrong and must be addressed before you spend time on an impeller mod. 

A. In your initial post you told us you replaced the belts. Gotta say it doesn't look that way. If you did, it is time to buy your belts elsewhere. The auger belt is already toast and the drive belt shows significant wear,

B, Regarding your pulley bouncing, I don't know if your larger pulley is helping or not since there isn't really a way to estimate what the change in geometry did to effect your spring tension. It may be that your spring is actually looser than intended because the end of the arm is not travelling as far toward center line. A new spring may have been a better investment.

C. My eye is drawn to your lower pulley, We can see it is rusted up and that the belt has been trying to polish the rust away. This polishing really punishes the belt. The rough surface tears at the belt and any rust, dirt and increased belt dust that does come off the pulley becomes another source of slippage, I would suggest making a tapered V shaped sanding block and cleaning up all the notched pulleys on your machine at the next belt change. Clean with a quick drying solvent afterwards.

D. It is sort of hard to tell but in the picture where you are pulling your belt outward are you seeing movement of the idler? I feel that belt may be a bit too long.

E. Regarding slush, I am serious when I say if your blower throws slush clear of the bucket and it lands 3 or 4 feet away that is about all you can expect.

F. According to your owners manual your belt guide is way too far away from the drive pulley.


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

Far enough.  










10hp diesel, no mods.

🍻


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## SharpAndCunning (Mar 1, 2019)

deezlfan said:


> SharpAndCunning,
> 
> I agree something is wrong and must be addressed before you spend time on an impeller mod.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the help! 

A) I did replace the belts! I promise. I replaced the belts and haven't really been able to get this to run right. Last winter, It would only throw snow about 20', Which, for a 12hp machine, I thought was kind of pitiful. When I started it up on Saturday, when it stopped throwing snow, I took the pulley cover off and I could see the belt smoking on the pulley. I'm sure thats how the belt got as torn up as it did. 

B) So would you recommend I put the original pulley back on? You bring up a really good point, the larger pulley might reduce spring tension causing my issue to be exacerbated.

C) I'm not seeing the "polishing of the rust away" that you are mentioned but I'm sure you're right and it would be beneficial for me clean up the rust on the pulleys when I change the belts, again. I've got some smaller wire brushes that I'm sure will fit into the grove nicely. 

E) Even with a 12.5hp motor, it's not going to throw slushy snow? 

F) Thank you. I did notice that. The guide is loose. I figured I would fix it when I change the belts.


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## deezlfan (Nov 8, 2017)

I'm not sure the larger pulley is a problem, just stating you may have changed something in there that could effect belt tension. You are going to have to figure out if you are getting enough tension from the assembly as it is now. With the belt slipping I suspect you are not. 



> E) Even with a 12.5hp motor, it's not going to throw slushy snow?


Next time you encounter a big pile of slush, take a snow shovel and try throwing a shovelful ten feet in the air. It will immediately inform you of the force required.


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## SharpAndCunning (Mar 1, 2019)

deezlfan said:


> I'm not sure the larger pulley is a problem, just stating you may have changed something in there that could effect belt tension. You are going to have to figure out if you are getting enough tension from the assembly as it is now. With the belt slipping I suspect you are not.
> 
> 
> 
> Next time you encounter a big pile of slush, take a snow shovel and try throwing a shovelful ten feet in the air. It will immediately inform you of the force required.



I'll take the tank off and get to the wire on the auger lever. I'm hoping it slipped or something is loose. I'll post back in a couple of days when I take it apart. Thanks a lot for your help! I swear I did this and tightened it up real good when I replaced the belt. But maybe, just maybe I didn't. Doh. That would make this pretty easy. Ha! 



I mean, I see your point about slush, but a pretty well fit person can generate about 1Hp from their arms. a 12.5hp motor should be able to do 4X what a human can.
I used to have a 22.5Hp Kohler engine off an old mini bike. I can't find it, but that would be an awesome idea for a "Hot Rod" snowblower. Find an Ariens or a honda 24" with a blown motor. Slap a 22 horse on it and throw snow across the state.


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