# Ariens 28 Deluxe Weight Kit?



## ICECOLDBEER (Nov 3, 2015)

Is the weight kit worth it? I find if I have some hard packed/wet snow the machine just starts to ride over top of it. 

It also doesnt seem to be scraping as well as I would like. I lowered the skid shoes right down and it did well but this will probably cause too much wear on the scraper bar. Any ideas? What do you put under your scraper bar when adjusting the skid shoes. I had a couple paint sticks but that left too much snow for my liking. 

Are any of the other Ariens accessories worth it? Tire chains, drift cutter? 

Do the tracked snowblowers perform any better than the wheels?


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> Is the weight kit worth it? I find if I have some hard packed/wet snow the machine just starts to ride over top of it.
> 
> It also doesnt seem to be scraping as well as I would like. I lowered the skid shoes right down and it did well but this will probably cause too much wear on the scraper bar. Any ideas? What do you put under your scraper bar when adjusting the skid shoes. I had a couple paint sticks but that left too much snow for my liking.
> 
> ...



Setting the scraper too close to the ground might result in catching any little bump or transition. that often results is a sudden stop, and possible dinging of the scraper. Paint sticks are about 1/8" high. If you can get things down to 1/8 I would say you are doing OK. Have you got any spots on the area you clear that are not flat, like cracks in pavement, sidewalk slabs that are not dead even in height, interlocking stone or bricks that might cause you problems? If everything is perfect, then raise the skids (lowers the scraper) but don't have the <scraper> actually dragging on the ground as it will wear out quickly.

I sometimes use a 15 LB bag of sand on draped over the bucket to keep the front end from climbing over stuff, but it depends on what the stuff is. If its hard packed frozen solid, its not coming up with the blower.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> Do the tracked snowblowers perform any better than the wheels?


Honda or Yamaha track machine will definitely perform better than a wheeled one as if you set the machine close to scraper mode it will place ~ 50% of its weight on the auger area.
I've never used an Ariens nor any tri-sprocket track machine, but I think that they do not have the advantage of a 2 sprocket track type design. (On the other hand Ariens have an advantage on the heavier auger area).


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## ICECOLDBEER (Nov 3, 2015)

Got the wheel off now as you could see rust coming off the axle when the wet snow melted. Would you recommend anti seize on the axle or grease. And what kind of grease? 

Also there is a grease fitting there. I'm not sure what that greases but I gave it a few pumps. Should I be able to see grease coming out of the axles somewhere. Or is that greasing some part of the drive system. The manual doesn't really give any clues.


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## ICECOLDBEER (Nov 3, 2015)

skutflut said:


> Setting the scraper too close to the ground might result in catching any little bump or transition. that often results is a sudden stop, and possible dinging of the scraper. Paint sticks are about 1/8" high. If you can get things down to 1/8 I would say you are doing OK. Have you got any spots on the area you clear that are not flat, like cracks in pavement, sidewalk slabs that are not dead even in height, interlocking stone or bricks that might cause you problems? If everything is perfect, then raise the skids (lowers the scraper) but don't have the skid actually dragging on the ground as it will wear out quickly.
> 
> I sometimes use a 15 LB bag of sand on draped over the bucket to keep the front end from climbing over stuff, but it depends on what the stuff is. If its hard packed frozen solid, its not coming up with the blower.


Il try that sometime with the salt bag. I might just try and make my own weight kit. Just both on a long piece of scrap. 

You said not to have the skids dragging on the ground. You meant the scraper right? 

I lowered the scraper right down a while ago to clean up slush on the drive and it did ding the scraper up a bit. Ill try to get a pic of the scraper now.


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## ICECOLDBEER (Nov 3, 2015)

Heres another question for you guys. Some times when I am going along if there is too much snow coming out the chute will turn on me. I dont really know how to fix that. The hand crank thing falls and thats why it changes directions. Any ideas?


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## ICECOLDBEER (Nov 3, 2015)

hsblowersfan said:


> Honda or Yamaha track machine will definitely perform better than a wheeled one as if you set the machine close to scraper mode it will place ~ 50% of its weight on the auger area.
> I've never used an Ariens nor any tri-sprocket track machine, but I think that they do not have the advantage of a 2 sprocket track type design. (On the other hand Ariens have an advantage on the heavier auger area).


So tracked machines do perform better than wheeled machines?


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## ICECOLDBEER (Nov 3, 2015)

Im gonna roll with the anti sieze unless someone stops me!!!


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> So tracked machines do perform better than wheeled machines?


They would attack hard packed snow much better than wheel units (they do not tend to ride up). This is my experience with Honda an Yamaha tracked snowblowers with very good auger serrations.


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> Il try that sometime with the salt bag. I might just try and make my own weight kit. Just both on a long piece of scrap.
> 
> You said not to have the skids dragging on the ground. You meant the scraper right?


Sorry about that. Skids can drag, scraper should not drag.


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> Im gonna roll with the anti sieze unless someone stops me!!!


Usually a good all purpose low temp grease is good for the axles. It stays put. The wheel does not actually rotate on that axle, so it will rust up and become very hard to remove. Which ever you use, make sure you do it annually as part of routine maintenance so you avoid the problem of seized parts. While your at it, you should remove the shear bolts from the augers, grease the augers up thru the zerks, and then spin the augers several times to distribute the grease between the auger tubes and the inner drive shaft to keep that all free moving as well. Also grease up the shear bolts when you reinstall them, and don't tighten them too much, so they can actually shear if necessary.


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> Heres another question for you guys. Some times when I am going along if there is too much snow coming out the chute will turn on me. I dont really know how to fix that. The hand crank thing falls and thats why it changes directions. Any ideas?


Is the worm gear on the crank coming out of mesh with the chute, or is it just gravity making the handle drop?


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## ICECOLDBEER (Nov 3, 2015)

Just gravity I do believe.


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> Just gravity I do believe.


Take a look at the chute end of the crank and see if thees a bushing on the crank that might be worn. Maybe you can slide the crank out and wrap some tape around it so it fits the support tighter and doesn't slip. 

How much of a change in direction is there for a 180 degree shift of the crank handle?


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

The grease nipple on the side of the chassis by the drive wheel greases the bearing for the friction wheel. If you grease it too much you will have grease build-up on sides of the bearing that could fly off and lubricate the drive plate. Best to grease it when in the maintenance position so you can see the fresh grease and clean off all the excess.

When I was using a snowblower on smooth surfaces I had the scraper bar touching the surface as did the skid shoes. After 30 years the scraper bar and skid shoes had never been replaced. Wear is negligible with a 70 ft 2 car paved driveway. But those items are cheap for the look you want. I liked clearing the snow to the pavement. Now I have to lift the scraper an 1/8" off the pavement to accommodate some uneven driveways and it does not look good so I use a wide pusher to make the driveways more presentable.

The crank arm for the chute positioning should have a friction device near the handle. It sounds like your friction device needs tightening by squeezing the holder or turning the friction part on the shaft to increase friction.

I would use grease on the wheel axle shafts since it will resist water penetration and work well. I would not use anti-seize since it will not resist water penetration and create a mess. 

Don't get yourself stuck with a tracked machine without first using one and confirming it is better for you. My dealer said they are very slow and not as manoeuvrable as wheels. Currently the tires on snowblowers are excellent and certainly do not have any traction problems, but if more traction is needed then chains will help a bit.

Good luck.


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## Loco-diablo (Feb 12, 2015)

Town said:


> The grease nipple on the side of the chassis by the drive wheel greases the bearing for the friction wheel. If you grease it too much you will have grease build-up on sides of the bearing that could fly off and lubricate the drive plate. Best to grease it when in the maintenance position so you can see the fresh grease and clean off all the excess.


+1

Agreed. Too much grease inside the chassis is not good and can cause problems.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

ICECOLDBEER said:


> Im gonna roll with the anti sieze unless someone stops me!!!



Just MHO, Anti-seize is great where there is a tight fit and it's sealed like bolts and bolt holes but on an axle where it's open at at least one end anti seize dries out and gets flakey and doesn't preform that well.
I'd use grease in that application.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Looking at the parts manual for the late model Ariens Deluxe models with a manual crank lever for the chute rotation; the shaft is supported by two "polyliner" bushings, one at the handle end where the shaft enters the dash area and the other in the gear housing near the top of the chute. I think those bushings should be dry (not lubricated).

The bushing at the handle where it enters the dash is fixed by a bracket with a single screw. It looks as though you could re-position that bracket slightly to add a small amount of friction through the polyliner bushing. That should keep the crank in place after you have positioned it.

Good luck.


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