# Why are augers on new machines so small?



## jmb3675 (Dec 31, 2013)

Sorry if this has been asked before. I did not see it in a search.
Why do most of the newer snow blowers have tall buckets and shorter augers? I didn't give it much thought until last Friday morning cleaning up after our most recent snow. The end of the driveway had chunks of ice and hard packed snow which I didn't realize how hard it was until I tried to clear it with my Spirit snow blower which is pretty much an older Murray. I tried it first since it can get the snow over the banks. It had a hard time making the first pass and not much better on a less than half bucket size pass. Some of the chunks it threw were base ball size. Since it has a tin impeller and had a hard time, I put it way and got out the old Gilson. Although the Gilson threw large chunks, I kept going. It went through that pile of ice without any trouble. I went to my sister in-laws, a few blocks away, and her neighbors Husqvarna with serrated augers had a hard time with the end of the drive, and so did my neighbors Sno-tek. I even got to try an Ariens Platinum 24 that had a harder time than my Spirit. Another neighbors new Murray clone Simplicity made it look fairly easy too, although not as easy as my Gilson, It still made the Ariens and Husqvarna look bad. I know the Gilson has the advantage of the augers coming out past the bucket, but at least to me, it seemed like the machines with augers that took up more of the bucket opening handled the 2-3 foot ice chunk piles better than the ones with small augers. In every other snow we have had I was a little envious of the fancy controls on the newer snow blowers around me. And they all seemed to work amazing on every other storm but this one. My old Gilson did 4 driveways before most of my neighbors were done with one. An older Ariens by my sister in-laws was making quick work of the piles also. 
Is there an advantage to smaller augers I am missing? Is there a different technique to using them that I missed? Or are older heavier machines just better at odd storms like this one?


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## docfletcher (Nov 28, 2013)

I believe based on what I've read here on the board from guys that rebuild the older blowers... They are of a strong mind the older stuff was better built. They prefer using the older stuff as well. So take good care of your older stuff. 

The platinum 24 you referenced having a hard time has 14" auger I think. I thought that was decent size so I don't understand why it did poorly. How large is the auger on your Gilson? How thick is the auger metal? The only blower I know of with 16" auger is the Pro series Ariens. I'm pretty sure the auger metal itself is not as thick as the what was used years ago.


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## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

i noticed my 1985 824 ariens had a shorter bucket height than my new 921 and having used both i think i like the taller one better. i thought the new 921 bucket design would hold less snow on the top with less snow collecting that i have to brush off when i'm done blowing snow but it hasn't been the case. it collects a fair amount mostly because the shovel and bracket bolted on the top keep the snow from vibrating or falling off. the symplicity i looked at had smaller augers and the shoot was smaller also. that along with the turn triggers as well as the electric motor on the discharge chute made me shy away from simplicity.


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## jmb3675 (Dec 31, 2013)

The Gilson's bucket is about 18 1/2 inches and the auger is about 18 inches and is a lot heavier than the others. Plus the auger extends past the bucket. I think both of those features gave it the advantage. The Spirit has a about a 14 in auger and a 20 in bucket. I did notice measuring it that the bottom of the bucket curves back along the line of the auger to the scraper. 

Don't get me wrong, The platinum 24 didn't do a poor job at all. It was easy and a pleasure to use and the power in the deep wet heavy snow was amazing. In fact it threw the snow twice as far and was able to use the full width of the bucket and at a better speed. I never saw it have trouble at the end of a drive before. Also it just felt like a good solid quality machine where as the Spirit has a little flex in the frame. But this time it had just a bit more difficulty with the frozen chunky end of the drive mess, which we don't get real often here. It definitely had the power and was able to do the job. But compared to my two, The Gilson had a lot less trouble and the Spirit felt like it wasn't held back quite as much. But I think it's augers fill a little more of the bucket. Same with the Simplicity. I know i'm not always the brightest and this is just one storm that seemed to make a difference, but it seems to me that if the newer machines had augers almost the same size of the housing like the older ones, it would would still throw snow just as good, but would be better at moving the mess the plow makes. If I could only have one snow blower, and could afford it, I would take the Ariens for sure. I do have to agree that they need a faster reverse speed. But I am sure they are set at a lawyer resistant pace.


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## docfletcher (Nov 28, 2013)

I think the auger sticking out from the bucket is a advantage. It will grab and slash ice before the bucket sides hit the hard stuff thus inhibiting forward motion.


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## Surge (Dec 31, 2013)

The last heavy wet icy snowstorm was why I purchased the 24" Simplicity Pro for my driveway and walkway. It went through that stuff without any problems, even the end of the driveway with the city plow stuff that had frozen up a bit. I did not have the advantage of testing out so many other blowers as you did. I would love to have tried some others out to do a comparison.
Thanks for that type of info, it was very informative!
The Simplicity pro model has heavy gauge metal, 14" augers, and enough torque (14.5) to get through that type of cement without worrying about stressing the engine, or bending the housing.
I suspect I would not have had such an easy time with _some_ other throwers. The one stage throwers I saw being used were really struggling and in many cases unable to cope. Not sure how the lighter built two stages would have performed, but your review gives me a pretty good idea.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

I have always thought that the smaller augers are just cheaper to make than the larger augers. Also, they allow for smaller gearbox since the smaller diameter takes less torque to turn. This allows for a cheaper gearbox. I think the smaller augers also allow for a shallower depth to the front end which makes a shorter machine in general. So less metal, weight and whatever else that means. Easier turning probably too.


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## threeputtpar (Jan 16, 2014)

A smaller auger (12") can be just as effective as a larger one if there are more twists in the auger. I had a Poulan Pro 10.5hp 30" blower before with a 12" tall auger and a 12" impeller and that machine never had a problem with the 2 foot tall piles that the plow left at the end of the drive.

I now have an older Estate 523 and it does a pretty good job with its 14" auger and impeller.

The really good auger design is the older Toro with the metal drum inside of the auger, as it really directs the snow inward. Without that drum, I can see some snow getting in between the auger blades and just going around in circles for a while. I'm working on a Toro 824 Powershift with this design. My first blower was a 1979 Toro 826 with the same auger design and that thing was a tank. I couldn't ever get it to stall, even in plow wash above the top of the bucket.

Impeller size is the other half of the equation. A smaller auger with a larger sized impeller might be the best combination.


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