# New Mod in works



## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Fabricated a piece before I left work this morning (I work late into the night) for a new mod I haven't seen, at least on home use blowers. It has to be bolt on in order to be able to service the machine. This piece will be stationary, will not move. Hopefully will improve the "blowing" of the snow, which my machine does quite well now. Hopefully will have it in place before Sunday's storm for a try out. If it makes a noticeable improvement, I will share it with the group.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

The suspence is killing me!


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## conwaylake (Feb 6, 2014)

I thought "New Mod in the works" was just another of those spam face-cream posts....


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## TheSuMofGoD (Feb 27, 2015)

conwaylake said:


> I thought "New Mod in the works" was just another of those spam face-cream posts....


wait... we're not supposed to be buying face cream from the snowblower site?


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## Ariens1976 (Jan 1, 2013)

What a tease....


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Hehehe ... gotta go out and take a few more measurements on the blower to fabricate the second piece. Then heading to town, meeting up with my daughter for supper. After that, pick up some hardware (bolts & nuts etc.) and head over to my work place to finish fabricating the pieces. There will be three holes to drill in the blower housing, these are going to be fun (right!) to locate in just the right places. Can't have rotating pieces contacting stationary pieces, that would make sparks and lots of noise. The installation might only happen tomorrow. Stay tuned ....


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## Blizzard (Jan 14, 2015)

Got my curiosity up now! Looking forward to seeing the end result!


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

I have the pieces fabricated and carriage bolts & nuts. Will see what I can do to install Sat. pm. Should be an interesting job requiring a bit of patience... LOL


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## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

Is it a flamethrower? Everyone needs a flamethrower.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

An insulated, anti-vibration, self leveling cup holder suitable for both hot and cold beverages?


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

bwdbrn1 said:


> An insulated, anti-vibration, self leveling cup holder suitable for both hot and cold beverages?


You beat me to it!!


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I'm pretty sure it's a GPS enabled curb finder with ground (snow) penetrating radar to keep you from ingesting newspapers, neighbors dog ...


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## Freezn (Mar 1, 2014)

I hate to break the bad news, but I already beat you to the punch with that new mod. I installed a low temperature flux capacitor to my Toro 824 Power Shift way back in the 80's when it was all the rage and everyone was doing it. As soon as the drive selector is moved to D3 and the machine hits 1.5mph...sparks start to fly, the chute begins to rotate wildly, the auger drum spins in reverse, then there's a large backfire followed by a huge plume of black smoke. When the smoke clears, I find myself standing at the end of the driveway at my childhood home clearing snow with a 1962 Toro Snow Hound 25. So as I previously mentioned.... been there.....done that...


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Flux Capacitors are so old school. I remember getting one at Oreilly Auto Parts back then and it was OK. I was surprised to see they still sell them : EB Enterprises 121G - Flux Capacitor | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Mr. Fusion is the only way to go as Plutonium is getting expensive now that the Russians, Libyans, Iranians and others have become so capitalistic.

Thinking of going with a Mr. Fusion for my Ariens : EB Enterprises 121GMF - Flux Capacitor | O'Reilly Auto Parts


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## Freezn (Mar 1, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Mr. Fusion is the only way to go as Plutonium is getting expensive now that the Russians, Libyans, Iranians and others have become so capitalistic.


I prefer to purchase my Plutonium at the local dealer. Much better quality and customer service than you get online or at the big box stores.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Well, you sure have a point but it's hard to not love using an old banana peel, apple core and some coffee grounds to get your diveway (and all the neighbors) done.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

It sure took some patience and some slight changes in my planned installation, but it's done. 
Here are the parts: The flat bar in this image is 1/4" X 1". The one I used in this mod is 3/8" X 3/4".
Installed: This mod restricts the auger from feeding snow into the impeller blades just before they reach the chute opening and to the point where the blades just clear the opening. This should create a better flow of snow and air out of the chute since the full blade impeller is boxed in as it approaches and continues by the chute opening.
This is the blower: Canadiana 1026
Tried it out some in some old snowbanks. Seems to be working OK. Will have a better idea of the performance in tomorrows snow storm.


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## pdesjr (Feb 7, 2015)

Turbocharger. Nope oh well.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Interesting mod. Let us know how it works after that storm.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Dumb old me... When he said " new mod in the works" I thought there was going to be yet another addition to Bruce, Scot, William and Frog. The four " mods" we already have.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Me too when I first saw the post.


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## Pathfinder13 (Feb 28, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Flux Capacitors are so old school. I remember getting one at Oreilly Auto Parts back then and it was OK. I was surprised to see they still sell them : EB Enterprises 121G - Flux Capacitor | O'Reilly Auto Parts
> 
> Mr. Fusion is the only way to go as Plutonium is getting expensive now that the Russians, Libyans, Iranians and others have become so capitalistic.
> 
> Thinking of going with one for my Ariens : EB Enterprises 121GMF - Flux Capacitor | O'Reilly Auto Parts


You can roll it back in time to summer when the temp was "88 degrees" and melt the neighborhood


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

I have a plate thingy like that on my impeller housing in the area leading to the chute.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

RAYAR's mod should work real slick then.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

micah68kj said:


> Dumb old me... When he said " new mod in the works" I thought there was going to be yet another addition to Bruce, Scot, William and Frog. The four " mods" we already have.


Don't forget Shryp and HCBPH too.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I edited his post rotating the photos but once again it rotated the little photo so it was right side up but when you enlarge the photo it's still upside down.

What is the trick for rotating it when it's enlarged ??


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## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I edited his post rotating the photos but once again it rotated the little photo so it was right side up but why you enlarge the photo it's still upside down.
> 
> What is the trick for rotating it when it's enlarged ??


Oh thank goodness. I thought my mind was going.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

wdb said:


> Oh thank goodness. I thought my mind was going.



Let's work on one problem at a time.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

bwdbrn1 said:


> Don't forget Shryp and HCBPH too.


Oh my gosh. My apologies to them. I must be starting the geezing time of life. A friend asked me the other day why I'm so forgetful. I told her my head was so full of wisdom and info that I can't remember all the little details.


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## GtWtNorth (Feb 5, 2014)

micah68kj said:


> my head was so full of wisdom and info that I can't remember all the little details.


Yep, that's my story & I'm sticking to it!

Interested to see how this gadget actually works.

Cheers


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Let's not forget what RAYAR's original post was about.

I think we'd all be interested in his report on how this mod works. There's some good work and a lot of thought put into it.

How about it RAYAR? Did you get that storm and have a chance to put that mod to the test?


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

micah68kj said:


> I must be starting the geezing time of life.


We gain new skills as we age Joe, those six Saturdays a week don't come without cost-


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

He should chim in soon but right now we are being hammered with an other blizzard. The Yammy is going to get yet an other workout. He's probably waiting it out like me.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Stay warm and stay safe.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Hi All, the blizzards still going strong, will be later tonight or even tomorrow before digging out the old beast. Driveway markers are disappearing into the drifts, a good four foot drift currently in my driveway. Wind is out of the north and drifting is different than usual in this storm.
@Kiss4aFrog, I don't know what's going on with those photos, I took them with my Samsung Galaxy phone, then uploaded them into my desk-top. I then re-sized them and had to also rotate them upright and re-save them before I uploaded them here. They're upright to me here, but I'll check them again in a few sec.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Sounds like you guys are getting a heck of a storm.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

@Kiss4aFrog
Just checked the photos again, they appear fine here. I'm using SeaMonkey for my browser (Mozilla based and replacement for the old Netscape browser). I used IrfanView to re-size and rotate images and save them as such before uploading them as attachments. hmmmm.....


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

Sun has set, so winds should die down a bit. I might try and open part of it before midnight. Pretty sure it's above the mouth of my Yammy all the way to the road. I look on the bright side this new snow will help melt the old snow when it starts to melt, which should be next week.


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## Ken05 (Feb 13, 2015)

Well it looks like RAYAR's new mod is going to get a very thorough test soon. Looking forward to the results.


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

It hasn't been snowing that hard up here in Miramichi, but it sure is blowing around and drifting. I hear Moncton is getting hit hard.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Up the Bay of Fundy and across PEI and on to NFLD seems to be the path of this storm. We're definitely in that path. I noticed the wind picked up quite a bit as darkness approached and already one wicked drift in my driveway. Looks like I'm gonna need longer drift cutters.  Oh well, I'll just deal with it like we do here in the Maritimes, complaining about it just doesn't seem to move the snow.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

TransCanada is closed this morning still, trucks that dared to take a chance are all stuck. Just drove my wife to work and had to slalom around stuck vehicles.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

Just finished my 2 driveways, I couldn't find my square aluminum shovel this morning because the high winds had blown it somewhere. Well I found it with my Yammy, no damage done to my snowblower but I need a new shovel and I might have pulled something in my left elbow when the machine kicked sideways.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

So Ray how did you manage with the new mod?


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## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

Coby7 said:


> Just finished my 2 driveways, I couldn't find my square aluminum shovel this morning because the high winds had blown it somewhere. Well I found it with my Yammy, no damage done to my snowblower but I need a new shovel and I might have pulled something in my left elbow when the machine kicked sideways.


Sorry to hear about the elbow! I'd try to save that shovel. It's aluminum, it should go back into shape without too much effort.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

Yeah, I'll hammer it through on the anvil see if I can save it, It's got a missing piece on the lip, maybe I can cut her down on the grinder.


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## pdesjr (Feb 7, 2015)

That shovel is just broken in.A hammer,a vice, and 10 min and it's good to go.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

What a day! Spent about six hours out clearing the driveway and path to the barn where the blower was and I didn't clear it so I can drive in and turn around yet. Only the first of five driveway markers were visible. The most snow I had in my driveway in over twenty years, maybe twenty-five. Used 2-1/2+ tanks of gas, I hardly ever use more than one on good storms. Had just put blower away and was clearing the house doors when the plows came around, two of them. One had a V plow and that one opened the road for the other plow to widen. Used about two tanks of gas up to this point. Took a while with blower and shovel to clear EOD also.

The mod?  Seemed to make an improvement, but all the snow I had to blow today was drifted and plowed (EOD) I'd like to see how it will perform in just fallen snow. That restricter plate keeps the auger from forcing snow into the impeller area as it is starting to eject snow up the chute. Seemed to be throwing a bit farther as long as you're feeding it plenty enough, and I haven't even done the rubber extensions (wipers) mod on the impeller blades yet.  My blower already throws very decently with the previous chute area mods I've done. Still have another chute mod in mind.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

@Coby7, your driveway hardly had any snow compared to mine.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

Upper driveway had 4 feet the whole lenght, the lower driveway I kept at it during the storm and only had about 20 inches the whole lenght. That's where I encountered my aluminum shovel.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I think you should have started out with something small like a frozen weekly ad paper and worked your way up to that shovel. Is the machine OK ??


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Had to use the blower again Wed afternoon before going to work. Had drifted snow, but it was more like fallen snow. I seemed to notice that I had to use a higher gear where the snow wasn't as deep in order to load up the impeller with enough snow to get a farther throwing distance. I think I also noticed that the blower doesn't bog down as much when the going gets really tough. Overall, I seem to have a positive feeling about the performance of this mod so far. Now this works good on the full blade impellers, but I wouldn't bother with the cupped type or L-shaped types of impellers.

Was just now thinking of changing this mod a bit, trimming the restricter plate in a 2-1/2" to 3" radius from the impeller shaft. Well, maybe not a radius in order to keep the plate rigid enough. Hmmm..... always thinking of bettering the performance of a machine


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## Ken05 (Feb 13, 2015)

I like this mod (A) and have given it a lot of thought. Centrifugal blowers have an ever increasing radius cowling as they approach the discharge chute however they don't act as a slinger for solids. Maybe a hybrid of the two on the input side such as pictured (B) would still let the impeller fill and give a pressure increase on discharge.

After rereading your post above I think you are thinking the same thing.

Sorry for the crappy drawing - my last mechanical drawing class was some time back.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Hi Ken

Yes, that's quite accurate as to what I'm thinking of changing my mod to. I will also get rid of the piece of flat bar I have going across just above the impeller shaft and I will have a band that follows the radius of the impeller housing for the length of the restricter plate for the mounting. I may be able to get to it this weekend and will post pics.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Worked Friday evening to make up for Monday. Stayed after and fabricated a new piece again to replace the original mod. Much better looking piece and should be much easier to install. Hoping to install it this weekend and have pics to show.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

Getting more snow this evening so you'll get a chance to try it.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Managed to get the new piece installed, wasn't quite as easy as I thought it would be. Had to grind a notch to clear a carriage head bolt from my impeller housing mod. Also had to trim the mounting band to clear the auger.  We have wet snow coming down now, will get a chance to try it out later today.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Appreciate the effort in your machine being the R&D volunteer


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Just got in and put supper in the oven. Grabbed a coffee and now hacking at the keyboard.  The snow turned out to be not wet like I expected, but had plenty of drifting. Now this improved mod seems to be doing better with that extra opening near the impeller shaft. That will likely stay the way it is for now, although I may modify that plate a little at some later time, trim a little here, add or fill a little there. Have other problems to deal with now. 

Muffler broke off again at a pipe nipple, where it screws into a street elbow that's screwed into the the engine block, (custom exhaust system). The original muffler was bolted on, but the exhaust port is also threaded for 3/4" pipe fitting and have been using that for likely over 30 years. Will now make an adapter that bolts onto the block with the original threaded holes and weld a pipe fitting on top to screw muffler into. Will also make a support bracket for the muffler. Wasn't planning on having to do this quite so soon.  Oh well, no time to get into any trouble if I could find it


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Ugh, good luck! 

The muffler & heat shield on my Tecumseh OHV are quite rusted. I dread trying to remove the bolts from the head, so I'm ignoring them for now. A bunch of other fasteners have twisted off when trying to remove them. So I can only imagine how these will go, since these are "supposed" to be the difficult ones


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Did get my exhaust fixed up again for now the way it was, replaced the broken pipe nipple for now, but I know it won't last.  The pipe threads in the exhaust port are getting to be in bad shape. Took some measurements etc to make a muffler mount on the exhaust port. The original mounting bolt holes look to be in good shape, will just run a tap in them to clean them up a bit. They are a 5/16" NC thread and an inch deep. My custom made muffler is heavy enough that it should have a support bracket. Thinking about it, need to take a few more measurements. Have EOD to do, so it's back in service for now. Plow snuck by again.


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

@RedOctobyr ... if you're trying to get the muffler bolts out, possibly running the engine for a minute or so might warm up the exhaust port enough to start working loose the bolts with a back and forth movement. If they move a bit, then apply some drops of transmission fluid to run down to the threads in the block after it cools down some, then continue to work them and apply more fluid and they'll likely come out. Good luck with it.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Impact screwdriver can be helpful too. Instead of just twisting it shocks the fastener and can break up corrosion/rust holding it.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

in


RAYAR said:


> What a day! Spent about six hours out clearing the driveway and path to the barn where the blower was and I didn't clear it so I can drive in and turn around yet. Only the first of five driveway markers were visible. The most snow I had in my driveway in over twenty years, maybe twenty-five. Used 2-1/2+ tanks of gas, I hardly ever use more than one on good storms. Had just put blower away and was clearing the house doors when the plows came around, two of them. One had a V plow and that one opened the road for the other plow to widen. Used about two tanks of gas up to this point. Took a while with blower and shovel to clear EOD also.
> 
> The mod?  Seemed to make an improvement, but all the snow I had to blow today was drifted and plowed (EOD) I'd like to see how it will perform in just fallen snow. That restricter plate keeps the auger from forcing snow into the impeller area as it is starting to eject snow up the chute. Seemed to be throwing a bit farther as long as you're feeding it plenty enough, and I haven't even done the rubber extensions (wipers) mod on the impeller blades yet.  My blower already throws very decently with the previous chute area mods I've done. Still have another chute mod in mind.


you will have a 2 edged sword there...the flat piece will hold snow in to better eject it upward...but it will also BLOCK 25% of the snow coming into the impeller, limiting flow and the production out the top.

I've seen the same phenom with cooling fans on V8 engines. this was well known back in the 1950-60's in racing, when cars ran factory fans on the front pulley. adding more blades will push more air, but, the extra fan blades actually start BLOCKING total airflow and cooling less. 

the best fan that pushes a lot of air, that you can feel with your hand is much stronger in air pressure, is a 4 blade fan, as it leaves enough space between the blades for the air to pass through

one aspect of snowblowers worth looking at, is the edge of the upper impeller outlet hole, where the snow makes a sharp turn from going in a circular pattern, to up and out of the chute. that is the critical area, that edge- if you can fashion a piece or sheetmetal or heavy plastic to smooth that edge, so it is a radius rather than a sharp edge, snow flow there will greatly increase

also reports back from everyone I've talked to, installing a plastic inner liner on the I.d. of the show chute greatly decreases the friction. I saw one where a guy cut up an old plastic antifreeze or bleach bottle, and riveted it in place. it made a dramatic difference.

my idea is this- instead of adding paddles to an impeller to get a good seal, fashion or buy a plastic ring, like a big piece of PVC pipe, and use it as an INSERT, to set inside the impeller housing, thereby closing up the clearances for the impeller blades, while also giving much less friction. then also insert a similar liner into the top chute, and blend the radius where the top chute meets the impeller housing. those sharp edges could be ground back and filled with epoxy, then sanded smooth, to make the whole thing flow smoothly

the improvements in throwing distance, through reduction in friction, would be dramatic. the impeller could also use paddles riding on the plastic insert for the ultimate seal.

the downside would be durability. ingesting debris or small stones, rocks would wear the plastic insert, much faster than it would wear steel sheetmetal

there is no free lunch. throwing distance means tightening up the clearances, and that means wear and durability issues. the quick and dirty way is, just increase the horsepower/torque/rpm of the engine. 
downside larger engines, use more fuel. and higher rpm, rpm stands for Ruins Peoples Motors. 
I often clock up the max governed rpm on my machines to coax a little more performance from them, but I run synthetic oil at $7/quart to counter the wear that would be incurred.

one of the most ingenius ways to get more throwing distance, is separate the impeller drive from the auger drive. this way the impeller can be overdriven a higher speed, to get more throwing distance than would be attainable if it was cinched to the augers. the augers can churn slowly, while the impeller spins quite quickly.

I believe that's what the Snowbird designers may have done ? which is why my 5HP Snowbird throws snow 2x farther than my 8Hp Unitrol

taking that design approach further, if one geared the impeller separately as well, so it had 2 or 3 speeds, imagine the possibilities. want more throwing distance ? shift the impeller speed to 2nd or 3rd, and spin it even faster, while the augers and ground speed of the machine stayed the same.


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## jermar (Dec 10, 2014)

Kiss4AFrog: I would use a big T handle screwdriver on those rotor screws first. Rotor screws are often rusty and an impact driver can break them off. Happened twice to me.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

jermar said:


> Kiss4AFrog: I would use a big T handle screwdriver on those rotor screws first. Rotor screws are often rusty and an impact driver can break them off. Happened twice to me.


 
or heat them first with a torch...


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

RAYAR said:


> @RedOctobyr ... if you're trying to get the muffler bolts out, possibly running the engine for a minute or so might warm up the exhaust port enough to start working loose the bolts with a back and forth movement. .


 good idea-r...


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## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Impact screwdriver can be helpful too. Instead of just twisting it shocks the fastener and can break up corrosion/rust holding it.


I can't tell you how many times my impact driver saved my bacon back in my car mechanic days. On something like an engine exhaust I'd still go with heat and gentle extraction though; the metal could be quite fatigued and impact may just snap it off.



greatwhitebuffalo said:


> my idea is this- instead of adding paddles to an impeller to get a good seal, fashion or buy a plastic ring, like a big piece of PVC pipe, and use it as an INSERT, to set inside the impeller housing, thereby closing up the clearances for the impeller blades, while also giving much less friction.


 This is a nice idea! Make it replaceable too. This would also be a boon to folks like me with gravel drives. It would keep at least one surface from having the paint blasted off.


> taking that design approach further, if one geared the impeller separately as well, so it had 2 or 3 speeds, imagine the possibilities. want more throwing distance ? shift the impeller speed to 2nd or 3rd, and spin it even faster, while the augers and ground speed of the machine stayed the same.


I'm not sure I understand the point of doing that, although having one more lever to play with is never a bad thing in my humble opinion.


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## clamdigger (Feb 12, 2015)

For the Teflon lined Impellor housing and Chute see Yamaha, although I'm not sure if they have tighter clearances. Their 624 sure does throw it a ways though.


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