# Snow blower, (And shovel) Spray Products



## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

How about some discussion on the various spray products that are available for use on snow removal equipment.
If you have actual experience with the product, great.
Otherwise, just give us your thoughts on some of the products you have heard or read about.

Some thought on products I have used.

WD40: Cheap and easy, but not great at lubrication or freeing up seized threaded parts. I use it very little.

PAM: Never used it on a snowblower, but I have read that it works pretty good. Seems a little pricey for use on the snow equipment.

Sno-Go: Never used it, but it also has quite a few supporters. Not cheap, either.

Fluid Film: I have only used this as a lubricant so far and it seems to do a good job. Rust and corrosion prevention are supposed to be quite good with it. It has almost a cult following. Bought mine at a John Deere dealer for about $9. 

CRC Silicone Spray: I use this a lot and have used it on snow shovels in the past with some success in keeping the snow from sticking. I'm not sure it has a long life as a lubricant.
I have never felt I needed anything in the chute of my snowblower, but I do think I will try it this season. At $3 a can, it is about as inexpensive as I have seen.

This snow season, I plan to use both the Fluid Film and the CRC Silicone and see if I can tell any difference in snow throwing.

Based on what I have read, I definitely think the Fluid Film is the better product for lubrication and corrosion prevention.

Comments????


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## Ingersoll444 (Nov 20, 2010)

Ive used pam [well... store brand realy] and silicone spray. Bolth have worked real well for me, and if you get store brands its a lot cheaper.


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## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

Lots of people simply wax the inside of their chutes.


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## abumpa (Nov 21, 2010)

Anyone ever try Slip Plate? We used to spray this stuff on the bottom of drag boats. Going to have to look around and see if I have any left. We would get it at Tractor Supply.
Below is from their website talking about snow blowers. I also included the link.

2-Stage Snow Throwers/Blowers:
*Issue:* Heavy wet snow sticks to the metal discharge chute and throwing stage, causing the thrower/blower to clog.
*Solution:* SLIP Plate Aerosol can be sprayed on the inside of the chute and on the throwing stage of the blower, creating a hydrophobic surface to reduce the build up of wet snow and allow the machine to operate better with less clogging. The graphite coating will also create a barrier between the high moisture environment and the metal, reducing corrosion of the equipment when properly applied.

SLIP Plate®


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

dakota60 said:


> Lots of people simply wax the inside of their chutes.


I have done that to my new machine. 
If I remember correctly, the Sno-Go product has wax in it.



abumpa said:


> Anyone ever try Slip Plate? We used to spray this stuff on the bottom of drag boats. Going to have to look around and see if I have any left. We would get it at Tractor Supply.
> Below is from their website talking about snow blowers. I also included the link.
> 
> 2-Stage Snow Throwers/Blowers:
> ...


The product sounds interesting, but the only graphite lube I ever used was a gray/black staining mess. Used it once.


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## abumpa (Nov 21, 2010)

CharlesW said:


> The product sounds interesting, but the only graphite lube I ever used was a gray/black staining mess. Used it once.


The stuff we used on the drag boats was a gray/black covering like paint. I would not say it was a mess but if you rubbed your fingers on it, even after dry, your fingers would come away slightly stained.


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## 2cycled fruitcake (Oct 5, 2010)

it dont look cheap,......, well i found thier web page, selling 6 packs of the product
pure silicone works good.
going to try rain-x on my blower's chute

page with distributors..................
http://www.slipplate.com/Distributors.php

i see napa on there


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## abumpa (Nov 21, 2010)

Well I rummaged around a while and darned if I didn’t find an old can of Slip Plate lying around. Price tag is $4.99 so I am guessing it is from 15 years ago. We would spray this stuff on the back 1/3 of the bottom of our drag boats. Was supposed to cut down the friction of the hull going through the water. There aint much in the can but I hope it’s enough.

I never heard of anyone actually testing this stuff to see if it worked. I suppose one day a boat won the race and had this stuff on the bottom. After that everyone had to have it weather it had anything to do with the win or not.

Here is what the old can looks like.












I guess I just figure it can’t hurt cause I aint going to do any testing either. I’m just going to spray it on the inside of the chute and be done with it. This next photo is the chute as is before applying the Slip Plate. I put some tape on the edges of the chute to catch over spray.













Well there wasn’t much in the can but I did get a fairly good coat. This last photo is after painting.













If it ever snows here I can try it out.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Hopefully everybody will chime in with the results they get from what ever product they use. It'll be interesting to hear how they all work. 

It would be nice to share what kind of machine the product was used on. 

What type of material the chute is made of, metal or plastic. 

Whether the snow was wet and heavy or powdery and light.


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## Wayne195 (Nov 16, 2010)

I have used Prestone windshield deicer on my snowshovels in the past. Of course, it is ment to be used on vehicle windshields, but it really does a good job of preventing the snow from sticking to the shovels.


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## Wayne195 (Nov 16, 2010)

Another solution that I tried is butcher's wax (or any other wax for that matter); it doesn't do quite as good a job as the windshield de-icer, but it certainly helps.


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

abumpa said:


> Well I rummaged around a while and darned if I didn’t find an old can of Slip Plate lying around.


Keep digging, maybe you will find an old drag boat.


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## butchf (Dec 15, 2010)

*funny subject*

I use to use WD40 when then machine was dry.....the solvents did wash out some lubrication, yet leaves a film when the solvents evaporate.
Then I remembered how we avoided ice build up on our racing snowmobiles.
Very inexpensive solution, Pledge furniture polish sprayed on when unit is dry. Spray everything! Works great and doesn't make any mess at all.
Really works well on plastic parts as well as painted metal. Causes absolutely no damage on anything.

BTW it also works for the underside of lawn mowers, weed whackers, edgers or any machine you don't want build up to occur. My neighbor used it on his little garden tiller and WOW did it help.
And yes, I use it on the race bike too!


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

butchf said:


> Pledge furniture polish sprayed on when unit is dry. Spray everything! Works great and doesn't make any mess at all.
> Really works well on plastic parts as well as painted metal.


...and don't forget that fresh lemony smell too!


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

*Jig-A-Loo*

FWIW, Jig-A-Loo spray lubricant, water displacement, and rust preventative is on sale at Menards right now for 99 cents.
It's another product I have heard of for lubricating lawn and garden equipment.
Here's a link to the Jig-A-Loo site.
Jig-A-Loo - an invisible silicone-based lubricant and water-repellent !


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

bwdbrn1 said:


> Hopefully everybody will chime in with the results they get from what ever product they use. It'll be interesting to hear how they all work.
> 
> It would be nice to share what kind of machine the product was used on.
> 
> ...


As requested.
Toro 421QE Single stage with plastic chute
Collinite #845 Insulator Wax on the chute
Combination of snow. What fell was light and powdery. 4" to6" (Twice)
Wet slushy stuff from the plow at the EOD and on my sidewalk. 6" to 10" 
No snow or slush accumulation in the chute whatsoever.
Doesn't make much sense to try any other products since I have no problem with just the wax on the chute. I almost wish I had tried it with nothing on the chute to see if anything was really needed.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks for the review Charles. I recommended the cooking spray to another fellow here who had just got himself a used John Deere 2 stage with a metal chute. He used it once on some powdery snow, and then once again with some wet stuff. Said it seemed to work pretty good both times.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Someone needs to try this stuff and let us know how it holds up when applied to an impeller housing and chute !!

Superhydrophobic and oleophobic coating. [VIDEO]


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

I wonder how well Armor-All would work?


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## MnJim (Jan 26, 2014)

butchf said:


> I use to use WD40 when then machine was dry.....the solvents did wash out some lubrication, yet leaves a film when the solvents evaporate.
> Then I remembered how we avoided ice build up on our racing snowmobiles.
> Very inexpensive solution, Pledge furniture polish sprayed on when unit is dry. Spray everything! Works great and doesn't make any mess at all.
> Really works well on plastic parts as well as painted metal. Causes absolutely no damage on anything.
> ...


 I use Pledge to wax my motorcycle as well.


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

I sprayed mine down with Armor-All tonight. Snow forecasted for tomorrow. I'll see how it performs. I have a good feeling it will make a difference. Just hope it doesn't get on the tires. That would have a negative effect on traction & I'm not sure how I would remove it. Brake clean perhaps?


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## Chuck2 (Feb 7, 2014)

bump


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## Zavie (Sep 23, 2014)

Chuck2 said:


> I sprayed mine down with Armor-All tonight. Snow forecasted for tomorrow. I'll see how it performs. I have a good feeling it will make a difference. Just hope it doesn't get on the tires. That would have a negative effect on traction & I'm not sure how I would remove it. Brake clean perhaps?


Yes, the break clean would remove the Armor-All and possibly your paint too!


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Chuck2 said:


> I sprayed mine down with Armor-All tonight. Snow forecasted for tomorrow. I'll see how it performs. I have a good feeling it will make a difference. Just hope it doesn't get on the tires. That would have a negative effect on traction & I'm not sure how I would remove it. Brake clean perhaps?



Instead of bumping a 10 month old post why not review how the Armou All worked for you


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

I was reading through this old thread.

I used to use a slip plate on the car trailer's lift points when I was hauling cars.
I still have around 5 spray cans and 2 quarts of brush on yet in my garage.

If it is the same thing that guy used on boats the bottom must have been a nightmare to clean afterwards!
Unless he was talking about something different, the slip plate I used is messy, I can't see ever spraying it into my chute?
Takes some doing to wash off your hands...and I don't think you ever get it out of your clothes if you should ever brush against it.

Maybe they make a clear slip plate?
The stuff I used back then (2000) was a gray/black in color.


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## RickDangerous (Mar 27, 2017)

Sorry to necro-bump, but i'd rather add to an old thread rather than create a new and redundant one.

So i'm probably going to do my impeller mod during the off season, and am thinking about possibilities for this weekends storm. 

My mechanic showed my some Snow Blower specific chute lube he had (can't remember the name) which was petroleum based... All they had at the hardware store was "windshield de-icer" which from the description sound like it might do the trick. It's alcohol based though which makes me think it might dry up fast and not work so well.

I read through this whole thread and two other house hold things I have that I thought might work well are PAM, and Pledge (pledge pretty ingenious actually, may use it under my Honda push mower this summer.)

So what you do you all thing for the slush storm this weekend-

1. Windshield de-icer

2. Pam

3. Pledge

Thanks!


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## wow08816 (Feb 2, 2017)

I have always pretreated my blowers WD40 with great success for greyish slush conditions. Never had a clogged chute in 14 years.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

There's a company MDI Products, they make Mo-Deck for lawnmowers and Sno-Jet for snowblowers. Many years ago I tried Mo-Deck on my commercial lawn mowers and it did nothing, absolutely nothing, to keep the grass off from underneath. Because of the failure of that product I am hesitant to try their other product, Sno-Jet.

I'm going to try to find the time to line my chute and impeller area with HDPE. 

If not, I'm going to buff up my chutes, both metal and plastic. I'm going to use very fine sandpaper using several grits, 1,000; 1,500; 2,000; and 4,000. Then I'm going to use rubbing compound and polishing compound then a liquid car polish.

I have used that fine sandpaper on my car's headlights and it really cleared the cloudiness.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

JLawrence08648 said:


> There's a company MDI Products, they make Mo-Deck for lawnmowers and Sno-Jet for snowblowers. Many years ago I tried Mo-Deck on my commercial lawn mowers and it did nothing, absolutely nothing, to keep the grass off from underneath. Because of the failure of that product I am hesitant to try their other product, Sno-Jet.


I use Mo-Deck and it works well. Yesterday I prepped the riding mower (blade sharpening) and the deck underside was totally clean from last year's application. I applied another 2 coats of Mo-Deck for this year.

Sno-Jet has worked pretty well, too


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

JLawrence08648 said:


> I'm going to try to find the time to line my chute and impeller area with HDPE.
> 
> If not, I'm going to buff up my chutes, both metal and plastic. I'm going to use very fine sandpaper using several grits, 1,000; 1,500; 2,000; and 4,000. Then I'm going to use rubbing compound and polishing compound then a liquid car polish.


Dang, 4000 grit? That's a lot of dedication, for something that only needs to be slippery, rather than going to Pebble Beach  

I've used cooking spray, and silicone spray, in the past. Both helped. I don't really like silicone spray, since once silicone gets on things, it often doesn't really want to come off. I've heard that it can be a real bear to get silicone off of things that need to be repainted. Just slight food for thought if the chutes were going to be painted again later. 

Pledge is an interesting thought. I suppose Armor All is also slippery (though I will not use it in my car, since everything stays slippery, which drives me nuts). 

The HDPE approach sounds great, though quite a bit of work. Both of my Ariens have metal chutes, both with missing paint. I don't recall having issues with snow sticking to the chutes. My current one does have an impeller kit, which likely helps. This machine hasn't clogged, though the kit is likely a contributor.


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## Taurus04 (Dec 10, 2014)

I have used Sno-jet, Pam and tire shine (Walmart) for my chute and would rank them in that order. For a new blower, wax is great, but both of mine are 20+ years old. I tried graphite paint from Tractor Supply on my lawn mower, but it was a waste of time and money.

I might be overthinking the whole process of snow blowing. Anything slippery would work--cheaper the better. I keep searching for perfection in chute lube, skids, impeller mods, gas additives etc. I only need to blow snow 20 feet max to clear my driveway. Any more and the neighbours will be up in arms.

This year I spent as much time on the end of my shovel as I did with the blowers. Sno-jet worked better on them than the blowers.


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

Taurus04 said:


> This year I spent as much time on the end of my shovel as I did with the blowers. Sno-jet worked better on them than the blowers.


I have a small can of Ariens Snow-Jet that I used on my shovel. Haven't needed it or tried it on my chute.
Is Sno-Jet and Snow-Jet the same thing? The stuff I used was a flat black like graphite.
Ariens Non-Stick Polymer Coating-70709000 - The Home Depot
Interesting seeing a thread started in 2010.


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## toroused (Mar 1, 2015)

Lowes has really done nice job stealing away a chunk of automotive chain store lubricants section marketplace. You can get Fluid Film, a wide variety of Lucas grease gun lubes, and now 
a wide selection of the PB Blaster family of spray lubricants at Lowes. I've had really good luck this year with this PB Blaster Silicone product found at Lowes - linked below. It's cheap and it's
really darn good. 

You can find the CRC silicone product spoken about earlier for about $3 at WallyWorld. For the price, it's great for a back-up. Spraying the chute and the auger system ahead of time
really does make a difference in the performance of the machine. 

Link: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blaster-11-oz-Silicone-Lube/3653299


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## Taurus04 (Dec 10, 2014)

Snow Jet is what I used . It was clear. Looks identical to the can in your photo


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## flash4o (Feb 3, 2017)

Had good luck with this over the winter (new can design - old had pic of snowblower on it) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ABE98I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Reasonable price too.


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## RickDangerous (Mar 27, 2017)

I tried Pledge sunday morning and it worked great. Sprayed my whole chute, impeller and bucket area and blew 10 inches of slush right through my two stage. It didn't go far (2-8ft) but it didn't clog either!

I'll probably stick to using pledge as it's cheap and readily available around the house. Second ingredient is paraffin (wax).

May try in on my lawnmower deck this summer as well


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## curvecrazy (Dec 11, 2017)

So what's the consensus on slipstuff? My blower, very modified and pissed off, kills everything you put it to. Unfortunately, ice builds up over time on the impeller blades reducing effectiveness. This is cured each time by thawing it out. I just tried Aldies brand Canola cooking spray and that helped but still buildup.
I see fluid film mentioned.
Pledge or cheaper dollar store furniture spray polish
Pam spray which comes in olive oil or canola or various which one then?
Armor all
Vegetable oil
WD40
Silicone
Ice>>> you spray on a fine mist of water on frozen metal? I've seen snow stick hard to ice just saying but a thaw out and you're fresh!
Rain X
Graphite paint >>> this didn't last for me just not durable hard to apply must be warm and dry and must cure then it wears off too fast .02$
Paraffin wax.
Car wax/polish
Mclube SailKote
Diesel fuel
Cross country ski wax >> this seems extremely temperature dependent as these are very finicky but other solutions probably likewise!
Obviously I could spend a fortune on purpose sent products be it SnoJet, SnowShooter, any Deere Cadet branded product etc. Not too interested in expensive alternatives.


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)




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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

11.4 oz can Fluid Film on sale now at Lowe's $8.98.

I've never used it but may try it. I don't know what else I'll use it for.


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## curvecrazy (Dec 11, 2017)

JLawrence08648 said:


> 11.4 oz can Fluid Film on sale now at Lowe's $8.98.
> 
> I've never used it but may try it. I don't know what else I'll use it for.


Today's snow blowing was about 10 inches of partly wet snow. Temperature was 27 degrees F. 

I rubbed and brushed fluid film on the impeller blade faces sides and backs. Also coated various areas with fluid film at the impeller intake which on my Ariens 1032 ices up consistently. It was dry when I put the fluid film on and I brushed it on the blade faces with a harbor freight disposable metal handle paintbrush and everywhere else I put the fluid film it was rubbed on resulting in a thin coating wet to the eye but not heavy like you sprayed it on with the aerosol can. I also fluid filmed various areas where snow accumulated including an inner wheel hub on one side and blower top housing including around the chute. The reason is an attempt to deal with blowback snow which frankly is a pain in my ass every time I snowblow. It flies back in my face, all over me and all over the blower and motor and controls etc just about every time. This could be avoided by not putting the chute outlet at full distance setting but my situation and limited space along with high slope at the outside and house on the inside requires me to pitch it high and away fwiw. Uggg. 

On the auger I used water from a Paul Mitchell hairspray squirter. Reason for this is it produces a fine mist just right to cover a surface with tiny droplets but not so much that you get water runs although with this dispenser you can still get water runs if you apply too many squirts. The idea of this was to ice coat the auger. I also tried to ice coat one wheel hub.

Results were mixed. The fluid film did seem to resist ice buildup better than my previous attempt Aldis Canola oil cooking spray. But to be fair, I was much less thorough with the application of the cooking spray two days ago (and) that was more powder snow and I just sprayed the cooking spray down into the chute on the impeller faces. I think I didn't get the areas that do build up enough with that trial because the Ariens 1032 has the six blade impeller with the hooks on the inside hub and that's an area it ices up bad reducing performance as you go. With the canola spray, slightly warmer conditions 29 degrees F but fresh snow still powder I did have some buildup. Today's snow I waited 13 hours as it continued to fall and it had gotten a bit heavy as ground temps aren't frozen underneath fwiw. 

The water mist spray was a fail. At 27 degrees F I had difficulty getting it to freeze and even after it was in the cold for 20 minutes or more it didn't seem frozen. Snow stuck to the auger same as usual. It's possible this could work in colder temperatures than I'm experiencing here for the record but a flat fail for me.

The snow stuck on the fluid filmed surfaces on top of the blower housing and inside of the blower housing too. It might be a slight improvement over no fluid film but not much. Not too impressed.

What does impress me is fluid films marketing. I got into fluid film maybe 3 years ago. I read all the literature and was easily convinced I'd found the holy grail of rust prevention. My own experiments on steel and automotive underbody left me far from impressed. Frankly. I think there's a lot of religious fervor around regarding fluid film and I think it's largely in the marketing. Like WD40, I find it expensive and it doesn't meet my expectations. That said, I still have a partial can and thus this experiment.

The problem with these experiments is they're not controlled in terms of temperature and snow type and once you've applied say fluid film, when you then try something else, by necessity, you're going over the fluid film that remains with something else which might easily affect your results observed. 

I've got spray furniture polish here from Lowes. I've got vegetable oil. 

My Ariens 1032 really doesn't have issues with clogging the chute. Anything that "gets in there" tends to be in a big hurry to get the **** out of there via the chute and as she sits now I think she'd **** near give a Honda snowblower a run for its money!


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## curvecrazy (Dec 11, 2017)

Interesting tidbit on paraffin. Another thing I'd considered was melting paraffin in mineral spirits and spraying that on the empellor blades impeller housing and chute.

Wax On, Melt Off ? Researchers Find Adding Paraffin to Concrete Can Help Roads Clear Themselves in The Winter | Now | Drexel University


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## curvecrazy (Dec 11, 2017)

A couple more possibilities:

One person mentioned an auto detailed/restorer product they referred to as T7. Looks like it might be a product made by Granitize about $37 a gallon. 

Another person mentions ceramic auto store spraycan paint they said not the 500 degree stuff just regular ceramic " duplicolor" ??

Another says any silicone spray be liberal which who really wants deal with silicone spray it gets on surrounding surfaces to your future misery painting and whatnot keep it out of your shop...

Another says spray on lithium grease

Another PB Blaster Teflon spray


Mine isn't a situation where meguires wax say would work that well due to my modifications but....


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## curvecrazy (Dec 11, 2017)

Today's snow removal was 24 degrees F and approx 9-10 inches what I'd describe as heavy powder but the end the drive was a terrible heavy mess, over a ft deep and soaked with road salt mix. Uhggg.

Today I applied spray can furniture polish from Lowes. Brand was Styles Selections #0399182. The stuff is a version of Pledge type cleaner polishes. I made sure to get a good coat especially on the impeller hub where I get my primary icing issues. Basically a couple hours of straight use and the impellor got pretty iced up... again. Probably worse than with the canola oil cooking spray or fluid film but to be fair that end of driveway mess was about as bad as it could get slushy right to the bottom sticking to everything which it wasn't that bad the prior two sessions with the prior two mentioned coatings and this time the goop was laying to the sides brown on the top the drifts to give you an idea. It's the stuff a 40 ft snowblower (powder snow distance) can only throw 17 ft say or less gunk and it sticks to everything grrr. A shovel full is heavy and it sticks to the shovel but the shovel coated with the furniture polish took a couple minutes scooping for this mix af garbage to start sticking to the face. Not disastrously but there was some stickage. Not the whole shovelfull sticking to the shovel like wet clay but I'm sure it would get that way with use.

I had high hopes for the furniture polish at under $4 for a 17.7 ounce can it looks economical. Certainly feels slick but the metal runners I coated built up thick ice over the 2 hours which shouldn't have been the case if this stuff is the slickness. I had to pound it off it was so hard with a 2X4. I did not get any buildup at the impellor housing intake which is a problem with my 1032. Whereas I did still get buildup there with fluid film and canola spray. In both cases it was less buildup than using nothing for comparison but the polish was the best. And where the furniture polish was applied to the auger the snow did build up but seemed easier to remove, whereas without there'd be more ice stuck to the auger. So this could be a good application at the impellor housing to reduce buildup and performance loss but all three of these failed me over 2+ hours of use in terms of ice buildup on the impellor itself. And maybe that's unavoidable with my machine which has more fins than most on the impellor? I don't have issues with chute clogging even using nothing. It's repowered from HM100 10hp Tecumseh to 13hp overhead cam with smaller pulleys for faster rpms and higher impellor tip speed. 

I guess I could try vegetable oil next. I'm starting to think I should just put the plow back on the tractor and plow the mess till February. Probably be faster. Guess I was hoping I could find something that would keep the inside the blower relatively clean so I don't have to thaw it out with heat every time which is a hassle of it's own sort. In that respect, I could use nothing as I did previous years and once thawed you're good for another round of 2 hour snow cleanup. The impellor icing becomes less a problem as temperatures drop and you're dealing with powder snow. I don't recall having the icing problems on the tractor 5 ft 3 point blower impellor but it's also limited in its throw distance (PTO speed 2580rpm) creating issues with that method too for my situation.


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

Lube discussion are usually centered around chute clogs. As for the impeller getting cluttered with sticky snow maybe you can port the engine exhaust into there to heat the impeller chamber.:surprise:


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Spectrum said:


> Lube discussion are usually centered around chute clogs. As for the impeller getting cluttered with sticky snow maybe you can port the engine exhaust into there to heat the impeller chamber.:surprise:


That's a great idea. Dump trucks have been using an exhaust bypass for years to heat their beds in the winter to prevent sticking especially those that haul snow away from on-site.


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## curvecrazy (Dec 11, 2017)

Interesting idea for someone with more technical capability and resources than myself! I'm actually wondering I'd just spraying windshield de- icer on that impellor hub when it ices up might be my best option. I tried some CRC White Lithium Grease because a tech research paper on icephobic materials mentioned lithium grease as one of the best easily available icephobic compounds. In the attached link you can find lithium grease in one of the charts...
How a solid coating can reduce the adhesion of ice on a structure | Caroline Laforte - Academia.edu
Not sure how much I can recommend it cause that was a short snow removal session. There wasn't enough to really clear so I shoveled it all across the drive to one side and cleared that pile. There was some ice buildup on the impellor hub (30 minutes use maybe?) but the longer session outcome I can't speculate. I did like the way it sprayed on using a plastic applicator insert. Nice even and good coverage. Not spotty needing excess spray or post spray physical spreading on full surface. 
The ice buildup mentioned was easy to remove at the impellor with a gloved fingernail so maybe I should consider just stopping at intervals and doing a quick scrap? 
Frankly we're getting hammered here with snow this last week and if it's any indication of the rest of the winter it's gonna be NOT fun. It hurts to watch plows come and plow out neighbors in what seems like a flash even with side by side plow making huge piles in the process. But the get it done quick. I do have a lot more to snow to clear and I do sidewalks too etc... which they don't, but the snow blowing is SLOW! And that end of driveway stuff is much better plowed into a pile than blown. Of course we all know the plowing and resultant ice piles by February all the neighbors are in a bad way nowhere to put the snow. 
Hmmmm. To install the plow on the tractor or not? That would at least end the snow. Murphies law spend two hours removing the mower deck and installing that then it would stop snowing...
My plow is 6.5 ft wide for the tractor so that would be faster and easier pushing the end of Drive slush pile onto the lawn. I never wanted to do that because the spring gravel in the grass cleanup hassle but I fight with it all winter with the blowers and careful as I am I still end up with gravel on the lawn. On that note, I don't like plow snow piles either but it would save time and cleanup on plow is minimal compared to the blower.


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## curvecrazy (Dec 11, 2017)

*CRC White Lithium Grease*

The CRC White Lithium Grease seems to work pretty well for me in cold and single digit temperatures with powder snow. Probably get some warme4 wet snow here in the near future and have to see how it is on that. For the record. Doesn’t seem to be too much interest in this here judging by the minimal response.....


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## toohip (Oct 29, 2019)

This is more physics then chemistry. Any lubricant, even water, will work. But the problem is how long will it last. You have snow, which is more abrasive the water, constantly rubbing against these surfaces. So the key, IMO, is getting something that will stick on the metal surfaces the longest, and resist being worn off. It would seem ski or car wax would meet this criteria, but how difficult is applying a paste wax and buffing it in, when it's hard to reach and too many awkward and rough surfaces. A spray or liquid is the go-to application. I've seen where they contain "polymers" and other ingredients, and if any of these will dry and stick to the metal surfaces longer, than that's the best application.

I had sprayed silicone on my snow blower blades, chute, surfaces and after a snow storm, the second snow storm the snow built up so much on the blades I was "pushing" rather than "eating" snow. So I melted the snow off with heater, until mostly dry, and sprayed down with silicone again, and tried to let it dry, and it worked fine. . for a while. I noticed the blades started to build up again. So I'm guessing the silicone wears off pretty fast. I'm going to try Home Depots Snow Jet Non-Stick Polymer Treatment, and I ordered DuPont Teflon Snow and Ice Repellant, 10-Ounce from Amazon I'll try later when it arrives. It seems the manufacturers need to better address this with the paint they add, and they could also design them better. Someone on youtube has a cool video of how he claims the auger chute blades are not close enough to the sides, which allows build up. He creates a rubber blade to attach that meets the sides and says this prevents build up and improves snow removal. Makes sense, but hard to attach, and they wear out.

Good luck!


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## DP1623 (Mar 31, 2021)

Sorry about bumping an old thread. I have found tremendous success with turtlewax hybrid solutions ceramic spray coating. They sell one that you can put on wet, or dry. Works great all season. Does not come off easy. I spray my whole machine down after the season, and hit the chute and augers before the first snowfall. Snow just slides off. out $14 on amazon. Good luck!


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

Interesting indeed... we shall see.


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## nbwinter (Jan 18, 2021)

I've been using fluid film for years and it seems to do a pretty good job. I try and buy it on sale in a pail and then just run it through a sprayer. My neighbor uses chainsaw bar oil through a spray gun. He puts it in a bain marie of sorts and then when nice and warm he sprays it on.


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## DP1623 (Mar 31, 2021)

nbwinter said:


> I've been using fluid film for years and it seems to do a pretty good job. I try and buy it on sale in a pail and then just run it through a sprayer. My neighbor uses chainsaw bar oil through a spray gun. He puts it in a bain marie of sorts and then when nice and warm he sprays it on.


Bar and chain oil is an interesting concept.


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## nbwinter (Jan 18, 2021)

DP1623 said:


> Bar and chain oil is an interesting concept.


Yeah I've heard of a few of the older school guys using this method but he is the only one I know that does it. His equipment seems to last him a long time so he might be on to something. May not be the best solution but it's a pretty cheap way to do it.


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