# Very compacted snow... Recommendation



## texmt (Nov 28, 2018)

Hello from warm Montana.
I'm looking for my first snowblower (not another which blower do I buy post!!!) and I have a more unique situation. This will used to clear the snow coming off of the roof and getting compacted below. I guess it would be similar to an EOD pile but there will be 150 linear feet of 2-3 ft deep solidly packed snow. There won't be any light fluffy driveway snow that girls can shovel. So after lots of research I purchased an Ariens Deluxe 28" and ran it with our first real snow. It did ok and I could take 4"-6" swipes down the pile with some bogging down but nothing excessive and it did ok. When smoke started coming from the belt cowl I shut it down. Looks like one of the belts was getting worn and the dust was smoking.

So a couple of questions:
Any idea if the smoke is normal break in procedure? :surprise: I would be completely shocked, but anything I should be doing with a new rig?
Any other suggestions on a machine that can handle this? I thought about upgrading to the platinum 24. That $1500 is past my budget but I'd rather spend that instead of burning out a $1000 machine in a couple of years.
Thanks


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I have 50 to 60 ft of Linear coming off my house and 26 ft from Garage on to deck. With my Toro 1128 a lot of the time I have to run the spade under it to break snow off of driveway and deck the longer it sits it get to be like cement. This makes blowing it way easier on me and the blower. I have never had any belt issues or bogging down. I use a squared nose shovel and it goes good. You may want to give it a try I have had no problems and been in this house since 1990.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

The belt is slipping, not normal. Could have gotten wet. I'd buy a 1/4" or 1/2" smaller belt.

You want absolutely no problem with the EOD? Or anything? Buy a Gravely Convertible 12hp. It will burrow tunnels into plow mounds.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Is yours just a single drive belt for the impeller & auger ?? Ariens had a dual belt kit for some machines. Can you post the model and first three of the serial number off the ID plate ??

.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

texmt said:


> Hello from warm Montana.
> I'm looking for my first snowblower (not another which blower do I buy post!!!) and I have a more unique situation. This will used to clear the snow coming off of the roof and getting compacted below. I guess it would be similar to an EOD pile but there will be 150 linear feet of 2-3 ft deep solidly packed snow. There won't be any light fluffy driveway snow that girls can shovel. So after lots of research I purchased an Ariens Deluxe 28" and ran it with our first real snow. It did ok and I could take 4"-6" swipes down the pile with some bogging down but nothing excessive and it did ok. When smoke started coming from the belt cowl I shut it down. Looks like one of the belts was getting worn and the dust was smoking.
> 
> So a couple of questions:
> ...



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


Hello texmt,

If your belt was smoking like that chances are it is glazed over and damaged and needs to go to the garbage can or wheely bin as my British friends would say. 

Do you have drift cutters on this thing? it sounds like you do not have them and you need them to cut into the dense snow pack that slid off the roof.


If you do anything 


1. buy a pair of drift cutters 

2. purchase 2 new kevlar V belts for each size keeping one of each as a spare.

3. be doubly that each pair of belts has the same lot number. V belts of the same size but different lot numbers will not work as well and will fail much sooner as the v belts are made in separate batches.


3. if you get your V belts at a NAPA store ask for a kevlar V Belt in that size as they are much more shock resistant. Many of them are green in color but the cardboard wrapper will also tell you its a Kevlar V belt.

4. purchase a couple cans of Fluid Film aerosol spray at the NAPA store to coat everything that contacts snow inside the cross auger housing including the impeller housing, the impeller and the chute and spout. You will not need a lot of it as long as you shake the can well and keep it in a warm place in between uses. 


No worries you have heavy dense snow pack to clear and it takes a while at a crawl with a walk behind snow mule of any brand OR SIZE.


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## russkat (Feb 25, 2015)

The older dogeater blower can really chew through tough/compacted snow.
Not the fastest, for sure.
Keep small children and pets away !!!


All from 6.6-7.6hp... Those old gravely motors (not the later Kohler powered units) have a lot of low end torque.
When I had them a few years ago (had both an early L model (6.6hp) and later convertible (7.6hp), they both seemed to
bog down a bit in heavy snow, but then they found their sweet spot (peak torque range) and then kept going through anything.


I'll pick up another one when I move to a larger property.


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## texmt (Nov 28, 2018)

So I returned the 28" Deluxe to the big orange box store and told them about the smoking and belt wear. This was a brand new 2018/19 depending on when they come out with the new models. I'll let them deal with the issue. My thought is something new should run perfectly.

Thanks for the advice on belts and other things. I was wondering about the drift cutters, as this is all completely new to me I don't know what are gimmicks and what is a great addition. I just pulled the trigger on the 24" Platinum carbed model. I'll get the cutters and belts next trip into town.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

texmt said:


> So I returned the 28" Deluxe to the big orange box store and told them about the smoking and belt wear. This was a brand new 2018/19 depending on when they come out with the new models. I'll let them deal with the issue. My thought is something new should run perfectly.
> 
> Thanks for the advice on belts and other things. I was wondering about the drift cutters, as this is all completely new to me I don't know what are gimmicks and what is a great addition. I just pulled the trigger on the 24" Platinum carbed model. I'll get the cutters and belts next trip into town.



Was under powered anyway 7.5 hp no impeller kit it had no chance


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

texmt said:


> So I returned the 28" Deluxe to the big orange box store and told them about the smoking and belt wear. This was a brand new 2018/19 depending on when they come out with the new models. I'll let them deal with the issue. My thought is something new should run perfectly.
> 
> Thanks for the advice on belts and other things. I was wondering about the drift cutters, as this is all completely new to me I don't know what are gimmicks and what is a great addition. I just pulled the trigger on the 24" Platinum carbed model. I'll get the cutters and belts next trip into town.


Good move, the deluxe 28 is pretty lack luster all around, decent value but not much performance. You’ll be happy with the platinum 24. Weight kits are available to keep the bucket from riding up constantly on packed snow. Slow speeds and letting the auger do its job works best.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Heh, 369cc with 24" should do nicely for power  That's about the most power-to-width that you'll find. The next challenge may be maintaining forward movement, depending on how densely packed the snow is. Taking partial-width cuts can help. And you could add chains as well, if you needed to. 

If it's 2-3' deep, the drift cutters should help, as the top of the bucket is probably around 2', so you'd need to be able to knock down the taller stuff. 

That will be some serious snow-clearing, with deep, packed snow. I'd try to put some time on the engine first (maybe an hour?), with it clearing easier snow. Otherwise you'll be breaking-in the engine with a constant, super-heavy load, which may not be ideal. If you have to start with the serious stuff, I'd take partial-width cuts, and/or go slower, to reduce the load on the brand-new engine. Either way, I'd change the oil after an hour or two, staying with conventional oil (vs synthetic) until maybe 10 hours.


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## northpole (Nov 29, 2018)

awesome! that would tear up his roof though I'm sure!


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Do you mean my chains suggestion, tearing up the roof? I thought we were talking about snow that fell off the roof, and is compacted on the ground. Not snow that's still on the roof. Did I misunderstand?


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

texmt said:


> This will used to clear the snow coming off of the roof and getting compacted below. I guess it would be similar to an EOD pile but there will be 150 linear feet of 2-3 ft deep solidly packed snow.


In all fairness if this is what you intended to do with a snowblower it's not something you should expect a lower end machine to be able to do "perfectly" even if it is from a reputable manufacturer.
Going 4 inches narrower and increasing the engine from 254cc to the 396cc will definitely be noticeable and is more the tank you need to push through that avalanche of compacted roof snow. You still might need to take it slow slicing through the pile.

.


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## ColdinMontana (Nov 18, 2018)

Hey neighbor, I haven’t been "ColdinMontana" since last winter LOL. Naturally, now that I bought a new blower, there is no snow in sight. But I purchased a Pro 32 Rapidtrak machine primarily for the exact situation you described. Due to the way our house is situated and the way the wind generally blows out here I get 2-3 foot drifts on my roof. I pull that down with a roof rake multiple times each winter. That results in 2-3 foot snow mounds all around the house. Clearing it hand is back breaking work. My neighbors 24" Toro boggs down badly. So I wanted the strongest machine I could get to tackle the job. Now if it would only snow I could see if I made a good choice!


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## texmt (Nov 28, 2018)

Thanks for all of the advice, please keep it coming. 

To alleviate any confusion, I have a standing seam metal roof that will hold about eight inches of snow before gravity takes over and it all slides off and hits the ground. This is the compacted berm that will be removed. A couple of years ago the pile became seven feet high and about 12 feet wide during the entire winter. Spent a day on the tractor carving away the nice glacier blue mound. Obviously I wouldn't try that with a blower  

The Deluxe 28 blew through the edge on the first pass and then I was taking increasingly smaller bites as I moved to the center of the mound to keep the engine at full rpm, about 4 inches was the smallest slice I had to take. At the center of the mound I ran the machine over the top since I didn't have the drift cutters and then came back to clean the rest. I never expected to clear that long, deep, compacted pile in one pass but I was thinking at least 12 inch cuts. I could have survived with the Deluxe but since it was smoking and I returned it, I figured I could solicit ideas to see if anyone else had a similar situation. This first snow was very wet too so that made things much worse. I'll take it slow and steady even with the 369cc engine.

I love the feedback and reading all of the forums, it's a brand new world for me. This started out with a "hey you should get a snow blower. You can pick one up for about $600" conversation and has evolved like everything else that I do. I avoided the jump up to a blower for my skid steer, that would require working to pay it off. I'm just collecting toys.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Holy crap  A 7' x 12' beast of compacted snow?? That sounds like a bit of a nightmare  

The 369cc should do better with it. And the belt shouldn't smoke if the machine is working right, IMO. The engine should bog down & stall before the belt slips, I'd say. 

Even a big engine isn't magic, unfortunately. You may still need to adjust your ground speed/cut width to avoid overloading the machine, given the type of snow you'll be dealing with. 

Hopefully there won't be much ice in the snow. I'd keep a few sets of shear pins on hand, in case ice chunks break the shear pins. At least this isn't a driveway, where the delay from a broken blower part can suddenly be a big problem.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

:sigh: I agree.


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## texmt (Nov 28, 2018)

As a follow up, I purchased and assembled a new Ariens Platinum 24 and waited and waited for snow. We finally had a few rounds with different weights and the piles were about equal size (30"x24'x50') when they came off the roof. The first had slid off the roof and froze while we were out of town. The machine handled this without bogging down but I was cutting small passes or letting it run up on top and then backing up to take a deeper bite. Just trying to be nice to a new engine. The second was thick heavy snow freshly dumped and the machine ate through this easily, again taking 12" passes. The third was light stuff so I just ran it through with no issues.

The motor size certainly was the issue. It still wants to run up on top, I'll clamp some temporary weights on top to do a test run but right now we haven't had enough snow to really tell if it'll be an issue. 

The smoking of the Deluxe was probably from the belts, there was a lot of belt dust and wear. I believe the auger never disengaged fully when the lever was released so the belts were getting torn up.
Thanks


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

New belts will stretch to some degree and as well wear in to the sheaves. Make sure to readjust belts inside the belt guard by means of the idler pulleys for both the drive and the auger after you have a little time on them. especially on a new machine that was probably put together by garden center employee at the big box store if thats where you got it. Remember these people are not trained nor are they mechanics and most only just happen to know how to use a few tools.


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