# Buying a 6 blades fan or adding pads to the 3 blades fan



## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

As I have some time to do it now, I will prepare my Platinum 30 SHO now for winter. As I have to project the snow as far as I can, I have two options to increase the snow projection. 1- Replacing the 3 blades impeller with a 6 blades impeller. 2- Keeping the 3 blades impeller and adding rubber pads at the end of the blades. Which one should be the best. I already adjusted the motor so it will rev a little higher than it was stock. I will perhaps increase pulley size from 2.75 t0 3.25 inches. Thanks


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## malisha1 (Nov 16, 2018)

Add rubber paddles.


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

I'd go with the 2nd option. It's a much cheaper option and you'll be done in no time. By the way, I have a 6 bladed 10hp Ariens with the impeller mod and a 3 bladed 10hp Craftsman with the impeller mod - both throw snow real far - I have to be careful on my driveway between houses and of coarse cars in the street.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Never tried the paddles. Icing of the paddles to the impeller housing is too big a risk for me, even though I clean the area of snow after each use. We had 311.9 cms (over 10 ft) of snow last winter and I did 8 driveways several times each snowfall. I have one machine so it has to work reliably every time. 

I have the 6 bladed Ariens impeller which works much better than the stock 3 bladed impeller. The clearance to the impeller housing is closer with the 6 bladed than the 3 bladed. Cost to replace the impeller is way more expensive, but you are getting a real performance upgrade with no downsides. 

Good luck


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

Town said:


> Never tried the paddles. Icing of the paddles to the impeller housing is too big a risk for me, even though I clean the area of snow after each use. We had 311.9 cms (over 10 ft) of snow last winter and I did 8 driveways several times each snowfall. I have one machine so it has to work reliably every time.
> 
> I have the 6 bladed Ariens impeller which works much better than the stock 3 bladed impeller. The clearance to the impeller housing is closer with the 6 bladed than the 3 bladed. Cost to replace the impeller is way more expensive, but you are getting a real performance upgrade with no downsides.
> 
> Good luck


 Town, never had a problem with icing with any of the impeller mods I've down..., used high quality, thick, truck mud flaps. Seem to be good for me and the lake effect weather we experience here in the Buffalo/Lackawanna area of Western New York.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I've done the paddle mod with success with my modified 926LE . The only drawback I saw was the metal with no paint around the impeller casing. It seemed to remove the paint really fast even if I took care to adjust the pads with minimum friction to the casing.


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

legarem said:


> I've done the paddle mod with success with my modified 926LE . The only drawback I saw was the metal with no paint around the impeller casing. It seemed to remove the paint really fast even if I took care to adjust the pads with minimum friction to the casing.


Spray Fluid Film on those areas and you should be fine. You'll have friction with pads touching or not, snow, ice and whatever is being fed into the impelling housing will cause paint to break down eventually. JMTC.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> I've done the paddle mod with success with my modified 926LE . The only drawback I saw was the metal with no paint around the impeller casing. It seemed to remove the paint really fast even if I took care to adjust the pads with minimum friction to the casing.





aldfam4 said:


> Spray Fluid Film on those areas and you should be fine. You'll have friction with pads touching or not, snow, ice and whatever is being fed into the impelling housing will cause paint to break down eventually. JMTC.


The paint on the inside of the impeller housing was completely removed within the first year. When the auger gearbox seals were replaced I painted the housing again with Ariens paint and still with stock 3 blade impeller the paint was removed from housing. So the impeller housing has been without paint for years and does not seem to be a problem except visually.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

I would not add to the impeller pulley unless you up the horsepower......the rubber impeller modification is a no brainer in my opinion.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

cranman said:


> I would not add to the impeller pulley unless you up the horsepower......the rubber impeller modification is a no brainer in my opinion.



Mr cranny he has the 20 ft lbs motor they put the 6 blade on the 1024 who with only 15.5 ft lbs if Mr town says it helps he knows his stuff
myself iam frugal I wouldn't change it out up the rpms for free to 3700 add impel kit 10 bucks will be more then he needs unless he needs a tractor


here is the 1336 with 17.5 ft lbs motor with and impeller kit and 6 blade impeller


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

1132le said:


> Mr cranny he has the 20 ft lbs motor they put the 6 blade on the 1024 who with only 15.5 ft lbs if Mr town says it helps he knows his stuff
> myself iam frugal I wouldn't change it out up the rpms for free to 3700 add impel kit 10 bucks will be more then he needs unless he needs a tractor
> 
> 
> ...


I think @cranman was talking about @legarem adding a (dual?) 3.25" impeller pulley on the crankshaft as probably needing more engine power than is necessary to run the 2.75" pulley. Since the Honda 1332 may be running a 3.25" pulley (from earlier discussion on engine pulley size in relation to optimum impeller tip speed) and has less power than the Ariens AX 414cc engine this may actually be an option for the super powerful Ariens Platinum 30 SHO. To use a *dual *pulley is the issue and not the driving power of the engine. Solutions to installing a 3.25" dual pulley have been proposed and discussed but are beyond my limited competence to execute.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

My 926LE with a Honda GX390 has a 3.25 pulley, pads and a lillle motor RPM increase. It didn't lack any power with a full bucket of snow at low speed. As it is still sitting in my shed for fall sale, I will transfer the 3.25 pulley to the SHO with the straps. The 2.75 will go to the 926LE. The Honda GX 390 is a fine motor but I will *NEVER* use again a Honda GX motor during winter. I had to battle regularly with carb freezing. Also the 926LE didn't have any autoturn or someting like that. Now I have to decide if I go with 6 blades fan or not.


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

1132le said:


> Mr cranny he has the 20 ft lbs motor they put the 6 blade on the 1024 who with only 15.5 ft lbs if Mr town says it helps he knows his stuff
> myself iam frugal I wouldn't change it out up the rpms for free to 3700 add impel kit 10 bucks will be more then he needs unless he needs a tractor
> 
> 
> ...


Picture/video clip is worth a thousand words!:wink2:


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

aldfam4 said:


> Picture/video clip is worth a thousand words!:wink2:



And he's throwing the snow in front of the snowblower. If it was on the right side, it would perhaps throw further. I also think that the chute design on these older ariens series was better designed than the ones we have now. There's a little more chute angle than we have now so the snow goes further instead of higher like the design we have now. To get the same snow angle projection to blow the snow at the furthest point, we have to lower the chute end on the modern Ariens. This means more snow friction at the end of the chute. You just have to look where the paint is missing in your chute. I use my snowblower without any chute end angle and I clearly see the friction point inside the end of the chute. Snow projection mist on these old ariens chute also seems to be less pronounced. than the newer ones.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

As long as the blower has plenty of torque, the increase of the pulley by 1/2 inch shouldn't drag it down. All of the Ariens I've played with are Tecumseh engines, and I wouldn't dare increase the impeller speed without upping the horsepower. Last year I swapped out an early 24 inch 924 series teardrop bucket to an ST 1236, narrowed the axles, did the impeller modification, and after trying it out stock, swapped the 2.75 inch pulley to a 3.5 inch pulley. I cut off the impeller part of the pulley on the lathe, and just added the 3.5 inch pulley from Tractor Supply in it's place. With the 12 hp overhead valve Tecumseh, it was quite impressive with the faster impeller speed, but remember this is on a 24 inch housing. This years project is a ST1032 that I'm replacing the engine with a 414 cc Loncin winter engine I bought a few years ago and haven't used yet. I'll do the impeller mod on three of the six blades, try it and then up the impeller speed depending on performance.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

As I previously bought a dual belt kit, I used the old single belt pulley to do a shim for the 3.25 inches new pulley


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> As I previously bought a dual belt kit, I used the old single belt pulley to do a shim for the 3.25 inches new pulley


So you bought or made that dual belt 3.25" pulley? What belt length are you using on your SHO? 

Theoretical impeller speed would be 1376 rpm at 3,600 engine rpm, 1414 at 3,700 rpm, 1491 at 3,900 rpm. Are you getting those kinds of performance?

I am very impressed.

Edit: Looking at the engine location on the chassis there is no metal lip to prevent water getting down to drive train, so it does not look like an SHO?


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

The picture is taken from 926 LE. Before selling it, I will take this pulley and place it on my SHO if the belts I am using with this pulley can be used on the SHO i'll use it. The belt number I use with the 3-25 inch pulley is: mxv 4-400. I had to reform the belt guide and the groove adjustment on the belt tensioner to fit the new belts.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Here is more belt picture and my beloved monster. If It had at least an autoturn I would have keept it. For carb icing i punched two big holes at the air box cover side top facing the muffler and I placed a guard between the cover and the muffler so It takes warm air. I blocked the air box normal duct . It seemed to work correctly.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Hi @legarem, So how did you make (or buy) the 3.25" duel pulley (or is it two single pulleys)? I would like to try it. That belt is 1/2" by 40" long, so that is great to know as a starting point. Do you know the center to center distance from crankshaft to the impeller shaft pulley center? I can adjust the belt length from there.

Thanks for the help.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I bought a double pulley from Leeson at a bearing shop here for $25. There are two allen keys on it.

http://www.motionusa.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lesson/Pulleys-and-Sheaves-1060.pdf
I will try to find the model and look at the measure you asked me tomorrow.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> I bought a double pulley from Leeson at a bearing shop here for $25. There are two allen keys on it.
> 
> http://www.motionusa.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lesson/Pulleys-and-Sheaves-1060.pdf
> I will try to find the model and look at the measure you asked me tomorrow.


Thanks very much for the info. I looked at the catalogue and all the different types of pulleys, so your help in finding the right model is also much appreciated.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> I bought a double pulley from Leeson at a bearing shop here for $25. There are two allen keys on it.
> 
> http://www.motionusa.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lesson/Pulleys-and-Sheaves-1060.pdf
> I will try to find the model and look at the measure you asked me tomorrow.


I think I found the pulley order number (model) for the LCT AX 414cc engine in the SHO from the Leeson catalogue as 2AK32x1, type 1D (the other types require larger diameter pulleys). It comes complete with key and retaining set screws. There is a listing for a warehouse in Toronto, Canada where I should be able to order it from. If you think this is indeed the model you have then I will order it.

Edit: I will need a spacer between the new pulley and the wheel drive pulley since the wheel drive pulley is not separately retained on the crankshaft.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I just looked at the pulley and you're right. it is a 2AK32X1

I measured the center to center motor shaft and fan pulley and it is +- 10 inches on my 926LE. The perfect strap would be 39.78 inches. I bought 40 inches. Will it also fit on the SHO ? I have to look.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Town said:


> Edit: I will need a spacer between the new pulley and the wheel drive pulley since the wheel drive pulley is not separately retained on the crankshaft.


Take your old sheave (pulley) and go to the machine shop to make your spacer. They will cut the sheave and make your spacer like you see on the picture.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> I just looked at the pulley and you're right. it is a 2AK32X1
> 
> I measured the center to center motor shaft and fan pulley and it is +- 10 inches on my 926LE. The perfect strap would be 39.78 inches. I bought 40 inches. Will it also fit on the SHO ? I have to look.


Thanks for the confirmation and the belt length you are using. I will order that pulley tomorrow.

I will measure the center distance on my SHO tomorrow. Not sure how accurate that will be since I measured the impeller shaft pulley at 9" when on the machine, but it is actually 8.5" when I had the machine apart. I will try a few measurements and see how consistent the center to center distance is. I think the easiest would be from bottom of crank pulley to top of impeller pulley and then adjust for pulleys radii. 

Thanks for the help.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

The distance between impeller pulleys (outside diameter) on my SHO is 5" and 3/16" looking at the tape. The attached pic shows the tape measure resting on impeller pulley and the 5 and 3/16 mark at outside diameter of the engine impeller pulley.

The engine impeller pulley is 2" and 3/4" in diameter, and the impeller shaft pulley is 8" and 1/2". So the center to center of engine crankshaft and impeller shaft is 10" and 13/16" (1 and 3/8 + 5 and 3/16 + 4 and 1/4).

I have ordered the 2AK32x1 dual belt pulley, at CAD$102 plus tax. Much more expensive than I expected.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Town said:


> I have ordered the 2AK32x1 dual belt pulley, at CAD$102 plus tax. Much more expensive than I expected.


Wow! This is way higher than I paid. The amount I paid was $25 and it seems right but not $102. I don't know if my pulley is a Leeson or another brand but $102 is purely theft for a small pulley.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> Wow! This is way higher than I paid. The amount I paid was $25 and it seems right but not $102. I don't know if my pulley is a Leeson or another brand but $102 is purely theft for a small pulley.


That's life in Canada. It turned out that the Leeson phone number in Toronto is a distributor and referred me to a company in Ottawa to order the pulley. They had to order the pulley from the US. So $102 for part, $15 delivery plus taxes ends up as $132.75. I don't know the manufacturer, likely Browning. Then the belts will add lots of CAD$, so I hope it will be a good upgrade.

Thanks for the help.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

I found this v belt length calculator: V-Belt Length Calculator so using that calculator the belt lengths for my machine may be:

Stock SHO belt: 40.05" (based upon 10.8125" pulley center distance, 2.75" small pulley and 8.5" large pulley);
SHO with 3.25" pulley: 40.71" (based upon 10.8125" pulley center distance, 3.25" small pulley and 8.5" large pulley).
@legarem how does that relate to your experience with your machine belt lengths?


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## firedudetl1 (Jan 26, 2016)

few quick questions - how much is a 6 blade "fan" and what machines does it fit, what's the advantage of the duel pulley system? I'm guessing the dual pulley system "reduces" the load on the engine so more power goes to the auger& fan


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Town said:


> @legarem how does that relate to your experience with your machine belt lengths?


On my 926LE, with the 3.25 inch pulley, the belts I use are 40 inches. Ideally, calculated it is 39.78 inches.
I didn'try the 40 inches belts on the SHO.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

firedudetl1 said:


> few quick questions - how much is a 6 blade "fan" and what machines does it fit, what's the advantage of the duel pulley system? I'm guessing the dual pulley system "reduces" the load on the engine so more power goes to the auger& fan


The 6 blades fan is about $200 Can and can be fitted with all Ariens which have 14 fan. The double pulley is a welcome mod because belts don't slip and last a lot longer than with a single belt. Ariens has a belt conversion kit which is really cheap. 3 years ago I paid near $60 for this kit. It includes the 2 pulleys, two belts and the belt tensioner. The pulley they supply in the kit is a 2.75 inches which is what SHO use.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

firedudetl1 said:


> few quick questions - how much is a 6 blade "fan" and what machines does it fit, what's the advantage of the duel pulley system? I'm guessing the dual pulley system "reduces" the load on the engine so more power goes to the auger& fan


As @legarem noted:

The Ariens 6 blade impeller is part AP00258451 and cost me CAD$177.99 (CAD$201.12 with taxes) from my Ariens dealer. It is for an Ariens 926501-DLE model, but was manufactured in Quebec Canada. The US on line parts places have the part for a little cheaper. 

The Ariens engines are too powerful for a single belt and need 2 belts to power the impeller and Auger with the high throughput. A single belt on earlier models would slip under heavy load from the large impeller. The 6 blade impeller is even larger (width and depth of each blade and about 1/8" or so larger diameter) for even more throughput.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

@legarem, I have measured the stock SHO pulley and compared the dimensions to the 2AK32x1 pulley. The 2AK32x1 pulley will not fit because the crank will hardly reach it when belts are positioned correctly. I forgot about this problem that I learned about last year. I guess the Honda crank is longer than the LCT crank. You may want to try fitting your 2AK32x1 pulley onto your SHO to confirm the problem.

I think your idea of cutting the SHO pulley "spacer" and welding to the 2AK32x1 pulley would work to correct the problem.

On the belts, last year I measured the outside diameter of the stock SHO new belts at 41.5" which was confirmed by my dealer using a commercial belt measuring device. At that time it was estimated that a 3.25" engine impeller pulley would add about a 1/2" to the length. I did not source a 42" belt due to the pulley problem as noted above.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

The Honda shaft didn't fit flush with the pulley end. I could measure it but I think there was a recess of about near 1 inch inside the pulley. The pulley I bought has 2 Allen keys to grip on the shaft. Considering that the Honda shaft don't go completely inside the pulley, I also used the crankshaft end bolt to secure the pulley to the shaft. I didn't weld the pulley to the shim made with the old pulley. If I remember, I used the snowblower for some time without the crankshaft end bolt without any problems.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> The Honda shaft didn't fit flush with the pulley end. I could measure it but I think there was a recess of about near 1 inch inside the pulley. The pulley I bought has 2 Allen keys to grip on the shaft. Considering that the Honda shaft don't go completely inside the pulley, I also used the crankshaft end bolt to secure the pulley to the shaft. I didn't weld the pulley to the shim made with the old pulley. If I remember, I used the snowblower for some time without the crankshaft end bolt without any problems.


Thanks for the update. I think the SHO is different from the 926 with a greater length for belt area and that is where the problem lies. The SHO pulley is 3 and 5/8" long and the crankshaft ends 1 and 7/16" into the spacer end of the pulley, so there is 2 and 3/16" of the pulley that is beyond the crankshaft. The total length of the 2AK32x1 is 1 and 27/32" made up of 1 and 3/8" for pulley and 15/32" for the extension with set screws. So when the 2AK32x1 pulley is lined up with the impeller pulley it does not reach the crank, there is a theoretical gap of 11/32".

As I see it the SHO pulley needs to have the integral spacer (1 and 11/16") cut from it. Then weld the cut spacer with a 3/32" spacer to the 2AK32x1 pulley. To end up with a length of 3 and 5/8". An alternative would be a floating 3/32" spacer next to wheel drive pulley and have that retained by the extended (by 1 and 11/16") 2AK32x1 which would reduce the crank drive length from 1 and 7/16" to 1 and 11/32" which is probably enough.

Perhaps my math is wrong or I am not looking at reality correctly. So can you please remove the SHO crank pulley and place the 2AK32x1 pulley roughly where the belts are on your SHO and see if there is a gap to the crank of about 11/32"? My ordered 2AK32x1 will be here about 28 August so I will be able to check it then.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I will try to look at that but I can't tell you when because I have to work on the two snowblowers to do that. Presently, I fight against big health problems which sometimes give me hard days I can't do too much things.


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## firedudetl1 (Jan 26, 2016)

thanks for the info on the 6 blade fan - will have to research the parts to see if a 6 blade will fit any of my "antique" machines (68,73,80s)...


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## firedudetl1 (Jan 26, 2016)

legarem - good luck w/ your health issues... sucks being sick....


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> I will try to look at that but I can't tell you when because I have to work on the two snowblowers to do that. Presently, I fight against big health problems which sometimes give me hard days I can't do too much things.


Sorry to hear of your health issues, hope it is something that you can recover from quickly. 

No problem that you cannot do the work to get the measurements, I will have the pulley in a week so I can do the setup and let you know about the fit and measurements. Then see what a machine shop can do. 

Take care.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

firedudetl1 said:


> thanks for the info on the 6 blade fan - will have to research the parts to see if a 6 blade will fit any of my "antique" machines (68,73,80s)...


The 3 initial criteria that come to mind are: 

1. my 6 blade impeller is 14" in diameter; 
2. is secured to the impeller shaft within the impeller housing with 2 holes of a 1/4" diameter going through impeller and shaft with 2 roll pins of 1/4" by 1 and 3/4". I substituted 1/4" bolts for the roll pins so that I can lubricate the shaft and impeller surfaces.
3. diameter of the impeller shaft is 7/8" (0.875") where the impeller is fastened. 

If your machines fit, or can be made to fit those criteria, then I can take some measurements of the impeller to see how well it might fit in your impeller housing without touching the back of housing or the augers, etc.

An interesting feature of the 6 blade impeller is the amount of air it pushes out the chute. The 3 blade SHO air flow at full rpm is hardly noticeable on my face, but with the 6 blade it is storm speed air at same engine rpm. This is replicated with snow.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I'll order my 6 blades fan this week. My snowblower shouldn't see too much work during this winter because due to my health problems, I will probably have to take a snow removal contract to do the main car path.


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## firedudetl1 (Jan 26, 2016)

my local shop checked this afternoon for me and found the part # is "good" and that his supplier (Ariens) has 2 in stock for roughly $170 - he gave me the parts sheet so I can check my machine, however, I should be doing my "summer" work so I'm not sure about getting to this soon - does sound "interesting" - my 80 33(32?) in 8 hp could use an "upgrade"

thanks to all for the info - will update as (if) things progress


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I looked at both snowblowers today and took some measurements

- From the top of the impeller pulley to the center of the small motor pulley bolt, there is about 6 inches on both 
machines. Both are exactly the same.

- From the motor ridge whitch attach belt wire guide to the end of the pulley, there's 4.5 inches on both machines.

This means The belts I used on the 926LE and the 3.25 pulley should easily fit on the SHO.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Town said:


> No problem that you cannot do the work to get the measurements, I will have the pulley in a week so I can do the setup and let you know about the fit and measurements. Then see what a machine shop can do.



I looked at both machines today and the LCT shaft is way shorter than the Honda. Welding will be necessary.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> I looked at both snowblowers today and took some measurements
> 
> - From the top of the impeller pulley to the center of the small motor pulley bolt, there is about 6 inches on both
> machines. Both are exactly the same.
> ...


My pulley has arrived at General Bearing so I will pick it up tomorrow (Thursday). In preparation i checked my SHO again. 

1. The distance from the center of the engine crank to outside edge of the 8.5" impeller pulley is 6.5" on my SHO, so half an inch longer than your SHO. I am using the stock SHO belts (07200703 v belt HA Raw edge (set). My dealer measured them at 41.5" long and I got the same measurement with a fiberglass sewing tape measure around the outside of the belt.

2. The distance from engine block face where the wire guard is attached (but removed for this measurement) to the end of the pulley is 4" and 1/8". 

3. My SHO is a 2015 model, purchased in early January 2015, but appears different to your SHO.

4. I have two double pulleys, one for the SHO and one for the Pro models. The B&S Polar Force engine must have a longer crankshaft than the LCT engine because the pulley has an allowance of 1" and 3/4" for the crank while the SHO pulley has an allowance of 1" and 7/16". So there will be enough of a spacer with the PRO pulley extension that I will not need an additional 3/16" spacer as needed for the shorter SHO pulley extension.

5. I have extended the slot for the idler pulley on the impeller apply arm to give more slack to the belts. May allow use of stock belts with the larger pulley.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Job on both snowblowers is done. Pulley and belts from the 926LE equipped with the GX390 are gone to the SHO and the pulley and belts from the SHO are gone to the 926LE with the GX390. Everything fitted correctly. As mentioned two things were previously done: 1- Soldering the 3.25 inches pulley to the shim for the SHO. 2- Drilling 1 inch hole in the 2.75 pulley so the Honda shaft can pass through the pulley because the GX390 motor shaft is really long. Next: ordering 6 blades fan and looking if it will be equipped with pads or not.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> Job on both snowblowers is done. Pulley and belts from the 926LE equipped with the GX390 are gone to the SHO and the pulley and belts from the SHO are gone to the 926LE with the GX390. Everything fitted correctly. As mentioned two things were previously done: 1- Soldering the 3.25 inches pulley to the shim for the SHO. 2- Drilling 1 inch hole in the 2.75 pulley so the Honda shaft can pass through the pulley because the GX390 motor shaft is really long. Next: ordering 6 blades fan and looking if it will be equipped with pads or not.


Congratulations on getting the pulleys sorted and installed.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

I received the new 3.25 pulley and Shore Machine shop made the changes to fit my SHO. Picked up the pulley today and fitted it to my machine. I had previously extended the slack side of the idler pulley mount to give more room for the stock 1 year old belts at slack position. See attached pics of pulleys and mounting on my SHO.

Ran the engine on the electric starter to move the oil around then started it. Engine ran nicely at 3,925 rpm and the impeller did not turn, so enough slack in belts. Engaged impeller drive and it ran at 1,447 rpm. No vibration but the impeller can be heard blowing air at a high rate. Quite the flow to my face. I was expecting 1,418 impeller rpm so a nice bonus. 

Now just wait for the snow.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Nice job. And finally, what is the length of your belts ?


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> Nice job. And finally, what is the length of your belts ?


The belts are stock SHO. I measured the outside diameter of my new belts last year using a cloth tape at 41.5", and my dealer measured the stock belts using his belt gauge at 41.5". I did adjust the idler pulley slot to increase belt slackness so the stock belt would fit. Otherwise I think a 42" belt would be required. Since I have a one year old set of belts and a 4 year old set of belts I did not want to buy another longer set if I could make the stock belts work, and they do perfectly. 

The stock SHO adjuster is shown with an arrow machined in the pulley tensioner arm pointing to the "make the belt looser" position. The second pic shows the extension in progress for a slacker belt. The slot was extended to 5/16" from the right edge and cleaned up (but no pic yet). Damage on left side is due to cutting dremel tool being too large in dia.

Hope this helps you, as your ideas helped me.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I am always amazed by the salt corrosion you have on some parts of your machine. They seems to use a lot on your road.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> I am always amazed by the salt corrosion you have on some parts of your machine. They seems to use a lot on your road.


Yes, lots of salt which sometimes creates a very fluid EOD watery mixture that gets into everywhere. So hard to clean up, especially since the road and sidewalk plows come by after I have cleaned up the driveways and sidewalks so my neighbours can get around.

Did you get your belts sorted out? If using the SHO stock belts check the brake release roller clearance when clutch applied that the brake clears the impeller pulley/belt. The clutch operation is so much smoother now. But I then gave mine additional clearance by substituting a 1" roller for the 3/4" stock roller that had a significant flat spot. The roller is retained by a push-on fingered retainer that is easy to pry off and re-usable.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

This was a simple operation. The belts on the modified 926LE went directly on the SHO and the belts that were on the SHO went directly on the modified 926LE. I didn't have to change any belt. I simply had to adjust the rollers on both benders and I had to bend the wire guards that goes over the pulleys so they fitted correctly.


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## vinnycom (Nov 6, 2017)

do all of it...or nonr but most def do the impeller mod.
my 40yr old blower beats the new ones on my street hands down for clearing any type of snow and greatly improved the clearing of the really wet and slushy stuff 

some snow blowing porn


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

*Re: 6 blades*

I believe the main advantage of the 6 blades impeller over the 3 blades impeller is that it can get rid of snow in the impeller housing faster. It won't throw snow farther in most situation. You felt more air came out of the chute, because of that. More air rushing out of a small chute will create more air pressure as well, but it won't work the same with snow. The 3 blades on the other hand, can throw snow farther in some situation as well, because it propels bigger snow balls/heavier snow scoops.

All in all, they all have advantages and disadvantages. The differences between them aren't much. I wouldn't spent $170 for no real performance gain. Save that money for maintenance and maybe a new snowblower.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

This snowblower DOESN'T have any impeller kit installed. It is strictly stock. This video was done by someone near here in Quebec. I wrote to this guy. To the last message by dman2. Why do you think this snowblower has such a performance if it is not done by the 6 blade fan ?


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

legarem said:


> This snowblower DOESN'T have any impeller kit installed. It is strictly stock. This video was done by someone near here in Quebec. I wrote to this guy. To the last message by dman2. Why do you think this snowblower has such a performance if it is not done by the 6 blade fan ?
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93TbPGL3Fm8&feature=player_embedded



That blower isn't even close to stock not only have I had that same model also a newer 924128 same motor with rpms raised and the kit
the rpms are raised on that blower and a kit 6 blade alone doesn't do that


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

It is not your snowblower so you don't know for sure. Everything on it helps, not just the 6 blades impeller. Like I said, the 6 blades impeller can throw farther in some situations, but don't expect magic out of it. I think you will better off with the impeller mod for that. It is just physic and I'm applying whats I know. I have read similar threads and learned from other people's experience as well. Throwing distance has a lot to do with impeller size and speed. Lubricate the chute and impeller housing will also help with that. Any major thing you do to your snow blower, you must upgrade other components as well. They no longer used the 6 blades. They must have figured out that the 3 blades is best over all.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

1132le said:


> That blower isn't even close to stock not only have I had that same model also a newer 924128 same motor with rpms raised and the kit
> the rpms are raised on that blower and a kit 6 blade alone doesn't do that


See, this guy can tell. All the snowblowers that throw that far have a lot of things done to them. The 14" impeller on the deluxe models and up can already throw far, but not even close to that.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

dman2 said:


> It is not your snowblower so you don't know for sure. Everything on it helps, not just the 6 blades impeller. Like I said, the 6 blades impeller can throw farther in some situations, but don't expect magic out of it. I think you will better off with the impeller mod for that. It is just physic and I'm applying whats I know. I have read similar threads and learned from other people's experience as well. Throwing distance has a lot to do with impeller size and speed. Lubricate the chute and impeller housing will also help with that. Any major thing you do to your snow blower, you must upgrade other components as well. They no longer used the 6 blades. They must have figured out that the 3 blades is best over all.



Impellers are 14 inch for ariens for the models that matter

some hondas throw farther with a 12 inch then ariens with a 14



Impeller speed is the biggest gain Hondas are 1350 to 1400 ariens old school blowers rated 1200 they are 1100 on there best day at 3825 rpm

then the kit
then 6 blade
ariens went to 3 blade as its cheaper not better
lube did nothing for my throwing zilch


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

Honestly, there is no need to throw snow that far. It would be hard to direct the snow and hard on the machine. Your neighbors would be more angry at you than impress about your snowblower.

Do some light modifications to it and be happy with it.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

1132le said:


> Impellers are 14 inch for ariens for the models that matter
> 
> some hondas throw farther with a 12 inch then ariens with a 14
> 
> ...


For those of you that don't know, Ariens with 14" impeller have double belts and heavy duty components anyway. Make your machine reliable, not just throw farther.

Yes, I heard Honda engines can rev at higher rpm. That is why their 12" impeller works better.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

dman2 said:


> . They must have figured out that the 3 blades is best over all.


The blower user on the video told me that his blower is stock. He said he didn't modify anything. About what Ariens figured out . This is simple. 6 blades fan cost an arm and Ariens try to cutting cost on their machines to be competitive. When you see plastic friction discs with their plastic attachement, gear box with small shafts that don't go from side to side of the bucket with their attachements to the top of the bucket so they can use this part on all their models (not the pro ???) All this is only to cut costs not for performance. I understand they try to keep the cost down to stay competitive with all the junk we see everywhere today.

I don't say 6 blades fan is better but every time I see a model with 6 blades, il seems to have better performance. Town made the conversion and he seems happy with the results.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

I talked this afternoon with a guy who repair and refurbish mainly Hondas and Ariens. Yes Honda is the champ for throwing distance but he said that if you take a Honda and an Ariens with the same engine size and bucket, the Ariens will clear the snow as fast or faster than the Honda. The Ariens throws more snow per hour with it's bigger chute. Honda has a smaller chute which contributes to trow the snow further. *This is not my opinion but it could make sense.*. There is perhaps specs for ton /hour per model elsewhere.

About wanting to throw the snow further. I installed a metal roof two years ago and the snow doesn't stay on the roof. I'm sometimes out for two days for my job. To clear this jammed pack snow it takes hp and a good machine with throwing performance. This is not to impress my neighbors which are far away from me. We are probably here (Quebec City) the champions of the snow falls. See the pict here. Last year was a nightmare. I was even tired to use my snowblower at the end of the winter.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

dman2 said:


> For those of you that don't know, Ariens with 14" impeller have double belts and heavy duty components anyway. Make your machine reliable, not just throw farther.
> 
> Yes, I heard Honda engines can rev at higher rpm. That is why their 12" impeller works better.



Its not Honda Rev higher they have a higher impeller speed
ariens had 14 inch impellers with single belt for 30 yrs plus


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

legarem said:


> The blower user on the video told me that his blower is stock. He said he didn't modify anything. About what Ariens figured out . This is simple. 6 blades fan cost an arm and Ariens try to cutting cost on their machines to be competitive. When you see plastic friction discs with their plastic attachement, gear box with small shafts that don't go from side to side of the bucket with their attachements to the top of the bucket so they can use this part on all their models (not the pro ???) All this is only to cut costs not for performance. I understand they try to keep the cost down to stay competitive with all the junk we see everywhere today.
> 
> I don't say 6 blades fan is better but every time I see a model with 6 blades, il seems to have better performance. Town made the conversion and he seems happy with the results.



The guy is full of hot air having modded blowers you should know better
thats rhrowing 30 feet farther then stock and much higher
ariens will not out clean a Honda with the same size engines only the blowers with the smaller motors
with a kit the ariens wins but thats not stock
most who refub blowers for ariens dont even know what a kit is
ill take and ariens anyday with a 414 cc drop a kit on it raise the rpms outperform most everything for 1/3 the cost of the honda
tons per hr cleared goes out the window the 1st time the ariens clogs and you have to stop or slowdown those ratings are ideal conditions the older Honda pre collar would destroy ariens in the wet snow conditions and thats what should count not powder


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

@legarem 
Thought I would give you an update on the mod to increase the engine impeller double pulley from 2.75" to 3.25" (had a machine shop do the job), which gives 1,447 impeller rpm based upon engine rpm of a little over 3,900. I am very pleased with the result in that the engine is smooth and the impeller/auger system is also very smooth, just like stock. It improves the throughput significantly so I can use higher gears 4 and 5 with 7" and more of snow that was wetter than normal this past season. My neighbours tell me it throws farther so I lowered the chute deflector to reduce the throwing distance when necessary. So an all around improvement. I took the machine apart in the spring this year and it needed a new impeller bearing so no change in the 2 year life span for me. 

I have had the 6 blade impeller installed for 3 years now and can confirm what the experts told me: 6 blades work better than 3 blades, and it throws farther at higher impeller speeds. Since the blades are much bigger on the 6 blade compared to the 3 blade (wider and deeper) it is not surprising there is better performance when teamed with the 414 cc high output engine. The impeller speed has been increased in each of the 3 years by increasing engine speed and engine impeller pulley diameter.

The changes completed this spring for next year include reprofiled 6 blade tip end from rounded to straight. Someone on here noted the 14" Ariens impeller is actually 13.5" fitting into a 14" opening, which I verified. So started looking at the actual gap from impeller blade to impeller housing, which varied on a curve from about 0.2" at its closest point (in center of each blade) to 0.75" at its widest point (at the upturn of the impeller). So I welded a 3/4" by 1/8" strap to the underside of each blade. The new impeller diameter is 13.875" (13 7/8") so the gap to the housing is consistent and small. Clearance is more than adequate when the impeller is powered at 1,447 rpm. Since the machine gets used a lot the wheel axle bushings and the Auto-Turn differential were also replaced.

Edit: My 6 blade impeller weighed 9.5 lbs (heavier than expected) and now with the mod weighs 10 lbs.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

Town said:


> @legarem
> Thought I would give you an update on the mod to increase the engine impeller double pulley from 2.75" to 3.25" (had a machine shop do the job), which gives 1,447 impeller rpm based upon engine rpm of a little over 3,900. I am very pleased with the result in that the engine is smooth and the impeller/auger system is also very smooth, just like stock. It improves the throughput significantly so I can use higher gears 4 and 5 with 7" and more of snow that was wetter than normal this past season. My neighbours tell me it throws farther so I lowered the chute deflector to reduce the throwing distance when necessary. So an all around improvement. I took the machine apart in the spring this year and it needed a new impeller bearing so no change in the 2 year life span for me.
> 
> I have had the 6 blade impeller installed for 3 years now and can confirm what the experts told me: 6 blades work better than 3 blades, and it throws farther at higher impeller speeds. Since the blades are much bigger on the 6 blade compared to the 3 blade (wider and deeper) it is not surprising there is better performance when teamed with the 414 cc high output engine. The impeller speed has been increased in each of the 3 years by increasing engine speed and engine impeller pulley diameter.
> ...


I was the one that told you that. I measured the impeller to be 13.5" fitting in a 14" impeller housing. I made a mistake by welding/extending the blades to 14.2". My plan was to make it 13.85" like you. Now, the impeller won't fit and I will have to cut it. Even if it fits, it is kinda dangerous when you hit a small rock. The rock will cause the impeller to jam up. So, you either close the gap completely with rubber, or you leave it at its original diameter.

It is just a suggestion.


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## notabiker (Dec 14, 2018)

legarem said:


> I talked this afternoon with a guy who repair and refurbish mainly Hondas and Ariens. Yes Honda is the champ for throwing distance but he said that if you take a Honda and an Ariens with the same engine size and bucket, the Ariens will clear the snow as fast or faster than the Honda. The Ariens throws more snow per hour with it's bigger chute. Honda has a smaller chute which contributes to trow the snow further. *This is not my opinion but it could make sense.*. There is perhaps specs for ton /hour per model elsewhere.
> 
> About wanting to throw the snow further. I installed a metal roof two years ago and the snow doesn't stay on the roof. I'm sometimes out for two days for my job. To clear this jammed pack snow it takes hp and a good machine with throwing performance. This is not to impress my neighbors which are far away from me. We are probably here (Quebec City) the champions of the snow falls. See the pict here. Last year was a nightmare. I was even tired to use my snowblower at the end of the winter.



I think it was Sweden or Austria where the houses had 4 foot overhangs on the eves to keep the snow away. Probably a pain to retrofit but it would help a lot I bet.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

Here is a pic of my impeller for you. Look good, but it won't fit. A lot of work for nothing.


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## legarem (Sep 9, 2017)

Hello. As mentioned in a previous post, I had cancer treatments this winter so I borrowed my snowblower to my brother and took a contract to clear the snow at home. Now I am in really good shape and my snowblower returned at home 1 month ago. My new 6 blades fan is still in his box and will be installed when I will have the time to do it. At first, I thought using it without pads but after reading your post and Dman post, I will install rubber pads on the 6 blades impeller before install it. I remember my ultra modified 926LE with a GX390, 3.25 pulley, increased motor RPM and rubber pads on 3 blades impeller had greater ability to throw snow farther than the platinum with the 414cc, increased RPM, 3.25 pulley with 3 blades impeller with no pads. The SHO platinum with the 414cc in stock condition didn't impress me. Do you remember I complained about the 414 cc vibration. I said the GX390 was smoother. After I adjusted the 414CC valves, it was a lot smoother.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

dman2 said:


> I was the one that told you that. I measured the impeller to be 13.5" fitting in a 14" impeller housing. I made a mistake by welding/extending the blades to 14.2". My plan was to make it 13.85" like you. Now, the impeller won't fit and I will have to cut it. Even if it fits, it is kinda dangerous when you hit a small rock. The rock will cause the impeller to jam up. So, you either close the gap completely with rubber, or you leave it at its original diameter.
> 
> It is just a suggestion.


I never looked at changing the 3 blade impeller. The 6 blade is setup differently since the blade tip is curved. So while the outside diameter is 13.5" the blade dimension is about 13.8" at its closest to impeller housing and 13.5" at the blade tip at back of impeller (where you would measure the overall diameter. The diameter at the turned up part of blade is 13.25". The metal that I attached made the blade tip straight and parallel with the impeller housing, except for where the turned up part must go over the lip at front of impeller housing (6 blade impeller is wider than 3 blade). My impeller diameter is now 13.875", so a nominal 0.065" gap to housing. The small gap is not an issue as far as stones are concerned, but i was worried about ice pooling at bottom of impeller housing, but someone on here assured me that it was not an issue.

Your now 14.2" diameter impeller could be reduced to 13.875" by grinding the tip and it would fit perfectly in your 14" impeller housing.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

legarem said:


> Hello. As mentioned in a previous post, I had cancer treatments this winter so I borrowed my snowblower to my brother and took a contract to clear the snow at home. Now I am in really good shape and my snowblower returned at home 1 month ago. My new 6 blades fan is still in his box and will be installed when I will have the time to do it. At first, I thought using it without pads but after reading your post and Dman post, I will install rubber pads on the 6 blades impeller before install it. I remember my ultra modified 926LE with a GX390, 3.25 pulley, increased motor RPM and rubber pads on 3 blades impeller had greater ability to throw snow farther than the platinum with the 414cc, increased RPM, 3.25 pulley with 3 blades impeller with no pads. The SHO platinum with the 414cc in stock condition didn't impress me. Do you remember I complained about the 414 cc vibration. I said the GX390 was smoother. After I adjusted the 414CC valves, it was a lot smoother.


When you have the 6 blade out of the box use a narrow blade square pressed against the closed side of the impeller blade and see the curve in the blade tip and the excess space where the blade turns up. I added steel to close the gap but rubber may work just as well. The other consideration is the fasteners for the impeller to the impeller shaft, which are 1/4" roll pins as stock. I used 1/4 20 thread grade 5 bolts of 2" with the 6 blade and were adequate for the first 2 years but broke with the increased speed of the 3.25" pulley. I replaced them with the same bolts for the rest of last season and they were perfect when removed this spring. I bought 2 Grade 8 bolts of 2.5" and cut new threads so that 1.375" of sold steel are in the impeller hub and shortened the threaded area to suit with nyloc nuts. It is easy to change bolts. I ran the new setup to check alignment and balance and it was all perfect. 

I have always had about an 1/8" (in forward and aft) play on the impeller shaft which disturbed me as to whether it is play in gearbox or at impeller bearing. So earlier in the year I measured the distance from the impeller hub to the impeller bearing as 0.488" and installed a bushing and since the bearing was shot replaced that too (2 years of use on bearing is normal for me). I do not have any free play in shaft and the bearing is now supported on both sides. Works great in operation.

Glad you are feeling better now and looking forward to upgrading your machine.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

I used a leaf vacuum to vacuum wood mulch. A piece of wood got stuck in the gap and smoked dah hell out of it. You better be careful with that gap, bro. The smaller the gap, the more dangerous it is (unless, you close that gap completely). It can destroy your bearing, chip your blade, burn your belt, break your connecting rod and do all kind of damage. I didn't want my impeller to rust out with bolts and nuts. That is why I welded it, but look like I made a mistake. Rubber is the way to go (it will throw the rocks out and flexible enough to not do any damage) . 13.85 < 14. I know you want the most out of it.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

Up until this point, I do believe that the 6 blades works better, but the different is very small. The price of the 6 blades is way too much for me to consider. At 1080 rpm per minute, each blade scoop up very little snow at a time to begin with. If you say the 6 blades is wider, then yes, your output would be higher (if you engine can handle it).


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## Altair (Sep 21, 2019)

I'm the one who bought legarem's modified 926LE. I agree that it throws pretty good, specially compared to my old 924 from 1974. But I still wonder how it would work with a 6-blade impeller.

Actually, I was hoping legarem would chime-in and say that his SHO was OK as is, and that he would not need to put the 6-blade impeller on it; I would then have made him an offer for his impeller, LOL. So now I have to order one at full price, dammit. We'll see once summer is over.

I added a differential to the 926, and studded the tires with sheet metat screws. It works admirably. One note about that differential, it's a brand new one from the 926DLE model, and on recieving it I opened it up to check it and also add a spacer inside so it cannot lock, always free. I was very surprised by what I saw inside; the gears were not greased at all! There were 3 small dabs of grease that were deposited in the cavities besides the gears, but wasn't touching the gears. This is almost criminal assembly work. The shafts were also dry. No wonder that the spring inside rusts and breaks, disabling the locking mecanism. But that's not all, upon further dissassembly, I found that the two center gears, the ones that carry the full torque that goes to the wheels, are only 0.1" wide, yes, 1/10 of an inch! See pictures attached. Absolutely ridiculous. How could this design even pass the engineering department? Oh I know, Ariens don't have an engineering department anymore, everything is run by the bean counters.

Anyway, I couldn't do anything about the gears, so I packed it full of grease and replaced the rivets with bolts. I wonder how long it will last.

Thinking about adding rubber on the tips of the impeller, I wonder if placing the rubber on the face of the blade isn't a detriment to efficiency, in that it creates a step that the snow has to go over before it can exit the blade... On the other hand, if the rubber was on the back side of the blade, the snow would be free to slide & exit without any obstacle. In that case, the rubber would probably need to be thicker so it doesn't get deflected by the pressure of the snow...


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Altair said:


> I'm the one who bought legarem's modified 926LE. I agree that it throws pretty good, specially compared to my old 924 from 1974. But I still wonder how it would work with a 6-blade impeller.
> 
> Actually, I was hoping legarem would chime-in and say that his SHO was OK as is, and that he would not need to put the 6-blade impeller on it; I would then have made him an offer for his impeller, LOL. So now I have to order one at full price, dammit. We'll see once summer is over.
> 
> ...


Interesting that you have legarem's machine. I would not worry about the capability of the differential since the components are not required to handle high torque loads. The 2 sets of drive tabs for the Auto-Turn differential are no wider than your toothed gear and there was no wear on them. Less than expected amount of grease seems to be normal. I think your differential will last a long time and now you can add grease easily. Why would you not want the differential to lock up? From what others have said it works well to perform like the Auto-Turn.

Regarding the use of rubber to seal the impeller blade to the housing, I have the same misgivings about the restriction that a pad would have on snow flowing off the blade. The 6 blade has a 1/8" deep strengthening rib pressed into the blade on the snow surface. This does interrupt the snow as it is forced off the blade. The paint is removed into the rib but is still on the blade after the rib, and paint is removed long before the tip is reached. So some reduction in efficiency there. I left that rib alone for consideration next spring. For now correcting production tolerances is enough. 

But the pad on blade snow surface seems to work well for most people. For a small number of others they put the rubber on the backside of the blade. Not so easy on the 6 blade since there is a strengthening rib where the pad would be placed for a couple of inches on the closed side of the blade. I don't think there is enough metal for a 1/4" fastener, so a non starter for me. 

I like Ariens engineering, lots of power and functionality, perhaps the bean counters ration the grease, but they are another companies bean counters. It is easy to see that the 6 blade would be dropped since the price is 3 times that of a current 3 blade impeller for not 3 times the performance, but 1.5 times the performance is great for me as a starting point.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

Town said:


> Interesting that you have legarem's machine. I would not worry about the capability of the differential since the components are not required to handle high torque loads. The 2 sets of drive tabs for the Auto-Turn differential are no wider than your toothed gear and there was no wear on them. Less than expected amount of grease seems to be normal. I think your differential will last a long time and now you can add grease easily. Why would you not want the differential to lock up? From what others have said it works well to perform like the Auto-Turn.
> 
> Regarding the use of rubber to seal the impeller blade to the housing, I have the same misgivings about the restriction that a pad would have on snow flowing off the blade. The 6 blade has a 1/8" deep strengthening rib pressed into the blade on the snow surface. This does interrupt the snow as it is forced off the blade. The paint is removed into the rib but is still on the blade after the rib, and paint is removed long before the tip is reached. So some reduction in efficiency there. I left that rib alone for consideration next spring. For now correcting production tolerances is enough.
> 
> ...


Since, your gap is smaller, you can use thinner rubber. I don't think the step would cause restrictions (especially, on your flat blades). Normally, I would against putting the pads on the backside of the blades, but I guess you can do it with extra care and thought. I'm still figuring out how to do mine. I'm in school and don't have much times for it. I won't be using it, until I close that gap.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

dman2 said:


> Since, your gap is smaller, you can use thinner rubber. I don't think the step would cause restrictions (especially, on your flat blades). Normally, I would against putting the pads on the backside of the blades, but I guess you can do it with extra care and thought. I'm still figuring out how to do mine. I'm in school and don't have much times for it. I won't be using it, until I close that gap.


The 6 blade is wider and deeper and the snow/grit has taken the paint off the entire surface area, except for the area after the inset 1/8" strengthening rib as described earlier, so the blade uses the entire surface area to flow the snow. That is about 4" of width (now about 4.125" after mod in 4.25" chute opening at impeller) and 4.5" to 5" of blade depth (only fractionally more now after mod) in pressured contact with the snow. Placing a couple of inches of pad sticking up 1/4" to 3/8" at the blade tip on my 6 blade will I think reduce snow throughput dramatically in most conditions. Putting the rubber on the backside of the blade is a non starter for me since some of the rubber would not be supported adequately. 

I think your welded impeller blade is the way to go, just shorten the blade length. Also the open side of the blade at the tip of the upturn needs to be rounded to follow the curve of the impeller housing. From your picture I think you have a square corner there so you may want to check it out. Turn your bucket so opening is facing up and with augers and everything removed do a trial fit of the impeller into the impeller housing lowering it slowly to ensure the impeller passes the lip at front of housing. If there is a restriction at all the blade tips then grind what needs to be removed for an even fit at each impeller blade. There seems to be slightly less clearance at the top of the outlet opening where it is welded to the housing. 

Just my opinion until I get the experience of next season to back it up.


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## Altair (Sep 21, 2019)

Town said:


> Interesting that you have legarem's machine. I would not worry about the capability of the differential since the components are not required to handle high torque loads. The 2 sets of drive tabs for the Auto-Turn differential are no wider than your toothed gear and there was no wear on them. Less than expected amount of grease seems to be normal. I think your differential will last a long time and now you can add grease easily. Why would you not want the differential to lock up? From what others have said it works well to perform like the Auto-Turn.
> /snip


The drive tabs for the locking mecanism are very beefy compared to the center gear of the differential. Remember that a gear has only 1 or 2 teeth engaged at a time. You have all the torque of the engine multiplied by the reduction ratio of the transmission, all concentrated on 1 or 2 teeth of the two center gears, when you're trying to make the snowblower push into a snow bank. That is, until the tires lose traction. 
The reason I disabled the locking of the diff is that I much prefer it that way, it is much smoother for weaving around obstacles. No need to constantly activate yet another lever, no pulling on the handlebars, the diff does its job, like in a car. If your tires have good traction, it's the best solution.


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## harry398 (Jun 22, 2021)

Town said:


> The 6 blade is wider and deeper and the snow/grit has taken the paint off the entire surface area, except for the area after the inset 1/8" strengthening rib as described earlier, so the blade uses the entire surface area to flow the snow. That is about 4" of width (now about 4.125" after mod in 4.25" chute opening at impeller) and 4.5" to 5" of blade depth (only fractionally more now after mod) in pressured contact with the snow. Placing a couple of inches of pad sticking up 1/4" to 3/8" at the blade tip on my 6 blade will I think reduce snow throughput dramatically in most conditions. Putting the rubber on the backside of the blade is a non starter for me since some of the rubber would not be supported adequately.
> 
> I think your welded impeller blade is the way to go, just shorten the blade length. Also the open side of the blade at the tip of the upturn needs to be rounded to follow the curve of the impeller housing. From your picture I think you have a square corner there so you may want to check it out. Turn your bucket so opening is facing up and with augers and everything removed do a trial fit of the impeller into the impeller housing lowering it slowly to ensure the impeller passes the lip at front of housing. If there is a restriction at all the blade tips then grind what needs to be removed for an even fit at each impeller blade. There seems to be slightly less clearance at the top of the outlet opening where it is welded to the housing.
> 
> Just my opinion until I get the experience of next season to back it up.


interesting thread.

After seeing a few of these ariens models...i have my own opinions on which is better. Im not sold on the newest cup impeller..smaller output area, misalignment from impeller to output area, but the newer machines have deffinate advantages over previous machines.

I agree on the 6 vane impeller being better..with a wider area.

In the End....the most important thing is reliability, then performance. Cost? I buy used...


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