My snow blower wouldn't discharge yesterday. First time I fired it up in a couple years. The snow was wet and sticky, but all the neighbors were having success with their blowers. I shoveled the heavy stuff for five hours instead. I'm thinking it's a bad belt to the impeller. The augers are turning just fine. Before I drain the gas, flip it over and crack it open, I'm looking for any words of advice.
Does the impeller turn, or just the augers? I’ve had impeller shear pins break in the past, if there’s very wet and heavy snow. Should be a quick thing to diagnose by just looking into the chute with the auger lever depressed. Just watch out, in case there’s something flying outta there. Lol.
If there's rust, give the augers a spray of WD40. Might as well give all snowblowing areas a spray, Including the chute. The snow might just be getting stuck on un-smooth surfaces.
I find it better to leave turret not too lubed up. A little bit of stiction let’s the shoot stay pointed in the direction I want it to stay in. I’ve lubed it before and starts to wander.
impeller shear pin, then clutch belt arrangement- spring on the tensioner for the belt. I have had the bearing go south on the tension sheave- doesn't often happen but anything is possible. sneaky one is an old belt that has stretched or is so worn it no longer grabs correctly.
The only thing I can give is to shut it down before sticking your fingers anywhere in there. It will remove them very efficiently. Yes, I know someone who didn't, and no it wasn't me or anyone in my family.
Like others have mentioned there are pins in there that are made to shear in case a rock or something gets jammed in there. Also I have had wet heavy snow get packed in the chute and then not allow for the snow to blow out. With the machine off stick your hand up in there and see if it is packed with snow.
Single stage or two stage? Single stage is horrible in wet snow, but two stage will work just fine. Edit: Nevermind, I re-read your post.
Never ever go anywhere near the shoot, auger or impeller with the engine running, even with the engine off there could be built up tension enough to give a serious injury. No where near as efficient as a wood chipper , Planer/Jointer , motorized saw , grinding wheel , or CHAINSAW at removing apendages. Reality check - single stage works better in the slush, and most often on the warm wet snow also. Most often is the best choice for wet on the bottom and dry on top . Just got to have enough power to get it done- something that is lacking in a lot small single stage units. Did commercial clearing for many years, 6.5 hp 2cyc. single stage comercial version, Toros were the bomb. Those were lite enough to toss in and out of the trucks. I do not know how well the new 4 stroke versions work ( thanks EPA) but they are heavier than the 2cyc. units. Nor do I know if they were able to maintain the same auger rpm as the 2 cyc units of the past.
On most 2 stage snowblowers there is a gear box between the 2 halves of the auger. If the augers are turning, it's not a bad belt. Going with others and saying shear pin/bolt. The shaft is turning, but the impeller's not. Shut it off, clear out the snow, if the impeller rotates when you try to move it.... there's you problem.
The auger might appear to turn fine but you need someone else to pull the trigger under load while you watch. 1. Can you see augers stop under load? 2. Can you see the impeller turning as well? Then you can make sure it's not something simple like the shear bolt like others have pointed out. If it was a belt then you'd probably smell some burning rubber. If yes to 1) then it's probably the shear bolt. If yes to 2) then it's a problem with the gear box. I had a shear bolt snap and ended up doing a major overhaul on mine. Replaced the shear pins, greased the axle, replaced the drive belt and the auger belts, adjusted the tension on the trigger, removed the rust, replaced all kinds of bolts, replaced the shoes with these awesome new ginormous ones, changed the oil, and painted the housing. Well now you've learned your lesson to inspect things.......before the snow comes......just like I did......the hard way...... You could have stripped gears in that gearbox to the impeller.......You can rebuild those and/or just get a new one. I modded mine with pieces of rubber from a tire and bolted to the impeller. This removes the gap between the impeller blades and the housing and makes ejecting wet/slushy stuff a million times better. It also ejects "regular" snow way further than before as well. You can see the gearbox in the second pic.
That might be more expensive than buying a new one....just the shipping alone! hahahahaha I forgot to mention that I replaced the scraper blade as well. It was pretty darn worn through.
"I modded mine with pieces of rubber from a tire and bolted to the impeller. This removes the gap between the impeller blades and the housing and makes ejecting wet/slushy stuff a million times better. It also ejects "regular" snow way further than before as well. " I rubbered up my impeller, too. Makes a bunch of difference.
There was a thread here some years back where someone showed how they modded their snowblower rubbers to be close clearance for better slush removal... Pallet Pete maybe?
