Proper RPMs for Snow Blower Engine?

I've got a feeling the governed full speed RPM of the 6 HP Tecumseh "Snow King" engine on my 1964 Ariens Sno-Thro has been decreasing over
the years, as the "Widow Maker"* doesn't seem to be launching snow as far as I remember it could a while back, and nothing seems obstructed or noticably worn. ('Course I can't toss snow as far as I could back in '64, but there's not much I can do about that. <G>)
I've got a spark induction tach, but when I looked in the original manuals this morning, there's no mention of what the full speed RPMs should be set to.
The governor spring has probably taken a set over the years, probably because of my habit of shutting it down by leaving the engine running at full speed and closing the fuel petcock, which leaves the spring stretched a bit all the time.
Speed pleez?
Thanks guys and Happy New Year,
Jeff
* So named by me because it predates the safety features on today's snow blowers. The front halves of the auger ends are exposed and ready to grab any pant leg in range and there's no dead man system, other than waiting for the gas tank to run dry.
--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
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Jeff Wisnia wrote:

over
as
or
at
snow
You're right, you can thank the attorneys for the lower speed of a lot of thing; less speed = less injury. Pull the cooling shroud off the motor and find a plastic paddle that rides close to the flywheel. Cut the plastic paddle back so the cooling fan doesn't blow it back as far and keep the rpm down, and your rpm will come up to where it should be. Ronnie
Ronnie
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Ronnie wrote:

Thanks, but I won't let lawyers within 100 feet of my tools, and I doubt that surgery to the air vane is required, just resetting how hard the spring pulls against it should do it, or maybe even buying a new spring, but I'd rather not over rev the engine by going too far.
Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
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I don't think the engine uses the plastic flap. Most Tehcumseh engines are governed inside the crank case. you need to adjust the arm that connects to the shaft that goes into the engine.

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Modern snowblower engines run just as fast or faster than older ones, so do the impellers. Lawn mowers are the ones limited by federal specs. 3200 RPM for residential machines last time I checked.
Tecumseh snow engines don't use vane governors, they use an internal flyweight type. If you do have a vane engine, there are legit ways for adjusting the speed without hacking at stuff.
GTO(John)
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So the question for me is how do I speed up my lawnmower fast enough to work like a snowblower?
Regards, Joe Agro, Jr. http://www.autodrill.com http://www.multi-spindle-heads.com
V8013
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Joe AutoDrill wrote:

This i'd LOVE to see! I don't think it would work real well. A snowblower has to move fairly slowly to keep from melting and packing the snow. A lawnmower runs way to fast, in terms of surface speeds, to do it right. I suppose a lawnmower could actually clear an inch or two of light snow, but it would make a HUGE mess of a thick, wet snow, I'm afraid. Now, if you mounted it at right angles to the ground, and advanced it into the face of the snow pack, that might work a lot like an alpine snow blower. It would sure be a hazardous machine, too, until the engine fried from lack of lube. (Don't anybody actually DO this and then sue me, please!)
Jon
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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title></title> </head> <body> <br> <br> Joe AutoDrill wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">Modern snowblower engines run just as fast or faster than older ones, so do the impellers. Lawn mowers are the ones limited by federal specs. 3200 RPM for residential machines last time I checked. </pre> </blockquote> <pre wrap=""><!----> So the question for me is how do I speed up my lawnmower fast enough to work like a snowblower? </pre> </blockquote> This i'd LOVE to see! &nbsp;I don't think it would work real well. &nbsp;A snowblower has to<br> move fairly slowly to keep from melting and packing the snow. &nbsp;A lawnmower<br> runs way to fast, in terms of surface speeds, to do it right. &nbsp;I suppose a lawnmower<br> could actually clear an inch or two of light snow, but it would make a HUGE mess<br> of a thick, wet snow, I'm afraid. &nbsp;Now, if you mounted it at right angles to the<br> ground, and advanced it into the face of the snow pack, that might work a lot like<br> an alpine snow blower. &nbsp;It would sure be a hazardous machine, too, until the engine<br> fried from lack of lube. &nbsp;(Don't anybody actually DO this and then sue me, please!)<br> <br> Jon<br> <br> <br> </body> </html>
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You'd have to get that mower pretty fast to clear a good couple feet.
GTO(John)
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"as the "Widow Maker"* doesn't seem to be launching snow as far as I remember it could a while back"
I just went thru that with my gilson 5hp. When it threw snow it acted as if it were vomiting on itself. I shortened the governor spring until the rpms sounded more healthy but not screaming. Works ok now.
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snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (Wwj2110) wrote in

Something that helps my 8hp Gilson a lot is to sand a paint the chute so the snow slides through easily.
Rob
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A good coat of wax will also help speed things along. Just like eating a bunch of Fritos.
Ted
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Ted Bennett
Portland, OR
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I live on one of the busiest street in our city, during the fun snow filled months of Wisconsin the city plow come by often enough to keep the end of my driveway filled with snow, that rapidly turns to slush. Anyone that's had to deal with this wet heavy snow knows that even the best 2 stage snowblower will moan an groan and struggle to throw this stuff anywhere. I've purchased three new snowblowers over the years hoping more powerful engines would help, but no luck.
I consider myself lucky if half of the time the snow just pours out of the chute enough to keep the engine running. As you can imagine after spending a considerable amount effort and swearing at the snowplow driver every time he makes another pass, I've concocted a number of extreme ideas that range from targeting the snowplow/driver with various contraptions (or weaponry) to designing an elaborate hydraulically operated metal shield that protects the end of the driveway when the snowplow comes by and then catapults any remaining snow across the street into my neighbors driveway (or back at the snowplow..must most likely that cop that watches me to be certian not a flake of snow is lands back in the street)
However rational thought usually takes over and I figured this group might have some good ideas about how to modify my snowblower to better handle slush. I've tried painting, polishing, waxing and even spraying non stick coating on the inside of the chute with no great success.
Perhaps I should build a chute out of stainless steel? PVC or other plastic? Should I try to make a different size pully for the auger/thrower assembly (bigger/smaller/lighter?) Nitrous Oxide for the engine? Add more blades the the wheel that "throws" the snow?
Sure in 20 years, I'll retire to Arizona, but for now I need to figure something out before a snowplower driver ends up a statistic.... :-)
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The best "slush pump" I ever owned was an old craftsman single stage blower from the late sixties. It was an 8 HP 26" unit if memory serves correctly, and it weighed a ton. It had a single speed drive and beaters that turned so fast you could not see them.Threw the wet sloppy stuff very well.Not vey good when the crap froze, though.

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I assume that your machines are self-propelled, with speed set up for "normal" snow up to the height of the auger. That means that when you charge compacted snow, you are feeding it a lot more material than it is designed to handle.
One solution would be to change the sprockets/pulleys to give slower speed over the ground, thus feeding it more dainty bites of snow. If you are really ambitious, you might look at "cone" pulleys, so a quick swap of the drive belt from one drive ratio to the other gives you a regular speed and a creeper speed. If your "clutch" is a belt tightener, this might be pretty easy.
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On 06 Jan 2005 04:36:34 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (JWDoyleJr) wrote:

Virtually all snow blowers on the market the last 20 years or so have "variable speed" drives, usually with indexes for 5-8 speeds forward, and the low gear is pretty low. The beaters do tend to turn too fast in comparison to the impeller,for heavy snow. This ratio cannot, however, be easily changed as the majority of blowers use a worm gear case with the impeller on the input side, and the auger on the output with no external gears, sprockets, or chains to change.
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Yes, it is self propelled and I have the most luck at the slowest speed setting, taking small "bites" and waiting for the slush to discharge before I take another "bite" forward.
The cone pulley idea sounds good....perhaps even switching from regular driveway mode to "end of the driveway slush zone!"

snowblower
engines
"normal"
compacted
handle.
over
belt
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If it's slush it must be close to freezing/melting. Have you considered heat to melt it and let gravity run it away? Could you borrow a salamander to test the idea?
--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
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That would probably work, howerver my driveway is about 13' across and it's not unusual for this slush to be 12" deep and anywhere from 1-3 feet from front to back... it's quite a challenge...
wrote:

filled
of my

had
snowblower
engines
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If you could lay a metal stove pipe on the end of your driveway before the snowplow arrives and let him bury the pipe under slush, maybe you could hook up a salamander to the pipe and melt everything?

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wrote:

If I don't blow the whole shebang, melting it would just make a big lake, as the plow covers the catch basin 20 feet from my driveway too. A good thaw without clearing THAT makes a real mess.
A good freeze right after, and it is a huge skating rink.

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