JRHAWK9:

Could we have more info on the chute extension? There are a number of us who tinker with our machines....no matter how good they work!! a 7th gear??..are there snowblower races in Wisconsin?

JB

 

All I really did was go to the hardware store and pick up a thin piece of 12"x18" aluminum sheet. I then measured, cut and bent it. Once I got it where I liked it I took a file to clean up and round the edges. Then I marked the holes and drilled them. Once I had that all done I primed it with automotive etching primer and then painted it with

, which matches pretty decent. I attached it using stainless fasteners. I took additional photo, see below.

The additional gear I added was on the slow end, so it doesn't go any faster, I just have a granny gear now.

 

thats a great job you did on your ariens jrhawk

 

Nice job. Real nice machine. Looks like you have plenty of work for it, too.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Holy Chutes Batman!!!!!! Zoinks!

 

What's that saying again.....go big or go home...lol

 

Man you have to take a video of that launching snow!!!

 

I would if we had more of an open area. There's lot's of trees and it seems everywhere I blow I'm blowing into trees. The impeller's geared such that it "only" spins at ~1,000 rpm's at an engine speed of 3,600rpms (my Husky's impeller spun at ~1,300 rpms). Would be neat to play around with different sized pulleys, but they don't make them in the dual belt version which will work. I'm happy with the current balance of throwing distance vs TQ though. It definitely moves more snow than my Husky did.

 

Welcome to the forum

Welcome. Anyone that's willing to 'touch' their machine to make it better for them definitely has a place here.
Defintely get a vid of it in action.

 

I also wanted to add I removed the bulky rubber impeller kit (which was made out of 3 ply bailer belt) and ended up making some adjustable metal plates which bolt in place of the rubber ones. So far they work great! I adjusted them for ~1/16" clearance and have them covering pretty much the whole width of the -curved impeller-. I did this mainly because I wanted to get rid of the bulky rubber pieces. I also wanted the extensions to cover more of the impeller area.

 

...I have done a few things to it, mainly because I can't leave things alone and like to tinker...

Our kind of guy. Welcome and great intro! What didn't you like about the baler belt? was it loud from smacking the sides? Please share a picture or two of you adjustable metal impeller kit.

 

No, it wasn't loud at all. I just felt there was better performance to be had from using a more rigid, thinner material which allowed me to widen the pieces to almost the whole width of the curved impeller. The baler belt was also thick and therefore left quite a bit of a lip where it transitioned. I didn't like that. The way it's setup now though does have a downside. In order to remove the impeller from the housing I have to loosen one impeller "tip" and slide it down towards the center, otherwise there's not enough room for the impeller to be removed from the housing. I no longer have the "squeegee seal" the rubber kit gave me but I believe the additional width of the impeller tips more than make up for that.

 

JRhawk, we just got a bunch of snow and we would all love to see that blower in action! Also, can you tell us where you sourced the bailer belt material?

 

I will try to get some pics of my impeller kit.

Buttchet, we just received 5" by us. What did you guys get in the Milton/Janesville area? Like I mentioned before, we live in a pretty wooded area and the snow just get's thrown into the woods, so there's not much to see once it hits the trees.

I bought the baler belt at the -Farm & Fleet- in Baraboo.

 

We got about 7" pretty heavy sticky snow. Thanks for the info on bailer belt, that was going to be where I was going to try looking.
We'll take whatever video you can provide, you can tell a lot just by the way it exits the chute and first 10' it throws.

 

Below are some pics of my metal impeller kit. I spray down the housing and impeller area with WD40 after each use to keep things slick and from rusting in the future. So that's what the shiny stuff is you are seeing.

 

Thanks, looks great!

 

I'm going to give this thread a bump JRHawk, to make sure everyone gets a chance to see all the cool innovations that you've come up with. I just bought a new Platinum 24, so much of what you're doing will transfer directly to my machine. I especially like your deflector on the headlight.
Larry

 

Welcome to the forum JRHAWK. That is a beautiful machine and yes, you do seem to "like to tinker". That's us! You do nice work.

 

Thanks guys!

I just got it out of the basement from it's summer nap. This summer I had our driveway paved, so I no longer have a gravel driveway and therefore no longer have those "ski's" for the adjustment feet. I did pick up a pair of Ariens non-abrasive skid shoes for the heck of it. I also installed a brighter 35W light in place of the stock 20W one.

 

I wish one could edit posts after awhile. I forgot to mention I also added two weight bars and a -BAFFLE KIT- which I received free from Ariens. The baffle kit greatly reduces the snow which gets thrown forward by the auger.

 

What's a baffle kit and how does it work JR?

 

-HERE'S- a photo somebody else took of theirs on their Pro 28.

 

The bottom of the baffle is rubber?

 

yep, it's a thick rubber. I think they only make them for the Pro Series though :-( If you go -HERE- somebody ordered one for his Deluxe and it didn't work.

 

Doesn't look like it would be all that hard to make one. The bar is made of flat stock, correct?

 

True, it wouldn't be hard at all to make if you have the equipment to bend decent gauge metal. Yep, it's flat stock and the rubber is actually attached with some high strength adhesive or two sided tape.

 

My main hobby is blacksmithing and I have a full shop in my (used to be) garage. Dude, I can bend metal!