Snow Thrower Performs Terribly

[mattd860 162]

I hooked up the 06-42ST05-45182 Thrower to my 418-8 but it performed terribly in 6-8" of dry snow. It will only throw snow 5-6 feet when it works - not the 10-15 feet that I see on this site or on youtube. In deeper snow it will clog and jam completely. My 18hp beast has to perform better this. At this rate my 48" plow clears the driveway faster.

The thrower was nice and cold since it sits in my unheated garage and I also let it sit outside about 30 minutes before using. I also drenched the chute and auger with spray-on PAM. I tried different gears and kept the throttle at Max. I found first gear to be the best but in deep snow, the auger and chute both clog up no matter how slow I would go.

When the auger and chute clog up and jam, the engine will not stall. It keeps running and the PTO clutch plate keeps spinning against the stopped PTO pulley. I adjusted the PTO pulley to be very very tight but this had no affect. Could this mean the PTO clutch plate is badly worn? Should the engine stall when the auger jams?

Thanks! :ychain:

[buckeye 2]

Can you spin the auger by hand? If so, i think you may have answered your own question

[Kelly 1,028]

My 520 will bog down and smoke the clutch if the shoot gets plugged, my old C-141 it would kill the engine, pull your PTO bell make sure the grease seal is in good shape and not letting grease get on the clutch disc, a new seal is only a few bucks from Toro, be sure not to put too much grease on the PTO bearings also, just a lite coat, if your disc is oil/grease soaked you can try brake cleaner and sanding it to get rid of the oil, but most times when heated up again the oil will wick back to the surface, and you will need a new disc, not sure why your blower does not throw snow well?? powder snow does not blow very good, and you need to load the auger with snow, but if your clutch is slipping that may be your whole problem.

[mattd860 162]

Can you spin the auger by hand? If so, i think you may have answered your own question

I can spin the auger very easily by hand when the clutch isn't engaged. The bearings and chain are also lubricated.

[Forest Road 594]

Can you spin the auger by hand? If so, i think you may have answered your own question

I can spin the auger very easily by hand when the clutch isn't engaged. The bearings and chain are also lubricated.

You shouldn't be able to spin the clutch by hand if its engaged. Either tighten it up or degrease the clutch plate.

[mattd860 162]

Can you spin the auger by hand? If so, i think you may have answered your own question

I can spin the auger very easily by hand when the clutch isn't engaged. The bearings and chain are also lubricated.

You shouldn't be able to spin the clutch by hand if its engaged. Either tighten it up or degrease the clutch plate.

Sorry maybe I wasn't clear before.... I can spin the auger easily when the PTO is NOT engaged. When engaged, I can't spit it by hand at all.

I will check to see if there's grease on the clutch plate. Thanks

[mattd860 162]

Looks like the clutch plate has grease caked on it. It also looks badly worn... What do you all think?

[TT-(Moderator) 1,129]

I (we) can't really tell how worn the friction lining is by looking at it straight on, but it doesn't look that bad to me. Even the discs with the riveted lining can be deceiving and still work when the lining is worn to the rivets - or slightly beyond.

This isn't like a automobile clutch either, so it's still good if the lining successfully drives the pulley when the lever is engaged. The quicker you can get these engaged without slippage, the longer they will last. Try to engage them with the engine at a fast idle and slowly open the throttle - instead of throwing the lever when the engine is at maximum rpm. That also causes a lot of unnecessary stress on V belts.

(you don't NORMALLY hold the gas pedal down and dump the clutch in a car or truck, right?)

You can try brake cleaner on the disc, and you can even carefully "flash" it with a propane torch (after the brake cleaner evaporates) to try to burn the oil/grease out of the lining. Lightly sanding the face of the lining between applications of the cleaner might help too. I heard of baking them in an oven, but have never attempted it myself.

The face of the PTO pulley should be cleaned (brake cleaner again) but try not to get any on the grease seal or into the bearing. Scuff it up with 80 or 100 grit sandpaper or emery cloth just enough to remove the shine. (which will return after a few uses, but that's normal)

Overtightening the engagement assembly shouldn't be necessary and only causes the front bearing to wear out more quickly than it already will. It also places extra stress on the engagement rod and the bushings at the lever pivots.

Adjust it only tight enough that the clutch doesn't slip when under load.

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,683]

Which PTO pulley did you use? I dont know about everyone else but I use the larger PTO pulley closest to the motor for maximum rpm's. More speed=more snow distance!

Mike........

[dgoyette 12]

Which PTO pulley did you use? I dont know about everyone else but I use the larger PTO pulley closest to the motor for maximum rpm's. More speed=more snow distance!

Mike........

Very interesting Mike...do you know if anyone ever calculated the RPM difference? It would seem to be quite a significant difference. How long have you used that set up? I am guessing no noticeable additional wear?

I am thinking I might be able to use my digital laser RPM meter to see if I can get readings this weekend.

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,683]

Darren, I have allways used the larger pulley on both my snowblowers( one short chute and one tall chute) with no wear issues that I'm aware of. I have no idea what the RPM diff is between the two pulleys.

Mike.........

[mattd860 162]

I was using the smaller pulley. Most of the pictures here and the manual show the smaller pulley being used. I will switch to the larger pulley but I'm going to work on that clutch plate.

The clutch plate is badly scored and it looks like it's not even making contact with the PTO pulley in some areas.

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

The fact it clogs means you are going too fast for the auger and amount/type of snow.

The PTO slipping is mostly a red herring, next the belt will slip.

Using the large pulley should help. But you still may need to go rather slow. You may need to push the clutch in every 12 inches or so to let the blower catch up.

(Remember diameter is 2xPIxR - so just 1 inch change in diameter is going to change the belt speed by 6 inches per revolution. For the sake of argument let's say the pulleys are 4 and 5 inches. That means the speed difference will be increased by 6/24 = 25%)

If you have side wings removing those will help a bit, but not a lot.

How heavy is the snow?

BTW, if you are trying to chew through the stuff along the road that has de-icer in it, good luck. I have never had very good luck with that tuff, it just clogs so easily. With a hydro you can rock in and out of it, but even then it is touch and go.

Clean up the clutch and use the larger pulley and let us know how it goes.

Another BTW. The blower should align with one pulley or the other. Mine did not have the original drive pulley on the blower and it did have to adjust it there. The idlers aligned with the large PTO pulley so I aligned the drive pulley to match.

Rolf :ychain:

[sgtsampay 117]

The fact it clogs means you are going too fast for the auger and amount/type of snow.

The PTO slipping is mostly a red herring, next the belt will slip.

Using the large pulley should help. But you still may need to go rather slow. You may need to push the clutch in every 12 inches or so to let the blower catch up.

(Remember diameter is 2xPIxR - so just 1 inch change in diameter is going to change the belt speed by 6 inches per revolution. For the sake of argument let's say the pulleys are 4 and 5 inches. That means the speed difference will be increased by 6/24 = 25%)

If you have side wings removing those will help a bit, but not a lot.

How heavy is the snow?

BTW, if you are trying to chew through the stuff along the road that has de-icer in it, good luck. I have never had very good luck with that tuff, it just clogs so easily. With a hydro you can rock in and out of it, but even then it is touch and go.

Clean up the clutch and use the larger pulley and let us know how it goes.

Another BTW. The blower should align with one pulley or the other. Mine did not have the original drive pulley on the blower and it did have to adjust it there. The idlers aligned with the large PTO pulley so I aligned the drive pulley to match.

Rolf

Wow, never knew all of that. Great information. Thanks!

[TT-(Moderator) 1,129]

@Rolf:

"mattd860" is powering his thrower with a 418-8 and shouldn't have any issues once he gets the PTO clutch to hook up.

Ground speed will be the only variable that needs addressed, and he'll eventually get the feel for it.

I ran a 42" thrower on a 416-8 (Onan twin) two years ago and although I spent a lot of time in 1st & 2nd low, I never had a loss for power - and not once has chute plugged during normal operation.

This is the same 42" thrower on my 416-H. The snow was of moderate density and was as deep as the top of the side extensions in most places:

That plume is about 40-45 feet long, by the way. :ychain:

[Forest Road 594]

You have a c-81 listed w/ a 12hp? Put the blower on that machine for now and clean up the yard. A friend of mine runs a 10hp w/ great results.

[Cody 275]

I have had a few cases where the pto pulley was not making contact in some spots, what i did to fix this is i got a large piece of 750 grit sand paper with an adhesive back and stuck it to my flat steel work bench. I worked the face of the pto pulley over the paper until the pulley was completely flat then i dressed it up with some 1500 grit just to take any rough edges off. I also touched up the clutch disk lightly just to true it up.

[C-160 Tractor 1]

interesting read. I use the 2 stage and have it on the small pulley. will the big pulley wheel be better for me as well?

[HorseFixer 2,012]

I had the same problem with my C-120 on its maiden voyage last year, I could have P!$$ed a better stream of snow I took the clutch apart and cleaned & scuffed up the surface with a DA. I sprayed it down real good with brake cleaner as TT mentioned, and lightly wire brushed the disk, and reassembled and adjusted and then it threw the snow just fine! About 6 snows later I smoked the clutch bearings (didn't grease them) <_< when I had it apart! Take it from me Grease it!!! I replaced all the bearings and greased. I have since picked up a few extra clutches and sets of bearings and have a couple ready to go if it becomes necessary. Looks like you have plenty of info to get it back in operation! Good Luck

~Duke :D

[catman81056 3]

I replaced the 5 1/2" drive pulley on my blower with a 4" pulley, it made a big difference in performance.

[Shuboxlover 474]

I replaced the 5 1/2" drive pulley on my blower with a 4" pulley, it made a big difference in performance.

Did you have to buy a shorter belt then??? :ychain:

[sgtsampay 117]

Duke, hear is a stupid question, but what bearings are you talking about? I thought the only bearings around the clutch was the one inside of the clutch pulley that belt goes on. Is this correct?

I also run the belt on the outside loop. I have a 42in with a 16HP brigs. Hopefully my set-up will do fine..

Last storm we had, I was blowing super haeavy wet 6in of snow and was able to stall the engine by goes in 2gear high. I learned that 1gear high and the low range are the gears you want. :ychain:

[can whlvr 991]

is the auger worn back,if its worn badly the distances are increased between the auger and the body,my blower is a 1969 and doesnt throw snow as far as some he re and shes hooked to my c160,plenty of power,mine also plugs easily if i go too fast,it takes some time to get used to the speed needed,good luck.

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

I stand corrected...

I checked several blower manuals and all say to use the outer (smaller) pulley of the PTO.

I rechecked my own post on the topic and indeed at the time it looked like it could only align with the outer pulley. My bad... memory that is.

I have never stalled the K301 when in clogs, but I have had the belt slip. ONly when it was totally clogged which of course makes sense.

Obviously Matt's clutch needs to work, but I think he's going to need to slow down as well.

Matt, keep us posted.

:ychain:

[mattd860 162]

I will keep you all posted however I will have to wait until the next snow storm to try it out

I was riding the clutch in 1st gear while blowing. If I went any slower I would be stopped. If my ONLY solution was to go even slower than I was, then I will be listing a snow thrower for sale and sticking with the Plow since I can have my 300' driveway cleared in three passes in 3rd gear .