shallowwatersailor 3,213 #1 Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) It's the first time this winter that we finally got a decent amount of snow to try the 523Dxi. I had been predicted that our area was to be in the 4" -8" band. It ended up to be about 4" or a fraction more. It was nice, fluffy stuff due to the cold. I was out for almost two hours doing mine and five neighbors driveways. I'm happy with the tractor and cab but due to the design, I don't get the heat like the classic Wheel Horse. The airflow is moving forward for cooling on the 5xi series. With the fan drawing the air from the cab cooling the radiator for the diesel, there is quite a bit of air passing through the cab. On the 5xi cab there are actually two vent instead of windows on the rear to draw air from the outside. One advantage though is I don't have to deal with fogging the windshield! I have ideas for next winter on how to reroute the airflow. The single stage snowthrower is everything everybody says it is. A useful piece of information by JerseryHawg/Glenn though. He found out from a dealer that the torque produced by the engines used in the 5xi can tear the single stage apart. This is especially possible with the diesel so I am going to install a tach. I have actually been using a 1/3 throttle setting wihich seems to be the right amount for today. The diesel has been sipping fuel I am glad to report. With four hours of use, it has used approximately 2-1/2 gallons. My Kohlers go through a tank (4.5 gallons of Premium) in the same amount of time! Today's setup. Starting down my one neighbor's long driveway Why you need a cab. A nice plume. On the return. Looks like a toy against the trees A job well done! My Wheel Horse "Gate Guard" Edited February 17, 2015 by shallowwatersailor 12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shallowwatersailor 3,213 #2 Posted February 17, 2015 A video from inside the cab. http://youtu.be/PpoJLSzzlFg 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmsgaffer 2,043 #3 Posted February 17, 2015 Wow, that diesel sure sounds nice... Just a smooth purr. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc724 924 #4 Posted February 17, 2015 John, I have been running my 520xi at full throttle when blowing snow and I have not seen any issues cited by Glenn. However, in the spring, I will give a careful look to all the bearings, jack shafts, and mountings to look for any cracks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Racinbob 10,361 #5 Posted February 17, 2015 That's a dandy! I was waiting for you to go through the packed pile at the road to see if the engine even noticed it but the video ended. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmsgaffer 2,043 #6 Posted February 17, 2015 Please post some more videos of this machine working! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 35,905 #7 Posted February 17, 2015 Great stuff John. Glad you got some good seat time. I enjoyed the show Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shallowwatersailor 3,213 #8 Posted February 17, 2015 That's a dandy! I was waiting for you to go through the packed pile at the road to see if the engine even noticed it but the video ended. I did the first time and this is what happened. Look close and you can see the clog. What makes me mad is if I had been out ten minutes earlier before the county truck, I wouldn't have had to deal with the slush. After that I attacked them with the snowthrower partially raised and two passes. I couldn't hold the camera and play with the controls at the same time. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 19,603 #9 Posted February 17, 2015 I did the first time and this is what happened. Look close and you can see the clog. Were you still at 1/3 throttle? Maybe a few more RPM's and you wouldn't have had that clog . Mike.......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shallowwatersailor 3,213 #10 Posted February 17, 2015 Hear is another from inside, and a quick drive by. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,487 #11 Posted February 17, 2015 John, all I can say is wow wow wow! You xi is outfitted to a T. Maybe one day I can duplicate it, super sweet. The pics and videos should get a red oscar. And fellow xi owners, as John said, few weeks back was talking to a dealer in Vermont, I was only repeating his over 20 years in the business words to me. Basicly this , when they first start selling the xi single snow throwers, and plenty of them, many were brought back in, literally being rattled apart from the high torque. Dont run full throttle. I havent tried my xi set up yet, but when I do, it wont be full throttle with the snow thrower being used. Ok, nuff on that. once again john, very nice rig and pics. Thanks for sharing. Glenn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick_in_CT 156 #12 Posted February 18, 2015 I always ran full throttle when using the two stage blower on the 522xi. That is what is recommended in the manual, and the blower always seemed to run best at WOT. I have lots of seat time blowing snow, and never had a vibration problem with it. It must be the extra load that the fan puts on the system that smoothed things out. Lock washers and thread locker, and give it hell. Never saw a snow bank that I didn't want to move. Rick 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tim 97 #13 Posted February 18, 2015 i thought the single stage blowers were designed so that the belt would slip before you started tearing up other components it has no shear pins... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shallowwatersailor 3,213 #14 Posted February 18, 2015 Were you still at 1/3 throttle? Maybe a few more RPM's and you wouldn't have had that clog . Mike.......... Running at a higher rpm may have helped. The county had salted our cul-de-sac a few times before plowing (I'm surprised the county driver doesn't get dizzy going around in circles. ) and so portions were the consistency of thick concrete. The clog wouldn't poke through in the chute so I had to dig it out. Once I get the tach it should help. I also am getting a scanning tach for a different project so I will scan the auger as well. Between the two I should be able to come up with an optimum setting. The only other single stage that I had ( and wish I still did) was my Toro S-200E. Nothing like the sound of a two-stoke wide open at 5:00 AM! I believe that the dealer in Vermont that Glenn spoke to was only referring to the single stage snowthrower. The auger spins at a much higher speed, as everyone knows, than the two stage as it is doing both the gathering and discharging the snow. My intention is to replace the auger bearings this summer with bearings having grease fittings as I did the driveshaft bearings this past fall. It is not causing a problem right now but I just want to take it down for my own piece of mind. The auger and housing need paint as well. The drive on the 5xi for the snowthrower is different than the classic Wheel Horse. I am familiar with that as well. The belt width is up one size plus the spring tension is very strong and hard to overcome. I can't believe that it would slip as easily. The lift bar for relieving tension is very awkward to use. I have figured out to use a 1/2" steel bar to lever it up while my wife (carefully as it would take a finger off) puts it on the blind pulley. When it is off the tractor I am going to devise a more permanent way to remove the tension. One other item that only applies to the diesel version is access to the left side panel. With the OTC cab, an extended chute rotator shaft needs to be installed. It still runs pretty close to the panel. The problem is that the panel needs to be removed each time to drain the water-separator filter to make sure that the bain of diesels (water in fuel) is not present. The easiest way to fix it will be to motorize the rotation of the chute. I don't want to be scratching the future new design decals from Terry. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisnblue48 783 #15 Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) Nice ride, John! Looks you could use another 12"-16" of the white stuff. Better yet, bring your snow chucker up here to PA tomorrow and clear the 5"-8" we're supposed to get off my driveway, ha! I'm just waiting for much warmer weather to get some seat time on my 520-H ;-) Edited February 21, 2015 by cruisnblue48 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 36,954 #16 Posted February 21, 2015 Love the mailbox too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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