Another little project of mine

[hondacuraplanet]

In prep for winter, I decided to do some work on my snowblower fleet

Here's my venerable 1961 Ariens Sno-Thro, the very first Ariens made, and kind of a rarity. It originally came with a 4HP Lauson engine, which was long gone by the time I got it, and last year I ran it with a 6HP Tecumseh that was a bit tired.

I was happy with the machine, but it didn't wing the snow as far as I would have liked, so I made a few changes to the machine itself. First, the old Tecumseh was scrapped in favor of a fresh 5HP Tecumseh off a barely used Craftsman unit with a broken auger. Once fitted, I decided to use a larger pulley on the auger drive belt, thereby overclocking the auger and making it spin about 1.5 times the previous rate. Thing runs like an egg beater

Pulleys properly spaced out, I had to make a new pulley guard out of the remains of the Craftsman to compensate for the added size. Fresh auger bearing, new lube in the auger gearbox, oil changed, and fuel system cleaned, here she sits awaiting winter's worst

[rocky]

Snowblower? Sounds more like a flame thrower!

I think it deserves a fresh coat of Ariens orange.

In case anyone asks, knowing where Tim is at, he's probably overdue for the first snow of the year....

[hondacuraplanet]

To make it look right, I'd have to sandblast the thing, and spray it with Allis Chalmers orange, which is close. Maybe next year

[mikemcm]

just don't pull a Joe Sakic on it.

[hkellogg]

Would the pulley and engine really make a difference I mean it's only a single stage right no impeller correct ?

[N_Jay]

Originally Posted by hkellogg

Would the pulley and engine really make a difference I mean it's only a single stage right no impeller correct ?

Without an impeller auger speed is everything.

[dustino8]

Originally Posted by hkellogg

Would the pulley and engine really make a difference I mean it's only a single stage right no impeller correct ?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that maching has an impeller.

There is a great snowblower site that has some pretty involved snowblower restorations, for anyone who's interested. See link below to a more recent one:

- The Best Snowblower & Lawnmower Forum - • View topic - I'm calling my Ariens restore complete

[armpilot]

looks like a duel stage to me.

[hondacuraplanet]

It's a dual stage, all Ariens 4 stroke machines are that I'm aware of. It's got an impeller and an auger.

Added horsepower + faster auger/impeller speed = snow gets tossed farther

[hkellogg]

Originally Posted by hondacuraplanet

It's a dual stage, all Ariens 4 stroke machines are that I'm aware of. It's got an impeller and an auger.

Added horsepower + faster auger/impeller speed = snow gets tossed farther

Very nice yeah I wasn't sure because I ran into a 4 cycle simplicity that was a single stage it sucked real bad lol and thought that a lot of older machines might be similar

[hondacuraplanet]

I had a Simplicity last year that was REALLY long, from the '60s. It had a waterwheel type impeller for the second stage. That thing was a snow cannon.

Before the aid of computer drafting models, they came up with a lot of unique designs to move snow. Honestly, the new machines on the market are vastly superior in snow tossing capability for the most part, they're just built with tinfoil grade metal. Although, the polypropylene plastic chutes beat metal out every time.

Snowblowers today are designed for flawless service for a 7-10 year period. Back when my Ariens was made, they were designed to last forever, but don't think you won't have to grease lube and adjust everything every year.

Fortunately, I like to do that stuff

[rocky]

My last snowblower a sears unit lasted 13 years until it blew the transmission up. Have to agree that the plastic chutes are far better than metal, but the Toro must be high quality Tinfoil if thats what they use. Interesting the Kohler engine on the sears was good to the end and the Toro has the same or updated version of the same unit

[hondacuraplanet]

Toros, sheet metal wise, are about the best out there currently.

[hkellogg]

Originally Posted by hondacuraplanet

Toros, sheet metal wise, are about the best out there currently.

Maybe their large frame ones but the 828 has an awful lot of plastic and that joystick controller is a waste if it breaks can't turn the chute , I have a simplicity with a crank that works awesome, but in my opinion the best are honda snowblowers they are built like tanks with hydrostatic transmissions

[krazykarguy]

I have an ancient Ariens 8hp 24" blower that I rescued out from under a pine tree grove sitting in a puddle I found on craigslist for free several winters ago. I had to do a little bit of welding to the auger housing and invest $42 in tune up parts and other bits, but now I have a fully functional machine.

It chugged right through a 30" deep snowbank without missing a beat. They were built to last back then.