[29 Chev]

Since in less than six months winter will be upon us again I thought that it might be prudent to start working on my snow caster now rather than wait until the last minute. Today the warm temperatures we have been experiencing cooled of so today seemed like a good day to devote a few minutes to the task of removing the rotor. Noticed near the end of the snow removal duties last March that the two paddle areas of the rotor were badly deformed and the metal was starting to rip in one spot so today I started the task of removing the rotor.

 

[29 Chev]

First thing I did was remove the keeper on the join link so I could remover the drive chain to make removing the rotor easier. Once the join link was apart the chain got removed from the snow caster and inspected.

Noticed a bit of rust on a couple of areas so I attached a piece of mechanics wire to one end of it, dropped it in a quart can and filled the can with used motor oil so the chain was completely immersed in the oil. It can sit in the oil while I work on the snow caster so that the oil will soak into the rollers. Removed the for bolts from the two bearing housings that hold the rotor in place inside the housing and then slid the rotor out onto the floor.

Now I can start working on repairing and reinforcing the rotor paddles as time permits and I get the urge - hopefully I will get the unit back together before the snow flakes show up..

 

[propane1]

Stew, Stew, Stew !!!! Jumpins we just barely got rid of that and now your talking about it again. Hehehe.
Well I know what you mean. I have one of those I’m gunna work on too. Not a Bolens, but a Case model, but I had no intention of working on it until August. At least get a few months of not thinking about that, you know what !!!!!
Hehe. Have a good one Stew.

Noel

 

[Dave in NY]

It looks like it might have injested a bit of gravel during the snow season. That is an issue I fight every winter. Don't dare get too close to the driveway surface or sure as can be I will hear the clatter of gravel going out the chute. Ouch!

 

[29 Chev]

It looks like it might have ingested a bit of gravel during the snow season. That is an issue I fight every winter. Don't dare get too close to the driveway surface or sure as can be I will hear the clatter of gravel going out the chute. Ouch!

I believe you are correct as the powers that be applied fresh gravel shoulders last year in late August / early September so the gravel never really got packed very well near the end of the driveway so quite easy to grab any loose gravel while cleaning out the road end of the laneway. Combine that with the snow plow wing catching any loose gravel on the shoulder just before the driveway and rolling it into the snow as it cleared the road and instant recipe for gravel clatter. The laneway itself usually isn't much of a problem with gravel but with the loose stuff at the end last year it proved very difficult to keep the snow caster at the magic height to not pick up any gravel yet still clean up the snow that the plow pushed in so it didn't create a big hump / bump when exiting the driveway. Hopefully this year the gravel will be better packed and repairing the paddle areas will prevent a repeat during the season coming up. Thinking I might add a layer of metal behind the flat paddle area at the outer end to strengthen the metal so it won't bend as bad.

 

[29 Chev]

Stew, Stew, Stew !!!! Jumpins we just barely got rid of that and now your talking about it again. Hehehe.
Well I know what you mean. I have one of those I’m gunna work on too. Not a Bolens, but a Case model, but I had no intention of working on it until August. At least get a few months of not thinking about that, you know what !!!!!
Hehe. Have a good one Stew.

Noel

Haven't had to use it since the middle of March so for me it has been 3 months since having to look out in the morning to play in something like this. This is from about the middle of February 2021 when the Snow Fairy decided I needed some serious seat time that day - thought I would post it in "Case" you forget hw much fun it is to play with. Hope your "Case" doesn't require much in the way of repairs.

 

[propane1]

Well mine works ok. It and my other Case one just don’t throw that stuff very far. Case throwers have an 8” chute opening, any other garden tractor thrower or blower, that I’ve ever seen are 6” chute opening.
So I’m going to play with trying to mount a 6” chute off a MF thrower onto the Case thrower. These Case throwers are 48” wide. So my JD one is 46” wide and is basically made the same as the Case. Same size auger or rotor, as you call it. But the JD one has a 6” opening and it works good.
So that’s what I'm doing. Have a good day Stew.
Please,,,,, don’t say that S word again. Hehe.

Noel

 

[propane1]

Thinking I might add a layer of metal behind the flat paddle area at the outer end to strengthen the metal so it won't bend as bad.

My JD thrower was made with a replaceable skid plate in there.

Noel

 

[29 Chev]

Got the remains of the rubber flaps that I installed unbolted and removed. Then I used the big ball peen hammer along with the sledge as a backer and got the metal straightened back out as best I could.

Used a straight edge to see how close I had gotten the paddles and while not perfect it looked respectable so I ceased my hit and straighten mission. In the process I managed to catch the nail on my thumb with the hammer once so said a few choice words I had hoped I had forgotten.

Then I measured the thickness of the metal with the micrometer and it appears that the rotor fluting and the paddles was 1/8" thick originally.

There was one piece of metal where things were ripped that appeared to have stretched so I used the die grinder with the cut off blade to cut a couple of slots so that it would fit in ok and allowed room to get some decent weld penetration when I welded it back in place.

 

[29 Chev]

Used the mig welder to fill in the missing metal and also filled the bolt holes that I had drilled to install the rubber flaps a few years ago. Apparently, I was in a hurry to install them one winter and found out the hole spacings were not the same so figured I would correct that error at the same time.

Used the sanding disc to clean up the welds when I was done - had to use the cut off blade to get in at the bolt hole area in spots.

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[29 Chev]

Decided that a bit of reinforcing on the back side might be a good idea at the outer edges so recycled a couple of pieces of 1/8" x 1-1/2" flat steel from an old project that didn't work out and cut them 2-5/8" long. Drilled two 1/4" holes in each one that matched spacing wise and had two plates ready to weld on the back side of each paddle for strength.

Clamped each one in position and welded them all the way around after they were tacked in position.

Then I used the electric drill and a 1/4" drill bit to add new holes in the front side of the paddles so I can install new rubber flaps - the last time I mounted them on the back side but I am thinking that I will try installing them on the top side as that may help to lessen any stones or small objects jammed between the end of the rotor and the housing.

Next will have to check the gear on the rotor to see how much it is worn compared with a new one I have. If it looks good I will try and set the rotor up on some bearings to see how much I have put things out of balance. Then I can do a cleanup with some sandpaper and a wire brush and give things a splash of paint. Think someone may have painted the rotor silver at some point but I am seeing a little black paint in spots so I may paint is black.

 

[propane1]

Do you think those rubber paddles help Stew. I tryed it on my JD thrower and didn’t seem to do much.

Noel

 

[29 Chev]

Do you think those rubber paddles help Stew. I tryed it on my JD thrower and didn’t seem to do much.

Noel

On mine they seem to help but I find that a truck mud flap rubber (what I have been using lately) seems to disintegrate fairly quick once stones or other debris get jammed against the housing so they don't last as long as I had hoped they would. Thought about trying a plastic material like a cutting board but not sure whether that would last any better??

 

[Dave in NY]

I ought to do exactly what you are doing to my snow caster. It didn't get beat up too badly last winter, but a bit of TLC wouldn't hurt. I followed your posts back a couple-few years ago and added rubber paddles to the impeller and a plastic liner to the chute. I thought it made a big difference in the performance of mine.

 

[29 Chev]

I followed your posts back a couple-few years ago and added rubber paddles to the impeller and a plastic liner to the chute. I thought it made a big difference in the performance of mine.

I found that since I added the plastic liner in the chute opening on mine the snowcaster is very hard to plug up when dealing with slushy stuff that we sometimes get here. Before putting it in the chute it was difficult to get rid of the slushy stuff without having to stop several times to unplug the opening.

 

[Dave in NY]

That pretty much is how it was working for me too. The plastic lined chute made a big difference in the amount of time I was spending un-clogging it when the snow got heavy and wet.

 

[29 Chev]

Got a few minutes to tinker with the rotor so I found the new weld gear I keep on hand and compared it to the one on the rotor. Checked the teeth ends, shape and width and while there is a bit of wear on the original gear I think it is still quite serviceable so it will remain in place. The original gear appears to have a 3/4" inside diameter hole that was slipped over the rotor shaft and then the gear was welded on the one side to the center pipe of the rotor that the fluting is welded to. The weld gear I have would need to have a piece welded to it on the inside and then have the 3/4" hole added for it to work and be easily installed. That may be something I do once I get the snow caster back together so it is ready to install should the need arise in the future. Would still have to cut the old weld where it is attached to get the original gear off. The gear has 32 teeth and is designed to be used with # 40 roller chain.

 

[29 Chev]

Started sanding and wire brushing the paint on the rotor and after a while that got to be a bit boring so I decided to see if I could set it up on my four ball bearings (two at each end) so I could check it for balance. Clamped the bearings to the top of two saw horses and set the shaft ends on the bearings - had to switch the bolts end for end so the heads were facing inwards. Turned the rotor slowly by hand a few degrees and then stopped it and watched to see if it stayed in the position or tried to roll back. After a few revolutions I determined it was close but one paddle appeared slightly heavier than the other. Wired several flat washers to the lighter paddle and then tried it again and it was getting so I could let go and it would sit where it was stopped so I replaced the weight of the washers with a few beads of weld on the back side of the paddle where I had added the metal support. Checked it again and was happy with the results - not perfect but definitely and improvement so that the rotor shouldn't vibrate too badly as it spins.

Did a video of the before and after results if anyone is interested -

 

[Dave in NY]

One would surmise that the rotors were checked for certain tolerances at the factory, including balance? It just makes sense, right? Do you see any run-out in the middle where the paddles are? The rotor in my caster has about 1/8” wobble in it at the center. I wondered if that’s just how it came out of the jig it was welded together in, or if someone prior to me had hit something with it and tweaked it a bit? I presume it might have been like that from new. Mine doesn’t seem to vibrate, runs reasonably smooth.

 

[29 Chev]

One would surmise that the rotors were checked for certain tolerances at the factory, including balance? It just makes sense, right? Do you see any run-out in the middle where the paddles are? The rotor in my caster has about 1/8” wobble in it at the center. I wondered if that’s just how it came out of the jig it was welded together in, or if someone prior to me had hit something with it and tweaked it a bit? I presume it might have been like that from new. Mine doesn’t seem to vibrate, runs reasonably smooth.

I would think that each rotor was checked for tolerances but probably not balance as that would have taken a bit of time to do each one individually. Didn't notice much runout side to side or up and down on the center section - the gear is not perfectly true as it has about 1/8" side to side movement as it is rotated but I am thinking that it has ran all these years and probably about how it was when it left the factory. Noticed that the paddle ends are not perfectly true side to side in line with the shaft but given what I (and previous owners) have put it through over the years not surprised and not going to get real excited about it. I doubt if the repair I did and adding the extra two pieces changed things from the way it was originally but never no so that is why I decided to check.

The amount it was out of balance probably wasn't worth getting excited about since the OD of the rotor paddles measures 12" across (2" OD pipe and the two 5" paddle sections). Probably no worse than if some ice or snow (sorry Noel) got stuck to a section of the fluting to throw things a bit out of balance. Never noticed a vibration with mine either but figured I might as well check it and get it is as close as I could since it is not needed right at the moment and I had the time.