Why can't I stall my snowblower?

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I used to be able to when they ran sickly.

I have three 24 inch blowers with 6.5 hp chonda motors. An ariens has a new 1/2" belt, a toro has two 3/8" belts, and a monkey wards/ MTD has a presently unknown one. The ariens eats through shear pins; the other two have never.

I can't kill these things! If the auger jams the belt slips or a shear pin blows. Belts are adjusted perfect and pretty new. (The ariens will kick the belt engager off if it's adjusted too tight- clever.) The toro and ariens also have new engine drive pulleys from mcmaster-carr. The "bottom pulleys" aren't worn smooth from what I can see.

So, long story short, I want to stall the engine if I hit snow too deep in a gradual way. Instead the blowers eat their pins or belts. Can a 1/2" belt transfer 6.5 hp? Is there a known limit?
 
What about that Artic Cat or Snow Cat? The one with the tracks on it. That's what we want to see/hear about.
 
Those snow blowers have too much power to stall. My mom's friend has a 4 hp 20" Ariens. I pulled a large rock from the impeller a few nights ago that she managed to suck up from her dirt driveway. The rock had jammed the impeller and stalled the machine. The shear pins were in good shape, but did not break. If the engine was started and the auger engaged, it just killed the engine.

With larger machines, the shear pins are the weak point and they are built that way purposely. I'd just stock up on shear pins and try to avoid things that will get ingested in the snow blower. How often does this happen?
 
My 7hp, 24" MTD will bog, but I don't recall ever stalling it. It will just clog up given the clearance around the impeller.

I have had the friction disk drive chatter and slip, but never noticed any thrower belt slippage. Any belt jumping would be quite the project to fix on my MTD.
 
I would try a small upgrade on the ariens shear pins. If you can break them with just snow load then it sounds like the rest of the machine isn't stressed to much.
As for hp transfer with a belt, I imagine its more related to torque transer and pully diameters. A small pully won't have the contact area to transfer alot of torque without alot of tension...
Like you, sometimes I want to work equipment right to it maximum to get things done, but then I think how much I don't really want to buy another so I back off a couple notches.
Being able to bog the motor is nice I guess but how much faster will it get the job done? Also I doubt many small engines like being run even at 75% max power sustained.
 
Originally Posted By: satinsilver
What about that Artic Cat or Snow Cat? The one with the tracks on it. That's what we want to see/hear about.


Ope, wrong person:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3250977/My_new_"tracks&qu#Post3250977
 
Don't tighten the shear pins too tight just so it doesn't rattle. Snugging them up just weakens them further.
I don't think you can stall the engine with the auger, the gear reduction is too low, it rather slip or burn the belt.
 
Take it slower through that deep snow. I have a 1968 Ariens 24" with the 5hp engine. I have never sheared the pins in normal duty on a smooth driveway. However, you can strip the worm and pinion if you use a standard bolt in place of the shear pins. (I have seen it done.) IMO if the belt is slipping, or the shear pins are breaking often, the Chonda engine is overpowering The design parameters of the system. FWIW

Oldtommy
 
Originally Posted By: daman
Throw a harder shear bolt in her!


Don't do this. It is a good way to wreck the auger gearbox. I've seen it so many times.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: daman
Throw a harder shear bolt in her!


Don't do this. It is a good way to wreck the auger gearbox. I've seen it so many times.

I know that but he wants to try and stall it so...
 
Well, I want the system to be able to stall the engine. I'd rather that be the weak point than the belt/ pulleys/ friction disk/ shear pins etc.

If I stall (someday) I'll know to slow down.

Obligatory video of everything going smooth:
 
Only time I stalled mine was when it ate a newspaper that I couldnt see (in fact, it was just last week.....blower is 8 years old, so its gone a LOOOONG time without ever stalling)

Its been thru 2' diameter balls of end of driveway mess, snow height that was over the top of the auger housing, whatever you can think of.

Its a 9HP 26" cut Ariens. I think the newer blowers are starting to get out of hand with width of cut vs power of engine, so maybe they will stall easier? Ariens seems to keep a good proportion between the two, but I always get a kick out of looking at the monster Craftsman Pro with like a 45" cut, 4 wheels, and a 14HP engine.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Well, I want the system to be able to stall the engine. I'd rather that be the weak point than the belt/ pulleys/ friction disk/ shear pins etc.

If I stall (someday) I'll know to slow down.

Obligatory video of everything going smooth:



Nice Toro! Looks like a 524 or 724 judging by the controls.
 
I put the same HF Greyhound motor on my mid80's era Simplicity 560. Much, much more powerful than the 5hp L-head Tecumseh that came off. I even built a custom "stove" to keep the carb from icing...is that a problem for you?

I can't stall mine either, but can bog it down on the EOD thick stuff.
 
I rejetted my carb 2.5 sizes bigger. One for the E10 gas, one for the colder temps, and 1/2 for the now-missing air filter. I don't have any problems with cold air that I know of. I keep the air cleaner cover on but there's nothing inside.
wink.gif


The tecumseh that was on before, I could stall. Its power curve was such that if it bogged, it died before the governor could help it. I couldn't figure out if it was "sick" or just how it ran. Suppose I'd rather have my current "problem." And yes that was a toro 724-- I also had a 824 which took the "big block" tecumseh and it was just as much rubbish.
 
I need weaker shear pins than what came with my 26" MTD snowblower. It gobbled up an oak branch and cracked the gearbox gear in half plus bent the auger drive shaft. Just barely bent the sheer pins that MTD says are a grade 2 bolt strength.
 
I've got a 5hp Tecumseh on a 23" blower and an 8hp on a 24", and the 5hp will bog down quite a bit and the 8hp will punch right through just about anything. I can get the 5hp to stall, but I usually back off before it does.

For the flatheads, it seems when you go above 5hp, they just don't bog or stall. I can't say what hp you need to hit in the OHV engines, as I have no experience. I'd guess that a 4hp on a 24" blower you'd be able to stall like you want, but why would anyone downgrade?
 
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