Kubota Snow Blower - Improve

[MikeMi]

So, going to try and make my BX5455HD blower on my B2301 actually work as it should. Breaks auger shear pins with ease and clogs badly. Interested in opinions on the below plan based on way too much research. Not interested in tire tread mods or plastic sheets in the chute, etc.. My plan:

- Buy stupid expensive Kubota shear pins ($4). Looks like the ones I have may be aftermarket, came with it.

- POR 15 the impeller, chute, box inner and anything I can get to. 3 part POR system.

- Coat with Sick-Coat per brush-on directions (https://www.slick-coat.com)

- Remove chute guard.

- Adjust shoes (again) and angle cutter bar to the extent possible (shim if necessary/able) to minimizing picking up any gravel/pebbles, leaving 2" ground clearance. A small pebble can pop the auger shear pins.

Have been looking for a plow blade that fits my mount, no luck or $2k +/- for a used one. $1000 is the most I would risk as I am not sure how well it will even work for me. Getting too old to deal with back blading.

The blower is amazing on pavement and lighter snow. Useless so far most times on gravel...on wetter snow clogs on even 3-4" snows...

Thanks for your time.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

As you've found out..
snowblowers are GREAT at moving 'light,fluffy white.. LOUSY against wet,heavy YUCK.
There's nothing you can do to a snowblower to move 'wet', you really need a blade to move that stuff.

One option, see if local welder/fabguy can make you a front blade,
maybe mod an ATV unit ? Only needs to be a bit wider than tractor's width. Any wider and you might have a job pushing all that extra wet.
If B2301 is 44" wide, a 48" blade is ok, PA here has ATV bolts ons for $200,easy to mod for 'K' use.

 

[Mowbizz]

I have the BX5455 HD BLOWER for my BX 25D tractor. It excels in all conditions except real SLUSH. Heavy “wet” snow is no problem and I rarely have to get off and clear the chute. SLUSH is a different story of course. I have 200’ of paved driveway and 350’ of “older” recycled asphalt (top is all broken up into everything from pebbles to 3” rocks) and I do adjust the shoes DOWN for clearance. It always picks up “some” of the top material but not enough to break a shear pin. Wher the problem lies for me is what the TOWN pushes into my road entry…their trucks scrape the roadside dirt and “sometimes” deposit a stone that will break a pin…pisses me off but no amount of worrying about it will stop them from plowing the roadside dirt. THIS YEAR I have a solution to smaller nuisance storms and SLUSH! It’s a Kawasaki Mule with a heated cab and 6’ power angle PLOW!
No more slush for Mr. BX 5455HD! Now I’m covered for everything New England weather can throw at me! That said, not sure why yours is prone to breaking shear pins…mine isn’t.

 

[yorkies77]

I sheared a lot of pins before I found the answer to that issue. I always tighten them down then I found out that your not supposed to torque more than 8 pounds. I haven't sheared any pins since then. I was shearing 3 or 4 every time I blew our 400 ft driveway. I bought them in bulk because I was breaking so many of them.

 

[Mowbizz]

I sheared a lot of pins before I found the answer to that issue. I always tighten them down then I found out that your not supposed to torque more than 8 pounds. I haven't sheared any pins since then. I was shearing 3 or 4 every time I blew our 400 ft driveway. I bought them in bulk because I was breaking so many of them.

I’ve always just “snugged them up” doesn’t make sense to over tighten a shear pin…now I know what I do is good!

 

[Bugzilla46310]

Isn‘t the correct answer is to go to the next size larger shear pin? Asking for a friend!

 

[DustyRusty]

Isn‘t the correct answer is to go to the next size larger shear pin? Asking for a friend!

Absolutely not. The shear pin is designed to protect the gearbox from damage. The gears in the gearbox are made of brass and if you use a stronger shear pin you will shave the teeth off of the gears and have a $1000 or more repair. Tell your "friend" that if he doesn't understand the purpose of a shear pin then he shouldn't own a snowblower, he should own only a snow shovel.

 

[Mowbizz]

So, going to try and make my BX5455HD blower on my B2301 actually work as it should. Breaks auger shear pins with ease and clogs badly. Interested in opinions on the below plan based on way too much research. Not interested in tire tread mods or plastic sheets in the chute, etc.. My plan:

- Buy stupid expensive Kubota shear pins ($4). Looks like the ones I have may be aftermarket, came with it.

- POR 15 the impeller, chute, box inner and anything I can get to. 3 part POR system.

- Coat with Sick-Coat per brush-on directions (https://www.slick-coat.com)

- Remove chute guard.

- Adjust shoes (again) and angle cutter bar to the extent possible (shim if necessary/able) to minimizing picking up any gravel/pebbles, leaving 2" ground clearance. A small pebble can pop the auger shear pins.

Have been looking for a plow blade that fits my mount, no luck or $2k +/- for a used one. $1000 is the most I would risk as I am not sure how well it will even work for me. Getting too old to deal with back blading.

The blower is amazing on pavement and lighter snow. Useless so far most times on gravel...on wetter snow clogs on even 3-4" snows...

Thanks for your time.

Just wondering what RPMs you’re running your 5455HD at? I run mine at MAXIMUM RPMS (about 3200-3300 on my BX25D)

 

[RCW]

Is it stone from the driveway breaking pins?

Different blower. Mine is a BX2750D on a BX2360 tractor.

While I knock on wood 🪵, I haven’t broken more than a couple shear pins per season in most of 11 seasons.

I also have a stone driveway. Did bust a few before I modified the shoes on the blower. Stone did break a few.

I snug them up each fall. Check once/twice during season.

I do use the OEM pins.

 

[thebicman]

Have a very similar blower and did as you suggested. Used por15 on the inside of chute but also lined only the top side of the chute with a piece of ptfe. This will be my 7th season and have yet to break a shear pin. Driveway is gravel approximately 360'. Takes a bit longer and care until it's completely frozen so you don't pick up rocks.

 

[Mowbizz]

Have a very similar blower and did as you suggested. Used por15 on the inside of chute but also lined only the top side of the chute with a piece of ptfe. This will be my 7th season and have yet to break a shear pin. Driveway is gravel approximately 360'. Takes a bit longer and care until it's completely frozen so you don't pick up rocks.

I just use the “Jet Spray” product sold at my local K dealer. Except for pure SLUSH, No problems to speak of.

 

[RCW]

For what it’s worth, my blower has plugged once in all those years. I took the guard out at that time, but it was just a couple years ago. Slushy snow, but I’d been down that road many times before.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Don't try to scrape gravel clean. Leave a half inch. You'll break fewer pins.

 

[mikester]

Sell it and buy a better snowblower. My Lucknow with a rounded chute doesn't plug.

My old blower with a rectangular chute clogged frequently.

I will break shear pins hitting buried rocks and larger branches. I keep several grade 1 or 2 5/16 bolts and nuts handy in my tractor toolbox as I manage to break one or two per season. No need to spend $$$ on a consumable item designed to fail...

 

[GreensvilleJay]

For some strange,weird unknown reason... snowblower's don't like frozen skids............

 

[NoJacketRequired]

I'll share some thoughts garnered from operating my fleet of B-series tractors and the following blowers:
B2550 (in my avatar), B2781, B2781A, B2782B.

The idea that a snow blower will only move dry snow is, frankly, just plain wrong. I have hundreds of hours of experience and I have plugged the B-series blowers but a very few times. Operated correctly these blowers will darned near blow water. Fully saturated snow isn't a problem if you pay attention to the items below.

What causes them to plug?
1) that stooooopid set of round rod fingers that Kubota bolts to the open side of the discharge chute. Get rid of them, permanently. They are an asinine idea forced into the product by liability-shy lawyers. Don't be stupid, keep yer dang hands out of the discharge chute - don't rely on a lawyer-designed device to keep your hands out. Turn your brain on!!!!

2) running with the chute deflector in the "down" position. The wetter the snow, the more that deflector needs to approach its fully vertical position. Don't let the slop coming out the chute slow down - the deflector, when it's deflecting snow, slows down the snow and can lead to plugging the chute.

3) running at less than FULL PTO RPM - don't be dumb, run the machine at its designed speed. It's really easy to "lug" the machine down to lower RPM when the snow gets really heavy and wet. Take a narrower cut, move slower, keep the RPM up. A drop of even 100RPM makes a pretty big difference in the exit velocity of the snow. Letting the RPM drop will result in a plugged discharge chute

4) letting the discharge chute rust. It generally takes only a bit of snow through the chute to knock off any rust and get back down to bare metal. Bare metal works. Painted metal works. Rusty metal doesn't work. Paint the steel if you wish - the paint won't stick around for long but it's a great thing to do in the spring so the rust doesn't set in over the summer.

When it comes to shear bolts, they should last a long time. Last winter I broke one shear bolt in the auger in the B7281A blower I'm using at the airport. In all the hours I've been running these blowers I've broken exactly one auger shear bolt (don't try blowing chunks of 2x4 ya big dummy! ).

Oh, I should mention that I clear snow from only one paved driveway (my own) and the areas around my hangar at the airport are paved. Everything else is either gravel or sod. The photo in my avatar was taken at another local airport where I was blowing a taxi path on rough sod. Three of the four driveways I cleared last winter are gravel driveways. Get new skid shoes and adjust them properly and gravel is not a problem.

 

[number two]

Excellent post!

 

[MikeMi]

Thanks, all! I will go with NoJacketRequired recommendations and extensive experience. Looks like RPM's may be my issue....hate to run above 2k, but may just be the fix. Looked harder at mine and minimal wear/rust anywhere....can't see putting all the work and $$$ to fix (POR and Slick Coat) what's not broken.

 

[Mowbizz]

Thanks, all! I will go with NoJacketRequired recommendations and extensive experience. Looks like RPM's may be my issue....hate to run above 2k, but may just be the fix. Looked harder at mine and minimal wear/rust anywhere....can't see putting all the work and $$$ to fix (POR and Slick Coat) what's not broken.

Geeze, no wonder you have issues! BTW, I suggested an RPM issue before “no jacket”
Don’t want to blow my own horn but….TOOT TOOT!!!!

 

[MikeMi]

Toot, toot, to you, too, Mowbizz Thanks, I did see all your suggestions and appreciate them very much. Truly never run a diesel much over 2000rpm at all. Equipment and many truck over the years. Not worth blowing it up to blow snow. Will try 2500 and see what it does. If still a dog, will sell it and get a plow.