Snow blower mods

[OC455]

Here's the start of the snow blower mods I started.

I bought two 37w LED lights and had simple L brackets made. Brackets welded to the sides and lights mounted.

The linear actuator worked out pretty well. It is a four inch actuator with 225lbs of capacity. I had the gent that did the welding look at it and we figured it would work pretty good in the spot where it is without binding or having to worry about any geometry issues.

Just waiting on my switch housing to arrive along with the rest of the parts for my snow blower mods.

 

[mpham]

Nice setup. Let us know how it works.

 

[SLIMSHADIE]

I like the lights, but.......
I have the shoot 90degrees away from me most of the time, so lighting the grass to the right/left does myself no good going forward

 

[OC455]

I like the lights, but.......
I have the shoot 90degrees away from me most of the time, so lighting the grass to the right/left does myself no good going forward

I have a ROPS mounted light for forward stuff. The past few times we had heavy snow up my way, I couldn't really see too well with where the snow was going. That and sometimes having to go out on to the road, having extra lighting on a lower plane/level than the ROPS lighting isn't a bad thing.

Some of the snow we had, with the combination of the wind and such, it would just look like a wall in front of you.

I like being seen at night. With the actuator, I will see if I can find a shock absorber dust boot or something similar to keep debris and stuff off of it.

 

[OC455]

This is the hydraulic pump/motor that was suggested in the other thread to use.

I am running the 1/4inch lines to the pump. I was running the tractor at full throttle when I was activating the loader valve back and forth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGcesiAUsc

 

[tcrote5516]

That looks like a good speed. May be a bit on the fast side but you won't be blowing snow at full throttle either so that should help bring it down to a more controllable speed.

 

[OC455]

I think it will be just about right.....I can feather the left and right so it doesn't over rotate. Now I gotta get it mounted up and secure.

It is pretty damn heavy.

 

[OC455]

That looks like a good speed. May be a bit on the fast side but you won't be blowing snow at full throttle either so that should help bring it down to a more controllable speed.

Really like your cab build too!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Was the hydraulic leak in the video just a loose fitting?

 

[OC455]

Was the hydraulic leak in the video just a loose fitting?

Yeah, I didn't have it as tight as I should have had it.

Just testing everything right now. Checking how it is going to work out for rotational speed on the pump.

It seems to be good just looking at it.

 

[OC455]

Used some bronze bushings/washers to shim out the play in the gear. Also helps the clearance with the coupling...





Some more pics of what I've done so far.

I had a gentleman with welding skills build the bracket to attach the motor and motor bracket.

I used the lovejoy couplings, because they seem to be the easiest way to hook the motor to the worm gear shaft. The pump has a 1 inch keyed shaft, so I bought the L099 coupling with a 1 inch hole, and the other coupling was a L099 with a 3/4 inch hole. The couplings have an allen head set screw. I bought a longer allen head set screw and used it in the 3/4 coupling and tightened it all the way through the larger hole in the 3/4 inch shaft so that it goes all the way through. I'll get some more pics of that.

I decided to put flow control valves in just in case. I do not have it hooked up because I need to get a 1/4" NPT male to JIC female fitting to get the flow control valve hooked up to the top of the motor. Going to check and see if the one local hydraulic shop has them...
I want it working because there's talk of a Noreast'r coming to hit the mid-Atlantic and North East again.

 

[OC455]

One other pic. I also used some bronze bushing/washers to shim out some of the movement in the worm gear.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Looks good!
Have you made sure that it doesn't hit anything when it's hooked up and lifted?

 

[OC455]

Looks good!
Have you made sure that it doesn't hit anything when it's hooked up and lifted?

I had it lifted when I picked it up and moved it around. No interference issues that I've seen.

 

[OC455]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQZlU8qVVQ

All hooked up, running at full throttle. Not too bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sknVXocU4Hw

No clearance issues raising or lowering it.

I'll put up a list of things I used in case anyone wants to go this route. I had fun and appreciate everyone's input.

 

[OBKubota]

Well done,nice setup.
All you need now is the snow!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OC455]

Surplus Center:

Item #: 9-9491 5.0ci Parker swing drive hyd motor $89.95
Item #: 1-3244 SAE A 2-bolt pump foot mount $29.95
Item #: 1-3616-H 3/4" L-099 coupling $11.95
Item #: 1-3616-M 1" L-099 coupling $11.95
Item #: 1-3616-X Buna-N insert for L-100/L099 $5.80

Total to include shipping: $174.60

Messicks:


Kubota 7J612-66110
HOSE, HYDRAULIC $17.74 x 2 $35.48

Total to include shipping: $45.23


Flow control valves: $28.00

Various fittings: $60.00 (trying to find the right ones)



Where to save some money with all this:

1/4" hydraulic lines purchase from surplus center....they're cheaper...$7.55
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydrau...Hydraulic-Hose-Assembly-3000-PSI-916-1430.axd

The flow control valves I don't think were really necessary, I bought used ones off ebay. These should work good if you want them for the peace of mind.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydrau...NCE-WFC-400-IN-LINE-FLOW-CONTROL-9-7960-4.axd

The mount to the snow blower to hold everything in place, I paid $50 to have welded up and put in place. If you have welding skills and metal handy, your saving yourself money there.


Some small odds and ends here and there....bronze bushings/washers to shim the worm gear out a bit...bolts and nuts.

Forgot the Kubota QD hydraulic ends....got those from the local dealer.

 

[tcrote5516]

Looks great but I just had a thought. What happens when it reaches the end of it's travel? I would have to assume that hydro motor has some pretty hefty torque and I would think it has the potential to tear up the chute gearing.

I can tell you from experience, even when you think your paying attention at times I've hit the end of travel without taking my finger off the switch for a second or two. I only have electric with a built in clutch so mine won't damage the blower but I'd be worried about yours if you share the same level of being easily distracted for a second as I do

 

[OC455]

I was thinking about that too. I thought about cutting extra slots on the chute just to make I didn't ruin it. Just have to keep an eye on it for now until I can make some adjustments.

Don't want to mess with it quite yet because of the pending Nor'easter coming my way....

 

[OC455]

Ok, try this again.

Placed a shock boot over the linear actuator to keep it a bit more protected...built a little switch housing out of two caps cut off of 4inch PVC. Epoxied the two pieces together, cut out the hole for the switch and then epoxied the housing to the loader valve cover. A little Kubota grey spray paint.