Snowblower Chute Mod-Linear Actuator

[DanR]

I added a 4" stroke linear actuator for the deflector and a surplus power seat motor for chute rotation. I tapped into the aux power source at the rear of the BX and fashioned a switch box attached to the ROPS and used momentary reverse polarity rockers. I put in a 4-wire trailer pigtail so I can easily disconnect the blower "power" without messing with wires each season.

I can give more details if you want. They work fantastic in the harsh weather. The only thing is I wish they were a bit faster. But this sure does beat manual rotation or getting off the tractor to change the deflector! And it allows me to put a cab on.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

a surplus power seat motor for chute rotation.

I can give more details if you want. They work fantastic in the harsh weather.

Dan - would you mind giving some detail on how you connected the seat actuator motor to the chute rotator, please? I have a pair of seat motors sitting in the shop and they seem plenty strong enough for the task - they look pretty much identical to the one shown in your photos. I'm just a bit buffaloed about how to connect the output of the seat motor to the input of the chute rotator worm gear.

Also - but guesstimate, how long would it take to rotate from full lock in one direction to full lock in the other?

Thanks for any details you might be able to provide.

 

[DanR]

Dan - would you mind giving some detail on how you connected the seat actuator motor to the chute rotator, please? I have a pair of seat motors sitting in the shop and they seem plenty strong enough for the task - they look pretty much identical to the one shown in your photos. I'm just a bit buffaloed about how to connect the output of the seat motor to the input of the chute rotator worm gear.

Also - but guesstimate, how long would it take to rotate from full lock in one direction to full lock in the other?

Thanks for any details you might be able to provide.

If you look at the 2nd pic, I just drilled a hole through that spiral shaft big enough for a small bolt. That’s how the factory manual crank hooks up too. The shaft is s/s so I couldn’t weld on it or I might’ve done something different.

Full rotation one way is 10s. Real world you’re only gonna swing one way at a time and probably not full lock. So usually I’m 5 seconds or so to be where I want.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

Thanks for this additional info, Dan. I'm giving this more consideration as yesterday was a windy day at the airport where I was blowing snow and I was cranking that chute rotator big time. The speed of rotation might become a factor so I'll scratch my noggin and think about it a bit.

 

[MuttCat]

The deed is done. We've been relatively snow-less for a spell...that will change this weekend apparently, so I sort of dragged this on for a while. But it works, and doesn't look like a cob job.

Can't post vid it seems.

 

[thebicman]

Looks like a good install. One thing you may consider is flipping the actuator so shaft is down. Water will get in or get a boot to keep it dry.

 

[MuttCat]

I know folks have expressed concern about water intrusion. My wife's fabric collection includes a piece of ballistic nylon. She's going make a "sock" out of it that will fit over the top. It will have a velcro strip along along the chute side so I can simply close it around the actuator. This should keep the elements out and won't upset my sense of the "universe". Weird huh? Plus it will hide everything, another useless aspect I suppose.

Thanks again to all who tuned in.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

The Kubota-supplied linear actuator on the chute of me B2872B froze up on me last week. I am pretty certain it froze because it's mounted "right end up", that is to say, with the linear actuator motor at the low end.

When I added a linear actuator to the B2771 blower for my father, I installed it "upside down" and added a rubber boot over the motor end. One would be hard pressed to get snow in the motor now!

 

[RCW]

These all look great!

I've run a front-mounted tractor snowblower for 17 years - 12 with a JD425 garden tractor/47" blower and 5 with the BX.

Bet I haven't changed the deflector 5 times in 17 years. My area can get some big snow. (18-24" forecast for weekend)

I usually want to blow a long-way so I only move the snow once, and I usually have room to do that... I accommodate via chute rotation if near the road, etc.

I rotate the Kubota manually now, but had hydraulic on JD425 blower.

My only question -

Why do you need to adjust the deflector often? Tight quarters? Something else?

I miss the powered rotation, but never thought of a need to adjust the deflector much.

If it is tight quarters - I get that, since I don't deal with that much. I do have to pay attention if doing neighbors', which I do occasionally.

Trust me, not being a smart a$$. Just trying to understand it.

Honestly, I've been considering a similar project just because it's kinda cool to do...that's good enough reason in my book too!

Thanks!

 

[asgard]

If I was you I would modify the attachment of the actuator from the long bolt with a spacer to something more robust. The unit takes quite the beating when in the up position and any drag on the actuator through snow or ice build up will cause the actuator to torque. Thes units are cast aluminum and not very strong.
I had mine like that and spotted a very fine stress fracture beside where the bolt went through after just a couple of uses. I now have a better mounting.
Just a thought.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

These all look great!

My only question -

Why do you need to adjust the deflector often? Tight quarters? Something else?

Trust me, not being a smart a$$. Just trying to understand it.

Honestly, I've been considering a similar project just because it's kinda cool to do...that's good enough reason in my book too!

Thanks!

RCW - good question, asked honestly, so I'll try to answer it honestly here, from my experience. Of course others will have their own experiences which are pretty much guaranteed to differ from mine!

When I blow snow at the airport I'm working between two hangars which sit about 45 degrees to the prevailing wind. The resulting turbulent airflow around the hangars is absolutely wild. At one end of the row hangar (it's 240 feet long) I have the wind fully behind the discharged snow. If I keep the chute up high I'll end up covering all the parked airplanes with snow. Under these conditions I deflect the chute down pretty much as low as it will go to limit the throw distance.

At the other end of the row hangar the wind is curling around the corner of the hangar, almost pushing the blown snow right back into the blower. I adjust the chute for maximum distance of throw to get it moved out of the wind.

Here at home it again is a combination of effects that come into play. Wind is the more critical factor, while the moisture content of the snow itself is likely the next biggest factor. If the snow is wet, one wants to keep that stream of heavy, destructive stuff aimed down as low as one can get to keep from shooting it into things you don't want to destroy (I've knocked a mailbox right off the post with it... Ooops!). If it's super wet slush, the chute has to be pointed up, otherwise the slop will drop right beside the blower.

Like you, I wasn't sure I would use the chute deflector very often. In honesty, on the home tractor there are times when it doesn't get adjusted at all during an entire snow blowing session. That's when we have light winds, good consistent snow, and nothing parked in the way. Other times I'll be almost constantly changing the discharge angle up and down to deal with varying winds, varying snow conditions, and obstacles I don't want to 'snow blast".

With respect to rotation of the chute, I'm with some of the others who have posted here saying they can blow snow into a pile by cranking the chute to match tractor speed. I definitely can't do that with the hydraulic motor rotating the chute. The 12V winch-powered chute can put the snow into a pile but it's not as easy as with the hand crank. The hydraulic wins hands-down when I'm making multiple passes up and down and sending the snow always in the same direction - being able to quickly rotate the chute 180 degrees at the end of a pass is a real advantage.

 

[RCW]

RCW - good question, asked honestly, so I'll try to answer it honestly here, from my experience. Of course others will have their own experiences which are pretty much guaranteed to differ from mine!

Thanks much for the explanation! Certainly all logical. I've used them for years, and the few times I've adjusted the deflector were for exactly your circumstances. Stiff wind has been the culprit most often.

Appreciate it!

 

[MuttCat]

Yep, tight quarters. Two vehicles, wood rack, retaining wall, 1st pass out is into the wind, so yes, being able to aim the discharge helps a lot. Up by the road it doesn't matter, but down close to the house is a pain. We're going to make a pattern for the cover today. The forecast is for 18+ tommorrow, another 5-8 Sunday, and another 5-8 Wed or Thurs. Wood is in, fridge is stocked, bourbon in the cabinet.

 

[MuttCat]

***************UPDATE****************

Trial by fire, or snow as it was. Solid 12 inches, actuator worked fanatastic. What a pleasure not having snow blown in my face. I was able to place the discharge exactly where I wanted it to go. In fact, I could get right up along side the vehicles and firewood and with the deflector angled just about straight up blow the snow up and over! Money well spent.

The snow was powder, not wet at all, so later in the season another test. But nothing got loose or broke. Snow did stick to the actuator, so I will definitely get after the Mrs. to whip up a cover. We ditched the nylon after she found some heavy vinyl, which is orange...perfect. I will stick a picture in here when it is done.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

I added a 4" stroke linear actuator for the deflector and a surplus power seat motor for chute rotation. I tapped into the aux power source at the rear of the BX and fashioned a switch box attached to the ROPS and used momentary reverse polarity rockers. I put in a 4-wire trailer pigtail so I can easily disconnect the blower "power" without messing with wires each season.

I can give more details if you want. They work fantastic in the harsh weather. The only thing is I wish they were a bit faster. But this sure does beat manual rotation or getting off the tractor to change the deflector! And it allows me to put a cab on.

As a follow-up to this conversation I'll mention that last night I got to try out my modified B2550 front mounted blower for the first time. Two hours of heavy work, often with banks the full height of, or higher than the blower.

The linear actuator to control discharge chute elevation works ok. Just ok. This is as a result of the metal of the discharge chute being of fairly light gauge. I believe I will have to re-install it at a later date with much better bracketry that will substantially reinforce the chute and the actuator attachment points.

As for the power seat motor as a chute rotator, I owe DanR a debt of gratitude for the technical info he shared. This thing works beautifully. To rotate the chute from stop to stop requires 11 seconds. I thought this would be too slow. Nope, turns out that it's just about perfect.

The work I was doing last night had me battling a strong wind, blowing the area in front of our hangars - that area is about 100 yards long and about 20 yards wide. With the wind last night, I had to blow only moving westward and vary the chute direction depending on the wind which was shifting through about 30 degrees from the east to south-east. This had me moving the chute almost constantly. I could not be happier with the way the rotation worked.

I've mounted the switches for chute control just beside the 4wd control on the right fender. Excellent position as my hand naturally rests nearby on the 3pt hitch control because I use a rear scraper blade to try to get down through some of the ice that has built up through our multiple freeze/thaw cycles.

I've wired both actuators to a 4-pin circular metal round trailer connector with the connector mounted to a bracket attached to one of the unused frame mounting holes just under the front right corner of the tractor. Works a charm.

Again, many thanks to DanR for pointing me in the right direction on the power seat motor.

 

[MuttCat]

I was concerned that my setup would be kind of wonky the way it is attached to the chute. I even read posts online about leaving everything a bit loose so that the actuator could move without binding. So, I went with the fender washers on both sides of the steel to provide support and spread the stress. And, the nylocks are snugged fairly tight. The nylon spacers allow proper movement. Nothing wobbles at all...several hours of snowblowing on it now. We're on the second version of the cover. The material is a pvc covered fabric similar to what's used on rain gear. This does keep snow and slush and muck off the entire actuator...just needed some fine tuning.

 

[MuttCat]

Snowing 8" to 12" now...

Anyway, sleeve is done for now.