Flap Mod to snoblower?

[thump55]

Anyone done a flap mod on their snowblower? How'd it turn out?

Flap mod is basically adding flexible material to tighten up the gap where the auger (on a single stage) or paddle (on a two stage) meets the chute. This makes the blower work better as it throws snow farther and has less "blow by" meaning the snow that comes out the front.

See video for example of before/after the mod:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umwa71YRrt0

[Clairebear]

I did it 5 years ago and what a huge difference. I used 3/8 inch elevator belting and made steel plated and bolted each flight twice. I left a few thous clearance but I always spray a little oil in housing to lube them up a bit. Once they're blowing snow they self lubricate.

[thump55]

I've never done it, but going to try this year on a mid 70's Deere tractor with single stage blower.

[REW]

T hump,
I was going to do it and as a matter of fact, my brother sent me his old paddles from his single stage blower to use for fabrication.

But, once I got into the blower and started doing some close looking I made the decision to just leave it alone.

The main thing that I did was to straighten the ends of the impeller blades that had gotten the worst of it from the years of use and banging into ice.

After getting the impeller blades straight, I had reduced the gap to a reasonable level and found that the results were fine for my needs. I added about 30% in distance by just getting the blades back where they belonged.

I also found that with the shape of the impeller blades in my particular machine that I am not sure how much I can even add to make a difference.

I may take a 3rd look at it again this year. The box with the belting is on the shelf, should I decide to go with the additional flaps.

But, I have seen some other machines that had some pretty huge gaps between the ends of the impeller blades and the blower housing that had the modification added to the blades and the owners found that the change made a significant improvement in the performance of the blower.

------------------------------------
In addition, I was put onto a product by a friend, which made a pretty big difference to help with the performance and to minimize the clogging of the machine.

https://www.amazon.com/DuPont-Teflon...sr=1-1-catcorr

This is the Dupont Teflon Sonw repellant spray can. Give the inside of the chute and impeller blades a good coat before starting the season and a repeat as you go through the season.

This really helps to keep the snow flowing freely without sticking to the inside of the blower.

Take care

[HodakaD]

I did it on my 1972 John Deere 140 with single stage blower. I used a piece of baler belt I bought at fleet farm for the flap. I also changed the sprocket on the auger to speed it up. It throws snow a lot better then it used to, and it hardly ever plugs up any more.

[FJR4me]

I added them to my 47 Dual Stage Blower on a JD425 about 10 years ago.


They work fantastic and have held up really well. Still going strong.

[pjcodner]

I added them to my JD 726 blower. It helped some but I think if I could add a taller chute that would help even more. It doesn't clog up as much when blowing the wet snow.

[HodakaD]

I forgot about the taller chute. I did that to mine as well. I have model 49 John Deere blower and the early ones had a short chute. I cut off the short one and welded a taller one on it.

[Suzuki]

I did it to my Cub Cadet 7hp 5 or so years ago. Its louder but definitely works better.

[blackeyes]

I added them to my 24" 5 hp a few years back. Made all the difference in the world. It throws wet snow a lot better and light snow probably 50% farther.