My Baby Alice’s Snowthrower (B-206)

[dratkinson]

A snowthrower attachment was not made for the B-206, and I wanted a snowthrower. Why? Fun, fun, fun...

I found a 32" snowthrower (MTD?) that looked like it could be made to work. Casters. Added ACE cast iron casters (2-1/2") for use on mine and my neighbors’ concrete drives and sidewalks. An O-ring is placed on each caster (between the fixed and swivel portions) to seal out moisture. The O-rings are 3/16" thick, and the length is the size that is 1/8" smaller than the size that is noticeably too big (loose and not sealing). A needle injector is used to fill each caster bearing with grease. Hinges on rear attachment ears. Reattached snowthrower rear mounting ears on hinges ... so they would fold down and slide under BA’s front axle.

Belt rotation reversed. This snowthrower expects the belts to run CW (when viewed from top…engine perspective), but BA’s mule drive gives CCW rotation to snowthrower input pulley. So I crossed snowthrower belts to convert CCW rotation to CW. Pulley sizes. Recomputed pulley sizes (Excel spreadsheet) to maintain original auger speed and keep the same PTO belt as used on mower deck. Belt separation idler. The belt idler (horizontal cylinder where belt crosses) is made from 1" black pipe (1" x 4") and cheap ACE ball bearings ... keeps crossed belt from rubbing. Selected position for this idler by placing a bolt between the crossed (and touching) belts ... when bolt was held horizontal and parallel to snowthrower frame, I made a bracket that held bolt (and idler) in same position.

Attachment pins. Snowthrower attaches with 4 pins: 2 on rear attachment ears (attaches to new 3/4" horizontal rod), and 2 on front attachment ears (attaches to new front bracket) lock keepers in place. The front pins and keepers were added to this snowthrower (not previously supplied) and are required to keep snowthrower from jumping up and off new front bracket. Jack bolts. Vertical jack bolts were added to front snowthrower attachment points and press down on attachment bracket. They are used to raise/level snowthrower in up position ... needed to clear curbs and get into my neighbors' driveways. Mounting snowthrower. It’s easy. --Remove 4 attachment pins. --Fold rear attachment ears flat. --Either (1) roll BA forward and onto snowthrower, or (2) push snowthrower back and under BA (easy because casters bear most of snowthrower’s weight and it can easily be pushed front/back, left/right). --Unfold and connect rear attachment ears. Lock and pin in place. --Connect PTO belt and belt keepers. --Standing in front of snowthrower, use right hand to lift front of snowthrower, use left hand on lift lever to guide front attachment points onto front bracket. Lift/lock and pin front keepers in place. The snowthrower’s frame is a little too wide for Baby Alice and I can only steer about 1/2-turn left/right ... you can see some tire marks on the snowthrower frame just to the left of the front tire. But this has not proven to be a big problem. Mower deck lift attachment quick link visible under chassis with lift handle down.

Ready for snow. Spout rotator attachment was reworked and now rotates about 270 degrees ... I can now blow snow almost directly backwards (but not quite). This lets me go into a tight place and blow the snow out and back behind me ... then I can finish it off after I back out. Casters hold snowthrower about 1/2" off pavement. I can drive around in circles in my driveway, with the snowthrower down, and nothing drags/scrapes the ground … the casters are a dream in use. This original set of casters has been in use for 3 years and the snowthrower ground clearance is unchanged at 1/2" ... the casters wear like iron! As good as the iron casters are, they are too small and narrow to be used in gravel or dirt ... maybe they could be scaled up to use a small tire.

Casters are well protected behind snowthrower and only running through a snow depth of 1/2". When raised, snowthrower is about 5" high ... enough to cross the curb/sidewalk and into my neighbors' driveways. Add about 100 lbs of fixed weights (C-clamped to 3-point) + 200 lbs of portable weight = she goes up my sloping driveway without slipping ... much, much better than turf tires and chains. When BA's in full song blowing snow and nearing the end of my driveway, the snow plume is crossing the street (to the east) and going into the neighbor’s back yard. Fun, fun, fun... Or I can blow my driveway's snow south and into my other neighbor's driveway ... then go clean him out. "Double your pleasure, double your..." fun, fun, fun... Now if it would only snow about a foot (or two) so I can go play ... I've got some drift cutters I want to try out. Question. Anyone know where I can find a front blade that uses the same attachment arrangement as this snowthrower? It should fit easily. I’ve been looking in Denver for one, but so far no luck. /r David in Denver

[Michael A]

How much snow did you get yesterday?

[comet66]

quote:

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Originally posted by Michael A
How much snow did you get yesterday?

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From the pictures, I'd say with that machine just sitting in the driveway, The snow was afraid to fall anywhere in the neighborhood.;):o) Pretty nice engineering job, looks very well done!Thanks for sharing it!!

[wantedinct]

Looks great! Now you need a cab !!

[MPH]

My brother in Ft Collins talks of a paper call 'the Fence Post' Not sure it's in Denver too but seems he said it is state wide. Might find a blade in it too match your blower. Nice job redoing the blower to fit on.

[AGCO918]

Very cute tractor and blower setup you have there.

[Michael A]

Yes MPH The Fence Post is a state wide magazine, in fact I just got done reading this weeks issue. I think he would have more luck in The Denver Post or Rockymountain News. I seen a Simplicity listed for sale there and they never returned my call.

[HubbardRA]

Good job! I mated a Sears blower to my 716H a couple years ago. These can be fun projects. I still haven't built a spout rotater. I think I will need one if it ever snows enough to use it. Not much adjustment with bunji cords.

[dratkinson]

Thanks all. I religiously check the Denver Post classified looking for stuff of interest ... including MPH's tractor-powered/rear-mounted leaf vacuum (no luck yet). Before getting this snowthrower to work on my Baby Alice, I was using a small Sears 5 hp, 23" track drive snowblower to clear my neighbors’ driveways/walks and mine. While the track drive is much better than wheels/chains (IMHO), I still had to make a few modifications to it.

This little snowblower has a 5 hp Tecumseh (though it's really a 4+ hp) and after derating about 18% (3.5% per 1000’ of elevation) it’s really a 3+ hp engine ... so a little small for the job I ask it to do. Added the Tygon tubing as a fuel gauge ... was always forgetting to check the 1/2 gal tank and running out of fuel while clearing out a neighbor’s driveway. Added a spout discharge deflector. The control was made from a twist-lock control cable (auto parts store). The cable sheath is protected inside clear vinyl tubing (ACE). The cable lubricant used must not freeze ... forgot what I used second, but the first stuff froze up on me. The weather cover on the spout cable-end is a piece of split wire loom used to protect a trailer-lights' wiring harness (trailer supply); it is clamped to the cable and the cable sheath slides up inside of it. It works well. Added iron casters. Got tired of replacing the slides each year. They worked so well I knew I had to also put them on BA’s snowthrower. I thought I originated the idea of using casters on a snowblower, but have since learned that Gravely was doing this 20 years ago. Oh, well...

The city snowplows pile the snow at the corners of intersecting streets and over the sidewalks. This stuff is mostly ice and is not easily dented by smooth augers. Added 1" x 1/8" x 1" angle teeth and spaced them to cover the entire auger width. The angle is welded on top of the auger and sits 1/8" above the auger. These teeth will chew through 12" of piled up snow/ice per minute. Balance and vibration do not seem to be a problem as the auger is only spinning about 120 RPM. It works well. Added rubber (4) strips to the impeller to seal the space between the impeller and blower housing. I cut these strips from a replacement rubber impeller intended for a Jacobsen snowthrower. They work well. This snowblower works well ... I just have to take small bites. /r David in Denver