Pretengineer Posted January 27 Posted January 27 (edited) On my large frame tractor, I've been using a smaller (36") blower with moderate success over the past decade or so. I feel in the last few years, I've been blowing through belts like crazy (I roasted two over the weekend throwing 11" of snow VERY slowly). I corrected a pulley alignment issue between the engine and idler pulleys, but there is a severe misalignment between the blower pulley and the idler. The amount of belt "dust" on the blower pulley tells the story. The hitch (which came with the blower) is (was?) clearly an early model, that appears to be reworked to some extent by a previous owner. Does anyone have a similar picture of what factory belt alignment looked like? In good news, the power window motor chute rotator worked perfectly that I built while the snow fell. Edited January 27 by PhanDad Rotated first pic 180 deg 1 Quote
PhanDad Posted January 27 Posted January 27 It's been a long time since I ran a two pulley with front PTO on a "Sovereign" type tractor. The newer single pulley hitch using the center PTO is so much better. From the front frame pic of your tractor, it appears you have a "7100" series tractor in Duetz colors. Is there a reason you're not using a single pulley hitch? Here's some pics of running a 2 pulley hitch on a Sovereign 16GTH-L (repowered 17GTH-L): It appears you are running the same type of hitch. Maybe the pics will be of some use. PS - From your pic I rotated, it appears the hub of the driven pulley is facing to the left (toward the chain drive). That is the correct direction for the two pulley hitch. Quote
Pretengineer Posted January 27 Author Posted January 27 Thanks for the pics @PhanDad. You are correct, this is a Duetz, or at least it was at some point. I'm running the front hitch only because that's what the snowblower came with (or I found separately, can't recall). As the Cub Cadet motor the tractor came with (!!) didn't have a pulley on the front, I ended up gently modifying a Deere electric PTO/ Clutch to fit the motor. It seems that the longer belt/ single pulley setup is preferred. I'd love to move to that setup, but I haven't found a single pulley hitch locally (or elsewhere) and haven't had the appetite to cut my existing one apart yet, as this tractors primary purpose is snow removal. 2 Quote
PhanDad Posted January 27 Posted January 27 There apparently were two versions of the 2 pulley hitch; In the pics above, I don' t know which one was mounted on my 16GTH-L. Here's a series of pics showing the difference: Quote
Pretengineer Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 I think mine is sort of like the first. The more I think about it, the less I like the gymnastics the belt needs to go through on the front PTO. Being able to turn the snowblower on and off with a toggle switch is cool and all, but not throwing belts in the middle of blowing is even cooler. I ordered a 146" belt from Napa today. I know this is an inch shorter than stock, but I want to see if I can make this work. I read online about someone making a 145 work, so I can probably work something out. It looks like more snow is on the way this weekend, so I'll see how far I get before committing to cutting and welding the hitch for the rear (center?) PTO setup. I hope my BGB is up to this, it's only driven the hydro unit in my ownership. Quote
AC710 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Here is a photo of my 7016 lash-up with a mechanical PTO. It's hard to tell what the differences might be, but here are a few thoughts. I was blowing belts, too, and made some adjustments: - The bottom of the flat idler lines up almost directly with the driven blower pulley. I twisted the flat mounting bar (blue arrow) slightly to make it align better. I used a big crescent wrench and a cheater bar. You can see that the belt is now parallel to the rims. - Based on the position of the spring tightener bars there is a difference in belt length (yours, longer vs. mine, shorter) or pulley size. - The PTO pulley is vertical to the two idlers, so they make similar 90 degree turns and twists in the belt. - I am using belts from NAPA successfully. I don't know the belt length. Not much belt wear after adjustment, for 3 years now. I have heard others who prefer the long belt, single pulley to mid PTO setup, but not why they think it is better. Anyone want to enlighten me on the benefits? Thanks. 1 Quote
Pretengineer Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 Hmmm. I might be out of luck. Looking at this picture, it looks like I need a rear idler pulley to bring the belt around. I'm almost certain I'm missing pulley "B" in this picture. What a cruel hobby this is. Vintage garden tractors weren't on my hobby bingo card growing up. Quote
Pretengineer Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 @AC710great pictures, very helpful. How does the "V" portion of the belt ride on the edge of the blower pulley? That's where I'm seeing most of my wear presently. I'm running a 1/2" x 59" belt on mine, which is definitely a different length than factory, but it's what was needed to make it work. I'm guessing (someone else can chime in) the rear PTO setup bends the belt less. The front hitch forces the belt to twist 90 degree between each of the front idlers and the PTO leading to more belt stress (maybe). Quote
PhanDad Posted January 28 Posted January 28 48 minutes ago, Pretengineer said: Hmmm. I might be out of luck. Looking at this picture, it looks like I need a rear idler pulley to bring the belt around. I'm almost certain I'm missing pulley "B" in this picture. Maybe, but if you mow with the tractor, you have that pulley - it's the one that slides back and forth to adjust tension. Here's pics of both the left side and right side of the center PTO driving a snowblower using the single pulley hitch: In the above pic, you can see the adjusting slot for the pulley in question. I routinely run this 146" belt (shown above): https://www.vbelts4less.com/a144k-kevlar-v-belt I might be a bit tighter on initial install, but they do tend to stretch a bit. You can see the idler pulley is about as far back as it can go in the above pic. 54 minutes ago, Pretengineer said: I'm guessing (someone else can chime in) the rear PTO setup bends the belt less. The front hitch forces the belt to twist 90 degree between each of the front idlers and the PTO leading to more belt stress (maybe). I agree. Also more belt twisting and shorter overall length add to heat which doesn't help belt longevity. Quote
Pretengineer Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 (edited) I don't mow with this one- but I'll take a second look in the AM for that second pulley. This thing was a mess when I got it, so it wouldn't surprise me if that pulley was missing. But then again, my wife tells me I miss stuff all the time, so I certainly could have missed it. Also, @PhanDad, I love the part numbers written on the pulleys! Edited January 28 by Pretengineer Quote
acken Posted January 28 Posted January 28 Pay attention to PhanDad's last picture. When snowblower is being used idler pulley is in lower hole. When mowing, idler is in upper hole. 1 Quote
PhanDad Posted January 28 Posted January 28 1 hour ago, Pretengineer said: before committing to cutting and welding the hitch for the rear (center?) PTO setup. Dimensioned pic of single pulley hitch: 11 minutes ago, Pretengineer said: I love the part numbers written on the pulleys! I can't take credit for it - it came that way from part supplier, probably from eBay. Not too many years ago you could find deals on "surplus" parts. Always have a spare! 1 Quote
AC710 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 More photos and comments: Top of driven pulley - not much visible deposit or erosion evidence. The belt is seen a ways off the pulley due to camera position. Belt coming off the bottom is only slightly off center. mirror image of driven pulley. The belt keeper is on the bottom by the ground. Top opening of the tunnel on the right, looking up. The belt sits down in the groove as shown. There is nothing besides ordinary wear from running and it does not even push against the pulley rim very much. Looking down on the hitch pulleys from top of tunnel. The belt portions are about one inch apart where they come off the pulleys 2 Quote
AC710 Posted January 28 Posted January 28 I'm liking your power window motor chute rotator. Could you tell a little more about it? What motor? How you attached it to the rotator tube? Use a DPDT momentary contact switch? Looks like it might be a relatively economical upgrade that I could do. Or anyone know of a thread here about this mod? I have seen other versions while browsing hereabouts. Quote
PhanDad Posted January 28 Posted January 28 (edited) 49 minutes ago, AC710 said: anyone know of a thread here about this mod? Here's an old post about them: Found some others: https://simpletractors.com/forums/topic/50125-power-deflector-on-a-round-chute/ Edited January 28 by PhanDad Added links 1 1 Quote
Pretengineer Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 (edited) @AC710 sorry I missed your question. Mine is made up of a generic GM PW motor, a 3D printed coupler (to fit the motor spline) and a bracket/ bearing assembly I whipped up. I'm controlling it as you said- with a momentary DPDT switch. It's not perfect, but it was a welcome improvement in the last storm. Happy to take some pictures if you want. It's a bit crude. This is the window motor I'm using- https://a.co/d/02iES4jg I chose it for no reason except price. I think I got mine "used" for $18. This is the switch I'm using: https://a.co/d/0336Ftvr Edited February 2 by Pretengineer 1 Quote
AC710 Posted February 2 Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Pretengineer said: but it was a welcome improvement in the last storm. Thanks for the reply. I had already ordered a motor and switch - looks like the same thing you are using. I don't have experience with 3D printers, but somehow that doesn't seem proper on my 50 year old tractor 🤠. I have seen other options, so I'll see what shows up. I have a whole shop full of appropriate junk to make this work, anyway. Did you run the switch to your dashboard? I will need to include a plug-in somewhere along the way since this is not a dedicated blower tractor. Our snow is almost gone, when we usually have a foot or more on the ground and frequent snows all winter in our ski town. It's a balmy +40 degrees with ice-free lakes that I should be ice fishing on. Quote
mick Posted February 2 Posted February 2 On 1/27/2026 at 1:53 PM, Pretengineer said: Thanks for the pics @PhanDad. You are correct, this is a Duetz, or at least it was at some point. I'm running the front hitch only because that's what the snowblower came with (or I found separately, can't recall). As the Cub Cadet motor the tractor came with (!!) didn't have a pulley on the front, I ended up gently modifying a Deere electric PTO/ Clutch to fit the motor. It seems that the longer belt/ single pulley setup is preferred. I'd love to move to that setup, but I haven't found a single pulley hitch locally (or elsewhere) and haven't had the appetite to cut my existing one apart yet, as this tractors primary purpose is snow removal. I could be wrong but it appears as though you might have the belt reversed; your hitch which appears to be the same as mine ( mounted on my 3416-H) has as you know two idler pulleys however one is a flat idler and the other a "V" idler, check and be certain the V side of the belt is riding in the V idler and the flat side of the belt is riding on the flat idler. I know it sounds crazy but check it out before pulling all your hair out or doing anything drastic. Quote
Pretengineer Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 Thanks for the suggestion @mick, definitely thought of many facets of weirdness while considering this. The V-idle clearly is not in line (or even close to being in line) with the blower pulley that I've been considering improving. The bearings on the v-idler are also pretty reached, which has been throwing heat into the belt as well (though I bought a generic Stens pulley of approximately the same size, so that issue should be resolved). Based on the condition of the hitch, I suspect mine has been "reworked" by a PO for unknown reasons. I'm working on installing a belt to be driven by the BGB in hopes to increase my options when a belt goes. Quote
Bill725 Posted February 3 Posted February 3 Here's the hitch. https://www.ebay.com/itm/227198554713?_skw=simplicity+snowblower+hitch&itmmeta=01KGHGZYW78S46VYVZGGGWJ5TF&hash=item34e616d259:g:1vwAAeSwWaZpf9hV&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAABAO7PUuNWmJ%2B%2BUShgI9tQz%2Fptedn95cbRollO8jz1z07ie6klC36bP58fB8W3UVXOmniMDk4gprNNT4uTLB8izzhqob9na39vafnCpL12hVdlJ1yD7xG%2FGlQhG0T%2Bs2j%2FAwA5AwT6TqKwYoEhUGf33Wd8FSfL3EoX3Ffp2ShCTommoT9lg%2FIO70Z1M2Cwlhr3C6raKRtOOLecwvtaqJHRI3B3ilVf73wfDkJou1IX08a%2FkYWaE4QR0JXZL4FYM2sPNkMUN7gOkpQ1bweTqXDfdt89clTPxzkLf1No1%2FKD0tNRZtkHUFFUiYQosOBDFR6c6NvNTYdjWtsYdfWLBWJhdm4%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR6Tu_7CEZw 1 Quote
Pretengineer Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 @Bill725 In my Indiana Jones voice: "that belongs in a museum!" Quote
PhanDad Posted February 4 Posted February 4 45 minutes ago, GregB said: Gonezo. Sold Wow, listed at $200 plus $35 shipping. That one must have been made out of @Brettw's unobtainium material. 1 Quote
Bill725 Posted February 4 Posted February 4 (edited) With the state of Simplicity, Briggs and Stratton CI engine and starting to see it with Kohler/Relhko (Kohler spelled backwards) engine parts, if you want to keep these running you are going to have to pay. I plan to die before I run out of parts. Edited February 4 by Bill725 3 Quote
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