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Snow brings a lot of joy to children, and for adults, grueling work begins, associated with cleaning the paths and the area adjacent to the house. In the northern regions, where there is a large amount of precipitation, technology helps to cope with the problem. If you have a rotary snow blower for a walk-behind tractor and, of course, the traction unit itself, cleaning the area will turn into entertainment.
Features of the snow blower
All snow removal Rotary-type equipment for walk-behind tractors has almost the same design. Only the technical characteristics of different models may differ. Most often, this is due to the working width, snow throw range, height of the cut layer and adjustment of the working mechanism.
As an example, consider a snow blower on a Neva walk-behind tractor. There are several types of attachments. All of them consist of a steel body, inside of which a screw is installed. The front of the snowblower is open. Here snow is captured while the walk-behind tractor is moving. There is a diverter sleeve located on top of the body. It consists of a nozzle with a visor attached. Turn the cap to set the direction of snow ejection. On the side there is a chain drive connected to a belt drive. It transmits torque from the engine to the auger.On the back of the snow blower there is a mechanism that allows coupling with a walk-behind tractor.
Now let's take a closer look at what snow blowers are made of inside. Bearings are attached to the side walls of the housing. The auger shaft rotates on them. There are also skis attached to each side at the bottom. They make it easier to move the nozzle through the snow. The drive is located on the left side. Inside it consists of two sprockets and a chain. There is a leading element on the top of the body. This sprocket is connected through a shaft to a pulley, which receives torque from the motor of the walk-behind tractor, that is, a belt drive. The lower driven element is fixed to the screw shaft. This sprocket is connected by a chain to the driving element.
The design of the screw resembles the mechanism of a meat grinder. The basis is a shaft along which the knives are fastened in a spiral on the left and right sides. Metal blades are fixed between them in the center.
Now let's look at how a snow blower works. While the walk-behind tractor is moving, torque from the engine is transmitted through a belt drive to a chain drive. The auger shaft begins to rotate, and the knives capture the snow falling into the housing. Since they have a spiral design, the snow mass is raked towards the center of the body. Metal blades pick up the snow and then push it into the nozzle with great force.
Model of snow blower SM-600N for the Neva walk-behind tractor
One of the popular snow blowers for the Neva walk-behind tractor is the model SM-600N. Attachments are designed for intensive long-term work. The SM-600N model is compatible with many other brands of walk-behind tractors: Plowman, MasterYard, Oka, Compact, Cascade, etc.The front canopy is installed. Torque from the engine is transmitted by a belt drive. The snow blower SM-600N has a snow stripe width of 60 cm. The maximum thickness of the cut layer is 25 cm.
Snow removal with the SM-600N attachment occurs at speeds of up to 4 km/h. The maximum ejection range is 7 m. There is an adjustment of the height of formation capture from the lower ski. The operator sets the direction of snow ejection by turning the visor on the sleeve.
The video shows the SM-600N snow blower:
Installing a snow blower on a walk-behind tractor
The snow blower for the Neva walk-behind tractor is fixed to a rod located on the front of the frame. To connect, you need to do the following:
- The trailer part of the walk-behind tractor frame has a pin. It must be removed before installing the snow blower.
- The following steps are aimed at attaching the hitch. There are two bolts at the edges of the mechanism. They are designed to secure the connection. The bolts must be tightened after coupling.
- Now you need to install the belt drive. To do this, remove the protective casing covering the working pulley from the walk-behind tractor. The drive belt is first put on the snow blower roller, which is connected by a shaft to the drive sprocket of the chain drive. Next, the belt is pulled onto the drive pulley of the walk-behind tractor. After completing all these steps, the protective casing is put in place.
That's the whole installation process, only before starting you need to adjust the belt tension. It shouldn’t slip, but it shouldn’t be over-tightened either. This will accelerate belt wear.
Preparing the snow blower for work does not take much time.The attachment can be left connected to the walk-behind tractor throughout the winter. If the dimensions do not allow entry into the garage, it is not difficult to remove the snow blower and, if necessary, attach it again.
Recommendations for using a snow blower
Before you begin clearing snow, you need to check the area for foreign objects. The snow blower is made of metal, but getting hit by a piece of brick, rebar or other hard object will result in the blades jamming. They may break from a strong blow.
They start moving the walk-behind tractor only when there are no strangers within a radius of 10 m. Snow thrown out of the sleeve can cause injury to a passing person. It is advisable to work as a snow blower on flat terrain, where the snow has not yet compacted and is frozen. In case of strong vibration, belt slippage or other malfunctions, stop work until the problem is resolved.
Whatever brand of rotary snow blower you choose, the operating principle of the attachment is the same. If you want something cheaper, then you can buy a blade shovel for the walk-behind tractor.
