Unique blower

Yep. I have one. I never figured out the reason why it’s made that way. My dad bought this in 1969 used. It’s a 1968 model. Moved a lot of snow with that machine.
I try and get it out once a year to keep it running. Was just thinking this week about getting it out for it’s run. A little snow coming today. So maybe tomorrow.

Noel
 

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I'm not a snow blower expert by any stretch. On my blower the engine crankshaft points frontward so there is a gear box at the auger to turn the power transmission 90 degrees.

On those blowers the crankshaft is crosswise so all the rotating shafts are parallel. It won't require a power hogging gear box at the auger. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire drive line is chains and/or belts.
 
When I first saw it, I thought it could have a reduced capacity since it feeds from a smaller area of the fan compared to the ordinary full open face. But then I thought with feeding on the edge of the fan it hits the edge of the paddle where it needs to be. So Noel, can you tell us how it does?
 
It is run by belt and chains. Well Shorty , depending on the type of snow it might throw 20’ or so. Not as good as some of today’s designs, but it does the job. It’s heavy compared to today’s blowers. Dads is a 8 hp 26” cut. I think most were smaller. 5 hp and 24” cut maybe. You can see the extension, on the front bucket, I put on it years ago, so that kind of gives you the idea of the amount of snow we were in. Man, that old thing did a lot of work.

Noel
 
Well, I found out the answer. a year after last posting here. I bought one like that, 2 or 3 weeks ago. Saw it on CL over the summer and realized it was only a few miles away.
Bob Cat brand, I occasionally ran across the ad and figured "I got plenty of snow handling equip", especially since for the most part we haven't been getting the snow we did in the late 70s/early 80s around here. And I have that Ariens GT with the huge 4 foot blower. except this year I don't. And after a couple of winters of not even needing a snow blade or blower, (maybe once a year) and we got any snow of consequence, my 2 cycle paddle style has been more than enough for the job. We're making up for it this season, in a big way.

But since my GT19 is holed up and drifted in 30 miles away, it has a deck on it instead of a blower at present, and it killed a bearing for the jackshaft that runs thru the front axle and on which the PTO driveshaft couples to, and besides my own, and a couple of neighbors right around me instead, these past few years I have had to haul a snowblower 30 miles away (opposite way from where my Ariens tractor is snowed in at present) to my in law's house which is easier to do in the bed of a pickup without having to drag a trailer..... I went ahead and took a chance on it.
I got it for a better deal than the advertised price but couldn't try to start it at the place I bought it.

I've had several walk behind snow blowers over the years. Most recently, (last winter) I sold my Deere 828D// which was a fantastic unit. just too big, as a backup for my tractor/blower and while that was working it took up too much space for the amount I used it at the time. Id had that machine for 6-7 years.
but you know what they say, don't need something til its gone.

When I first saw it, I thought it could have a reduced capacity since it feeds from a smaller area of the fan compared to the ordinary full open face. But then I thought with feeding on the edge of the fan it hits the edge of the paddle where it needs to be. So Noel, can you tell us how it does?
yeah/ that was my concerns with that design, too. but noooo. I have been so far quite surprised at how far this thing blows the snow.
Mine has a 7hp Briggs L head, built in 1980. Most certainly the original engine. 1st 2 stage walk behind that I've had with something besides a Tecumseh Snow King, an engine I really like (as long as they have an adjustable carb on them!!)
This is the heaviest 24-28" 2 stage snow blower I have ever run. lotsa mass, and the chassis itself is "long" compared to other snowblowers that are this width. I have quickly discovered how much that actually helps traction, and actually digging in/ instead of wanting to walk on top of the concrete.
Over this past summer I also acquired another 2 stage, a "Lawn Boy" (really a Toro with different paint and stickers) 824E ("E"lectric start) Y2K vintage.
last time it snowed, I ran the LB in my gravel drive, with skids set up out of the gravel. and it didn't want to dig in, wanted to "climb the pile".
Today I ran the Bobcat after yesterday's snow. and it got right down to the bottom of the snow, and I could not believe how far this unit throws the snow, compared to that green Toro. (Toro has lost alot, vs what they used to build when it comes to 2 stage snow blowers) I did run the Toro in the attached drive earlier today. big difference, between these 2 machines! 2 weekends ago I took all 3 of my walk behind snow blowers to the mother in law's. Ran the Bobcat on the drive, and the 2 cycle rubber paddle MTD on the back concrete patio. took the Toro along as a backup, didn't need to take that one out of the bed of the truck.
 
This blower (engine) did have a few quirks, when I got it. Hot spark, nice tan burning plug, wouldn't run on its own, would only run on whatever I sprayed in the spark plug hole. I rebuilt the carb, it was surprisingly clean to start out with. STill ran it in the ultrasonic, while I ran to town for the kit. (2 pc Flo jet) Only issue I could find was the gasket mounting the carb to its elbow was out of place (installed wrong) only thru 1 hole in the gasket, someone missed the 2nd hole in that gasket at some point (so it was sucking air) Got carb back on and it started easy. but it surged and bogged badly under any sort of a load. I could adjust to compensate for that but then it would not run clean when not under load. (surged worse than any non adj carb equipped Tecumseh I have ever seen)
Poured a bunch of MMO and Seafoam together into gas tank, I let it just sit and run with this in the tank about a 1/2 hour straight, just sitting in the driveway a couple days ago. Blowing snow today it was much better. Surge was gone. but it's still not happy with initial carb adjust, while under load/ or corrected mixture, while not under load. but, as I ran it today it got better.... I think I'm almost to the "split the difference" point in how it liked the carb set for the 2 different running conditions/ It didn't bog nearly as bad under load and didn't surge when it under load, as I got closer to being done using it for today.... I'm thinking it had some sticky valves, from sitting most of the last 10 or so years.... PO said he last tried to run it 5 years ago, but it kept stalling/ so he parked it. and sat again since then, 'til I got it.
still running on the initial tank of gas I put into it when I rebuilt the carb. Its huge/ at least a full gallon. very clean inside tank, like a new one.

this blower also has another previously unseen feature. (vs any other mower or snowblower I have ever owed in the past)
It has oil "lube cups" with spring loaded covers at important lube points, like an old electric motor/ instead of either grease zerks or "nothing".
 
Well gonna see what happens. I think I like this bobcat snow blower better than the green one. I listed the green one on Chicago CL. For now at least, gonna keep the bobcat instead and if I trip on another one like the bobcat for a good deal, I'll probably snap it up.
 
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