China or Ice ?

WFM · Jan 18, 2019

I was out setting the snowbanks back with my tractor and bucket and my new Woodmaxx snowblower. I had a good sized area that I had plowed up and had frozen snow. I set the frozen banks in a couple spots with the blower and it worked fine then I had a vibration. I got off to check it and found the center auger twisted and flattened.
So is the issue cheap china metal ? bad welds ? Or frozen snow chunks ? or a operator that thought the blower was indestructible ?
This was literally my 3rd time using it. And Sunday were finally gonna get some snow. The forecast is for 24" here and the blower is broken.

North Idaho Wolfman · Jan 18, 2019

Plese don't take this too harshly...

It's a SNOW BLOWER.

Not an Ice chopper.

Ice is very hard on a snow blower, ice can be as hard as concrete, so as a comparison, try blowing a concrete block, you'll probably get the same results.

SidecarFlip · Jan 18, 2019

I'd say you got off lucky. That can be straightened. At least you didn't eat up the fan....

Michigankubota · Jan 18, 2019

The shear bolts should have protected the blower. Thats crazy. Im not sure how hard and fast u entered the bank but the steel auger should never had twisted like that. What did Woodmax say? They advertise a really great warranty and send parts direct to the owner. The steel paddle welded to the auger ends should be channel and not flat steel thats weak while in the flat position. Most blowers have heavy channel that is welded to the auger ends.

Tim Horton · Jan 18, 2019

Kind of a combination of what was said in posts 3 and 4......

I have moved once moved snow with my blower, but not until after I knew it was broken up well int chunks no bigger than a base ball size. It takes some doing and going slow but you still take chances.

Coincidentally, on my old cheap Buhler 500 blower the two center supports for the ends of the augers are angle iron.

Also it may be a good idea to take out the shear bolt for the auger, grease the contacting surfaces well that the shear bolt holds together, using anti seize compound, and replace the shear bolt with a know grade bolt specified for your blower. Even if the manual says a grade 5 sheer bolt for instance, no way to tell that is indeed the grade bolt there now.

Michigankubota · Jan 18, 2019

Good advice on the greasing of the shaft. My LP was seized when I bought it and wasn’t easy to free up. I assumed his being new that wasn’t the case for him.

WFM · Jan 19, 2019

It comes shipped with 1 , #2, 1/4" bolt for a shear pin. you can add 1 or 2 more if 1 shears to quickly. And the #2 bolt/pin did shear. The woodmax video does show them chewing up a frozen snowbank and blowing it back.
It happened on a Friday night at 5pm so I haven't spoken to Woodmaxx yet. I'll replace the shear pin this morning and get ready for our giant storm tomorrow.
The inner paddles of the blower are like 5/8". Heavy duty you could stick a log in there and never bend it. I work with sheet metal everyday and I'm not sure about straitening out the auger. I guess put the heat to it and bend it back but I'll hopefully get a replacement from them whither I pay or not I'd like it replaced.

dlundblad · Jan 19, 2019

I agree with wolfman on it not being an ice chopper, but shouldn't the shear pins have prevented this?

rjcorazza · Jan 19, 2019

I just checked my LuckNow blower, and all of the auger supports are oriented the same direction. In your picture the inner supports seem to be oriented opposite the others, in a direction that would seem to invite failure. If I am seeing the picture correctly, it is likely the failure occurred over a period of time, which may be why the shear bolts didn’t let go before damage.
I could be misinterpreting the photos, but it sure looks like a poor design to me.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Michigankubota · Jan 19, 2019

dlundblad said:
I agree with wolfman on it not being an ice chopper, but shouldn't the shear pins have prevented this?

I’ve hit frozen banks all season this winter, no issues. We normally have 200+ inches of snow but this year we’ve received lots of rain In December and January. I thinks it’s the design.

Michigankubota · Jan 19, 2019

WFM said:
It comes shipped with 1 , #2, 1/4" bolt for a shear pin. you can add 1 or 2 more if 1 shears to quickly. And the #2 bolt/pin did shear. The woodmax video does show them chewing up a frozen snowbank and blowing it back.
It happened on a Friday night at 5pm so I haven't spoken to Woodmaxx yet. I'll replace the shear pin this morning and get ready for our giant storm tomorrow.
The inner paddles of the blower are like 5/8". Heavy duty you could stick a log in there and never bend it. I work with sheet metal everyday and I'm not sure about straitening out the auger. I guess put the heat to it and bend it back but I'll hopefully get a replacement from them whither I pay or not I'd like it replaced.

The paddles are still straight and have no strength when used in that position.
My old farm king is less than half that thickness and I have never bent the paddles hitting frozen banks. There is a quality issue I believe.

Michigankubota · Jan 19, 2019

China has been using inferior metal to boost there profit at our expense for who knows how long. There was another report of body panels made in China out of spec for the big auto industry awhile back also.

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/09/29/gm-recall-3-3-million-vehicles-china-suspension/

bearbait · Jan 19, 2019

Last week we had heavy wet snow, just a couple inches so I used my back blade angled and turned backwards to move the snow on my road. This left the gravel on my road however it created large snowballs on the side of my road which froze solid. With the forecast for snow tomorrow I went back out yesterday and with the BB I pushed the balls on frozen snow off the side so if we do get the storm tomorrow they wouldn't be getting in the blower. Like you most times I learn the hard way but not this time. Wolfman was right with what he told you...a hard lesson learned but it can be fixed.

Michigankubota · Jan 19, 2019

Keep us in tune with Woodmaxxs response. Thanks

Bill15kv · Jan 20, 2019

I agree with Michigankubota, thats what the shear bolts are for. Their whole purpose is to break BEFORE that much damage occurs to the blower. Looks like both a weak build and cheap metal.
I hit a concrete curb with my MK Martin earlier this year, broke shear bolt and scraped the paint....

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Search

China or Ice ?

WFM

Well-known member

Attachments

North Idaho Wolfman

Moderator

SidecarFlip

Banned

Michigankubota

Member

Tim Horton

Active member

Michigankubota

Member

WFM

Well-known member

dlundblad

Member

rjcorazza

Member

Michigankubota

Member

Michigankubota

Member

Michigankubota

Member

bearbait

Well-known member

Michigankubota

Member

Bill15kv

New member