Re: (ET) Snow!

["Max Hall" <maxmatic attbi com>]

My thoughts on this; and I did as well in this last slushy New England
snowstorm as I ever have (in terms of chute-clogging, at least...)

General philosophy: It seems to me that the two worst factors are wetness,
and slowness. The
wetter the snow, the higher its velocity has to be not to jam up!

And thus these practices:
- I have surface rust inside the chute... I always rub paraffin wax (the
kind you can buy at the supermarket for
sealing jars in canning) inside the chute, that helps! Once each storm...
- tractor speed counts: get a head of steam up for *light* snow
- I sometimes get a pile of snow in the mouth of the beast, and some
velocity, *before* I flip the PTO switch
- when you're done with a pass, stop the tractor and turn off the PTO; let
the auger spin down... don't let the snow pile up just outside the chute;
that's the beginning of a jam.
- don't even bother trying to throw thin slush... it just gets jammed. Use
the
thrower as a plow.
- *really* wet slush won't clog the chute... and it's beautiful to watch!
Like a damn fireboat.
- if you think you're getting clogged, rotate the chute aiming (if you can)
- sometimes it clogs! I have become pretty quick at getting it out... best
tool is hockey stick. Use the blade for flicking the top layers of 
compacted
slush out, then the butt of the handle to pop the remaining crud downward.

As some of you know, I have a second set of 6 batts on the tractor in
winter, so I may have more toque available to the thrower. (Peep it at
http://www.maxamtic.com/elektrak.htm)

LOVE that TRACTOR!

-Maxo


http://www.maxmatic.com/


----- Original Message -----
From: <rajrajan001 attbi com>
To: "Rob Brockway" <getractor yahoo com>
Cc: <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 9:34 PM
Subject: Re: (ET) Snow!


> Rob,
>
> Sounds good.  How long (# of years) do you think your treatment will 
> last.
I
> have been thinking about a high quality paint or epoxy paint on very well
> prepared surfaces to fix the thrower and mower deck sticking problems.
These
> are my only sore points with Elec-Trak.
>
> James
> >
> > I was using my machine in the same storm.  One thing I did this year to
prevent
> > clogging.  I removed the shoot, sanded the loose rust then painted the
surfaces
> > with epoxy resin (thinned with 20%-30% acetone).  Unlike paint, the
epoxy is
> > thick enough to encapsulate the surface roughness and has increadible
adhesion.
> > The acetone makes it brushable and flashes off quickly allowing the
epoxy to set
> > up.  In a pinch you can use epoxy that comes in twin tubes at the
hardware
> > store.  It provides a slick surface.  The whole job took 60-90 minutes.
Last
> > sundays storm was the first time I have clogged, and then it was with
snow
> > rethrown several times
> >  rajrajan001 attbi com wrote:David,
> >
> > I just did 6-8" heavy wet snow in North Andover, MA last weekend with
> > reasonable success. I had to unclog the chute 6-8 times while doing our
250'
> > driveway.
> >
> > Best snowthower performance comes with a slick surface anywhere the 
> > snow
might
> > touch. Of course this is very hard with our old slightly rusty machines
with
> > flat worn paint. As a group member (remind me who)suggested to me,
rubbing
> > parrafin wax (at grochery or hardware store)all over all the surfaces
before
> > each use gives some slickness to help. Watch out because there are many
sharp
> > edges to mash your knuckles on, best to use thick gloves and do it
carefully.
> >
> > The best solution would be to sand blast the rust spots and prime and
paint the
> > whole inside of the unit, but this is alot of work. I am thinking about
doing
> > this next summer. The same approach (new paint) will make the lawnmower
decks
> > less likely to get grass clogged and stuck to the deck and makes it 
> > easy
to
> > clean out. Does anyone recommend a really good paint for these severe
dutys?
> >
> > Also, running with a good charge for maximum motor power helps. I have
found
> > it is best not to stop and start many times to prevent clogging. Go at
it as
> > continuously as possible. Also, make sure you are eating enough snow at
a
> > time, obviously also not letting the ampmeter go beyond the high scale.
I also
> > found this to help. Lastly, getting the chain (and chain&belt if the
36-38"
> > version)snug and well oiled, and maybe replaced if worn will help.
> >
> > James
> > > On 3 Feb 2003 at 7:21, Rob Brockway wrote:
> > >
> > > > The snow blower however is somewhat limited ...
> > >
> > > I found this to be the case too. The blade works better for me.
> > >
> > > But others have reported the opposite. This leads me to believe that
either
> > > there's some variation in the snow throwers, or some wear mechanism
that
> > > makes some of them perform below par, or perhaps both.
> > >
> > >
> > > David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
> > > 1991 Solectria Force 144vac
> > > 1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
> > > 1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
> > > 1974 Avco New Idea 36vdc
> > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> > > Thou shalt not send me any thing which says unto thee, "send this to
all
> > >
> > > thou knowest." Neither shalt thou send me any spam, lest I smite 
> > > thee.
> > >
> > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> > >
> > > Est. yearly US cost to safeguard Persian Gulf oil supply: $50 billion
> > >
> > > Est. 2001 value of US crude oil imports from Persian Gulf: $19 
> > > billion
> > > -- Harper's Index, April 2002
> > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
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