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Rotary Snow Blower

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#21 ·
With those curves you won't have any problems with body mounted couplers. I don't see why you couldn't use link and pin on the plow. It would be relatively easy to adjust the heights so they match.

I forgot to mention earlier, the the caboose body with the rotary mechanism looks great.

Chuck
 
Discussion starter · #22 · (Edited)
chuck, thank you for your compliment. I never thought to use link and pin on the rotary, why not??

Also if I may add, I made it so the rotary blades could be adjusted to project in or out depending on the density of the snow. Sorry if the pic attached doesn't fully demonstrate my thought. If I loosen the screws I can adjust the sleeve which will move the 2" PVC shaft IN or OUT.. The drive attachment, which I haven't set up yet, will also be able to accommodate that.

Further Suggestions will be greatly appreciated, never too late to make improvements. THANK YOU
 

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Discussion starter · #24 ·
Beddhist, I haven't finished the conversation yet, Pics of my previous start showed a shoot with a diverter on the top which I haven't moved over yet.
also, switching gears again. I ran the 3 Cylinder Shay yesterday afternoon. It wasn't very cold but was very difficult to maintain a head of steam as it is only Butane fired. Sitting on a shelf right in front of me is a Bachmann 3 Truck shay that I converted to battery and RC some time ago. Hoping the battery is still good enough to charge that will go on the track this afternoon for a test.
?? for those that have done this before: I know the train has to brought down to outside temp, so how long before actual use should I put them outside?? My concern is the low temp will drop the battery's charge.
All responses appreciated.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I use a 6 volt gel cell to power the rotary. Temperature doesn't seem to bother it very much. At least it still turns at a speed to throw snow and lasts for about an hour. I don't know about other battery technologies.

Chuck

When you take the battery outside, you could wrap in in a wash cloth, or bubble wrap to give it a little insulation. If there is room.
 
Discussion starter · #28 · (Edited)
Chuck, I do like the idea of using bubble wrap to insulate it, I already use it on windows on the windy side of the house and i know it is a great insulator, can easily feel the difference with just my hand.
I mentioned on another forum that I was going to try the 'new to me' UV adhesive. I have, so far only have secured nuts to the parts of the assembly that I won't have easy access to, and am happy with it, and the screws are not effected at all. One thing I did find out is the darker the area you are applying and curing it in, the better the adhesion. If others have experience with it I'd appreciate hearing about it. Thank You
 

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Discussion starter · #29 · (Edited)
Chuck, liking the look of yours, I took the door assembly that was removed from the front and installed in on the side. I still need to add grab irons and other details, making slow progress. I also removed half of the rear decking and steps but am leaving the whole roof length so the crew has cover in inclement weather. My thought is to make it appear like the rotary assembly is diesel powered and having a small trailing tank car for the fuel, just thinking.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL LIFE IS GOOD.
 

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Discussion starter · #31 ·
Chuck, that is what I thought when I saw the tender.
I'm once again going off on a tangent. Now thinking to not use a trailing car but putting belly tanks under the car to hold the fuel. My thinking is a trailing car would carry much more than needed to just power the rotary assembly. I'm sure I either have something in the scrap box or can easily fabricate a reasonable facsimile. I am going to leave the porch and roof as they are, crew still needs consideration. LG
 
Discussion starter · #32 · (Edited)
Following up on my last post: Since I was going to use on board tanks the crew no longer needed the rear porch and most of the roof over hang. I also moved the rear door to the other side of the car so now there is access from both sides. Now had to move the bolster holding the rear truck further inward to allow the wheels to clear the end of the now shortened car. As advised body mounted the coupler and designed a centering device using a pen spring to keep it centered, but yet very flexible. I also added a bumper to give the car a more modified and stronger look. Discarded the entire Truss Rod assembly to allow the tanks to be installed. Still undecided on the drive. LG
 

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Discussion starter · #33 · (Edited)
Here it is fully assembled minus a few steps and grab irons, most of all the drive. After much on line research, and not really understanding some of what I see, I'm going to my local hobby shop to see some of these things in person. Looking at race car motors and considering the air plane starting device recommended by JPCaputo. I especially want to thank Chuck and Jerry for their input on this project, and those that have shown interest giving me the incentive to continue.
 

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Discussion starter · #35 · (Edited)
NOW I'm ready for the snow. Picked up a motor from my local hobby shop. Fashioned a bracket attempting to align the motor with the rotary shaft without using the U joints I purchased. I lucked out first try. It is now on the bench spinning for the last 25 minutes to make sure it doesn't blow itself apart.
I tried spinning the motor in both directions and found when the rotary assembly is turning Clock Wise, looking at the front, the air flow from the discharge shoot is much stronger, so that will be how I use it, hopefully.
Going to test it with saw dust if the outside air calms down. LG
 

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Discussion starter · #39 ·
UPDATE: some changes have taken place since last posting. First the rubber tubing connections have a tendency to fail at the 12V 15K rpms that the motor was spinning at. First I made the coupling assembly much more substantial using Ujoints and brass tubing. The motor is rated at 4.5-12VDC I started experimenting with different voltages using a Bridgewerks 10A power supply. Found that at 4.5V the motor was still very strong and the draft at the diverter shoot was also strong. Unfortunately the draw was 3A, I used separate Volt and Amp meters for the test and not the lighting strips on the power supply. For those of you using track power that may not be an issue, but using battery it is. Monday I will take my creation to my local Batteries Plus and hopefully Roy will be able to make a Ni power supply that will fit into the available spaces, he's a master at that. Thank You
 

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Discussion starter · #40 ·
Since last posting I made brackets for 6V Gel Cell batteries that will be put in parallel, and a PWM speed control will be in the circuit so I can adjust the blade speed. That along with the ability to adjust the blades in and out of the unit I should be able to clear the track.
Looks like minor snow fall is in my future, and since I doubt the PWM speed control will be here by then I have a couple of 2V 2.5AH batteries, will be put in series and be at the ready for the test, camera charged up also. Going to do my best to move some snow before this winter has passed. LG
 

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