[pimanjc]

Ver 1.0 Rotary.[/b]

First trial: I am pleased with the housing, but am dissattisfied with the rotor itself. Until the rotary system is fine tuned, there is no point in attempting to mount it to a car.

I don't think this rotor could handle a 4in snow. It did handle this 1 1/4 in snow OK [scale 3ft].

Closer view of housing and rotor. Note wingnut on front of rotor to help break up packed snow.

Definitely need more RPM. Blades aren't aggressive enough. You want the larger blade area at the tip.

I made the housing out of a furnace duct and ChowMein can. The housing started as a 4in to 10in piece of ductwork.

My sheetmetal skills are sadly lacking.

The rotor is out of a Hoover Vaccumm cleaner.

So what have I learned from the prototype...what am I gonna change?[/i]

1. Actually, I would prefer to make one with an inch larger rotor . This rotor is 3 7/8in. A 5" rotor would be about right. I may try another housing with a larger, more aggressive blade. Proper sized blades are hard to find.

2. The blades aren't aggressive enough. You want the larger blade area at the tip.

3. Housing works well. You want the housing to scoop or funnel the snow into the blades rather than push up against the snow.

4. RPM: The drill used turns at 1400RPM. A speed of 2000 - 2500 RPM would probably be better. I may have to go to something besides a drill motor to get that speed.

5. Swath: Mike Reilley suggests that the housing should cut about a 10" swath. The Ver. 1.0 is about 6in. Because of the geography of my layout, if a larger unit is built, a swath of about 8in maximum would be desired.
Any comments, suggestions, parts source , or experiences building a rotary would be appreciated.

Thanks to Mike Reiley, for all his help as I have been developing ideas on this project.

JimC.

 

[Semper Vaporo]

Did you try running it in both directions? CW and CCW? Was there any difference in output?

I like the scoop shape and the addition of the wingnut, but I wonder if the wingnut might need to be reduced in size a bit... to more "slice" through rather than the blunt swath it takes due to the width of the wings.

I can't tell from the photos real well, is the rotor "cone" shaped (view from the side)? I think the rotor/impeller should be as deep at the outer edge as n the center.

May also need some shaping done to pull the snow into the rotor rather than rely on the vacuum formed by the spinning to suck it in. But without a way to change the angle of the blades that would relegate it to one direction of operation only.

 

[Jerry Barnes]

Hey Jim,
WOndered where you had been, had seen no posts for awhile. Rayman advised using this Eureka 12988 blade, seems to meet your requirements and worked for him. http://www.marbeck.com/vacuum_fans_eureka.html Maybe removing the small blades on your current one would help?

 

[lotsasteam]

TRY this page!

http://www.buntbahn.de/modellbau/viewtopic.php?t=4594

Manfred Diel

 

[noelw]

That's neat....

Jim

 

[San Juan]

Wow that German site sure has the right looking blade. Nice when you can machine your own.

Here it the same site roughly translated:

Snow Plow Blade


Jim, is your impeller metal?

I wondered how easy it is to find an impeller. With all of these neat snow plow creations posted, maybe one day I'll try and make one. So it's good to know what's out there

Without knowing the size of some out there makes searching tough. I did find an impeller blade intended for a Torro blower and mulcher that supposedly chops up leaves. Might do well in snow, and it's metal too. Don't have any clue on the size

Anyway, the part number is 108-8967. Varies a lot in price. Found a good photo of one on this ebay auction (although not the best price out there).

I also found thishttp://www.928motorsports.com/parts/images/impeller/Impeller1.jpg wicked looking impeller for a car supercharger. Now that thing looks like it would take your fingers off in an instant. It also costs $495 not including shipping

 

[Greg Elmassian]

JC, your problem is that you used a chow mein can, which is not agressive enough. You should have used something more powerful, like Kung Pow Chicken! ha ha ha!

Looks like a fun project and learning as you go.

I was thinking along the lines of what Matt said. I found some of the rotary blowers have an aluminum impeller that looked pretty rugged, and maybe you could find one that is battery operated, then the motor would be 18v or so and you might save another step.

Regards, Greg

 

[Engineercub]

Jim you could always use T.N.T ;-)

-Will

 

[aceinspp]

I think as most have said the blades are not correct to bit into the snow. need the more open style of blade. later RJD

 

[pimanjc]

I'll try to answer a couple of questions asked: The existing rotor is plastic. The blades taper down from the center to the outside. The blades need to be much more squared off [aggressive] at the outside tips.

Today I found one of the Eureka 12988 blades. Its diameter is slightly too large to fit inside a five inch tube.

I may look into the idea of a blower vac for a rotor/motor source.

WOW ! I am blown away by the German Rotary!

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions so far [even Greg's bad joke about Kung Pow Chicken

].

This project certainly has been a learning experience. I also learned how fast the edges of cut sheetmetal can slice into your fingers.

JimC.

 

[Jerry Barnes]

Jim,
Ray used a cd stack cover for his housing, might check that out.