Has anyone ever hooked up a 2 stage snow blower to a 448 or do they even offer a 2 stage snowblower for them? The single stage blower (snowcaster) seems a little under powered for me... or maybe there is just some adjusting I need to do with it. Any ideas would be great!
Included is a pic of the chute and deflector painted with graphite paint on the inside to make the surface slippery. Since I have not yet used the 'caster with the graphite paint, I can't attest to it's improvement, but slippery has to be better, and its the same stuff I use on the underside of the mowing deck, and that works great.
Thanks, Bob
Bob, I painted the underside of my mower deck with graphite paint I bought from tractor supply this past spring, It did not stand up at all, I put several generous coats of the paint on and 80% of it was gone in the fall when I removed the deck. My deck is only 6 years old, had a few small areas of rust were the powder coating lifted a bit. I wire brushed and painted but like I said it did not last, I was going to use it this year without doing anything to it in the hopes the rest of the graphite paint comes off and then just paint it with rustoleum.
Great so do you think that is all that needs to be done is those 2 blades or would it be better to do them all for better performance? This is some great stuff!!
Tim, the majority of the auger carries the snow to the center of the snowcaster where the center paddles are dedicated to hurling the snow out of the chute. Distance should be greatly increased by doing only the center 2 paddles.
Bob, I painted the underside of my mower deck with graphite paint I bought from tractor supply this past spring, It did not stand up at all, I put several generous coats of the paint on and 80% of it was gone in the fall when I removed the deck. My deck is only 6 years old, had a few small areas of rust were the powder coating lifted a bit. I wire brushed and painted but like I said it did not last, I was going to use it this year without doing anything to it in the hopes the rest of the graphite paint comes off and then just paint it with rustoleum.
Mark, sorry to hear of bad experience with paint. Here is what I used: "Majic Easy Slip Dry Film Lubricant Graphite Based Coating", 11 oz spray can, purchased from "Family Farm and Home". The label states "Provides a smooth, low-friction coating for farm, home, and industrial applications". My deck is probably 25 years old (1987 446). I wire wheel brushed down to bare metal and applied two coats. I have two mowing seasons on the deck with this coating, and it still looks good, although I may have to do a touch-up before using it next Spring. I use the deck for mowing with a HydraVac, mulching, and leaf and debris pick up in the Fall. I also painted the inside of the HydraVac boot with Easy Slip.
Bob
Soil conditions can greatly affect how coatings perform. If one owner lives in an area that has a high clay content soil, then the coating will not be bombarded like a deck cutting grass growing in really sandy loam. The Hi-lift blades will suck up loose particles of soil and blast the underside of the deck.
Soil conditions can greatly affect how coatings perform. If one owner lives in an area that has a high clay content soil, then the coating will not be bombarded like a deck cutting grass growing in really sandy loam. The Hi-lift blades will suck up loose particles of soil and blast the underside of the deck.
Thinking about this some more the problem was probally surface prep and the powder coating. I bought a quart of the graphite paint at TSC, before applying it I used a wire brush on my grinder and in the tight areas I used a drill with a wire brush. I am wondering if the problem was more adherance to the powder coating. For 6 years of use on the deck the powder coating only had a few small problem areas were it was bubbled and peeling, plus that powder coating is pretty hard so the brushing did not do much more than clean the surface it did not rough up the coating. Then I slopped a couple of heavy coats on the underside of the deck with a brush. It did take two coats to completely cover so the power red was no longer showing, The first coat left a streaky appearance. Even when dry the graphite paint did not seem to be that hard of a paint.
If I recall correctly, Dan Haas adapted an Ariens 2 stage blower to his Case 400 Series. I don't recall him every stating that is was a huge improvement over the snocaster. I believe that Dan sold that unit on e-Bay. I guess if it was really a better blower, he would have kept it.
So to answer your question........Yes... it's possible to use a two-stage blower on a Case but.....you need to choose wisely because not all 2-stage blowers are created equally.
I also adapted an Ariens 2 stage to a 444 that had been repowered with a Vanguard 16 hp. It would throw snow 30-40 feet but anything over 4" deep I was barely moving. From what I experienced, the 2 stage takes more horses.
I sold mine last year.
I would think putting the flap on the other side of the center auger would be better, less chance of it getting ripped off, or folded back, would keep a tighter fit. The way it looks in the pic, it could bend back and does not have support from the auger spinning it, I don't know if I'm correct, but that is the thinking I went with to install them on the side I did. Mine helps it out a bunch, it will toss the snow without a problem now, I had over a 1/2" gap in areas to fill, and this save me from getting a different blower auger, easy to install, easy to maintain also. Good Luck, hope this makes it work the way you need it to, sound like this should do it is good.
I think I prefer Ing3018's idea with the rubber added to the backside of the paddle, but I'm sure either way you do it it's going to be an improvement. :thumbup:
Thanks for the pictures and ideas :thumbup:
Many thanks for the pictures and other great improvement ideas Gentlemen. I'm off to find some heavy rubberized material and graphite-type paint. I spent some considerable time tweaking the old snocaster in the spring to the point where there is very little clearance between the auger edge and the back of the caster body. The snocaster really eats up the snow without much forward cast-off, but I do not seem to be getting much distance out of the chute. Distance notwithstanding, the combination of the 18hp Onan and a four-foot swath actually makes clearing snow more like a pleasure. :goodpost:
Troll
Look in your Yellow Page directory under conveyor belting. Those places often have lengths of used belting around. If you explain to them what you are trying to do, they will show you what they think would be ideal. They may just give you what you need for free because making up an invoice for such a small purchase would cost more than the alue of the material.
If you can't find anything I have some old pieces of pto belts like that used years ago to run Thrashing machines and sawmills. You know the big belts they hooked to Steam Engines to power stationary equipment.
Anyway if anyone needs some let me know.
The mule is designed for 4 digit tractors only, but it can be modded to work on a 3 digit tractor.
I have done it and it works fine. Search this site for 'Bercomac Snowblower' for a long discussion thread with DIY instructions at the end.
Also, it is rumored that Berco is going to stop (or has stopped) producing attachments for CCI completely.
I have not tried to verify that. Forum user Brian Hildret (bhildret) is a Berco dealer and perhaps could shed some light on that.
i understand the need for a good long lasting paint. no question about that whatsoever. but seriously how can anyone really expect a wear-surface to stay painted? i have an outspoken "paint by attrition" theory that basicly says if you see bare metal, take a rattle-can to it untill all you see is painted surface. yes i'm fully aware that this is virtual blasphemy to speak of doing this to a restoration, but i speak of doing this to machinery that is actually used. the reasons to paint in this manner are to assure that the paint is what wears off, not the metal. a well maintained work tractor is much easier to restore when the time comes for that, and the smoothe surface of paint may actually enhance performance.
I checked with Tractor Supply and they dont carry my belt for my 448 snowcaster... can I just go in there and match up the closest belt or do I need to order one from Case? Please let me know what I should do.
I checked with Tractor Supply and they dont carry my belt for my 448 snowcaster... can I just go in there and match up the closest belt or do I need to order one from Case? Please let me know what I should do.
those cryptic numbers you see on v-belts actually do mean something. usually one part of the number talks about how wide the belt is, traditionally in one eighth inch incriments, the rest is the distance the belt takes up when stretched between two points in inches. sometimes the last didget is beyond the decimal, so a belt ending in 5 means there is an additional half inch. there are proprietary systems that use the circumferance instead of the two points measuring method, but not traditionally or conventionally.
it is thus possible to find the belt desired by taking a string and carefully threading in through your pulleys to get the length desired, remove and measure.
Or should I go to the dealer and pay $40.00 for the one they want to sell me? Please advise as a $25.00 difference is major but I also dont want to buy something cheap either.
The Seller makes no mention as to the construction of the belt and that makes me nervous. I would not buy that belt unless the Seller proved to me that it was Aramid or Kevlar construction. Belts that are not constructed from those materials will fail very fast and that makes them very expensive. An OEM belt may cost a bit more but experience shows that they are the cheapest belt in the long run.
Your money.... your choice.
But if that belt fails you while you are trying to clear a foot of snow off your driveway........
The Seller makes no mention as to the construction of the belt and that makes me nervous. I would not buy that belt unless the Seller proved to me that it was Aramid or Kevlar construction. Belts that are not constructed from those materials will fail very fast and that makes them very expensive. An OEM belt may cost a bit more but experience shows that they are the cheapest belt in the long run.
Your money.... your choice.
But if that belt fails you while you are trying to clear a foot of snow off your driveway........
Thanks you answered my question! I will call around on Monday.... I will be putting rubber extensions on my snowcaster tomorrow, so I will keep you posted. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!! :trink:
Look in the FAQ's section for the document "Ingersoll Dealers". You will find contact information for three trusted dealers that will mail you the correct belt the same day or the next. If you can afford it, buy two so you always have a back up belt in case you suck something hidden in the snow into the auger and ruin an otherwise perfectly good belt. It happens but being prepared for it is what makes all the difference.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Case Colt Ingersoll Tractors
265K posts
11.1K members
Since 2010
A forum community dedicated to Colt, Case and Ingersoll tractors owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!