Ariens 'walk-behind' snowblower - with a DIESEL

[Champane Flight]

Come to Colorado!

Matt has been too busy for the last 6 months to stop and scratch his own arse. :-laf



I haven't started the engine since around April or so of '06 - this year has been a complete disappointment in terms of snow... I'm going to have to hunt around for a go-kart or mini-bike to put the little diesel in. There's no way I'm going to let that thing loaf all year.



Once things settle down a bit, I'm sure I'll find time to modify the snowblower (and the engine) a lot more.



No gauges yet, but I'll need some once I turn up the fuel and bolt on a little turbo.



Matt

We have a little snow left from the last little dump... .



#ad




#ad




The city came out and started cleaning streets, they stopped a half a block from my place! All the snowblowers I have seen sit and spin their tires in this much snow. . Check out the roof on the neighbors garage... .

 

[Signal73]

:--) :--) Thats incredible! Tough to see but did it collapse?

 

[TORQUE THIS]

I'm going to have to hunt around for a go-kart or mini-bike to put the little diesel in. There's no way I'm going to let that thing loaf all year.

No need to hunt... remember the little green machine... $500 and it's yours!

 

[Champane Flight]

Imploded...

:--) :--) Thats incredible! Tough to see but did it collapse?

Oh yea, it couldn't handle 44" plus a 18" the week before. . We have not seen snow such as this since 1944. We usually only get maybe two good storms with acumulations of around a foot apeice. More pics.



#ad




#ad




#ad

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Keep it up and you'll almost have what I have in my yard.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Update

Well - this marks the start of the 3rd snow season I've used the diesel snowblower and she still runs like a charm. I've got about 4 hours at the helm so far this season and the fuel economy is still extremely good.



I had to install new belts on it last year, but that has been about it. The only trouble with this thing is that it doesn't bog down the same way as the gassers would to tell you that maybe you should back off a little. This eventually ends up causing the belt to steam/smoke if you're not careful... all the while the diesel keeps going!



The old Ariens is showing its age - drive mechanism is worn, etc. The old chassis is cobbled together from about 3 different machines, so I won't feel terribly bad about not rebuilding it and getting something else when the time comes. The rear tires are also about 2" too short - so the balance is off a bit... and amplified due to the 75lb engine - in the end, it really is no big deal.



I'll have to edit the video I took this past summer of the same engine used in another role. It worked very well there too. :-laf



Beers,



Matt

 

[Alphacowboy]

Matt, I am sure you should be able to find a very well built snowblower chassis in need of an engine fairly cheap.

 

[Alphacowboy]

Ariens 24" snow blower w/bad engine

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I agree - finding a new chassis shouldn't be difficult. I've already got my money's worth and then some out of the chassis... Same deal for the engine - that thing is awesome.



That $100 chassis in MN is actually older than the one I have. I'm looking to upgrade to a newer model... you can spot these by looking at the chute. The new ones have a tall/narrow chute unlike the old ones with the stubby chute.



Beers,



Matt

 

[Alphacowboy]

I agree - finding a new chassis shouldn't be difficult. I've already got my money's worth and then some out of the chassis... Same deal for the engine - that thing is awesome.



That $100 chassis in MN is actually older than the one I have. I'm looking to upgrade to a newer model... you can spot these by looking at the chute. The new ones have a tall/narrow chute unlike the old ones with the stubby chute.



Beers,



Matt

Cool, I saw a couple of the newer ones with the tracks, those are cool!



Havent seen one with a dead engine though!

 

[OKish]

oh boy thats awesome, the lil 7hp tecumseh on my blower is gettin worn out. where did you find this engine? im having a tough time finding small diesels.

 

[TORQUE THIS]

E-Bay, that's where I got it from. I was going to use it for a go-cart and never got around to it. I sent out with the CT crew a few years ago to give to Matt. The rest is history... :-laf

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Indeed - there are quite a few places on eBay selling these little Chinese knockoffs. They run VERY well and all the parts are interchangeable with the Yanmar models.



Beers,



Matt

 

[OKish]

well, i wish i could buy one but im going on vacation for a few weeks here. but when i get home my blower will prolly see some work, i think the engine will give out. giving me a good reason to replace it. hehehe

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Let me know if you have any questions.

The swap was actually very easy.



Beers,



Matt

 

[benhall]

I just picked up a Dek 9. 9 hp engine off of Ebay. With the upcoming move to N. Dakota, I think it will do well on a snowblower.



Ben

 

[Dieselnut59]

Why settle for second best? I have done all my conversions (see Yanmar conversions on another thread) using the genuine article. Knock offs may be fun to get the setup going but if it is something you want to depend on, use the real thing. I found all my engines on E-bay. All except one are NEW and UNUSED. They work perfect. Parts will NOT interchange between the cheap chinese knock offs and the genuine Yanmar engines. Same goes for the chinese knock offs of the Honda gas engines. The "clone" versions are not allowed to directly "copy" a patented product, so they take the idea and change each part slightly. Warnings are all over the internet about this. A chinese clone is fine to play with but beware if it needs repair.

So far, my gas to Yanmar or Yanmar build ups include:

35 ton Tractor Supply "Huskee" firewood splitter (L70 Yanmar engine)

(2) 4000 psi Northern Tools pressure washers (1 with L60, 1 with L70 engine)

4000 psi hot water pressure washer (With L100 engine)

30 gallon air compressor with Kellogg pump and L60 Yanmar engine

2" trash pump with Yanmar L70 engine



Other projects and equipment:

26" front tine garden tiller with Robin DY27 diesel engine (in the works)

Rear tine tiller for possible use of Yanmar L70 engine from trash pump

Robin 3300 watt generator with DY27 engine

E-Z-Go Workhorse utility golf cart with Kubota 600cc liquid cooled inline 2 cylinder engine (in planning stages, not underway yet)

See pics of most on the thread I mentioned

 

[Dieselnut59]

Here is one similar to mine for sale...

NEW Yanmar Diesel Engine L48EE - eBay (item 200286078938 end time Dec-15-08 14:12:14 PST)