Loftness snowblower not throwing snow more than a foot

msn56

New User
Hey Guys I have a Loftness 661DTS snow blower



The fan blower just is not throwing the snow . I have a JD 2350 ( About 55 HP) and cant throw powder more than a foot or two.

Snow clogs in the chute often

WHen I turn the fan by hand the auger and the fan move in unison and if I hold the auger there is no slop in the fan.

I run the tractor full out and still not much success

Is my tractor too small ?

The fan is direct drive from the PTO

I am going to pull it this week and check the shear pin the only thing I can think of is the shear pin is partially sheared and under stress it slips but by hand its ok ?

Any other ideas ?

Mike
 
Shear pins can be partially sheared but, if so, still drive the hub as though brand new. So that is not the issue. The shear pin
may be actually sheared, and the hub tight enough on the shaft to feel solid by hand pressure. The fan probably takes 5 horse power
or more to blow just air, so feeling it might be way to gentle. Make a mark on the shaft and hub with a permanent marker. Run it
into some snow. Look at the mark. If still aligned, the shear pin is good and the problem may be in the drive line or PTO clutch.
Jim
 
Hp shouldnt be the issue, you would notice the tractor lugging down if it wasnt strong enough. It would throw lighter
patches of snow.

A slipping sheared key is a possibility as you are thinking.

Is your tractor spinning up to speed, not a slow pto slipping in the tractor? It is a 560 or 1000 blower and that is hat
your tractor is at too?

Is it very worn, the fan blades should be able to move a nickel laid in the bottom of the fan, if they get worn down
more snow bypasses than gets moved.

Paul
 


540 versus 1000 is my first guess.
Does the blower speed change with load, i.e. PTO clutch slippage?

Shear pin would let go, not let it slip and still work.
 
(quoted from post at 14:05:28 01/19/22)

540 versus 1000 is my first guess.
Does the blower speed change with load, i.e. PTO clutch slippage?

Shear pin would let go, not let it slip and still work.

Should be easy to tell, in my experience, a 1000 PTO RPM snowblower will be in the minority, if designed for 1000 RPM there will be a speed reduction gearbox between the PTO shaft connection and the "fan".

A "540" unit will have a 90 gearbox to dive the auger(s), but the shaft to the "fan" will be a "pass through" with no change in speed.
 
Never had a blower but fan should be about like on a forage harvestor. On then fan blades have to be close enough to housing you would think they will hit housing. Had a JD., NH. and a Coop that were like that. Deere was a flail but the other 2 had the cutting knives on the blower fan. Dents would keep them from working correctly.
 
I didnt measure the gap between the blades and the housing but eying it I am guessing 5/8 -3/4 "
 

Wow ! Thanks for all of the suggestions - so I was reading the manual ( it wont let me post the html link ??)



and it says these can be set up to run at 540 or 1000 but it doesn't say how. There is a gear box that the PTO connects to

There is a right angle off the gear box that runs the sprockets for the auger and then a through shaft for the fan.

NOt certain how to tell if its 540 or 1000 ?
 
Sounds like a couple problems first the shear pin/bolt may be just as described broken yet still tight by hand. If that is known to be good then your fan housing needs to be closed up to just clear the fan tip. Less than 1/4-1/8 inch with snow you might get away with a bit more but not much. For the adjustment there should be slots in the fan housing to let the flat pan like part of it slide in as you loosen the bolts and move it around to tighten it,or the fan blade tips must extend some. Neither can be done then you will have to weld them up some till they just clear as described. With a 1/2-3/4 inch you could just find a piece of bar stock that will clear all the way around then cut to width of fan and weld on each blade. Keeping the weld even so fan is balanced. For balance you can just let the fan seek bottom by rotation then mark and spin again if it stops in the same place twice then you need to add some to the opposite side or remove some from the bottom side of the fan. Fan will have to spin freely for this method to work correctly.
 
The 1000 pto has a fine spline shaft, compared to the
540 pto. You cannot connect a 1000 pto to a 540, or
vice versa. And you say your tractor has 55hp.
Tractors in the 55 hp range only come with 540 pto.
There are adopters you can purchase that slide in to a
540 shaft to adapt to 1000 but it will still only turn 540
 

The PTO's all hooked up without any issues ie all the splines are the same ... (540) I guess I am wondering is there someway that gear box could be set for 1000 ? Doesnt seem likely someone would have had to swap out the PTO
 
Great ideas caterpillar guy ! UNfortunately i don't believe there are moveable plates but I certainly can weld some flat stock on and then balance like you said
 
I have seen YouTube videos where people fasten a
heavy belting type material to close up the gap and
it seems to work quite well. Something like mud flap
material possibly? Balance might not be as critical
with that, and could even rub without an issue?
 
Yes I have been seeing that on you tube - certainly easier to balance - might have wear and tear ?
 
How slow are you going and how much snow is there? For maximum throwing power so to speak, the chute needs to be kept full. In lighter snow that means going faster.
 
Wet slushy snow does not blow well through most snow blowers. It is heavy and sticky.
 
(quoted from post at 15:59:54 01/20/22)
The PTO's all hooked up without any issues ie all the splines are the same ... (540) I guess I am wondering is there someway that gear box could be set for 1000 ? Doesnt seem likely someone would have had to swap out the PTO
Have seen dual speed implements that require you to flip the gearbox to run at different pto speeds. If the input and output shafts are the same size you might look at flipping the gearbox.
 

gear box has one input two out puts ( at a right angle) I could try flippin it 180 and have the fan input go to the tractor PTO ?
 
(quoted from post at 16:10:30 01/20/22) IF I dont go slow the chute will clog in a few seconds Im running the tractor all out
Is it wet snow? Wet snow doesnt fly well. It may also help to reduce friction in the chute. Mine was old and rusty, I lined it with thin plastic. I know some people spray theirs with cooking oil.
 
Was just looking at the parts and op's
manual on this. The shaft is straight
threw the gear box, flipping will change
nothing. If the fan is keyed to the shaft,
as is the pto shaft, then it is direct
drive. Are you certain the pto clutch is
not slipping? Can you get a hold of a hand
held tach and check your rpm at the input
shaft on the blower? If you have run this
any length of time at all, with a bad key.
it should be wore enough not grab.
 
If it's just barely paddling snow out like that the fan is not keeping up to speed. It would be helpful to watch the machine in operation with someone else driving, from a safe angle/vantage point and observe whether only the fan is slowing down or the issue goes all the way to the PTO.
 
An easy way to check, well, only if you have access to another tractor, and see how it behaves. Thats defineatly a 540 unit, unless someone has changed the gear box. Easy check though, if it is as new , the blower and pto rotate same speed
 
(quoted from post at 20:14:25 01/21/22) An easy way to check, well, only if you have access to another tractor, and see how it behaves. Thats defineatly a 540 unit, unless someone has changed the gear box. Easy check though, if it is as new , the blower and pto rotate same speed


All great ideas I was blowing light snow first gear barely moving tractor full out - I run a 15 foot brush hog on it in the summer and in deep grass that has been known to bog down I am going to see if I can pull i t this week and put the flaps on = hope its not the PTO clutch

This post was edited by msn56 on 01/23/2022 at 05:35 am.
 
Is this blower new to you? Did it ever work correctly? I know a guy that bought one on an auction that had a 540
shaft on it but the blower was a 1000. I suspect that's why it was at the auction.
 
Another possibility is that your snowblower was designed for the opposite rotation.

NO, I'm not kidding.

They are made in both rotations, depending upon whether for 3-point use or front-mount use, and whether a chain drive or rear gearbox drive (that reverses direction) is used.

It would be a real "odd" deal, but it's POSSIBLE something between the mount and drive has been miss-matched and the fan is running backwards. I'll bet that would really cut down it's efficiency at tossing snow!



Of course, the auger(s) would be running backwards as well.

Z61rUb1.jpg


hrP8cuZ.jpg
 


You have to think of a snowblower as working like a fan, moving a huge volume of air and a little snow in with it. With any more than 1/4 inch clearance between the blades and housing you are cutting your air down a lot. You can't expect it to work like a pump with the snow being pushed by the snow that is following it.
 
(quoted from post at 10:03:53 01/23/22) Is this blower new to you? Did it ever work correctly? I know a guy that bought one on an auction that had a 540
shaft on it but the blower was a 1000. I suspect that's why it was at the auction.

NO it has never worked right I bought it about 15 years ago - the PTo though is splined for 540 ?
 
Loftness is still in business in Hector, MN. They recently discontinued selling snow blowers but still offer parts support. Maybe they could help debug your machine or supply a manual and assembly diagram.

https://www.loftness.com/snow-blowers-announcement
 
(quoted from post at 22:11:53 01/19/22) I didnt measure the gap between the blades and the housing but eying it I am guessing 5/8 -3/4 "

Yikes, I'd start with closing up that gap. My McKee had a 3/8" gap and would blow snow maybe 10 feet. Closed the gap up and in the right conditions now it'll blow it 50'.

Use cut sections of truck mudflap or conveyor belt material. Drill holes and bolt it in. With that gap closed up, give it a try.
 
Great analogy yes if I cant trap air I cant really throw it - unfortunately with work schedule cold no heated shop dont think I will get the rubber on the paddles this week. GOt some old baler belt will bolt that on
 
(quoted from post at 11:59:54 01/20/22)
The PTO's all hooked up without any issues ie all the splines are the same ... (540) I guess I am wondering is there someway that gear box could be set for 1000 ? Doesnt seem likely someone would have had to swap out the PTO
ews

Most likely one gear in the right angle box (the one your pto shaft goes onto) or both would need to be changed in the right angle box. Depending on 540 or 1000 pto input.
 
like wore out said, check direction of fan I had a hydraulic auger and the lines were back wards and it did the same thing would not throw snow
 
How about posting some pictures of this snowblower?? Might help with all the Q and A going back and forth.
 
If it was mine I would stick a wood 4x4 in the fan to prevent it from turning, and then idle the engine down and engage to blower carefully.
If it's an electric pto clutch that may be hard, but just quickly engage and disengage. I suspect you have something slipping in your
drivetrain, that is unless it's a 1000 that your running at 540!
 

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