Rotary and auger snow blowers. Equipment for winter road maintenance

Until relatively recently, a shovel was the only tool for removing snow. But today it is being replaced by snowplows - self-propelled and non-self-propelled, small-sized means of small-scale mechanization for home and garden. Most often these are screw mechanisms, but there are also other types - rotary or, to be very precise, auger or milling-rotor. What is the difference between them and what needs to be taken into account in order not to make a mistake in choosing a model? Let's figure it out.

Single Stage Rotary Snow Blowers

Advantages:

• Thanks to the combination of two operations, such equipment is more compact and, as a result, more maneuverable
• By reducing the load on the bridge closest to the working body, the snow blower has a higher transport speed

Flaws:

• Reduced machine productivity due to irrational distribution of power in the working body.

Single-stage snow blowers combine two operations - developing the snow mass and throwing it away from the direction of movement. At the same time, the snow cutting speed is limited to 9-10 m/s, and the transportation process requires peripheral speeds 2-3 times higher (increasing the distance over which the snow is thrown is achieved by increasing the rotation speed of the actuator). This leads to power losses and the low popularity of single-stage snow blowers. The combination of cycles is used in two types of snow removal machines: rotary plows and milling machines.

Photo source: gazontech.ruSingle-stage rotary snow blower

A simple homemade snow blower on a walk-behind tractor with your own hands

The abundance of snow in the yard and high prices for equipment made a FORUMHOUSE member with the nickname Old Man think about the need to create a simple snow blower, one “ that would be made without turning and complex machine tools - from the rubbish that the “homemade” ones have in their sheds.”

Such a snow blower can be made “on your knee” in a village barn.

How does he work:

• to clear snow from the paths, the unit must be tilted forward;
• To gradually clear a thick layer of snow, the snow blower must be tilted back.

This design can be easily made self-propelled by placing it on a wide track.

Rotary plow snow blowers

This type of equipment, which has a fairly simple design, has found application, first of all, for clearing railway tracks from snow drifts. In municipal services, rotary plows are rarely used and are mainly used for cleaning streets and sidewalks with the formation of snow rolls. When clearing dense snow, “ploughs” are not economically profitable.

Read

Snow melting machine (snow melter): a modern solution to traditional winter problems

Rotary plow snow blowers are installed on tractors, mini-loaders, and special chassis. The working body is a plow with rotors built into it (of which there can be one or two). The rotors have oppositely directed screw-shaped blades (knives). To loosen compacted snow, the working edges of the blades with teeth are used.

How to make an auger with wheels from a conveyor belt

After field testing, the Old Man improved the auger so that it would move more snow toward the thrower blade and made a rotating chute to adjust the direction and distance of the throw.

For the new auger, the craftsman bought 1.5 m of 10 mm thick conveyor belt on the market (issue price 700 rubles) and cut four rings with a diameter of 28 cm from it. If you don’t have a jigsaw, you can cut it by screwing two screws into the board and rotating it in a circle.

The new auger is a ¾ pipe in which a metal blade and four rubber rings are attached, attached to special plates.

The screw is rotated by 205 self-aligning closed bearings. The only requirement for them is that they be closed from snow. The universal joint support from the 01-07 Zhiguli car (classic) copes with this task perfectly.

The auger can be driven either by a chain or a belt (if it is intended to use an engine from a walk-behind tractor on which the pulley is installed). All components are sold in car dealerships.

The auger body is made of roofing iron, the sidewalls are made of 10mm plywood. The body is 2 cm larger in size than the auger - there is the necessary gap, but it is very small. The engine mount is designed so that it can be removed without using tools and moved to the snowmobile in a few minutes. In addition, without a motor, a snow blower is easier to clear snow from. The basis of the rotary chute for discarding snow is a piece of plastic sewer pipe with a diameter of 160 mm.

Metal corners 50X50mm were used to make the frame. 25X25mm corners are welded to the transverse corners, to which a quick-release engine platform is attached. The handle and transverse corners are secured to the longitudinal corners of the frame with M8 bolts.

The base for the skis is made of wooden blocks.

I tweaked my snow blower a little, made the snow ejection chute a little longer than before, and painted it. Now the snow blower not only copes wonderfully with its assigned function, but also begins to look neat.

This simple and elegant snow blower can be made in a couple of weekends. There are practically no costs for its manufacture, it lasts a long time, works efficiently, is stored in a shed, and does not take up much space.

Two-stage rotary snow blowers

The separate principle of snow removal assumes that the drive of the feeder and the throwing apparatus is carried out through an individual kinematic chain. Thanks to this, for each of the mechanisms it is possible to select the operating mode, shape, location and number of structural elements, taking into account optimal operating conditions.

Photo source: dorkomteh.ru Rotary auger snow blower produced by Kominvest-AKMT

There are two types of two-stage snow blowers: auger-rotor and milling-rotor. The main difference between them is the different design and layout of the feeder, which, in turn, determines the size of the auger used to develop the snow mass.

Necessary materials

To make a homemade snow blower yourself, you need not only basic knowledge in welding and turning, but also some tools, which are quite difficult to do without .

Here is a list of what we will need:

• Keys of various diameters.
• Bolts and nuts (it is better to collect all available ones to make it easier to navigate in the future).
• Electric drill.
• Bulgarian.
• Screwdrivers of all types and sizes that are in stock.
• Pliers, vices and pliers.
• A regular hammer and file.
• Various chains.
• Welding machine.

As we can see, you will have to use almost the entire arsenal that most men have. It’s better to prepare everything in advance so that you don’t have to look for the right tool or screwdriver of the required size later.

Regarding materials, we will need a metal profile pipe with a cross section of 20 by 40 mm . A profile corner with the same parameters is also suitable for the frame base.

Rotary snow blowers

Read

How to start in cold weather?

Rotary auger snow blowers have gained the greatest popularity in Russia. They are installed on cars, tractors and special chassis. The purpose of auger machines is to discard snow banks formed by other snow blowers and load snow into vehicles using a loading chute. They are used both for snow removal work on roads and at airfields.

Photo source: amkodor.by Auger-rotary snow blower Amkodor 9531-03

In the series of auger snow blowers, in turn, there are models made according to a single-engine scheme (torque transmission to the attachments and power take-off to the travel mechanism is carried out from one engine) and two-engine (the drive of the working element is carried out from an additional diesel engine installed on the frame of the base chassis , and movement is from the standard engine).

Experts highlight a number of disadvantages of the dual-motor drive circuit of rotary snow blowers. Let's name the main ones:

• Irrational use of the base chassis engine. In operating mode, the diesel engine is loaded at only 10%, and the rotation speed is lower than the nominal speed for a considerable time. These factors provoke coking of the combustion chamber, valves and injectors, which causes premature engine failure and excessive fuel consumption.
• Cross direction of power flows. The travel engine drives the rear bogie of the automobile chassis, and from the engine located behind the cab, torque is transmitted to the working element mounted in front of it.
• Front axle overload in transport mode. A negative consequence of this may be the destruction of the bridge, which is prevented by limiting the speed of auger snow blowers to 40 km/h.

Utility brush

Municipal brushes are used by city services all year round: in winter - for snow removal, in the rest of the period - as a sweeper for garbage collection. Let's consider three popular models of this attachment, often found on our streets:

1. Municipal road brush ShchD-01 for MTZ.
2. Reinforced brush MK-2.0 at MTZ.
3. Road brush MK-454 for MTZ municipal.

Let's briefly look at their characteristics:

Municipal road brush ShchD-01 for MTZ

Used together with MTZ and YuMZ tractors to clear areas of snow or debris. The hitch is controlled by the tractor's hydraulic system, with torque coming from the rear PTO.

Municipal road brush ShchD-01

Characteristic:

Reinforced brush MK-2.0 at MTZ

This modification has the same purpose as its analogues, but has a reinforced frame, a non-separable cast high-speed gearbox, and large pneumatic wheels. The drive of the working element is from the rear PTO of the tractor, raising/lowering is from the tractor hydraulic system.

Reinforced brush MK-2.0 at MTZ

Characteristics:

Road brush MK-454 for MTZ

This modification is aggregated with the MTZ tractor through the rear PTO and can be used in conjunction with a tractor blade (brush at the rear of the machine, blade at the front).

Road brush MK-454

Characteristic:

Rotary milling snow blowers

Photo source: special-machine.ru Bucher Rolba 1500 milling rotary snow blower

Look

All advertisements for the sale of snow blowers

Milling rotary snow blowers have the same functions as auger snow blowers: removing compacted snow and shafts with subsequent loading into a truck or throwing the snow to the side. Using milling equipment, it is possible to remove snow debris up to 3 m high and throw the snow mass 20 m to the side. Installation of such equipment is carried out on a tractor, front loader, automobile or special chassis, or on a manipulator boom. Milling equipment is installed on the tractor on brackets of a special frame.

Snow plow based on MTZ

The dump shovel, aggregated with MTZ tractor machines, is used for:

• cleaning all types of snow masses;
• clearing areas of debris;
• ground work (leveling, leveling, digging/burying trenches, etc.).

Depending on their main purpose, dumps for MTZ are divided into the following types:

1. Municipal dump (there is a model with a hydraulic rotating shovel).
2. Bulldozer blade (with and without hydraulic rotation).
3. Leveling grader shovel.
4. Snow dump.

All of the listed models are capable of clearing snow, but bulldozer units are more powerful, their design is reinforced, since the original purpose of the hitch is excavation work. The design of the shovel can be different (depending on its intended purpose). The blade can be mounted both in the front part of the MTZ tractor (a hydraulic pump is connected) and in the rear through the power take-off shaft (PTO). The first option is considered more convenient, since the tractor operator does not have to sit with his body turned backwards while performing snow clearing work.

Universal blade (shovel) (hydroficated) for MTZ tractor

We list the most popular models of mounted snow plows mounted on Belarus and MTZ tractors:

1. OS-1 snow blade.
2. Utility shovel OS-1G.
3. Bulldozer blade OBN-1P of mounted type.
4. KO-6 municipal hydro-rotating snow clearing blade.
5. Grader leveling blade OP-2500.
6. Bulldozer blades for utilities:
   hydraulic rotary OK-2.2 G;
7. mechanical OK-2,2.
8. Bulldozer blade OG-02 is hydraulically rotating.
9. Hydro-rotating shovel MKO-4GP based on MTZ-320 for public utilities.
10. Bulldozer blade OB-2 (for “Belorus”).
11. SV-2.5 snow plow.

Let's study the characteristics of the listed attachments:

OS-1 snow blade

This equipment is aggregated with MTZ and Belarus tractor machines, and is used mainly for clearing roads and territories from snow, sand, and light debris. A special feature of this dump shovel is a rubber plate worn instead of a knife, which allows you to gently clean the surface being treated without damaging the road surface. The position of the moldboard shovel (up and down) is controlled directly from the tractor cabin with the participation of the MTZ hydraulic system, the rotation of the shovel is done mechanically manually.

OS-1 snow blade

Technical characteristics of the snow blower:

Utility dump OS-1G

This municipal attachment is completely under the control of the hydraulic system of tractors (MTZ, YuMZ), which means that the operator can not only raise or lower the shovel without leaving the cab, but also control the rotation angle of up to 30 °. The blade blade, like the previous modification, is made of high-strength technical rubber with a cord that allows you to gently clear snow masses without damaging the pavement.

Utility dump OS-1G

Snow blower characteristics:

OBN-1P bulldozer blade

This attachment can be used both for clearing large areas of snow and small pieces of debris, and as a leveler. The shovel comes with two blades:

• rubber for gentle cleaning of surfaces from snow;
• steel (steel 45), effective for earthmoving and waste removal work.

The blade is under full hydraulic control of the tractor machine; the operator can manipulate the shovel without leaving the cab. The kit also includes a special inclined spacer that allows you to change the angle of rotation of the snow removal attachment. If you do not use this spacer, the blade will operate as a straight blade rather than a hydraulic rotary one.

OBN-1P bulldozer blade

Snow blower characteristics:

Snow removal utility plow hydraulic rotary blade KO-6

This modification can be mounted not only with MTZ tractors (series 80), but also with transport loaders; the blade is effective not only for clearing snow masses on hard road surfaces, but also on livestock farms and granaries. The control is hydraulic, starting with lifting and lowering and ending with the angle of rotation.

Hydraulic rotary blade KO-6

Snow blower characteristics: