I used a linear actuator like many before me but this one is rated for 1000 pounds with a 5.31" stroke and is mounted horizontally inside the Honda frame to push . The extra travel will be useful to lift the blower more when tackling big piles at the street. At full load the actuator can draw 24 Amps so some high current relay will be used, but more on that later.
Here is a video of a test of the linear actuator mounted in the Honda frame. It looked promising so I was encouraged to continue.
http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/...blower/?action=view¤t=Conceptproven.mp4
An old shock absorber boot protects the actuator shaft from water and I found that a 1" threaded pipe coupling is a good fit (with a little filing) to go over the 1-1/8" shaft. This also gave me a way to fine tune the length by selecting the right size threaded pipe to connect to Honda's Quick Hitch. You may notice in the video that there is some slop built into the connection to the Quick Hitch. Hopefully this should allow the blower to float on the driveway.


Here is a video of a test of the linear actuator mounted in the Honda frame. It looked promising so I was encouraged to continue.
http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/...blower/?action=view¤t=Conceptproven.mp4
An old shock absorber boot protects the actuator shaft from water and I found that a 1" threaded pipe coupling is a good fit (with a little filing) to go over the 1-1/8" shaft. This also gave me a way to fine tune the length by selecting the right size threaded pipe to connect to Honda's Quick Hitch. You may notice in the video that there is some slop built into the connection to the Quick Hitch. Hopefully this should allow the blower to float on the driveway.