I've got some blowers (210s and the 38" version for riders) set up with the augers symmetrical and some not. It doesn't seem to make a huge difference.

Shear pins are for sissies

 

I could be mistaken (I don't think so), but the augers should be clutched as a group, and they cannot move independently on the hex shaft. The two clutches are just two friction surfaces to drive the same shaft. If you can move them independently, you have a worn spot on the shaft or the hex is worn out in the auger.

 

Hummm, now you have me thinking.
I restored my blower about 15 years ago. Did a complete tear down, bead blast, prime and repaint (with DuPont Centuri which has held up pretty well). It's been a long time, but I recall at the time that there was no particular orientation to how the augers aligned on the shaft. I tightened the hex nuts on the ends to the point the clutches would slip, but only with some persuasion. Have never had any problems with it with the exception of trying to go to fast in very really heavy wet snow, which would occasionally stall the augers.
We all know how Gravely made somewhat ad hoc changes in design here and there, especially on some of the items produced longer than others. My guess is there may have been some change made to the 210 along the way, or I'm missing some interface parts for the augers/shaft. I don't have a copy of the manual, so additional assistance will be appreciated.
Thanks

 

In my experience, the symmetrical assembly works better in certain conditions. With dry show, it does not seem to matter much. But with sticky snow, it does matter. With an asymmetrical setup, a snow lump can get pushed back and forth and not so much into the impeller. I have a quick hitch model I am currently trying to disassemble in order to align the auger sections for that very reason.

 

I agree 100% with the above.

I picked up am MA-210 that needed work on the gearbox and upon reassembly I did not have the augers timed correctly. After some challenges with lumpy snow I re-timed the augers and the problem went away.

Let me know if you need help with taking yours apart as the procedure isn't immediately obvious.

Alex

 

I have rebuilt lots if them. Very easy. I was told by my friend the head mechanic at Macgovern, a now closed Gravely dealership that the augers should be staggered. The reason was for the augers being more aggressive when chewing into hard snow. Also remember when rebuilding your blower to try and save the original clutch disks on either side of the gearbox. Take a script and gently take out, clean in brake cleaner and reuse if still serviceable. Original disks were asbestos lined while new ones are not and will burn out over time while the old ones will last for ever. Any other rebuild questions feel free to ask or private e-mail me.

 

Here's an update folks: Was out blowing the 14" of snow we received yesterday that proceeded to turn into heavy concrete when it started to drizzle. With the augers mounted symmetrically the blower has issues getting clogged. So today I took the augers out, and changed the orientation to be asymmetrical 180 degrees out of phase. Put everything back together with approximately the same pressure on the auger clutches and gave it another try today. Temps today were around 55F so the snow was even heavier than yesterday.
While the mush did occasionally clog the augers, the overall performance with the asymmetrical orientation was superior to the symmetrical setup. In comparing the two setups, when the augers are mounted symmetrical, there is more of a pulsing to the snow as the augers force it into the impeller compared to asymmetrical setup. With the augers in a symmetrical orientation they force the snow into the impeller in batches every time the the inner auger ends come around. The overall flow of snow in the asymmetrical orientation was smoother without so much pulsing.
Need to contradict my earlier comments re the two augers moving independently. They cannot. Guess my memory ain't what it used to be. With both augers mounted on the same hex shaft, there's no way for them to move independently.
In conclusion, based on the experience of the last two days, my vote is on asymmetrical orientation of the augers.

 

I think I have to agree with the above post after the recent snow I was clearing.
I did post the opposite opinion a few posts earlier in this thread.
The pulsing is something I noticed too as I was clearing heavy snow that was 4-6" above the top of the blower in some places. I was using the direction lever to move a head maybe 4" at a time to let the snowblower catch up.
In heavy snow the symmetrical auger set was giving me some trouble.

With that said as I remember my issues with the asymmetrical issues were that the blower would push smaller amounts of snow instead of feeding it to the blower part. It seems like that isn't so bad compared to the pulsing when in heavy snow.

Enclosed pic - finally got to use the drift cutters!!

Alex

 

Interesting.

I've observed the "pulsing" you mention, but it's never gotten bad enough to stall the unit.

It sounds like you're close to maxing out what these machines can do. I'm not sure I've ever pushed mine quite that hard. Good to know what the limit looks like

 

They always need to be offset. Have rebuilt countless ones and I was told to offset them by my friend who worked for a dealership. Made the same mistake after rebuilding one years ago and he corrected me.

 

Hi Crazyvet/JRD,
I actually checked the manual for my blower, and original. The parts schematic actually shows the augers in an asymmetrical orientation, although it is a bit hard to detect. Duh - guess that's what I get for not reading the manual. haha.
When I was researching the questions, I looked at a lot of snow blowers. From other walk behinds to 3-points for tractors to large truck mounted blowers. There does not seem to be any set standard out there as there was about an equal mix between asymmetrical and symmetrical. Even after using Gravely's for 40+ years, guess we can always learn something new.

Agree re pushing it to the limit. All things considered, the C-12 with the 28" snow-cannon is a well balanced setup. A wider blower would be too much for the 12hp Kohler and I'm not sure I'd want to push more hp into the blower. The moisture content of the snow yesterday was way up there too. Even though it had settled a lot since it fell on Thursday, it was very heavy from the 55F temps on Friday. None the less it was still about 8-12 inches deep. So the combination of moisture and depth was a lot, but it took it and spit it out just fine.

Running it at about 90% throttle generated a lot of torque that required constant pressure on the handle bards to keep it tracking straight. Blowing powder is not nearly as torque intensive. The extra weight of the heavy snow exiting the chute generates a LOT more side-ways force that needs to be countered.

I ended up blowing about 3/4 of a mile of sidewalk along our road, in both directions. So it really got a work out. Some folks stopped to gawk at the nice rainbow of snow. Hope we get some more before the end of the season, but here in DC that can be hard to come by.

 

HI
Someone mentioned in the post that they had rebuilt the gear box on an older snow cannon. I ruined the worm gear on mine and need to find a replacement. It is the older style with the crank to turn the chute on the left hand side. The model number tag is long gone off the unit
If anyone can point me or has the gear and maybe the worm shaft for sale or knows where to get them, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Rich

 

I ruined the worm gear on mine and need to find a replacement.

I believe the bronze pinion gear is still available from Gravely/Ariens. Not cheap though.

They do go by on ebay every so often. Or try AJ at Old Forge Power, or Richard's.

 

Thanks
I will check out both places.
Thanks
Rich

 

I have a complete blower I would sell. Lots cheaper than doing business with Richards who I have noticed with sharp price increases in the past year. Have found cheaper to buy complete units than to buy piece by piece. Also might try Jacks, very nice to deal with.

 

I like that pic, that has some awesome traction if it sticks to snow upside down. Lol