Impeller Modification to my Gilson Snowblower

[jimmyb207]

Hey turbo - I acquired a 78 Gilson 8 hp that was at the end of a driveway with a" free" sign on it. It needed new points and coil, took the carb off and cleaned it up, new pins and keyways and lots of elbow grease and it runs pretty nice now. I am a little concerned at what appears to be smallish paddles on the impeller. So if you could, what material did you use to make the paddles from and how much clearance did you leave between the [addles and the barrel? - thanks.

[Turbo231]

@jimmyb207 I used a very hard rubber. It was leftover cargo mat from a truck bed. I cut them to shape and bolted them on as seen in the video.. Because they are rubber, the clearance is zero or as close as I could get to it. 8 HP is a nice find, the 5 HP one I had was barely powerful enough. Good luck.

[jimmyb207]

@Turbo231 Thanks for the info....I just watched your other video "more Mods" And It looks like were both from the state of Maine! I'm in Lebanon ME.

[Turbo231]

@jimmyb207 Very nice! I've relocated to Alberta, Canada and it's taking me some time to build my trashed picked/cheap motor collection again.

[joek0617]

@Turbo231 lol, i use a 4 horse single stage from 1968, trows real well, even preforms admirably in the heavy stuff

[MrMixedGas]

@jimmyb207 hey I'll tell you another secret go to a quarry they always have extra old rubber conveyor belt laying around and believe me that shit is bullet prof and they cant give that stuff away, go to your local quarry and ask for some at the scale house and someone will go and get you some Im a driller at a quarry! I have a shit load of old belt behind my shed if I was close I would just give you some

[jimmyb207]

@MrMixedGas I ended up using 2 ply Hay Baler Belt. It worked the nuts even though the impeller was in horrible condition, two blades were bent back a bit and the welds were cracked on them. Then the shit happened, I was snow blowing my 175 ft drive way from a storm that left 10 inches. I was just about done when I heard a loud RAP BAP A BAP! I looked just in time to see one of the impeller blades fly out of the chute and into the snowbank 20 ft away. I swapped the motor to an old Toro. It works!

[MrMixedGas]

@jimmyb207 Wow that sucks that your impeller flew apart, you sound like you have my luck just as soon as you think your done something throws a curve ball at you. well best of luck on that Toro that you slapped on it!!!!

keeps the snow flying next year then!!!!!!

[stuffyteddybare]

should have done two videos..one before modification and one after so you could see the difference

[Turbo231]

Yes, probably, however this was one of my first youtube videos...now I do tend to shoot them with a bit more purpose in mind.

[joedinaadi]

is it ok to leave the clutch halfe way on when blowing? it works better

[Turbo231]

It seems you may have an issue...such as a belt problem or it's just getting a bit more speed. You can tweek the speed of the engine a bit understanding that it might not survive if it goes too fast.

[matt0218]

Did you have to machine holes in your impellers?

I'm probably going to go the same route with my old 5hp craftsman, but it only has a single machined hole directly in the center of the impeller. I wonder if i'll have to drill some more holes.

[Turbo231]

Nope...I believe I just used a drill and self tapping screws. Since it was all custom, just figure out the best place and work around it.

[Turbo231]

Yes, it was a nice machine. I was happy to have it.

[AliceInVains]

hi friend

specifically, ¿what did you do to your impeller ??

explain me please

thank you so much

[tc25d]

man - that sucker is blowing I want to do that to my tractor blower

[stlouissux9119]

Kool man!

[mawheegan]

yo bro..........the rubbers work great eh ? I was looking at the ad in Ontario too, but after two new torringtons in the main auger gearbox, a new sealed bearing behind the auger drive pulley, and reducing the size of the pulley by about 30%..........my old 32" 10 hp Canadiana kicks snow ass. Check it out at youtube/mawheegan

[fordwillkillyou]

i think they stoped makin gilson in 1978, so it cant be 84. but i have the same problem with my 73' 8hp gilson just sorta plops the snow ontop of the machine did it snowblow well when you replaced the belt?

[Turbo231]

Gilson manufactured snowblowers into the late 1980's. It has a date code of early August 1984 and the B&S engine has a date code of late July 1984, making them a match. Lots of good stuff on google about that.

The perforance didn't change after changing the belt, which is the reason why I decided to do this upgrade.