Ver 1.0 Rotary. First trial: I am pleased with the housing, but am dissattisfied with the rotor itself. Until the rotary system is fine tuned, there is no point in attempting to mount it to a car.
I don’t think this rotor could handle a 4in snow. It did handle this 1 1/4 in snow OK [scale 3ft]. Closer view of housing and rotor. Note wingnut on front of rotor to help break up packed snow.
Definitely need more RPM. Blades aren’t aggressive enough. You want the larger blade area at the tip. I made the housing out of a furnace duct and ChowMein can. The housing started as a 4in to 10in piece of ductwork.
My sheetmetal skills are sadly lacking. The rotor is out of a Hoover Vaccumm cleaner.
So what have I learned from the prototype…what am I gonna change? 1. Actually, I would prefer to make one with an inch larger rotor . This rotor is 3 7/8in. A 5" rotor would be about right. I may try another housing with a larger, more aggressive blade. Proper sized blades are hard to find. 2. The blades aren’t aggressive enough. You want the larger blade area at the tip. 3. Housing works well. You want the housing to scoop or funnel the snow into the blades rather than push up against the snow. 4. RPM: The drill used turns at 1400RPM. A speed of 2000 - 2500 RPM would probably be better. I may have to go to something besides a drill motor to get that speed. 5. Swath: Mike Reilley suggests that the housing should cut about a 10" swath. The Ver. 1.0 is about 6in. Because of the geography of my layout, if a larger unit is built, a swath of about 8in maximum would be desired. Any comments, suggestions, parts source , or experiences building a rotary would be appreciated. JimC.
