How much does a snowblower lift spring assist REALLY help?

[ebinmaine 67,528]

Can anyone give me and Trina a real world idea of just exactly how much a lift spring assist ACTUALLY does for a TWO stage snowblower?

 

Would it be comparable to a manual lift on a 42" plow? 48"?

 

I know it makes quite a difference.... how much??

 

Thanks!

 

 

[ri702bill 8,326]

I added a lift assist spring on the flag of the 854 30 inch snowblower.... Adjustable - more like a balancing act. You take up  - shorten - the length of the hook eye to ease lifting. Go too much and the snowblower does NOT stay on the ground. Hence, the balancing act. Adjusted properly, it AIDS in lifting, but does NOT make it effortless.........

[lynnmor 7,307]

I wouldn’t run without it since it helps level the blower and reduces stress on various components.  It is not just about the operator.

[Lee1977 6,662]

Put it on the hydro, no harder then moving the lift handle. We all know three shovel's of stone gives you out. Dig up some of that old tarnished money and get another hydro. 

[ebinmaine 67,528]

12 minutes ago, Lee1977 said:

Put it on the hydro, no harder then moving the lift handle. We all know three shovel's of stone gives you out. Dig up some of that old tarnished money and get another hydro. 

 

It's not for us. 

 

One Hydro is plenty here.  

[Ed Kennell 38,180]

The two springs that came with my Bervac daully were too much lift.  The blower actually floated.  I went to one spring so I had some down force .   These are some heavy springs that are attached to the front A-O-Matic.

 

Back in the day, I had a single blower on C-120 with manual lift.     I had 3 springs on the flag to the mid A-O-Matic.   This floated the blower and I could lift it with 5-10 lbs. of pull.

 

 

 

[Ed Kennell 38,180]

1 hour ago, lynnmor said:

 reduces stress on various components.  It is not just about the operator.

                              

      With the proper springs, you can easily cancel out 70-90% of the blower weight  greatly reducing the strain on the lifting components...man and machine.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Ed Kennell

[ebinmaine 67,528]

How do I buy these springs in today's world?

 

We're looking for a machine for Trina's friend and that may have them but I need a couple here separately.  

[Racinbob 11,082]

Back when I was young and dumb I never bothered with the lift assist spring for either the blower or tiller. I never thought about the stress on the tractor (just under the lift arm). This was the results. I would guess I did that repair in the 80's. Now I'm older, I'm still dumb but much weaker I use the spring and lifting the blower is a piece of cake. It would have prevented the need for the repair. I don't have a two stage but the results would be the same. 

 

 

 # 4629 Spring with Eye Bolt Toro Wheel Horse Tiller and Snow thrower - Wheel Horse Parts and More

 

 

 

[Ed Kennell 38,180]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

How do I buy these springs in today's world?

I make a lot of my springs from old garage door springs.

[Handy Don 12,232]

So tempted to get into spring specifications here. Minimum and maximum length, spring rate, maximum load,... 

But I WON’T. 

[lynnmor 7,307]

The 4629 spring mentioned above is heavier than garage door springs and are hard to source other than the mentioned vendor.