Even with the arrival of winter, work in the yard and in the garden does not stop. Snow removal is a very time-consuming process, requiring impressive physical costs from a person. But what about those who, due to age or illness, cannot afford to swing a shovel intensively? Many shrewd gardeners, who protect their health and do not want to spend a lot of time and effort to do hard physical work, use manual snow blower.
Important! When clearing the snow with a purchased or self-made shovel with a screw, try to avoid hitting solid foreign objects. Indeed, otherwise there is a high probability of damage not only to the auger or tool motor itself, but also to the injuries of the operator.
A shovel with a snow auger is notable for its simplicity and efficiency in use and allows you to perform a much larger amount of work at a time. On how to make a screw do it yourself, we will talk with you in this article.
Auger shovel: description
Mechanical snow shovels with the screw is full unit, consisting of a motoblock, equipped with an engine and a caterpillar mechanism, ensuring the movement of the device along the section, as well as a blade, attached to the main part of the tool by means of special elements. The adjustment of the unit operation is carried out using special handles.
Did you know? The manual shovel with the screw has the classical form and standard sizes of a dump. The working surface can be smooth or gear. Devices with a smooth work surface are used to remove soft snow that has just fallen out, and, with a toothed surface, are used to clean packed snow and ice crusts.
Bucket purchased and self-made snow shovel can have different sizes, which can significantly increase the efficiency of snow removal and reduce the time to perform this operation. If you decide to buy a mechanical snow removal shovel, then you need to know that its price will increase in proportion to the size of its bucket.
Features and principle of operation of screw shovels
To begin with, the principle of operation of various types of shovels with a screw is virtually no different among themselves. The blade captures the snow and leads it through the chute to the side, due to which the area is cleared of snow. Mechanical units are driven by a gasoline engine, and manual ones - by physical force of a person. In mechanical models, snow is broken by air, which drives and throws a powerful fan aside for a distance of about 12 meters. At the same time the distance to which the snow is thrown depends on the model of the device and the power of the fan. Virtually all units have a function to adjust the angle and distance of snow ejection.
Types of screw shovels
It is very difficult for an ignorant person to understand the existing variety of screw shovels, and therefore, when choosing this tool, it is necessary to proceed from for what amount of work it is purchased.
Let's look at what types of auger shovels exist.
Single-stage auger shovels. The principle of operation of this tool is based on the fact that the screw mechanism during the action rotates at a certain frequency, ensuring the highest quality and fast snow removal.
Two-stage auger or rotor shovels. Such a tool captures the snow with the help of a screw, and its removal provides a special ejecting chute. Snow ejection is possible only due to the work of the rotor.
In addition, the auger-shovel can be manual and mechanical.
Manual snow shovel with a screw is very simple to do with your own hands. This tool is quite effective for snow removal only in small areas. When removing snow from the site, due to the design of the tool, the operator is forced to constantly bend, which significantly reduces the speed of cleaning.
Did you know? Electric snow blowers are considered more economical and convenient to use. But they are suitable for cleaning only small areas, since their promotion is limited by the cord and the location of the power source.
Making a mechanical screw - the task is not the simplest and only by those who have certain knowledge and skills. The main advantage of a mechanical tool is that it is much easier to use than a manual counterpart, and it can handle a large amount of work. And if you equip such a unit with a special brush, it can be used to clean the leaves. Disadvantages of this device also abound. It can not be used to clean snowing, and in addition, it has a lower maneuverability, due to the presence of the device cord that feeds it from the network.
Also auger shovels can divided into self-propelled and non-propelled. Self-propelled tool moves around the site using a special crawler mechanism, which is driven by a motor. This tool is very easy to manage, it is quite powerful and has a good range of snow throwing. In turn, non-self-propelled devices are actuated by human force, and therefore the speed of cleaning a portion of snow depends only on the physical data of the operator.
Advantages and disadvantages of using augers for snow removal
The advantages of using screw shovels are obvious:
- With this tool you can very quickly clear a fairly large area of snow;
- the operator will not have to make significant efforts even with the removal of the crust or stale snow;
- the tool is quite mobile, to move it around the site, the operator will not have to exert considerable physical effort;
- such a tool is quite effective and allows you to remove snow from the site as quickly and as efficiently as possible;
- augers are distinguished by high productivity: the wider their bucket, the less time it takes to clean the area from snow;
- All screws are made of durable steel grades, which provides them with a long period of maintenance-free operation.
How to make a manual auger shovel yourself
Making auger do it yourself - the task is not the most difficult. The assembly of the device should begin with the choice of the power unit: for its manufacture, you can use an electric or gasoline engine, also a ready-made device such as a walk-behind tractor will do. At the same time, the maximum number of revolutions that the unit is capable of making should not exceed 1500 revolutions per minute. And now let's take a closer look at how to make a screw-shovel with your own hands.
Selection of materials for homemade tools
In order to make auger shovel, you need to prepare in advance:
- old metal barrel or sheet iron;
- plywood;
- metal pipes;
- asterisk;
- metal rings;
- metal plates;
- bearings.
Necessary tool
Even an amateur can cope with the manufacture of auger shovels, but only if he knows how to properly use tools such as a welding machine, drill, screwdriver, pliers.
How to make a spade with a screw with his own hands, a description of the process
A casing for a future shovel is made from an old barrel or sheet iron. The side parts of the unit can also be cut from sheet metal or plywood. If there is neither one nor the other, then you can use pieces of roofing. To improve the reliability and durability of the device, it is better to fasten all the elements of the case by welding together.
If you do not have the skills to work with a welding machine, then bolts and nuts can be used to connect the body elements, but the strength of this design will be much lower. In order to avoid sharp blows of the structure against any obstacles, it is better to make the lower and front parts of the unit rounded.
After the casing is manufactured, it is possible to proceed to the formation of holes, into which the auger will be fixed later. To manufacture the shaft, it is necessary to take a metal tube with a diameter of about 5 cm and fix u-shaped plates on it, which are necessary to move the snow along the chute. The welding of the plates is carried out at an angle to each other.
In the next step, we cut four metal or rubber rings, which should be installed from the side wall to the plates. The rings should be welded in such a way that a twisting spiral is formed from them. The resulting helix should be attached to the shaft near the sidewall and the central plate. Make sure that the shaft extends beyond the box at least 6 cm. Now it is necessary to weld the sprockets to the shaft and attach them to the walking block. Then cut the back of the circle and weld the socket to the hole. After attaching to the walker the shovel is ready.
In fact, it is much easier to make a snow blower with your own hands than it might seem at first glance, the main thing is clearly understand the principle of operation and device design.
