Keeping chains on snowblower

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I put chains on my 36" snowblower and they really help. At first I wondered if they would stay on, but they did so all was well.

Then one fell off. I need to put it back on. How can I make these semi- permanent?

I wonder if going in reverse caused it?
 
If you use what they call chain tighteners it helps a lot. I think they only make them for car chains though. You can just use very short bunge cords and pull them across from one side link to the other side 180 degrees across 2per wheel.
 
I've never needed them and I'm too fearful of them getting caught up in the auger and destroying the machine. Here's my 30" cutting through 23 inches of snow 2 days ago with nothing more than a spray of Pam.

 
I spent 25 years clearing 130' long driveway with an 11% grade. Never needed chains. Good tires and some weight were all that was required.
 
A lot of older snow blowers have pretty terrible tires that really do benefit from chains, but newer designs like the Carlisle X-Trac (look just like the tires LeakySeals has) are just as good, and much easier to roll around than tires with chains.

Donald, are your tires pneumatic? If so, try release the air in the tires and tighten the chains. Then slowly air them back up and they should be tight.
 
My driveway is more like 1000' of category 4 dirt plus a parking area for several cars. The chains did a great job just need for them to stay on. My current tires are turf tires. It looks like this machine was made to be adaptable to a wide mower by adding a new front half and air cleaner.
 
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I've never needed them and I'm too fearful of them getting caught up in the auger and destroying the machine. Here's my 30" cutting through 23 inches of snow 2 days ago with nothing more than a spray of Pam.




Not sure how the chains would get caught in the auger since if one fell off totally it would just fall off in the path behind the snow blower. One would almost certainly notice. I assume the machine would try and turn since one tire now has a lot more traction than the other.
 
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I've never needed them and I'm too fearful of them getting caught up in the auger and destroying the machine. Here's my 30" cutting through 23 inches of snow 2 days ago with nothing more than a spray of Pam.


I had a can of silicone spray, two cans of cooking spray, and a can of WD40 fail before I tried Rain-X windshield spray and that did the trick.
The first three all ran out and the WD40 nozzle just failed despite having plenty of product in the can.

That was a pretty nasty storm, huh? I went up and skied this morning and there was a nice 2' of snow pretty much all over the mountain.
 
The old style turf tires don't have nearly the traction of the new "snow hog" tires. I rarely use chains, except when the snowplow pushes up a mountain of packed snow into my driveway. Then, without chains you can shovel it out easier and faster than trying to get the blower to go into it.
 
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