Absolutely one of your best episodes. Solar power, diesel generator, snow, rain, Bailey to the vet, plasma machine cutting, engine mounting, wiring diagnosis and finally - starting the snow blower engine. Whew, I'm exhausted just remembering all that happened in only 22:43!
It will work for sure , my dad and I built one to clear the snow using a bj40 Toyota and a Vw beetle engine and it still works fine every winter since 1998. They have every skill and patience to make it work
The joy of getting an engine running! I had a kubota .9L 3 cylinder diesel generator (from a tractor trailer rig) that I resurrected after getting it from a junkyard where the entire oil pan was filled with water from sitting out...very satisfying when it finally cranked over and ran!
You two are truly extraordinary. I don't think there is much you guys can't do. This self powered, mounted to an Army truck, snow blower is going to be amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Just remember that with all the weight out on the front axle, you will change the steering and traction of the truck make sure to use tire chains with this both front and rear chains.
I’ve thought about this and I would put the motor in the bed driving a pump with hydraulic drive. With this in the bed and the blower in front the weight distribution wouldn’t change much.
The mini-lathe performed way better than I thought. I anticipated broken tooling and work pieces flying. Do you know there is a huge demand for clearing snow from commercial parking lots in your area when it snows? If customers can't access parking, it shuts down the business. If your snow blower works as well as your other projects, you could make a small fortune clearing parking lots, even if you hired a driver or two. Your big attraction to business owners would be the production level. The quicker the parking lot is cleared of snow and the equipment is out of the way of vehicles, the sooner customers can park. Your blower should be much faster than the typical plows and bucket loaders. Another great show!
Best wishes to Bailey for a smooth and effective recovery. Courtney is a much more attractive and skilled assistant than Tony Stark's garage assistant.
Riley has this childlike optimism about everything. If a tsunami and lava flow were reported to heading your way he'd be like "great an opportunity to make steam and power something cool".
Which bearings? -- I think there will be a problem with both the rear engine main and the input shaft on the snow blower gearbox. I would definitely be looking at a tooth pulley / belt system to reduce belt pulls.
Knowing who the pilot of this beast will be, maybe the neutral safety switch is a good idea...hooked to a pressure switch under the seat of the army truck. Riley gets out of the truck, the snow blower shuts off.
Incredible, you've created all these things from nothing: Barndominium/shop, cool snow tracks, unbelievable off-grid power system, neat camper and now the cool snow plow...if anything you will become "Snow Plow Kings" and go into the snow plow business. Watching you two is better than TV...keep the videos coming and praying for Baily's recovery.
Started watching you guys a while ago, really inspiring your attitude toward the challenges you encounter and your team work. Always enjoy watching . Oh ya you guys are also wicked smart!!😊
Have you guys considered adding a windmill or 2 to your off grid power system? Depending on what kind of wind you get it could be a good supplement to your solar for night and overcast winter months.
Good job Riley on the engine for the snow plough, but l can see Courtney is not just good looking but the brains behind you with her knowledge of cutting parts out of Steele she always seems to be so good at getting you out of problems. Courtney is a lovely person and always has a beautiful smile l can see why she smiles because she has you Riley !! Hope to see the finished blower on your truck. How are you going to cool the engine !!
WOW!!! Talk about a dynamic duo!!! You two NEVER fail to impress!!! I have a headache just looking at all those parts and wires, lol. Can’t wait to see the Army truck plowing away!!! Well done!!!👏👏👏
An idea for the future would be giving the diesel gen some automation. If battery levels drop below X, automatically fire up the diesel gen. When battery level over Y and diesel gen is on, shut it down. Should be absolutely doable with your current gear with relatively small effort. Might even be a good idea to hook up an auto-off based on solar voltage too.
Love the videos and love the way you guys work together I wait all week to see you guys. But there's a BIG BIG problem the videos aren't near long enough. I know it takes a lot to edit all of that but we need at least 1 hour per week. I'm sure there's plenty who agree with me.
Somehow I'm having visions of a "Mad Max Fury Road" Snow-Blower as I watch this construction progress.... You just need some scaled down "pole cats" for decorations that will sway back and forth as you use the blower.
You are my favorite on You Tube, thank you for trying crazy things, you are living my dream. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't wait for every new video.
Some things never change. The large purple wires are the clutch and/or neutral safety switch wires all the way back to the '60's for GM vehicles. Good work.
Poor Bailey!😢 I’m glad she’s improving. Our doggies really struggle coming out of anesthesia…very stressful. You’re a great dog mom, Courtney! I love that you stayed with her, patiently loving and caring for her. Wishing her well with her recovery.
Riley is all the time doing things to challenge his mind. That's exactly what I do I make things to see if they're going to work. Even though people will tell me that's impossible it'll never work but somehow I always prove them wrong. And I love Rally's answer to the skid steer snowblower. When he said I want to blow snow too. I can't wait until y'all's next video and I'm real anxious to see if Riley's using the snow blower with the army truck.
First, congratulation on getting the engine to start !! I thought it would be much more difficult. Most of the hoses going in and out of the gas tank are for emission controls and so are not needed. Get a 5 gallon plastic gas can. insert a nipple near the bottom. Use a Bosch or Walbro inline fuel pump. Second, you don't need that radiator. Again, just use a 5 gallon jug. Make sure it is vented (not pressurized). You won't be running that engine when the ambient air temperature is more than 40F. Third, you need a heavier flywheel. Weight the torque converter and then remember it is filled with oil. Also there is a pump inside the transmission. Both of these are always spinning so you need about that much mass attached to the crankshaft. You might need 4 V-belts and you might nee some kind of tensioner.
For how much snow you guys get it makes a lot of sense to have both because then you are completely self reliant no matter what and you have a backup. Love the project and your videos guys.
you need to set up an auto start for your generator, and a small heater in the generator battery box. that will keep the gen and battery warm enough to start when your solar batteries get down to 25% or so. the heater will use some power but not alot. you could also put the gen in a insulated shed to keep it warmer with less power.
Hallelujah! Now, when ready grease everything on the new hardware in front of that pulley, 🤞🌨⛄ If all works maybe some easy off cover flashing over the blower driver engine.
Your boon dog looks just like our former buzz dog and he’s probably trying to play with his sister they are family and it really shows how much you love them! Wishing Bailey a fast and full recovery!
Our dog Rhetta tore both ligaments. With the fishing line surgery and a great surgeon , she fully recovered and never took a wrong or lame step for the rest of her life (10 more hears). Dogs also can wrench their front !eg wrists on ice, another common snow country injury. The surgery aftercare did include a lot of physical therapy including a water treadmill. Well worth it. Yes, we did 90 mile round trips in Alaska winter to do the PT. She spent 7 weeks in isolation in our laundry room with icing 4x a day. WelI worth it though as her injury was pretty devastating. Hoping your dog is getting along well today.
Praying Bailey has a speedy recovery. So beyond blown away by your “engine”uity. You two make it look so fun and easy. Love your hearty spirit of “we can do anything” and you do!!! Take care of those fur babies. Love you guys!
I think it makes sense to keep both, especially if you guys are going to build the house in a few years, Skid Steer can clear by the house, shop, panels, while the Truck can do the drive.
Great progress! Focus on the cooling. That engine, in it's new role as an industrial engine, may be running harder with much higher average loading than it ever did when it was in that light car and doing so with a lot less air through the radiator. Watch the temperature closely. You may need a bigger radiator, possibly from a truck with an electric fan.
That's a valid concern.. hopefully being used mainly in winter the lower surrounding temperature will compensate for the potentially decreased airflow through the radiator.. 🤞🤞
So glad you have the shop up and running. Your content is very fun to watch. You take ingenuity to a new level. Hoping for fast healing, on your fur baby. It's hard when your child is hurt.
I'm curious to know how you're going to manage the cruise control, since in most modern vehicles cruise control is based on a transmission output speed and not the actual engine rpm. Can't wait to see what you come up with!
That's what I've been wondering 🤔?. And I don't think the cruise control from the auto will be enough to overcome the blower , especially if it's a wet sticky snow. 🤔
I’m not sure the cruise control will provide what is needed either. I’d bet we end up using a mechanical or electro-mechanical throttle control instead. I hope the donor car had a tachometer and that it’s functionality was preserved. That way, a throttle lever could control engine speed and the tach would provide the feedback to run the unit at safe but efficient speed. 🥸👍
Cruise control is operable from wheel spd sensor data to the pcm without that info the pcm deems the cruise inop no signal no cruise in otherwords now if you could trick the pcm to see converter lock up and a speed of atleast 25mph. It may be possible but i know of no after or gmc programs capable of doing such
The cruise control sensors would be off of the final drive. A variable speed clutch would help with the work load. Like something you would find on a high powered snowmobile. Would also allow the engine to idle on start up without rotating the snowblower augers.
@@jimcrowell5093 Im super interested. In sawmill pcms modulate electric motors frequency converting rpm. I would think it’s not too difficult to do with mph. -rpm. It’s just a ratio? Reilly’s got just the hack lol. 👍😁 Finding where the rpm at 50 mph in 4th gear without a tach: 50mph depends on circumference of tire size. =axle rpm Deduct differential gear ratio out of the equation. Equals engine rpm. Factor in the pulley sizes equals final drive rpm for snowblower. Hack pcm for that rpm.* That’s the part I need information to actually do lol.. no idea..
Always exciting to hear an engine run after you have fiddled with it, taken it apart, modified it, or performed some other activity that could keep it from running. The blower is going to be a beast. Maybe you could take both blowers and clear all of northern Idaho! Sorry to hear about Bailey. Hope she recovers soon. It's hard when our best friends can't tell us that they're in pain or need something. Thanks for the video!
