"It throws snow 40 to 50 ft., is maintenance-free, and inexpensive to build," says Clarence Becker, Curtiss, Wis., about the snowblower he built using an old Gehl silo blower.

The pto-powered rig mounts on the 3-pt. of Becker's 95 hp Oliver 1850 tractor. A homemade auger, fitted with 2 by 2-ft. sq. paddles, pulls snow into the 4 ft. dia., 5-bladed blower. The paddles consist of 3-in. wide blades that mount on a 4 by 4-in. steel tube with a 1 1/4-in. shaft running through its center. Blades on each half of the auger are slanted in opposite directions. As the blades rotate, they spiral toward the center of the auger, pulling snow into the blower. A hydraulically operated top spout above the 9-in. blower opening rotates 180 degrees.

The silo blowers give Becker's rig more capacity than comparably-sized conventional snowblowers, says Becker, who runs the blower at 540 rpm. "If my tractor was equipped with 1,000 rpm, I probably could double my present snowblowing capacity."

Another advantage of using a silo blower in snow is that it's shear pin-protected, notes Becker. "If a chunk of ice gets into the blower or if the top opening blocks up, you'll break the shear pin instead of bending the auger blades."

In operation, the tractor's pto shaft drives an enclosed chain, which runs a sprocket and gearbox removed from an old silage chopper. Becker says he might enlarge the blower opening to 12 in. to increase capacity, and then operate the blower with a tractor equipped with 1,000 rpm pto. "The blower's bearings are built heavy enough to take the extra load," he says.