Cobbled together rotary

seigezapf

seigezapf

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I have started cobbling together a rotary snowplow. So far I have modified an LGB box car by replacing the rear axle with the lower part of an LGB motorized tender. Since the tender precluded the lower tracks for the doors I used pieces of an old caboose to fill the door openings. I added an LGB plow part and light to the front. I have ordered a couple different fans/impellers which I will power with an rc motor and 7.4volt NIMH battery. At least that is the plan. More to come.





Craig
 
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Looking interesting.
 
Needs more weight! ;):giggle::giggle:

Does the front axle pivot? - might need the articulation???
 
What Phil said.
 
I agree with Phil and Dan,needs more weight,the battery for the fans etc will give some but will need some more if its going to be used in anger against the white stuff.;);)
 
Thanks for the comments. Yes, the front wheel does pivot. More weight is a good idea. The motor and battery will add some weight, but my fear is that the front will be de-railed easily when the fan hits the snow. I'll try to work some lead weight in the front. I have also thought about installing pins that would ride inside the rails (like the device the Bachmann mogul uses to keep from derailing). In any event I figure I'll need to go slow and only attack more powdery snow.

I am further wondering about controlling the fan speed. Specifically, would a faster speed likely torque the front end more or less than a slower speed? I could change the fan speed either electronically with a rheostat or mechanically with a gear reduction unit on the motor. There are several gear reduction unit choices for RC (540 or 380) motors. I am going to try out several methods. I have the motors and have ordered a couple different gear reduction units.

This unit is interesting. But it only rotates at 14 turns/minute which I think is too slow.



This one looks more promising. Lots of RPM choices and the 24 volt one might work off track power. I might try the 319rpm (@5 rps).




Thanks again for your comments and suggestions. I should have more progress to show soon.

Craig
 
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Slow going. I have tried different things and each time realize I need to order a different part - e.g. a different size oilite bushing. I settled on this fan setup (below). I still have parts coming to experiment with the motor drive - specifically to try to control motor speed either electronically or with gear reduction.

 
Oh, I like it - have you thought about contacting Jerry Barnes through the forum? - he built a US outline blower with reasonable success :nod::nod::nod:
 
Great bash. A rotary is a fine thing to have when the snow hits.
I have a USA Trains version but I upgraded the motor and axle fixing with a beefy pittman jobbie.
It works well in powdered snow but the wet stuff defeats it.
The USAT one has a chute in the cowling (that can be adjusted) so, in theory the snow doesn't clog underneath.
You may well need a 'cowl' to stop the snow just fouling up the blade

Richie (a member on this forum) kitbashed his own rotary based on the Rio Grande OY
This is his thread:
https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/rio-grande-rotary-snow-plow-oy.39428/

My USA Trains rotary in action with the assistance of two locos and an Accucraft Flanger.
snow rotary from above narrow copy2.jpg
 
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Thanks Rhinochugger. I am not familiar with Jerry Barnes' blower. I'll see what I can find. I did find an interesting blower made from 3D printed parts and sold by Spykerworkshops.com. It was originally designed for a Kyosho Blizzard snowcat, but I believe could be adapted to a railcar. Unfortunately it is a bit pricey even the kits. But it does a terrific job in even deep snow. Here are a couple videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WCegg23qY0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPEa_3Q_8pQ

The blower has a metal plate across the bottom that might be an issue if it contacted both tracks. That no doubt could be replaced by a plastic one.

Thank you Mike for the info and suggestions. It looks like your USA train mod works well. I have read that the stock power is not up to the task so a beefy pittman is a good choice. I have yet to decide on a motor (540, 380, or a geared motor I have ordered). I have also not decided about a cowl. Would a cowl make it more or less likely to clog. How does your USA trains rotary do with clogging? Right now I expect the snow will just fly out in all directions (powder as you say not wet snow). I built an earlier rotary with a cowl and heavy rotor (unfinished - I'll put a photo below if I can find one). I wanted to go simpler this time. But it is an experiment that can be changed.

I also see you ran a flanger between the rotary and the locos. I assume that it to clear off the rails of what the rotary missed. I like that idea. I had originally thought to attach a small plow to the front of the rotary, but it interfered with the fan housing.

Thanks for the link to the Rio Grande rotary thread. Wow! That person has 1000 times the talent I have. What a great job. I could never do such a terrific job in creating a model of an actual rotary. I need to read over that thread thoroughly. I did buy a couple computer box fans like he used, but I wasn't sure how effective the blades would be or how to drive the blades externally. I need to read further in his thread to find out. The fan I am using is lightweight aluminum with prominent blades.

Here are some photos of my earlier effort. I haven't tried it in snow but just looking at it I thought that the fan contact area was too small and I overdid the cowl. With my newer effort I'm thinking the fan will blow the snow as much as scoop it but still look a little like a rotary.





Craig
 
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I found Jerry Barnes rotary on his website. Thanks for referring to him Rhinochugger. He is another really talented builder. His rotary looked great and the videos of it running were impressive. I had not hear of metal foil duct tape. He used it very effectively.
 
Hmmm. I revisited my earlier effort and made some changes. I cut away some of the front cowling. I think I'll need to add something to the bottom corners to push away snow rather than collect it. I may also look at changing the fan to an aluminum one. Still, I did hook it up to a 6v battery as is and it ran fine. I might have two rotaries to try out when it snows again.





Update: Reworked the bottom of the cowl to push aside snow that doesn't enter the fan.




Craig
 
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I'm learning a little about electronics the hard way. I finally got the mechanics squared away on both rotaries. I was excited to fire up the new one. Smoke. Not good. The wiring from the battery to the motor melted. Testing the motor with no load did not show up this problem. But under load the wiring I was using (probably 24 gauge) was not up to the task. I'll rewire the leads to the motor with 14 gauge wire and I have ordered a toggle switch that can handle higher amperage. I did receive a couple of the geared motors and they look to maybe work if I want to slow down the fan. Of course the motor shafts are a different diameter than the 540 motors and the motor brackets are different (I found they use stepper motor brackets). So waiting for those parts.

The current state of both rotaries.



 
Changes and progress on the new rotary.

I decided to use a larger cowling with a simple/chute.opening to direct the snow.



I discovered that the rotary would not track around corners. The powered wheel tandem kept the rotary going straight. So I removed the forward power wheel. So now it is a 2-2 rather than a 2-4. It now tracks corners well.



Finally, I figured out the motor and electrical. It uses a 540 motor though a 1:7.4 reduction gear box (HPI). It is powered with a 7.4 volt 3000MaH NiMH battery. I used 14 awg wiring which hopefully will handle the amperage without heating up too much. I have attached a lead weight to the front (bottom of photo) and have ordered another identical one for the other side. The whole unit is quite heavy.

 
Mike's photo of the Accucraft flanger behind his rotary has motivated me to put together a flanger/spreader - again on a budget from various parts and pieces. I searched the forum to see if anyone has built one. I found David's gorgeous model of the RGS plow flanger. Since I do not have close to that talent mine will be much rougher and not an actual model of an existing one.

I'd like to shoot for something like this. Like my rotary, mine will be powered to push through snow better. Maybe a Stainz drive, a caboose body, some plow pieces and fabricated wings.

 
I finally completed the re-do of the first rotary. Simplified, redone drive train is now an Electri-Fly gear reduction unit and reverse direction motor. It is powered by a 6V sealed battery. Weights added to the front sides. There are now two blades within the cowling.



 
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