Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Just wondering what the advantage was to having a 4 blade impeller vs a 3 blade... All the new Ariens model have 3 blade from the smallest to the largest (1336)...Some of last years models have the 4 and even 6 blade. How does this impact the performance of the machine??? DO they spin it faster with the 3 blades, or is the impeller redesigned so that the 3 blade works just as well as the 4 blade??

It will obviously depend on geometry and flow characteristics, but all things being equal there is little difference.  If anything, 3 blades may be slightly better. Some folks have opinions on slush versus fluffy snow and the effect of more blades, but most of this is baseless. Unless you have 2 identical units to compare, with different impellers, it is speculation.

Most of the 4 and even 6 blade impeller stuff is driven by customer perception. More blades = better to some customers. Exaggerate that slightly, say 25 blades, and you can see that is kind of silly. There is obviously a threshold where more blades does not help. 3 is it (for typical 10" to 14" snow impellers).

PK