Which 56 Blower should I get?

[Ron Brown]

Nick is quoting me a couple of truckmounts and need help in picking the best 56 blower in terms of lower noise and reliability and warranty.

Please Vote and give reason please.

1. Roots warranty 56

2. Tuthill 5006

3. Sutorbuilt 5LP (claims to be 50% quieter than other blowers)

Thanks,

Ron Brown

 

[markmark]

In my humble opinion...Sutorbilt blowers rock! That is what prochem puts in their machines, as far as I know. Very dependable!

 

[R W]

I'd definitely be sure it had the new "dual splash oiler", to eliminate having to grease the thing!!

 

[Larry Cobb]

Ron B;

The equivalent Sutorbilt would be a 5MP and that would be my choice.

It is rated @ 16" of lift vs. 15" for the Roots56.

I would avoid any of the the Tri-Lobes.

Larry Cobb
Cobb Carpet Supply

 

[Greenie]

Larry, if you are gonna make that statement about avoiding tri-lobes, you should support it.

To answer the original question, what motor are you coupling to the blower, and what method are you using, ie: belts or direct coupled?

more questions to follow.

 

[Larry Cobb]

OK Greenie;

I do support it. I don't use them in TM's.

TriLobes:

1. Move less air per revolution.
2. Have more friction from the additional lobe
3. Are more prone to stick from rust between the lobe & housing
4. Are not rated for the highest lift (16" vs 15" -#4 Gearbox)
5. Less flexible mounting system

Now... what are the advantages that you like ???

Larry Cobb

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Lobe "friction" would only come from the swept area against the end-plates, as the lobes don't actually contact each other. That difference is very slight.

They are much quieter and generate a gentler pulse and very much reduced harmonic feedback to the shaft.

A few pounds heavier, a little pricier, but a good track record anyway.

Like Chevy vs Ford....a preference thing imho.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[Greenie]

Having run one for a couple of years, let me share my thoughts.

btw: I wasn't attacking your choice, just asking for reasons etc..

" 1. Move less air per revolution. "

This true, there are three little bites vs: 2 larger bites, but it's not a huge difference in total cfm delivered.

I would add to this the "pitch" is different with tri-lobes, some say they are quieter, I just think it's more of a different kind of noise.

Less horsepower to drive blower at capacity, a #4 bi-lobe will require more power than #4 tri-lobe, although the difference is small it makes it possible for a 27hp to drive a 47 tri-lobe.

"2. Have more friction from the additional lobe"

This I can not confirm or deny, since the lobes don't actually make contact with the housing why would there be more friction?
If anything, I would guess it would be a more balanced assembly, and yield less vibration than a Bi-lobe.

"3. Are more prone to stick from rust between the lobe & housing"

Maybe you are right, but I'm not sure why this would be true, once again it's three smaller points vs: two larger points, end the end I think it would be a wash.

"4. Are not rated for the highest lift (16" vs 15" -#4 Gearbox)"

This may be true as well, but on that note I know that there is trade off on lift vs: cfm etc... To actually hold that higher lift, you need the horsepower behind it.
Can you hold 16" with a #4 bi-lobe and a 20hp motor?
You could with a #4 tri-lobe and that same motor, it's a small difference but the tri-lobe allows a wider range of engine to blower options.

"5. Less flexible mounting system"

I'd have to look into the details of this one, to have an opinion.

One of my favorite features was the double splash oil, No Zirk Fittings.

 

[JohnnyV]

I'm very Sorry but I will not be able to drive to Michigan to repair it.

 

[Scott Rogers]

What engine is going to power it?

Direct coupled or belt driven?

Is he going to use a relief valve of some type?

Make sure he includes a blower filter!!

 

[minuteman]

I like both the Suturbuilt and the Roots, I have a Suturbuilt #3 from 1978 that still works fine today. Both the Suturbuilt and Roots are very dependable and the Prochem is quite as mentioned above, I run a Roots 56 in my Genesis and its loud and there is no doubt about that . What Engine is just as important as the choice of blower. The silencers are a major point in the decision also. Look at all three components and than choose.

Greg

 

[Matt King]

They all have their strong points. For a standard bi-lobe blower Roots offers a DSL unit. Actually, Tuthill does too but they told me they won't sell it to CC'ers. Interesting, why I don't know... Sutorbilt has this in their Duorflow units but they cost quite a bit more. Anyhow, Tuthill has a strong point in their helical cut gears and double row ball bearings. How much of a strong point is this I really don't know. Sutorbilt (I'm told) has a stronger casing. Look at the casting. You'll see ribs cast right into the unit around the section that houses the lobes. Some will say this helps in noise reduction and increases durability in case a lobe lets loose and decides to fly out of the blower. Others will argue that this type of casting design retains too much heat. Once again, I'm sure this stuff can be argued by all sides for days on end... As for the greasing vs. DSL (dual splash), it makes no difference to me personally. I had a dsl Roots on my Genesis and it was nice. Grease doesn't bother me much though. The bi-lobe vs. tri-lobe thing... Someone prove to me one way or another and I'd feel alot better commenting on it. Strictly looking at the new Sutorbilt unit Prochem and Blueline use, the casing isn't the same as their bi-lobe 'legend' series. Are the internal dimensions dead identical on each unit? How about lobe thickness? There's too many variables on this for me at least for the Sutorbilts. The Tuthills 'look' to have the same housing for both their bi and tri-lobe units. Maybe they're not? I don't know. I will say this, if they are and then the tri-lobe unit would have to have thinner lobes to compensate for a third lobe in order to move as much air per revolution would it not? I'd rather have the thicker lobes myself it that was the case. With that said, I'm sure they'd all be fine. Stanley Steemer has used Roots forever and those things get Abused. I have a Sutorbilt with almost 10 thousand hours on my shelf and still works perfect. I'm sure a Tuthill would be fine too. The one thing that stood out in my mind as typing this was that Sutorbilt has this handy bearing cover on the drive side allowing you to change a load bearing if need be without removing the blower from the machine. Of course this isn't the case with all machines but if there's easy access it can be done. Not sure it matters all that much though to most guys... Good luck in your quest! What does Nick recommend with his machines?

 

[Larry Cobb]

Greenie;

2. Have more friction from the additional lobe"

This I can not confirm or deny, since the lobes don't actually make contact with the housing why would there be more friction?
If anything, I would guess it would be a more balanced assembly, and yield less vibration than a Bi-lobe.

The reason the TriFlow 3-Lobe blower has more friction is due to the "unique internal feedback porting arrangement".

To reduce noise, Sutorbilt is bypassing some air from the outlet to the inlet. This creates air pumping which is a waste of energy...

Larry Cobb

 

[Matt King]

Larry, does the Tuthill tri-lobe do that too or is this just the Sutorbilt? I think Greenie had the Tuthill off of a Hydramaster on his machine if I remember correctly.. I've never torn into a tri-lobe unit. It would be interesting though.. So is this 'air return' passage cast into the housing or how is it set up? Is there any other reason why this is done other than noise reduction? It just doesn't seem logical to me.. I guess the blower manufacturers would know best though.

 

[Larry Cobb]

Matt;

I only know about the Sutorbilt Tri-Lobe, but that is the most common one in our industry (ProChem and other blue TM's).

It was done primarily for reduction of pulsation noise.

Larry Cobb
Mikey Board Supporting Member

 

[Bob Savage]

Why a 56?

If you have a choice, I'd go with a 59.

 

[Greenie]

Matt is correct, we had a blower that you weren't supposed to be able to buy commercially on our unit. And it was solid, very heavy duty. I don't recall specifics, but it most definitely didn't bypass any energy, it would give a bi-lobe a run for it's money.

Bob, I think the problem at hand with the 59 is a power plant to drive it, the 56 can be "pulled off" with a 31-35 hp unit, after that it's a whole new class of motor.

Also the 56 has it's advantages, #1 being it can sustain a higher lift, yet still maintain plenty of airflow for two wands.
There are many of 56 units being run at 17+"hg daily for years, and that is nice 300' from the truck.

 

[Jimmy L]

I agree with ODIN.
Such technical details are frivolous when all you ask is for the blower to suck.But there are some who tend to over analyze just about anything.

 

[Matt King]

It's the 'Gearhead' syndrome Jimmy... Some people just have it in their blood. You try to stop it but you just can't help yourself....