DIY SNOW MACHINE

by Zinventor

66K3722

Intro: DIY SNOW MACHINE

Here's my attempt at building a snow machine from some watering system stuff, a leaf blower, and too much time on my hands.

WATER AND ELECTRICITY DO NOT MIX>>>>> BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL

Also, it may be a good idea to store the water feed line (water hose) and the blower assy. indoors, since they'll probably freeze solid if you don't.

Even just a bit of moisture can completely block up the rig if it's stagnant, eg, if it's off, bring it in...

BTW, this is my first instructable, feel free to comment on things i could do better in terms of the instructable...

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STEP 1: Materials

Here's what you need:

- Leaf blower (best if it has a detachable nozzle.

-about 2 feet of plastic tubing (half inch)
-alot of 1/4 inch plastic tubing

-various 1/4 inch tubing connectors, i got away with just using t's...

-hose fittings to attach to the plastic tubing

-something to punch holes in the plastic with.

LOCKING EXTENSION CORD

COLD

STEP 2: Punching Holes...

I used an electronics tool with a REALLY SHARP POINT (which snapped off, but oh well...)

be carefull not to poke yourself, and put a few holes through the nozzle peice.

i used 5 width wise, and one height wise.

STEP 3: Small Tubing

it's a pain to put in the small tubes, so you might want to improvise a bit (unless you want really sore hands from pushing on the fittings)

put tubes going all the way through the pipe, with fittings on both sides (or just one fitting, and a plug on the other side.

the pictures make more sense than the words...

STEP 4: Main Tubing

poke holes in the main tubing, but not all the way through, then push fittings into the tube.

tape the main tube to the underside of the nozzle

image notes explain better...

STEP 5: Piping

here's the hellish part...

it takes forever to put on all the tubes, but if you use less, there won't be enough water flowing to make snow...

STEP 6: Assembly

hook the nozzle to the blower, it might be a good idea to support the main tube better...

STEP 7: Test

this i the machine running with the surrounding air at 38degf, so there's no snow...

STEP 8: SNOW!!! .... or Not....

it's taken a few tries, and a few hours with a heat gun (i forgot to bring it inside while i had dinner...)...

and as of yet, i still haven't gotten it to work consistently...

so far, the problem is that the water freezes almost instantly once it gets out of the hose, and blocks up the whole system... grrr...

-- sorry this is coming out in the summer... i just got around to posting it...

it never worked, the system froze too fast, then the hose feeding it froze, and everything stopped...

22 Comments

MontyK 9 years ago

I don't know how cold it gets where you are but at very cold temps like -30c boiling water freezes into snow when sprayed into the air, it might be an idea to try putting that through the machine so the water doesn't freeze in the pipes but does so very fast when it exits.

lemonie 14 years ago

Where does the freezing happen? I read it thrice but I don't understand how this produces ice.

L

alecdisco 9 years ago

the ice is produced when the water moves through the cold air freezing before it hits the ground

Zinventor 14 years ago

Ha, thanks for mentioning that... The device was originally intended to be used in sub-freezing weather, creating a cloud of mist that would turn to snow... the main problem was that I forgot to bring it indoors after testing it, and it totally froze.

lemonie 14 years ago

Ah right, where do you live? L

Zinventor 14 years ago

PDX, but every winter is colder than the last... when i was working on this, the water would freeze before even getting to the machine...

seorsa 9 years ago

What was the outdoor temperature when you were using it? This might be a good mister for my dogs when it is hot. We can hit 110 degrees here for days on end. I had been thinking about some sort of mister that sprays into the shaded side of the yard, where they spend their afternoons.

howest525 10 years ago

I have a suggestion about the dust. I made a modification to a regular shop vac for sucking fine dust like drywall dust which quickly plugs the filter. Read full articles

james91375 14 years ago

try misting nossels that are out side the air flow but spary in to the air flow. Insulate the hose supplying the water all the way back to the source and purge the system once you turn it off. either its snowing or there is no water at all. You should be able to get away with 2-4 misting nossels, other wise there will be too much cross flow of the water and they may combine as they freeze resulting in a product more like hail than snow. you also may want to wait till it is below 20 degrees. before starting the system. pipe insulations should work well for the hose.

LiamOSM 11 years ago

Only problem with that is that at -20 degrees Celsius your home's copper pipes will freeze up around the outside of the house and you'll have to heat the outside nozzle with a hair dryer before you use it. Which would also heat the water and sacrifice funtionality.

LiamOSM 11 years ago

What if, instead of having a dozen tiny hoses and nozzled, you just fed mist into the air pipe? Couldn't you just have a single hose lead in and have a bunch of 1mm wide holes so the water mists out, then it would be blown into the air and freeze?

lilrou15 13 years ago

this would be alot better if you put the snow in the air intake instead of putting it in the air flow

budabob07 13 years ago

i did this a while ago but with an air compressor instead of a leaf blower. was really loud though (sounded like the ones at the ski mtns)

torkerman 14 years ago

Keep trying mate! A great first effort! Your problem is the hose and nozzle system, you would be far better of with 2 3/8 or 1/2 hoses, feeding 2 brass 'ultra fine' misting nozzles from local irrigation supplier (this will help cure the freeze up). Also will work better if the water is fed in under pressure (more than standard gharden hose) Good luck!!! Adam

rimar2000 14 years ago

The black color of the components difficults viewing. Can you add a hand design? (El color negro de los elementos dificulta la visualización. ¿Podrás agregar un diseño a mano?)

Zinventor 14 years ago

CAD drawings will be added once i get them done...

rimar2000 14 years ago

CAD is too much, a simple lineal draw is sufficient!

mrbob1000 14 years ago

you might be able to use slightly warm water from a faucet indoors

Zinventor 14 years ago

good idea! I'll try it next winter!
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