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Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 12:54 pm
by joeq
Hoping to get some info for a friend. He owns a Nashua brand combination stove, which has a blower on the back. The blower motor has a 2 speed slide switch located externally on the cord, and the sw has gone bad. He says he's tried local electrical supply houses, and even on line, and can't seem to find this simple sw anywhere. It's a green/white 3 wire 115V low amp Sw, and I told him maybe an off brand, such as Hitzer, or Alaska maybe, might have something similar. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks.

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 1:00 pm
by coaledsweat
Grainger or McMaster Carr have zillions of switches.

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 1:05 pm
by D-frost
Joe,
He should be able to find a 3 speed rotary switch(like on a window box fan) at an electric supply, or maybe even Home Depot. If not, bypass the switch and you have '1' speed.
Cheers

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 1:45 pm
by joeq
My buddy has the ratings of the motor, and I believe he said something like .9 amps/1.5? on a 2 pole switch, and said that he knows about the supply houses having gazillions of sw, but guess he's having a hard time finding his in the exact ratings, and doesn't know how much he can deviate. It does work on high, but says it's noisy and likes the slow speed also. Thanks for the responses. I was just wondering about other manufactured stoves having this same feature. Does anyone have a stove, (still in production), with this type of cord?

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 5:42 pm
by Sunny Boy
Can he take the high speed wire in the switch and swap it with the low speed wire ? If so, then he'll have a quiet one speed.

Paul

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 6:45 pm
by joeq
There's an idea Paul. If worse comes to worse, I'll run that by him. I don't know how bad his sw is, but it doesn't sound very promising. He said something about water damage over the years.

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 6:54 pm
by cabinover
With a little elbow grease and time he probably could make that switch work just fine. If it's a sealed plastic unit it can be carefully dissected, clean up the contacts, and let it roll. If it's a crimped metal switch, pretty much the same deal. Just hit them with an ohmmeter before using when you get them back together. An easy test with a cheap meter will let you know if it was put back together correctly or not.

If it's water damage, it's probably just a good cleaning with emery cloth/fine sandpaper on the points and reassemble. Or...he can try something like DeOxit and operating the switch several times. May get lucky and not have to tear it apart.

Then again, maybe just retrofit any 2 position switch. An internet search will shine the light on switches...really useful items that are not complicated at this level.

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 9:01 pm
by McGiever

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 9:32 pm
by michaelanthony
...yup, good call Larry. I stole a similar switch from an old kitchen exhaust hood to do the same thing.

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 11:22 pm
by joeq
Thanks guys. It's not on a cord, but if he's really motivated, he could adapt it. Not sure of the rating on it, but it should be close enuff, I would think. I'll pass it on, and let you know what transpires.

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 11:52 pm
by Shikellamy
As a quick alternative, I just bought a 120V/2.5A variable speed fan control made by KB Electronics called Dial-A-Temp and sold by my local stove store for $25. The same thing can be found online for under $20, but I support my local shop. https://www.amazon.com/KB-Electronics-Model-Varia ... ial-a-temp

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Mon. Dec. 18, 2017 6:21 am
by joeq
Shikellamy wrote:
Sun. Dec. 17, 2017 11:52 pm
As a quick alternative, I just bought a 120V/2.5A variable speed fan control made by KB Electronics called Dial-A-Temp and sold by my local stove store for $25. The same thing can be found online for under $20, but I support my local shop. https://www.amazon.com/KB-Electronics-Model-Varia ... ial-a-temp
I'll add this to the list also. Appreciate it.

Re: Help Switch Needed

Posted: Mon. Jan. 01, 2018 2:14 pm
by joeq
My buddy told me he found a rheostat mounted on an 8' cord, that he wants to have professionally mounted to his blower motor. Because his new cord has 3 wires, and his old corded sw had 4 wires, he wasn't sure which wires went where, and didn't want to run the risk of ruining his motor. Guess it should be nice having the advantage of an infinite setting for blower speeds.