My Pre Christmas Saga

billw · Post by **billw** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 2:51 pm

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was warm, not even the mouse.

The kids started to shiver, the wife started to clatter
I went to the basement to see what’s the matter

The big blue beastie was cool and idle
While thermostat relays were crying out loud

I glanced at the motor and saw the red button
I pushed it in and she started to hummin

It started to whirl and bang and chatter
I knew in a second the bearings were in the crapper

My oil unit’s in pieces so no backup you see
The tanks are dry so no heat for me

I looked surprised then felt disgust
For my procrastination has caused such a fuss

I contacted supply houses to find a replacement
None were to be had, I made a poor judgement

I called my brother in law, after he called me a shmuck
He went to Grainger’s and had great luck

He dropped it off as I got home from work
He said “Here, install this, you dam lazy jerk”

I thrashed and cussed and huffed and puffed
The Blue Beastie agreed and fired back up.

Well that's all there is, I can say no more
Once again I got lucky and avoided a war

Well, that's a long way of saying the fan motor that started making noise last month is about ready to bite the bullet. It's time to go down and install it. It overheated during the night. I added more oil to the bearings and got it restarted this morning. Took a couple of hours off to get it installed before this evening. If I put it off any longer I'll be here Christmas day with a house full of company and no heat.

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 3:33 pm

Nice Poem Bill, at least you have talent and forethought in one area of your life!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

billw · Post by **billw** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 4:07 pm

Thanks Matt, I was sitting at work today after I found out none of the local plumbing supply houses had one in stock and it just came to mind.
I had to either laugh at myself or kick my own ass for being so stupid. Changing a motor in a 520 really is easy if you have a spare. I just fired it back up by jumping the motor leads into the circuit so the fire would stay going. Will wire it in permanently in a while after the tstat is satisfied. Sometimes I can't believe how dam dumb I am.
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Mark (PA) · Post by **Mark (PA)** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 4:34 pm

Hey Bill

LOVE the poem! I was thinking why is he wasting time on a poem... go fix the boiler.. haha. but I see ya had to work...

yea.. I hear that....

anyway glad you got a motor! lately its been COLD here. with temps of 0 and - 20's wind chill the old stoker has been getting a workout! probably what pushed yours to the limit!

I need to oil my motor. I have never done that yet....

Merry christmas to you too!

Freddy · Post by **Freddy** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 4:56 pm

They never seem to break on the 4th of July. Glad you got the parts.

Fun poem!

Post by **stoker-man** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 5:04 pm

It uses a Smith 4MA10 motor, available at Grainger.

Be sure to install the dust cover. There have been some suggestions about drilling small holes in the dust cover to allow air to cool the motor. One guy said he left the wiring hole open to vent it. Nothing official, just comments "heard on the street".

The kids started to shiver, the wife started to clatter

Mine just chatters, like she is right now, because it's not 80 in the house.

billw · Post by **billw** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 5:13 pm

Just an FYI the new 4MA10 I just bought has a direction switch built into it. The old one did not but the old dust cover was part of the casting. The new one is a bolt on. I noticed air coming out of the wiring hole also. I had shielded cable in the old one and didn't notice it. Maybe I'll leave the shield off so it can vent. I'm not sure what took that 3 month old motor out but I definitely will have a spare sitting at the house from now on.

BTW Stoker man, my wife usually just bitches but I couldn't think of anything to rhyme with it.

whistlenut · Post by **whistlenut** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 6:17 pm

Hope your wife doesn't look over your posts.........there will be REAL BITCHIN'

PPPPPP.....proper prior planning prevents P.ss poor performance! Great 'HEADS UP', and thanks to Grainger for stocking the parts you need in an emergency. Spares are VERY necessary. Got any shear pins? Gaskets? Augers?Circs? Zone valve heads? Glad you can look forward to the holidays knowing you will all be warm!

Post by **stoker-man** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 7:47 pm

Got any shear pins?

This is buried deep enough that probably the owner won't read it. One man has gone through hundreds, literally, over the past 1 1/2 years, of shear pins. He never asked an efm dealer to look at it because it wasn't installed by an efm dealer, but would just order more shear pins. After all this time, the problem was that the two feed pipes were never butted together in the coupling and the grinding coal turned the coal dust into a concrete-like paste inside the coupler. The pipes will be refitted next week and I expect that we'll take a hit in shear pin sales.

billw · Post by **billw** » Tue. Dec. 23, 2008 9:26 pm

I've got extra shear pins, cotter pins, a spare circulator with extra gaskets. I don't have zone valves and I just installed the new motor so I'll have to pick up a spare after the holidays (Here I go again). Has anyone ever seen the rubber collar that connects the motor to the gear box go? I was thinking of getting a spare one of those also.

e.alleg · Post by **e.alleg** » Wed. Dec. 24, 2008 12:16 am

I had to replace the rubber coupler on mine, it made a racket every time the motor would run. I got one directly from EFM and it is a newer design than the one it replaced. How long do the motors last for? Maybe I should pick up a spare.

lincolnmania · Post by **lincolnmania** » Wed. Dec. 24, 2008 1:10 am

mine is 26 yrs old....at least that long lol
my blower motor crapped out last yr around the holidays.......we put a box fan over the cold air return.....worked till I could get a new one.....cleaning up old stuff that the oil company left behind a few weeks later I found a brand new blower motor.......well I have at least one spare now

billw · Post by **billw** » Wed. Dec. 24, 2008 7:26 am

I'm sure that 3 months is out of the norm. Premature failure happens occasionally. Now that I know I can buy from Grainger's I'll have to put together a list of goodies and get the brother in law to go shopping for me. That little escapade yesterday taught me well. I'll definitely have a spare motor here next week.

Post by **stoker-man** » Wed. Dec. 24, 2008 8:58 am

The motor warranty should be one year at Grainger. We don't have any problem with them honoring the warranty.

If you convert from the old style motor coupler to the new style, you have to cut the "ears" off the old style fan hub. They are called tenons in woodworking. The couplings last a long time.

billw · Post by **billw** » Wed. Dec. 24, 2008 9:05 am

Thanks Stokerman,
I'll call the dealer after Christmas to see if I can arrange a return. I like the tenon idea. It makes for a good, solid grip on the coupler. If you come across any New Old Stock couplers I'll buy one.