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MMD > Archives > July 2000 > 2000.07.16 > 04Prev  Next


Dismantling Orgoblo Pipe Organ Blower
By Randy

[ Russell Doering wrote: ]

> The clamp with ends up in the fins was the drive from shaft
> to the blades.  The fan floated on the shaft with basically
> no play, to prevent vibration.

Thanks Russell, I gathered that after examining it further.  Odd, though,
because a simple set screw would be the norm; it was on the Orgoblo
with a 5" and 10" sp with a 10 HP motor I cleaned once.

> The purpose for this kind of drive was to reduce motor noise.

I'll bet it was more "in theory" than actual practice in the end.
Personally I see one advantage to this setup: the aluminum clamp deal
has _two_ bolts holding it on good and tight, a set screw might slip or
even sheer a little.

I spent most of this morning dragging it down the stairway.  I began
to move the motor with a hand truck and, after the first step down, it
became quite clear it was far too heavy for me to control down the 34
steps to the sidewalk.  I wound up sliding it down on a series of
planks.  It was like moving a small safe -- amazing how heavy it was!

The 35"x32" drum was even more exciting.  I rolled it down the first
leg of the stairs and was unable to turn it far enough to go the 90
degrees down the second leg, and it was too heavy to lift over my head
over the newel posts, so I wound up having to roll it back UP to the
landing.

Since the door to the balcony was just 4' from the stairwell, I put
some planks across the doorway and used it for an anchor for a rope to
lower the drum down the center of the stairwell to the main floor.
Rather than going that way down to the next level, I had to remove a
door and one door-frame molding (1/2" too narrow otherwise) and then
out the front doors, down another flight of steps.

The stripped down console shell wound up having to go the same route.
I have the swell chest, pipes and box  all out, console, blower, most
of the great/choir  pipes and lot of pedal pipes.  Now comes the
great/choir and what's left.  :)

Had one glitch with the blower drum, though: it is 3/4" too wide to fit
through the door to the basement, which is new, and has a new frame I
made to replace the rotted one.  I kind of don't want to tear that out
again, so the easiest solution I saw -- which I'll do in a day or two
-- is cut an inch off the extra 3" width of the lower lip of the drum
in front of the cast iron mounts, and then re-rivet the half-round edge
strip.  What a pain, but it's easier than tearing out the door frame.

I put all the blower parts on a scale just for the heck of it this
morning.  The drum by itself weighs 130 pounds, but the motor was 290
pounds and everything all together weighed 615 pounds.

Russell, the three lead wires into the electrical junction box are
obviously from 1927, and the wires used from the box to the fuse box
are the same.  Inside the junction box on the motor they wound lots of
tape around each connection.  Removing that, I'm sure, will damage the
fragile insulation on the motor's lead wires.

Just a thought, but what do you think about having an electrician put
in new lead wires from inside the motor windings to the junction box on
the side of the motor?

Also, according to the label on the unit, the motor bearings don't just
get oiled, they have actual oil reservoirs with a few ounces of oil in
them, and also there is a grease cap.  Since there was some obvious
buildup of oil/grease under the motor, and some on the back plate of the
blower, it is either from careless oiling over the years and not wiping
the spills, or from the seals?  Might be bad.  Do you know what kind of
seals they used in the motor?

And lastly, on the motor is a brass plate stamped with an "R" and below
it an "L", the set screw has a pointer that is on "R", and appears to
be part of the bronze assembly the four brushes are set it.  Any ideas
what R and L stood for and what kind of adjustment that was for?
It is a 2-HP Century single-phase induction-repulsion motor.

Randy


(Message sent Sun 16 Jul 2000, 17:09:23 GMT, from time zone GMT.)

Key Words in Subject:  Blower, Dismantling, Organ, Orgoblo, Pipe

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