2360 Electric Chute Deflector Frozen

[Jaylegger]

Hi Irvingj, I took off the actuator last night and brought it into the house as for some reason the actuator isn't retracting nor is there sign of it engaging at all, still extends though. The gears are perfectly dry but I'm hopeful it's a simple, frozen water in the motor, issue. If I recall this happened once last year as well after flipping the unit. I'll know very shortly. Update: The unit is functioning properly now.

Here's a couple photos of mine depicting the same stamp, and the embossed Thomson label.

 

[irvingj]

QUOTE: "Update: The unit is functioning properly now."


Curiouser and curiouser... a private label? Glad to hear yours is working again- what'd you have to do to get it to work?

 

[AMCS]

Update: The Foodsaver bag sheath over the actuator rod has been working perfectly. It slides up and down over the body of the actuator and prevents blown snow from collecting on the actuator rod. I had been waiting until I had multiple uses below freezing before calling it good.

 

[Jaylegger]

QUOTE: "Update: The unit is functioning properly now."


Curiouser and curiouser... a private label? Glad to hear yours is working again- what'd you have to do to get it to work?

I'm quite relieved, neither make of the actuator is inexpensive. Could have been one of two things, I brought the unit inside to allow any frozen water inside the unit (motor) to thaw plus I cleaned the contacts. I doubt it was a contact issue even though one of the contacts was dirty since I plugged and unplugged the unit at least 6 times during the troubleshooting process which likely would have cleaned enough area for electrical contact. Plus the unit was working perfectly with no signs of intermittent issues prior to the failure. Same thing did occur last year which was remedied by thawing so I'll presume that water is getting into the motor housing somehow and preventing electrical contact....perhaps that's not even possible, I'm guessing here.

 

[Jaylegger]

Update: The Foodsaver bag sheath over the actuator rod has been working perfectly. It slides up and down over the body of the actuator and prevents blown snow from collecting on the actuator rod. I had been waiting until I had multiple uses below freezing before calling it good.

I've been looking for some dust boots which might fit with no luck so far. I tried a balloon over the shaft which worked perfect but as you might guess only for a few cycles. Think I'll check out some power steering boot kits to see if there's something out there which may work. The shortest weather boot available I can find for actuators is for 18" shafts which would likely work if cut down but I have reservation about the accordion style boots due to the lack of clearance between the actuator and blower chute. If those don't work I'll look at affixing a solid sleeve over the exposed shaft. Glad your solution is working out well. What is a foodsaver bag sheath??

 

[AMCS]

Foodsaver is a brand name for a food sealing/vacum product. The unit has a heat sealing strip to seal the the heavy plastic bags together. I made a bag 7" by 2" with an opening on one of the 2" ends and trimmed the excess seam material to 1/8". Removed the actuator rod bolt and slipped the bag over the actuator rod and extending the bag about 1" over the actuator body when fully extended. Used a phillips scredriver to poke a hole through the bag to slip the bolt through the actuator to the upper mount hole. The bag moves up and down with the actuator rod preventing water from accumulating on the rod and running past the seal.

 

[Jaylegger]

Foodsaver is a brand name for a food sealing/vacum product. The unit has a heat sealing strip to seal the the heavy plastic bags together. I made a bag 7" by 2" with an opening on one of the 2" ends and trimmed the excess seam material to 1/8". Removed the actuator rod bolt and slipped the bag over the actuator rod and extending the bag about 1" over the actuator body when fully extended. Used a phillips scredriver to poke a hole through the bag to slip the bolt through the actuator to the upper mount hole. The bag moves up and down with the actuator rod preventing water from accumulating on the rod and running past the seal.

Ok that make sense. So the bag slides over the actuator body when extending and retracting. Any issues with the bag hanging up on built up snow around the actuator body? I was contemplating doing something similar to you but using a solid tube thinking it wouldn't hang up. Come to think of it I have a hand held bag sealer around here somewhere and some 6 mil vapor barrier, that should work pretty well.

 

[AMCS]

Ok that make sense. So the bag slides over the actuator body when extending and retracting. Any issues with the bag hanging up on built up snow around the actuator body? I was contemplating doing something similar to you but using a solid tube thinking it wouldn't hang up. Come to think of it I have a hand held bag sealer around here somewhere and some 6 mil vapor barrier, that should work pretty well.

The plastic is heavy/rigid enough that is maintains its shape and slides up and down the actuator body without bending or flexing. I've had no issues with the bag hanging up due to snow accumulation. I thought of a piece of PVC pipe with a cap glued on but the bag has been working fine.

 

[Jaylegger]

Just to add to this thread, if someone wanted to add an essentially waterproof actuator to their blower they could go with trim tab actuators for boats. Though still pricey not as expensive as the OEM Massey unit. Here's a link to Lenco 4 1/4" actuator. Lots of power but not sure of it's speed, the OEM is about 1" per second I believe. This unit would be for those really into it.

Lenco 12V 4 1/4" Stroke Actuator With 6' Wire 102-2

 

[irvingj]

That looks like a positive solution, Jaylegger. When & if... it might well be worth the $$. Notice how the motor is "up"?