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I Forge Iron

Picked this up over the weekend


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Picked up a champion forge blower over the weekend for 10 bucks, its frozen up so I have it sitting in a 5 gallon bucket of diesel trying to free up the set screws so I can get to the gears. Figured some of y'all might like to see it.

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Pulled it out of the diesel and have it soaking in PB blaster for a few days, no luck on the screws yet, thanks for all the replies, I'll try tapping on it with a hammer tomorrow, any other ideas are appreciated, might fire up the torch and try heating them up.

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That PB BLASTER stuff is the best thing around. Or I think so. Its done what I wanted and more. I've used it at work for years. But at home is were you can't afford to have things stripped and broke.
At least at work Its nothing collectible.
Keeps us posted. I gotta tear one down myself that I bought a few weeks ago. A Buffalo no. 0. Blower that is under the table with the big gears and long wooden handle that works the ratchet on the main flywheel.
Anyone ever work on one of these. ?? Its to heavy To load alone but I'm.dying to start on it. So I'm really interested at the progress And troubleshooting on this post. Good luck.

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I'm in the process of rebuilding a blower right now. I used the acetone/atf mix and it worked like a charm on the bolts holding the blower to the forge. The flat head screws/bolts around the fan housing were to far gone (slots missing on many) so I used the grinder with a flap disk to make them disappear. Acetone/ATF mix again on the fan blade set screw with no problems.

-Derek

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It's the champion 400, I did a little research while it was soaking in the diesel and glad I did, I read how the top had a slot and slid on, thanks for the heads up though. I think I'll give the acetone mixture a try this afternoon, still have it soaking in the PB blaster. I'll post more pics when I get inside the gear box, after that I'm going to work on getting into the fan housing.

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I was wrong, I guess my dyslexia kicked in, it's a champion blower number 40, don't know what the difference is between it and the 400, but here is what I'm working with, gear box wise.

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Difficult to say what the differences might be, your 40 looks a lot like a 400. If it has the same or similar slots or not. If it has slots then the screws might not need to be loosened. But if it has slots then you would not be able to see the screws because the heads of the screws would be sitting up into slots and not round holes. ... Cast iron is so easy to break so take it easy.

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Kroil is the best stuff I've ever used. I use to think the same of PB blaster. I would soak things in PB for weeks and have them still be seized, I'd spray (sparingly) on Kroil, come back in an hour and have the thing already taken apart, cleaned and put back together for me. kidding of course, but it literally works in minutes-not weeks. at $80+ a gallon it aint cheap, but it's worth it. BTW-I got a gallon for $20 at the used machine dealer by me.

PB blaster is a great product, and I still use it, and manage to get a headache every time from the smell, but I always go to Kroil when I have the chance. the simple fact that it smells nice and doesn't give me a splitting headache is worth the price tag.

if that doesn't work, then try heat.

Aaron

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The gearbox on the Champion 400 is perpendicular to the fan.

Do not use a torch on the fan housing halves. Submerge the entire thing into a vat filled with your favorite bolt loosener for a day. Remove the outer pan housing and then the fan. Next, remove the screws that attach the inner fan shroud to the gear box. If you have to use heat to break the rust use a soldering copper or brass rod heated almost to melting temp directly on the screw or bolt. It may take several applications of heat but you won't crack the thin cast iron blower parts.

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I second the Kroil. It is advertised as being able to wick into openings as small as 1,000,000th of an inch. I had an exhaust system bolt on my ambulance that was so frozen from rust that it wouldn't move with everything I had leaning into it. Shot the Kroil on it, and by the time I set the can down it was ready to come off.

Now for your situation. If it is totally rusted together not much may help, but here are some other suggestions. Try rapping on the head by placing a punch large enough to cover the head, and smack it with a hammer. Sometimes this will shock the screw loose. If you can get a good bite on it have a friend hit the screwdriver handle as you place some torque on it. A driver that has the shank all the way through the handle is best.

Heat can be applied a couple of ways. A torch can work, but it heats everything up. The idea is to heat the case faster than the bolt to help separate the rusted sections. If the bolt expands too much it will stay stuck. Now a friend did just the opposite, and heated just the bolts on some items with good results. He had a small 110V stick welder that would accept carbon electrodes in a "Dragon's tooth" formed by the handle for brazing. He would place the carbon electrodes against the bolt and then turn on the welder. The amperage would heat the bolt up to where he could remove it. I have seen body panel heating elements that you put in place of the tip on a MIG gun. Same thing except that you can dial the heat with the MIG while it is running. The heat is created by the tip in contact with the sheetmetal thereby heating a localized area.

Another MIG tip is using it as a jump starter for the car. Dial the volts needed , and hook up to the battery. My friend told me he learned that on the flight lines when he was in the Air Force.


If the head does strip out, you may end up drilling the heads off. I have had cases where once the head was removed the remaining bit could be removed with my fingers.


In all of these cases take your time. It is easier to remove busted bolts than welding up a cast iron case. I have welded a lot of cast iron, and have removed a lot more broken bolts in my days, so I speak from experience.

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Thanks, for all the replies guys, I still have the gear box screws in the PB Blaster, been hitting them about 4 times a day for 3 days now with PB as soon as it soaks up, I haven't tried to turn the screws yet figured it was best to give the oil a chance to work. If I can't get it with the PB then I'll give the Kroil a try. If that doesn't work then I'll probably just drill them out and re-tap them. With that being said I did manage to get the fan housing off last night and am in the process of soaking all those bolts on the inside, again, thanks for all the replies. Here's a pic of the fan housing removed.

post-1873-0-90551200-1299076850_thumb.jp

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ok while were on this topic i may aswell ask my question, i have a canedy otto blower and i am restoreing it, i cand seem to get the plate protecting all the gears off, i undid all the screws and took off the handle but it seems to be catching on somthing inside the gear box, is there a trick to getting it off?

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  • 2 weeks later...

as a side note I'd replace the square headed bolts or screws with Allen or socket headed ( I have one on the fan blade that is is a real bugger to keep tight because you just can't get anything in to tighten it with out taking it apart)you could get and Allen wrench to tighten it up.

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ok while were on this topic i may aswell ask my question, i have a canedy otto blower and i am restoreing it, i cand seem to get the plate protecting all the gears off, i undid all the screws and took off the handle but it seems to be catching on somthing inside the gear box, is there a trick to getting it off?



Use a bigger hammer,
just kidding its probably cast so be carefull
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Figured I'd give you guys an update, finally got the gear box cover off over the weekend. I ended up having to drill out the screws holding it on. Now I have to get the gears out...



pour some Kroil in there and let it soak, I would not try to take it apart unless one of the gears is bad, it looks like they may be ok. If you do not have Kroil http://www.kanolabs.com/google/ get some, diesel fuel works good also. Trying to get that apart without breaking something will be a challenge, soak it and try turning it to free it up if its seized
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