[TR] TR3A Heater Fan

[terryrs at comcast.net]

Had the heater out for repair.B  The motor brushes were okay, but the springs
wereB rusted through.B  Hopscotched to every hardware store in the area until
I finally found some 1/4" by 1/4" brushes.B  Springs were too long so I
snipped them to size.B  Bench tested the heater motor with the fan installed
by hooking it up to a battery charger.B 



Hmmmm.



Although I had to give it a finger twist to get it moving, it started right
up, whirred up to speed, and ran smoothly after a few heatbeats.B  But even
when it was going as well as it was going to, and probably ever did new, it
still wasn't moving much air against my palm.B  I tweaked the blades to
increase the pitch, but didn't get much appreciably better.B 



Oh well, it'll be better than the no-heater I had last fall when winter creeps
upon its petty pace.B  But has anyone been able to supercharge these original
heater motors or replace them with something more modern, without replacing
the heater as a whole?B  I'm almost thinking that some kind of small modern
motor with a fabricated adapter would pump out volumes more air.



Terry Smith, '59 TR3A

New Hampshire