Old Fools Journal: Fate Thwarted Again

As I have said before, boys and girls, bad things usually happen late on Friday so that you can do without whatever the bad thing caused until Monday when you can call a disinterested repair person. Fate determines this, I have been, told but fate obviously doesn't know that I am my own repairman and that I live on premises.

During the night Friday night or early Saturday morning the inefficient central heating in the "small house" quit. When I wandered in for breakfast the house was warm and cozy as can be. SWMBO (she who must be obeyed) had opened the oven and cranked it to 500 degrees. Looking into that oven with those elements pulling 70 amps or so was like looking into an electric forge which will melt steel. I don't have a tachometer on the electric meter but I'll bet it was turning about 8000 RPM which is around 200 MPH in a NASCAR race car. I've never seen one go around that fast. The meter which is on the outside wall of the bedroom was probably warming the bedroom through the wall.

So what to do? First thing is to get a space heater going. I have a propane radiant for emergencies so I broke it out and got it going. It's an unreliable "Mr Heater" product so I had to work fast as it was about 34 degrees outside. Which brings us to the rusty old art deco Electromode pictured above. I was offered this by my nieces (I should say one of my nieces as I recently acquired some more) husband nine or ten years ago. I took it somehow knowing that it would come in handy some day.

It is a 220 volt 2400 watt heater with thermostat and it kicks ass. I used it in my shop at the last place we lived so it had been in storage for over 4 years. Of course it didn't work. Not to worry I knew it came from an era when things were made to last, be maintained and fixed if necessary not thrown away.

Taking the back off by removing three screws I discovered this simple non electronic rugged construction. The little box in the upper left hand corner was the culprit. It is a purely mechancal on/off switch and thermostat. The copper tube at the bottom leading up to the back is its sensor. So simple and so effective. Like the switches in the old GMC bus I live in it is made to be disassembled and cleaned or fixed. So I did.

The rest is a so practical. The fan motor you see driving the five bladed fan (how classy is that) is a 110 volt motor that is seen in billions of phonographs, fans and other small appliances. It is wired between the two sandwiched heating elements seen in front of it with all the fins. The appliance runs on 220 volts and the fan taping off in the middle of the elements gets 110 volts. Clever those Americans. This is design from a era that I do so appreciate.

The next time you see this heater it won't be rusty and dirty. I am going to clean and paint this piece of art to look like something I am proud of but right now it is keeping the small house more evenly warm that the central heat ever did. It is 35 degrees outside now and I hope some drunk doesn't hit a power pole tonight.