Soo much for professional advice

I went to get some parts for my pellet stove, and asked the parts guy if he had any troubleshooting suggestions as to why the exhaust blower isn't starting up when I turn my stove on. He suggested it's either the motor itself, or the circuit board. Fair enough, pretty much what I figured. Then I asked about testing one or the other, and his suggestion was to make a "suicide"cord so I could plug the motor in direct to an outlet.

While this is a way to check and any back woods mechanic can do it, isn't multi-meter a better way without the possibility of being electrocuted? Just kept my mouth shut and paid for my parts. Seems like a good way for a fool to hurt himself (or worse) and them to get a lawsuit...

Donovan from Wisconsin[/u]

Done properly, it's perfectly safe.

(Cue the Safety Nazis...)

Sounds like something I'd do. I save the power cords off all my dead appliances. I'd splice one onto the blower motor and plug it in, see if it runs.

My blower motor was on a thermostat. I removed it so it comes on when I throw the switch.

"Sounds like something I'd do. I save the power cords off all my dead appliances. I'd splice one onto the blower motor and plug it in, see if it runs."

With a proper circuit breaker or fuse in line of course! LOL

What I read in Donovan's post was that a business told him to do that.
Leaving the business open for a lawsuit. If one could prove they were liable.
I have no idea how one would prove that. I'm not the suing type.

Still seems it would have been better to offer safer advice,
professional services or decline to answer as "just the parts guy".

If you unplug the stove, disconnect the motor from the circuit board, then splice a cord salvaged from a junk appliance to the motor leads, tape up the splices, then plug it in to see if the motor runs, I fail to see where the "suicidal" (or LAWSUIT) factor comes in???

Mucking around with test probes from a voltmeter while the stove is plugged in seems like it would carry a greater risk of a shock than the "connect the test cord to the motor while it's unplugged" method???

And I like to wire a switch (house light switch) into a circuit like that so I don't arc my wall outlet if the motor is a dead short.

Just make sure the motor is 110V. Stan

Any good troubleshooter should have a killer cord! You just have to be skilled to use one.

Heck, I've shocked myself a little bit growing up and learning electricity. And it's probably what I'm going to do to see which I'm replacing, either the $100 motor or the $350 circuit board which is an upgrade over what was installed on mine.

I'm just saying it seems like the wrong advise to just give out to anyone, atleast with a wink and nod or something. I suppose if I'm willing to go after fixing the stove myself instead of bringing it in to them like the many, many cidiots we have here, it probably already weeds me out as somewhat able to do it without killing myself.

If I ruffled a few feathers, well, it happens.

Donovan from Wisconsin

I'll start this with letting you know, I am not familiar with a pellet stove, however, there is a device on electric clothes dryer called a clicks on switch ( it's a cylindrical device used to measure heat ) that I attached to a wood furnace for my daughter wood furnace. wires went from the clicks-on to the blower motor so when the heat came up on the furnace it closed the circuit on the clicks-on, and started the blower motor. There was no integrated circuit board to worry about. All electric dryers have them, just a thought for you to consider. If it were me I'd junk the circuit board and install the clicks-on switch, you just might google clicks-on switch.
Regards,
LOU

I was at my Mom's place the other day to troubleshoot her leaf shredder. She mentioned the fan did not start on her fireplace insert. I took a look, but the fan assembly did not easily slip off the front of her Avalon unit. I asked if Dad might have kept the manual- of course, filed in the drawer with date and cost. The instructions to remove the fan unit were right after the instructions to make sure the temperature sensor was correctly in contact with the fire box. Saved me from having to remove the fan. Works fine now.

Maybe it was because you were talking to a (parts guy) rather than a technician who actually repairs stoves. Kinda like going to an electrical supply house and getting details on how to wire a building from a person that has never wired one.

I have one of those "killer cords" hanging on the wall in my shop.

My wife works in a convenience store that also has a auto repair shop and sells outdoor power equipment. The people who work the C store end of it have no training in automotive or power equipment. The repair and outdoor power equipment sales and repair is opened and has trained people Mon-Fri 8 to 5 and Sat 8-12. The store workers are not allowed to advise people on repairs, types and sizes of batteries or anything else like that because they have no training. It's all because of liability issues. What Donavan is talking about is not what you or my abilities are. He's talking about a parts guy advising a customer to do something that an inexperienced person could kill themselves trying. Heck I've seen people use masking tape on electrical connections or not even taping them because they just didn't know better. For the shop where he was at that's a tremendous liability issue. A half ask lawyer can make it so in a court room it shop is going to have to prove the parts guy didn't advise them to do it.

Rick

I work for a place that sells "electronic supplies and parts" (officially). Now, that being said, it's a family owned business that will sell most anything sorta related that will move, etc.

Two of us who are always on the counter do know some things and can offer advice. But, we have learned to recognize the person who comes in knowing nothing about what he is working on, and knows nothing about how to go about it. To those people we are pretty dumb when it comes to advice. I will often tell someone if I knew the answer to their questions I would have a better job, and charge for that advice. Liability is the key here.

I have made suicide cords to troubleshoot something. In no way am I going to advise someone else to do that, especially if I don't know them or it's obvious they have no business working on anything other than what can be fixed with a rubber hammer.

One example involves new televisions. Many will quit working and be discarded, as the cost of having them worked on is more than the new replacement. However, a large percentage of them can be repaired rather inexpensively by replacing a couple of capacitors. This is being demonstrated over and over watching you tube videos showing where they are and how to remove them, etc. We sell capacitors, and they are cheap. In a county of over 300,000 population we are the only place to get them locally. (OK, I know that was a lot of words to set this up, sorry...) So, here comes this guy wanting a capacitor, he has one that's swelled up and bad. He has taken it out of the circuit, not realizing it's polarized and has to go back the same way. He comes back in a day or two, saying the one we sold him was bad and it blew up in his face. He wants to know if it has a warranty, and his face itches and....you get the drift. These people used to go to Radio Shack, but now that Radio Shack stores are quietly going away we have a whole new clientele trading with us.

I believe that's why some are fixers and others are ones paying the fixers. It's natural selection that way.

I, in no way, am implying anyone is too dumb to fix things. But if anyone here sees themselves in what I say, you might think about buying a new TV instead.

I would not expect a parts guys to have the same knowledge as a repairman, so I wouldn't consider that "professional advice". It sounds like you may be asking about combustion air and not the heated air which needs to be controlled by a thermostat. Next time I would ask the repair department instead of the parts department.

Well it could be a great troubleshooting tool if you simply add two wirenuts to the splice . At least he tried to help instead of acting brain dead like alot of them do.Worry about fixing your stuff not some dealers lawsuit beyond your control.[ Not trying to sound jerky - just sayin']

I don't fix much of anything anymore that I'm unfamiliar with without first checking youtube to see if there is a how to video.

So, by what line of reasoning does a parts clerk qualify as "professional" advice?????

I have seen this over and over. A guy walks into a shop to get a part, and walks by a QUALIFIED service department to ask a parts clerk how to fix his car. Having worked in both a parts room and a service department, I can tell you that neither is an easy job. BUT.....I can tell you that the mechanic gets paid a LOT more than a parts clerk and is way better qualified to advise a customer on repairs.

Many times, when I am in a parts store I see customers come in and start asking parts clerks technical questions about how to install parts that they are getting. So, when does an $8.00 an hour parts clerk become a better source of advice than a trained, skilled mechanic????? Seems to me that if they were that knowledgeable, they would be out in the shop making twice the money.

Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

(quoted from post at 06:55:39 11/09/15) So, by what line of reasoning does a parts clerk qualify as "professional" advice?????

I have seen this over and over. A guy walks into a shop to get a part, and walks by a QUALIFIED service department to ask a parts clerk how to fix his car. Having worked in both a parts room and a service department, I can tell you that neither is an easy job. BUT.....I can tell you that the mechanic gets paid a LOT more than a parts clerk and is way better qualified to advise a customer on repairs.

Many times, when I am in a parts store I see customers come in and start asking parts clerks technical questions about how to install parts that they are getting. So, when does an $8.00 an hour parts clerk become a better source of advice than a trained, skilled mechanic????? Seems to me that if they were that knowledgeable, they would be out in the shop making twice the money.

Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

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All of the counter guys at the independently owned parts store where I have been doing business for 42 years are very knowledgeable. Also they are busy enough that they usually have four guys on, so if one of the newer counter guys who may have been there for maybe only ten years, has a question he can get help from one of the 25 year guys.