# Tornado spreader conveyor chain stuck



## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Have had a couple minor problems with this spreader, but this one's a little more annoying as I had to shovel out my load of sand :angry:
Headed out to sand my lots today and picked up a 3/4 load of sand. Got to the first lot and hit the button. Got the error tone, 3 beeps. Overload on the motor. This has happened a couple of times before when starting to sand after loading up but the conveyor always turned and after trying a couple times would begin working fine. Today however, the conveyor wont move at all. It's jammed. I was told by the install guy last year that if that happens, turn the input shaft on the gearbox with a pipe wrench to crack it loose and it should be fine. So, I turn it counter clockwise with the pipe wrench and it turns but sounds like its skipping or slipping. Try to turn it the other way and cant budge it. Turning either way wont move the output shaft. Gearbox toast??? Dealer doesn't think so and says to shovel it out and look for something jammed in the conveyor. Anyone had this problem??
By the way, this is a new gen spreader 1.8 yrd


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## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

the last time i couldn't move the gearbox in either direction with a pipe wrench, my gearbox was stripped, this was on a gas salter. it looked like it had run out of gear lube, i guess you have checked that although it might be too late now. i seem to remember my tornado 1.8 didn't have gear lube in it when i got it...never knew if it should have or not


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## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

are you able to rule out the front sprocket assembly hasn't lost a set screw and become bound up....that DID happen on my 1.8 tornado the first few times out


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

The sprockets and chain are ok as they turn together when I turn it with a pipe wrench. But the conveyor chain is clearly not moving at all. I shoveled the sand out but cant see anything obvious obstructing it. Wondering if a bearing didn't pack it in but the unit has only had maybe 12 loads through it. Not really sure how to get at them to check but I may have to find out. Thanks.
By the way, the gearbox input shaft turns in one direction but sounds stripped?? wont turn at all in the other direction. Nothing will make the output (conveyor) shaft turn.


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Just an update, it turns out that the conveyor chain wasn't jammed at all. I brought the spreader to my dealer and after removing the cap on the gearbox, we found that the gearbox was fine. It seems that the motor mount bolts were not correctly tightened at the factory and the motor tipped forward enough that the drive sprocket on the motor hit the sprocket on the gearbox. Although loose, the chain remained on effectively locking everything together. If you look at the pic, you will see that the clearance between the two sprockets is only MAYBE 1/4 inch. Not sure if you can see it well in the pic as there is a guard over the big sprocket and its a bit tricky to get a good shot of it. After prying the motor back and tightening the mount bolts its working fine.

A big thanks to Dave and Terry at Fort Garry Industries for all their help.

http://www.plowsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=89508&stc=1&d=1294421271


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## all ferris (Jan 6, 2005)

glad you got that fixed. Now just watch out for the spinner motor to break. I'm on my 4th spinner motor.:realmad:


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Holy Crap!!! 4 Motors?? That's crazy, were they covered by warranty?? How long did each one last before it went??


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## Mackman (Nov 3, 2009)

Im on my 2nd spinner motor.


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Warranty?? how old is it?? how many loads have you run through it?? Just wondering so I can get an idea of when I might run into trouble.


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## Mackman (Nov 3, 2009)

Out of warranty. The motor was 164 bucks. I put maybe 14 load thur it. I think the 1st motor on it was never right. Cuz this new motor really throws the salt.

BTW i bought it used so im not sure how many loads the 1st owner put thur it. I dont think it was much cuz it was real close to being brand new when i bought it


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Guess I will just keep my fingers crossed. I have noticed that the spinner seems to surge a bit. It`s only really noticeable when set on a slower speed but I wonder if that could be the sign of a defective motor??


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## mishnick (Jan 7, 2011)

*Sander issues*

Wow, it seems like these DC motors are a real issue! I personally have not changed any myself but if it's not a warrenty issue then most guys do it themselves and I don't hear about it. However; now that I know about it, I will certainly be asking our customers about their experiences.

Regarding the surging.... The speed is supposed to be controlled by the fixed rate of current sent to the motor. There is a control unit (ECU) on the left side of the conveyor at the back end between the spinner and the hopper. When you select a setting on the dial it tells that control unit to provide X amount of current. If I were involved in troubleshooting this I would put a current probe on the cable to the motor and observe if the current is steady when the surging occurs. If the current is not stable then I would suspect the control unit is faulty but if it is stable then I would chalk it up to varying resistance (mechanical resistance) on the conveyor. Things like frozen chuncks of sand would cause this.


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Mishnick, thanks for the info. I will give that a try. It doesn't really affect things all that much, but I still would like to know why it does it and with other people reporting problems maybe save myself some grief down the road. Thanks again. BTW, did you see my pics in the other thread???


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## mishnick (Jan 7, 2011)

I did see your pics. I have to learn how to post photos myself so I can better help other people. I have the unique opportunity to take pics of new equipment before it is even installed. So often the stuff that is in use is too difficult to get good angles and lighting. I will ask around about the surging of the DC motors and will post what I learn. Thanks again for lelling me about the site. I am having a blast.


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Good to hear that your enjoying the site. It's a great place to get information. If you need to know anything (pics etc) use the search tool in the top right corner. It will automatically list all relating threads.
Any new info on the motor would be cool if you hear anything.


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## White Knight (Mar 9, 2007)

mishnick;1192979 said:


> Wow, it seems like these DC motors are a real issue! I personally have not changed any myself but if it's not a warrenty issue then most guys do it themselves and I don't hear about it. However; now that I know about it, I will certainly be asking our customers about their experiences.
> Mishnick,
> It seems the motor shaft on the spinner motor is a little small and tends to break off.


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## mishnick (Jan 7, 2011)

Having looked at one of these recently I thought it was a less than perfect setup. The small sprocket on the motor is close enough to the bearing but the shaft going into the gearbox is about eight inches long and unsupported. I am concerned that this shaft will flex when there is a heavy load. In any case Western has lots of issues that could be improved on but it all costs money. If we all had money to burn and insisted on the best quality I am sure we would get it but until then we just have to use what they sell us.


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## all ferris (Jan 6, 2005)

mishnick;1197269 said:


> Having looked at one of these recently I thought it was a less than perfect setup. The small sprocket on the motor is close enough to the bearing but the shaft going into the gearbox is about eight inches long and unsupported. I am concerned that this shaft will flex when there is a heavy load. In any case Western has lots of issues that could be improved on but it all costs money. If we all had money to burn and insisted on the best quality I am sure we would get it but until then we just have to use what they sell us.


i think you are talking about the conveyor motor. We are having problems with the spinner motor.


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## mishnick (Jan 7, 2011)

OK thanks for pointing that out, the orignal problem Stackmaster had was with the conveyor sprockets jamming so I guess I was fixated.... sorry. The spinner drives are no demonstration of engineering genious either. I have had a few new sanders come back after the first few uses complaining about a buzzing sound and no spinner action. Again this was a result of loose SS bolts from the factory allowing the cog belt to get loose which in turn allowed the sprockets to spin / skip causing the noise. The quick fix was to tighten the belt. While in there I have noticed that the spinner sprockets seem to drop causing a missalignment as well. 

Too bad it only snows for a few months a year here. By the end of Jan my time spent on plows and sanders drops off to nothing until about Sept. During the nice weather I loose touch. I need to get a couple or three winters under my belt again to get up to date with all the new equipment.


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Hey Mishnick, just an update, the spreader has had a couple loads through it now without an issue. I will, however, keep an eye on that clearance between the two sprockets.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Time for some Fluid Film!!


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## mishnick (Jan 7, 2011)

I just had another tornado come in Friday where the spinner belt had broken. Now I see why they would break the motor shaft off.... The spinner sprocket had come loose from the shaft and the sprocket worked it's way down creating a serious missalignment. Of course as the sprocket moved down it increased the tension on the belt until it broke. Prolonged missalingment with a good strong belt would easily cause the motor shaft to break off. Maybe that is what White Knight was talking about. 

In this case I replaced the cog belt and tried to tighten the set screw on the spinner sprocket but the allen key is so small (1/8") it was impossible to get it as tight as I would have liked so I made a divot and then replaced the set screw with a bolt. When I say a divot I mean I helt the sprocket where I wanted it and then took a drill that was just small enought to fit in the set screw hole without damaging the threads and drilled a bit of a hole (divot) into the shaft right where the new set screw would contact. After replacing the belt and the set screw into that divot in the shaft I was confident that the sprocket would not shift again. Another simple alternative would be to get a spacer ring with two set screws and place it on the spinner shaft below the sprocket. That way would also prevent the sprocket from dropping and breaking the belt or motor shaft. I was tempted to do a spot weld between the sprocket and shaft but that would be rather premanent.

Good to hear your issues have been resolved. Be sure to keep me up to date if there are any reocurrances.


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## stackmaster (Nov 6, 2008)

Yup, that makes good sense on the shaft issue. Don't know if you remember Mishnick, but when I had my spreader in, I had previously had the same problem with the spinner pulley coming loose and I pointed out to you the duck tape holding it up. :laughing:
What the hell, it got me through the day!!


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## mishnick (Jan 7, 2011)

Now that you mention it I do remember your "effective field repair" / duct tape... But since that wasn't your primary issue at that time I didn't give it a lot of thought until this discussion came up.. So now you know, if the duct tape fails there are some other options.


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