actuator boot

[Skyscanner]

Just scored another spun aluminun 8' dish, not in as good of condition as I 1st thought, has a bad mounting of 4 bolts which caused fatigue cracks at each bolt, will have to take it to a welding shop for repair. It has a HUGE Hammerblow actuator on it that runs fine, but the boot is weathered and destroyed. I'm surprised it still runs after all those years of leakage. Tried to find Hammerblow on the internet, but they might be out of business. Does anyone know of a supply house that sells a universal boot? It extends about 20" and has a 2" opening on 1 end and 1 3/4 opening on the other. Any help is appreciated as always.

 

[classicsat]

I don't know what conditions are where you are, but I never ran a boot on my C-band actuators, and never had a problem.
I also never covered the LNBs/feedhorn and all that.

 

[Skyscanner]

Classic,
That might explain why it still works, maybe it's not really needed, but we get a lot of snow and ice up here, don't know if it would still move if it got full of water and then it froze. It doesn't look like a new actuator is all that much, might just go with a new unit.

 

[tvropro]

Skyvision sells a boot. My 21 year old Saginaw still has the factory boot in good condition. Once or twice a year I spray some WD40 on it and rub it into the rubber, works wonders If you go with a new unit stay away from the 150 dollar specials they won't hold up.

 

[Skyscanner]

TVROPRO
Thanks, I'm checking on it right now.

 

[Kallesatman]

Just scored another spun aluminun 8' dish, not in as good of condition as I 1st thought, has a bad mounting of 4 bolts which caused fatigue cracks at each bolt, will have to take it to a welding shop for repair. It has a HUGE Hammerblow actuator on it that runs fine, but the boot is weathered and destroyed. I'm surprised it still runs after all those years of leakage. Tried to find Hammerblow on the internet, but they might be out of business. Does anyone know of a supply house that sells a universal boot? It extends about 20" and has a 2" opening on 1 end and 1 3/4 opening on the other. Any help is appreciated as always.

Unfortunately Hammerblow is out of business. I wish I could find my documentation on mine and if anybody has some I would appreciate a copy. I tracked down the person that used to work at Hammerblow and there is nobody that picked up the product line which is unfortunate. It did a superb job on my Andrews 12 ft solid aluminum dish. The actuator boot as mentioned in a later post is recommendable especially in climates of rain and snow. Make sure that the drain hole is not clogged. Proper maintenance will make that device last a long time. Hope somebody has some information for me.

 

[B.J.]

I have no knowledge of that actuator, however I used to use a plastic bag as a boot. I had bought several rolls of chicken wire that came in tubular plastic bags. Punched a hole in one end, and attached with a rubber band to the end where it attached to the dish, and just let it loose around the tube of the actuator.

As above though, the important thing about actuators is to make sure that water can get out once it gets in. Many people used to use the drainage holes to install grease fittings, and they'd pack the things solid with grease, thinking that the more grease the better. However packing all that grease in there (plus plugging up the drainage holes) tends to keep the water inside the actuator and allow it to contact the screw instead of running down the inside of the tube. I remember that the majority of the people reporting failures of actuators used to be the same people who packed the things with grease to make them last longer. What I would do, was take the screw out and grease it lightly by hand instead of filling the whole tube with grease.

 

[Kallesatman]

Just scored another spun aluminun 8' dish, not in as good of condition as I 1st thought, has a bad mounting of 4 bolts which caused fatigue cracks at each bolt, will have to take it to a welding shop for repair. It has a HUGE Hammerblow actuator on it that runs fine, but the boot is weathered and destroyed. I'm surprised it still runs after all those years of leakage. Tried to find Hammerblow on the internet, but they might be out of business. Does anyone know of a supply house that sells a universal boot? It extends about 20" and has a 2" opening on 1 end and 1 3/4 opening on the other. Any help is appreciated as always.

I did some major digging in my " safe places ", usually can't find them. In this case I was successful. I have a complete parts breakdown and the installation instructions complete with wiring for the HAMMERBLOW actuator. If you are interested then I can go to the local copier shop and have it duplicated. I would need your mailing address so I could send it to you. The pages are better copied at the pro shop rather than on my copier, also due to size restrictions on my machine. Let me know what your pleasure is.

 

[Kallesatman]

Just scored another spun aluminun 8' dish, not in as good of condition as I 1st thought, has a bad mounting of 4 bolts which caused fatigue cracks at each bolt, will have to take it to a welding shop for repair. It has a HUGE Hammerblow actuator on it that runs fine, but the boot is weathered and destroyed. I'm surprised it still runs after all those years of leakage. Tried to find Hammerblow on the internet, but they might be out of business. Does anyone know of a supply house that sells a universal boot? It extends about 20" and has a 2" opening on 1 end and 1 3/4 opening on the other. Any help is appreciated as always.

Called the phone number that I had for the outfit that purchased the inventory of the Hammerblow parts and it was no good. Did a Google earth search of the address and ended up calling a business couple of doors down and they said that they were the last one on the block and the address that I have no longer exists. So there. I still have the documentation and will test my HB out today to see if it still works.

 

[Skyscanner]

Kallesatman,
Been out of town a few days, just got back and say your PM. I gave that actuator to TantalusFld a while back, I told him to contact you if he needs that info.
Thanks
Sky

 

[DK_Sat]

I have a 24" Thomas Saginaw with a factory actuators boot and a motor boot , I have the T, Saginaw actuators about 18 years never had a problem.