ORGAN BLOWER WOES
ORGAN BLOWER WOES
It takes a lot of wind to power a pipe organ the
size of ours, and that wind is provided by a large
blower located in a chamber above the front porch of
the sanctuary building. We recently have been
hearing noises coming from that area, and summoned
Allan Ontko, the organ builder, to come examine the
situation. Part of his report states “In short, what I
found was significant wear on both of the main motor
bearings, which caused one or both of them to
partially seize, causing the noise you heard two
Sundays ago. While the blower still runs, a large
amount of side play and shaft wobble is now visible,
and it is only a matter of time before the bearings
seize again, from which the blower will likely not
recover.”
Since a replacement blower must be
constructed to specifications, it will be several weeks
before a new one can be installed. In the meantime,
we will continue to use the organ for limited practice
times and for short periods during services.
Contingency plans are in place should the blower
completely quit working before a new one can be
installed. Because of the location of the blower, the
noise is considerably more noticeable on the porch
than in the sanctuary.
– James Richardson