The Siren Board

Alright, so around Thanksgiving I finally got to see what siren my town had locked away. It ended up being a Type-B in really good condition. From what I have been told, it was installed a long time ago (probably in the 20s or 30s) for use on the fire station, which was then inside the city hall. In the 70's the building was torn down and a new city hall and fire station were built, this time in separate buildings. The siren was almost trashed but luckily one of the city officials saved it and it was stored in a garage behind the city hall. Fast forward 40 years and it's still there. A few people had heard about my siren hunting and told me about the siren, so I asked the mayor if I could get some pictures of it. The city plans to get this thing running over the winter to be installed in the summer.

Some questions:
-The city doesn't have three phase power, so they want to swap the motor out. Is this possible/economical, or would a phase converter be a better option?
-The original controls were scrapped back when the city hall was torn down. What do we need in terms of motor starters? The city also plans to run it every day at noon, any suggestions on timers?

And finally, the pictures, which I have posted on another thread before: https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/3570226 ... n?h=886283

As I said, the thing is in VERY good condition, if a little dirty. The rotors spun very freely without any resistance, which really surprised me. The pictures of the yellow building are of where the city wants to mount the siren, putting a pole next to the building and using the roof for easier access.

Dear god that's an old motor. I'd say do what Mac did and swap the motor.

Crazywarriorman wrote:Dear god that's an old motor. I'd say do what Mac did and swap the motor.

Anything specific that needs to be looked for in a siren motor?

I wouldn't change that motor because it would cost more to get a new double shafted motor than that sirens worth.

Honestly, when you have a siren that old its best to just go ahead and take the whole thing to a motor shop. That looks like a Howell red band so that means its a sleeve bearing motor and will require yearly maintenance.

Ever consider just getting another siren? Personally I draw the line at stuff that old. The cotton/laquer insulation sucks too.

holler wrote:I wouldn't change that motor because it would cost more to get a new double shafted motor than that sirens worth.

Technically, you could replace the one double shafted motor with two smaller single shafted motors, kind of how Sentry does with their double-rotor single phase sirens. Looks like there might be enough room between the two rotors for a couple of smaller motors, plus not to mention the thing looks like it could be disassembled and modified to create more space if there's not enough as it is.

Sometimes you just have to look at it from a nostalgia point-of-view rather than a practical one, as some smaller towns are extremely partial to their old siren that's been around for the past 50+ years, and will stop at almost nothing to get it back working again when it breaks down, or in this case, is moved to a new location and cannot be run on the current power source. Not saying Ririe is this way, but you never know.

Kasm279 wrote:Anything specific that needs to be looked for in a siren motor?

Seeing as this siren doesn't have its stators attached to the motor in any way, the biggest thing to look for physically is shaft dimensions (length and diameter), as well as the type of shaft (keyed or threaded). Of course, you also have to figure in the required horsepower needed to run the siren, probably per rotor in this case. So, if the current motor is 5hp, you should do fine with a 2 or 2.5hp motor per side.

Also with that in mind, you could also turn it into a single-headed version as well since the siren's stators can be separated from the base. If that route is taken, you could technically turn one siren into two. All depends on how picky the people in charge are about keeping the siren original or not.

Ok.......my question is what city dosen't have 3 phase electric or is it the new station doesn't have it ?

I would just buy a Phase converter. It is pretty sure cheaper than changing the motor.

almdoc wrote:Ok.......my question is what city dosen't have 3 phase electric or is it the new station doesn't have it ?

The fire district and the city are two separate entities around here, and even then neither have three phase power because they don't need it.

holler wrote:Ever consider just getting another siren? Personally I draw the line at stuff that old. The cotton/laquer insulation sucks too.

The city wants to keep the siren original, basically one of the main reasons it's being restored and installed is because the town has it, there's no way any town in southeast Idaho (short of Dubois for no reason) would put up a new siren.

So, any thoughts on motor starters and timers?

Bump, still need ideas for timers. The city would like something that can also do an alert or attack signal for the rare instance that we might need them.

Get an AR timer. They are affordable and super reliable.