New to The Siren Board! Want to restore a Thunderbolt.

[SirenMN]

There is a Thunderbolt siren laying in a heap behind the fire hall of my town. I found it there when I was younger and have always wanted to attain the siren and fix it! I'm 19 now and I think that it is time to get to work. I still have to talk to the town caretaker to see if I can get the siren, but I would love some input on what I'm looking at for repair.

The siren and rotator box are connected to a 15ft section of air pipe. As far as I know there is no blower in the town (I'll have to ask). The rotator appears to be in good condition for its age, and there is only minor rust on the siren and it's components.

I'll upload some photos of the siren ASAP. Thanks for any input guys!

[FedFan]

I'm 45,and I wish I had your kind of luck where there would be a siren laying around. You'll need the blower to get the kick a Tbolt would have, but if memory serves me right, they can be sounded without it.

Am I right there guys?

Please do try to post pics for us to see.

Good luck in trying to get it! I envy you!!

[Trevor]

Yeah, you can sound it without a blower. It just doesn't have that "shake the floor" rumble that you would get with a blower.

[hobbeekid]

If you can still obtain the blower,you can cut the stand/air pipe down and mount it directly over the blower making the whole piece a little more compact.Hope you get permission to obtain it and good luck! welcome to the board!

[SirenMN]

I know it is pretty crazy that I found one laying there! Also, I'm glad to hear it will work without a blower.

What should I be looking at to repair the siren (if any) and where might I find a blower? I'm sure there is only so much you can tell me but every little bit helps!

Here is some pics!

http://s1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg599/NegenJeff/

[anepstad]

What part of Minnesota are you from. I'm from the Rochester area. Welcome to the board and where is the thunderbolt from?

[CDV777-1]

There is a Thunderbolt siren laying in a heap behind the fire hall of my town. I found it there when I was younger and have always wanted to attain the siren and fix it! I'm 19 now and I think that it is time to get to work. I still have to talk to the town caretaker to see if I can get the siren, but I would love some input on what I'm looking at for repair.

First of all, a blower is the least of your concerns.
Has it been sitting in that position since you first saw it there?
By "this position" I mean with the horn pointing up like that?
If it has, how many years do you think it's been like that?
That's a really really bad position for a thunderbolt to sit in for any length of time.
I'm speaking from first hand experience here..
The chopper/chopper motor will have been rained in all this time and will most likely be in very bad condition.
From the position it's sitting in it probably has had at least 1-2 inches of water in the chopper motor.
It's definitely worth getting if you can get for next to nothing but
keep in mind the chopper motor could very well be almost useless.

[SirenMN]

I was afraid of that... When a couple of friends and I turned it over no water came out, but it wasn't completely turned either. I was hoping (perhaps dreaming) that the angle it was at would be to little for a lot of rain to pour in. However, I do know that it has been that way for a while now. I guess we'll hope for the best.

I fairly busy with school and work this week so hopefully by this weekend I'll now if I can obtain the siren or not.

[SirenMN]

I was just looking at the pictures of the siren and recalling what I had seen, and I think that the angle of the siren would be letting in little to no rain in. The siren faces east into a building. Since most rain comes from the west and the building would block anything from the east I'm sure that little rain could have direct access to the horn. Just a thought.

[/quote]Has it been sitting in that position since you first saw it there?
By "this position" I mean with the horn pointing up like that?
If it has, how many years do you think it's been like that?
That's a really really bad position for a thunderbolt to sit in for any length of time.
I'm speaking from first hand experience here..
The chopper/chopper motor will have been rained in all this time and will most likely be in very bad condition.
From the position it's sitting in it probably has had at least 1-2 inches of water in the chopper motor. [quote]

[SirenMN]

Bump for more thoughts!