Finally got a stuck brake switch loose with a little heat

Was working on an old Otis in a building on Elm Street, and that brake switch wouldn't budge for nothing. Hit it with a heat gun for about 2 minutes (careful not to toast the wiring) and it came free like butter. Has anyone else tried this on stuck components or do you stick to penetrant spray?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker_thomas16d ago

Jumped right in with a heat gun on a seized motor starter contactor once. Thought I was being real careful but ended up melting the plastic housing just enough to make it look like a sad modern art piece. Took the whole thing apart anyway and it worked fine after some sanding, but now I keep a fire extinguisher handy whenever I break out the heat. Your mileage may vary obviously but in my experience penetrant spray just makes things slippery and mad.

jade_singh16d ago

Sad modern art piece" is the perfect way to put it lol. I did the same thing on an old contactor once, melted the plastic so bad it looked like a melted candle. The thing is, heat guns are great but you gotta treat them like a surgical tool, not a sledgehammer. I've learned to keep the nozzle moving constantly and never point it at any plastic part for more than a few seconds. And yeah, penetrant spray is basically just making things messy and flammable, not actually unsticking anything. Your fire extinguisher trick is solid though, I keep one in my tool bag now after that first scare. Heat is the way to go for seized stuff but it's a fine line between fixing it and turning it into trash.