Canadian Film Weekly (May 20, 1942)

May 20tk, 1942 N? Theatre Owner or Manage1 has to to be “hit on the head” today tu realize that proper and intelligent maintenance of his ventilating, cooling or complete air conditioning system is more important than ever before. Just as we all closely watch and care for the tires on our automobile for patriotic as well as personal reasons, so must every person upon whose shoulders rests the responsibility for theatre equipment maintenance give that much more interest and active attention to his mechanical equipment. There are factors which, in the past, have seemed unimportant, and were in fact, of such minor importance that they could be brushed over. The picture is now entirely changed. A small detail, such as a blower bearing that cannot be replaced, and electric motor that refuses to function properly; these and other points of maintenance might, under present conditions, throw a literal ‘monkeywrench” into the most expensive, elaborate, and certainly the most important air conditioning system. The purpose of the following paragraphs will, therefore, be to put forth in very plain language just what should and can be done to prolong the life of equipment, which articles will be most difficult, if not impossible to replace, and what changes in operation can be made to avoid undue and unnecessary wear and tear. It is the patriotic duty of every theatre owner and manager to keep going. “The show must go on”, and the correct and satisfactory operation of his system of ventilation, comfort cooling, heating, or complete air conditioning is vital and important to that end. No theatre, large or small, should overlook the possibility of a breakdown which, formerly of short inconvenience, might be impossible of repair for the duration of the present emergency. Therefore, the following points are outlined in order that, regardless of the type of system our readers have in use, they can take those necessary and important steps to protect their investments, and to assure that they can continue to provide healthful and comfortable conditions for their patrons. Blower and Ventilating Systems HE blower is the “heart” of the ventilation, cooling, heating, or air conditioning plant. It is mot a mysterious “gadget”, and with proper care and attention it will run year in and year out with a minimum of maintenance cost. With the blower, of course, the How to Guard Against Trouble Canadian FILM WEEKLY Man. It’s Hot In There! With the Ventilation System— Repairs Aren't Easy Now electric motor and starter must also be checked. Keep these simple rules in mind: Oiling and Greasing: If your blower is equipped with ball bearings, they ordinarily would require attention just once a season, but should be checked every month The proper lubricant for a ball bearing is a light grease. Do not allow any dirt or grit to get into the bearing housing, and do not pack the grease in tight. Just fill to the level of the opening. The bearing should be removed, disassembled and thoroughly cleaned with kerosene, wiped dry, and repacked with fresh grease at the start of each new season. Have this done by a competent and experienced workman because the theatreman may have extreme difficulty, and may not even be able to get replacements of ball bearings for the duration. If the bearings are sleeve type, use a good grade of oil as recommended by the bearing manufacturer, Be sure that all bearings are kept properly adjusted so they do not become out of alignment. A bearing out of alignment will wear out in fairly short order. If the blower is equipped with a hydraulic variable speed pulley, the bearings in the clutch should receive the same attention as the main blower shaft bearings. All joints of the hydraulic control must be kept tight, and this refers also to the joints in the tubing of the control, between the blower and the control pumps. A loss of pressure will indicate a leak somewhere in the joints of the tubing. It is also important to keep an extra set of friction discs for the clutch on hand to replace worn out discs. In connection with the control pump or pressure units, do not try to repair those parts in the field but send them in to the factory from which they were purchased so that there will be certainty of having them correctly repaired, and of having the proper parts installed or replaced. Care of Belts: A V-belt requires less tension than a flat belt. If the belts are too tight, they will wear out sooner, and this is very important, there will be trouble getting belts replaced. With proper care belts will last for a number of years. Check them every few weeks, and if they seem to be getting loose, tighten them, but be sure to leave some slack. Normal use will require tightening to compensate for wear. Motor and Starter: If, for any ed from the motor, be sure it is reason, the pulley must be removnot driven back onto the motor shaft. This would injure the motor bearings as well as the shaft and the pulley. Instead sandpaper the shaft or ream out the pulley until it can be put on by hand. Set the set-screws tight, especially when they are used instead of a kep. Use a light, high grade grease for the ball bearings, or a light, high grade oil for the sleeve bearings. Be sure that the motor is free from water, oil, and dirt, and that at the end of the season it is carefully covered over for protection. General Care and Attention: The pulley on the motor and the pulley on the blower should be carefully lined up, and must be kept in line. If a misalignment occurs, there will be a power loss, and the belts will wear down. Have the electrician check to keep the motor properly fused. The line fuses should Page 5 4 ®)e three times the ampere rating of the motor at full load, where no compensator is used, and should be two and a half times the ampere rating of the motor at full speed, if a compensator is used. Where a magnetic starter used on a motor repeatedly kicks out, do not wedge starter in position, but be sure to call in a competent electrician who can check the wiring, the motor and switch. The following parts may be extremely difficult to secure, and after some time may not be available at all. We are stressing this because, while the money value of these parts is not a great deal, their worth to the user is indeed of high value: 1. Ball bearings. 2. V-belts. 3. Electric motors and switches. (To be Continued) Interesting Parallel To ‘49th Parallel’ Columbia's “49th Parallel,” a top grosser, shows how Nazi submariners, stranded in Canada and headed for the USA, steal and crash a plane. This was matched in real life when two escaped Nazi prisoners, since recaptured, stole a plane and crashed it. Del Goodman Back, Tells Paramount’s Plans For three days last week, District Managers of Paramount Pictures throughout the United States gathered on the farm of Adolph Zukor. They did not gather at Mr. Zukor’s famous Mountain View Farm to learn how to make butter or milk cows—in fact, they didn’t see any cows—but to plan campaigns. Now these were mot the kind of campaigns on how to beat Hitler by making more and better tanks, but rather how to beat Hitler by building up morale at home with the making of good entertainment product to give our defense workers hours of relaxation. Del Goodman, genial Managing Director for Paramount in Canada, and the only Canadian at the gathering, brought back some interesting sidelights. “Reap the Wild Wind,” said Mr. Goodman beaming, “is the first Paramount picture to ever play the Music Hall in New York. It played there for five weeks, something done by only four other pictures of any company.” Mr. Goodman went on to point out that ‘Reap The Wild Wind” had also broken records in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Richmond, Charlestown, etc. and would go right on smashing marks made by other pictures. “But ‘Reap’ is not the only winner we have right now,” continued Mr. Goodman — “there’s a humdinger of a hit in “My Favorite Blonde” with Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll, a picture that has done sensational business at the Paramount in New York.” Other Paramount Pictures which get terrific attention this year are “Palm Beach Story,” “Wildcat,” “Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch” and “Forest Rangers” which will be of outstanding proportions. Waxing even more enthusiastic, Mr. Goodman went on “Wake Island will be the surprise picture of the year. Our studios are working most energetically on this and the results will be well worth seeing.” Besides the feature material, Mr. Goodman pointed out that Paramount Newsreel, Popeye, Madcap Models, the new and most popular puppetoons, were all making splendid headway. Superman, he pointed out, is the greatest money earning short subject in the United States and Canada. Out of approximately 1167 theatres, Paramount already have over 500 bookings.