Prince of Fatness
Thanks. Every winter I go through this. Most days I can run outside and have, but there are days where if I had a treadmill I would much prefer to just go down to the basement for my run (cold wind is what bugs me the most). Warm months I would only use it if it was ridiculously hot or maybe a thunderstorm in the area.
If I had to guess I doubt that I would put more than 300 miles a year on it.
Not at it at all.
Feeling the growl again
This was the top of the deck, what we felt through the belt:
This was the bottom, which I could not see but felt by hand:
The dust does not appear to be just dust, but sawdust coming out of the deck. The belt is OK despite some pieces of the deck coming off and going for a ride.
I should offer a beer to anyone who can guess within a month of the next time I break this machine.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Good grief.
I'm guessing 6 months and 15 days. Is this like The Price is Right where you can stay under and still win?
"He conquers who endures" - Persius "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel
http://ncstake.blogspot.com/
Good grief. I'm guessing 6 months and 15 days. Is this like The Price is Right where you can stay under and still win?
Within a month, above or below, would win.
MTA: Even a Sole deck did not crack like this...they were smaller and ran perpendicular to the direction of movement, ruining the lubrication and burning through the belt. Without doing an autopsy I can't see for sure how structural the cracking is though the dust is concerning. The shiny surface is sure screwed though.
You know, I've been shopping for a treadmill and half-considering it for a while.
These kind of horror stories make me think, "You know, the YMCA is practically on the way to work."
"When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." Emil Zatopek
If the tread mill saves me a 10 min drive each way, and I can hop on it when I have a 30 minutes window, $1500 over 2-3 years is a price I am willing to pay. My old POS $300 Walmart treadmill lasted 7 years and is still running, but the noise and the vibration got annoying, that was not meant for running only walking, so it sits in the Garage.
At 130 lbs and my slow running, I did not even get an extended warranty. If this thing breaks in another year and I log another 500-600 miles on it. I'll think I got my money's worth.
You know, I've been shopping for a treadmill and half-considering it for a while. These kind of horror stories make me think, "You know, the YMCA is practically on the way to work."
I think I pretty much press these price range machines harder than they were really intended to take on a regular basis (see today's workout). Others on here have this and the similar 1750 and have not had problems. The tech told me that this is only the second deck he has ever replaced on this model. He told me that this one is easier on the deck because it is spring-mounted; most of the cheaper ones (like my Sole) bolt the deck right to the frame so you pound it a lot harder.
He also gave me some tips on lubing...he agreed that ICON aka NordicTrack gives VERY comflicting info on lubing. He told me that if you get silicone lubricant spray that says it's okay for athletic equipment, you can use that to spray under the belt even weekly. So I will use the ICON lube I have to lube monthly until I run out, then get that stuff and try that.
Wait...WHAT??? What maintenance are we suppose to do? I looked through the info that came with it and didn't find anything. I'm sure if I did a google search, I'll find more info. But what are the basics of what you people are doing?
The manual and ads say it does not require lube. Yet if you call ICON and ask them what lube to use they will tell you. And I can tell you from having the machine apart today that there is no apparent difference between this machine and the Sole, which required lube.
ICON said no silicone-based lube. Yet that is what the tech is using on it, and while the lube ICON itself sells for these treadmills does not even say what it contains it sure as heck looks more like silicone-based lube than parrafin-based lube.
Frankly, I don't really trust the average people they have picking up the phones to take calls to really know what they are talking about.
In terms of maintenance, I keep my belt adjusted as loose as possible without slippage so that it is easier on the motor (the tech today was delinquent and cranked it down so hard the machine shut down partway into my run and I had to loosen it 4 full turns). I keep the sweat wiped off as much as possible and try to take a damp cloth to all surfaces once a week to keep the salt to a minimum. I've intended to follow an every 6 month lube schedule but as described will increase that. YMMV if you put less miles on yours.
MTA: The tech did not think lubing had anything to do with the cracking. I don't really, either, as I know with the Sole when it got low on lube the belt would get noticeably hot and this one never did. He thinks I just landed on it just right or it had a flaw and that was that.
Will Crew for Beer
Mine displays a message after a certain number of miles that it's time to lube. I usually just do it monthly. When my DW tells me it's time to change the air filter I also lube the treadmill.
I use this stuff.
Rule number one of a gunfight, bring a gun. Rule number two of a gunfight, bring friends with guns.
Mine displays a message after a certain number of miles that it's time to lube. I usually just do it monthly. When my DW tells me it's time to change the air filter I also lube the treadmill. I use this stuff.
I looked at that. I ordered the stuff from ICON, whether or not they explicitly said to use it I figured if they sold it as their lube, it was right for their treadmills.
Wrong. The correct answer: ONE DAY.
The incremental Speed Up button quit working while my wife was using it today. This is exactly what happened first when each of the prior three consoles went bad.
Looks like I am back to the phone on them Monday....I wonder if they would rather buy it back from me than continue this circus....
Every winter I go through this. Most days I can run outside and have, but there are days where if I had a treadmill I would much prefer to just go down to the basement for my run (cold wind is what bugs me the most).
Today was one of those days. Man it sucked out there.
After talking through it with their tech person (they are sending a 5th console), I did some due diligence on the electrical source. I'd had it plugged into a normal surge-protected power strip; I bought a single-outlet surge protecter with a light to confirm it was properly grounded. Well, once I plugged it in I learned that when wiggled a little the light would go on and off.
The manual stipulated that we unplug the machine every use; we have been more or less honoring that. Seems it damaged the outlet and it's no longer properly grounding. So I've got it plugged into a different outlet and I'm going to replace the normal one, and also add a plastic protector to keep sweat out (it's a floor outlet near the machine, the metal cover has corroded so I know it is getting some sweat).
Just a theory. I'm going to fix it all so the next console has every advantage and go from there.
Self anointed title