Electric Motor

Stephen Newell

Well-known Member
Do you think this motor could be removed from this machine and worked on without the outer shell. Otherwise I have 2 tons of electric motor to take to a repair shop.

It tripped a breaker a couple times and then just won't come on anymore. There is two motors in the machine and the other one works fine so there is power there. I tested the switch and it's working alright so I don't know what else to do.
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That's over my head to check some of that. I did check to see if there was 220V between the leads and there was. The planer has this motor which does the cutting and a separate motor which feeds the wood and the feed motor is still working.
 

Depends if you want to go to all the work and expense of re-winding the motor . Just to find out that a cable or the breaker has failed instead of the motor .
 
Steve, how about a good, clear, picture of the inside of that box.

It may have fuses in it for that motor.

If there is only one power cable to the machine, the power has to be split somewhere to go to the two motors.

The two motors are probably different horsepower and are fused separately.
 
Yes, it does have fuses. That is the first thing I checked and none of them are burnt. The two motors are not fused separately the leads go to the magnetic switches on the same lines. I checked the wires there and none of them are loose or burnt. The connection at the cutter motor I haven't checked yet. Much of the machine would need to be dissembled to get to that.
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My first thought would be to check if something is preventing the machine from turning.

Something jammed or a seized bearing.

Next would be a thorough check of the electrical supply and wiring of the unit.

If that is not in your comfort zone a service call would probably be cheaper than a picker truck.
 
I can't get my head around what I'm looking at.

Only advice I can offer is any nut loosens by turning it in the direction it spins. I would use impact too.
Sorry
George
 
You would be best served to ensure power is getting to the motor before tearing into it, as b&d has suggested, it might be something easier than the motor.

I'm pretty sure you can pull the rotor and then unbolt/remove the field. A motor shop can then perform the above suggested tests.

The whole rotor shaft will likely have to be removed, which may be a challenge to say the least. Then bearing conditions can be analyzed.
 
UPdate, the motor is alright. The problem was with the magnetic switch. I worked it manually and the motor ran. Now I just have to find a replacement switch.
 
Did you check voltage across the coil?

It could be the coil, but it could also be the overload tripped or a stop station not closing, or any number of failed connections.

Magnetic starters are not cheap! The new ones are miniaturized junk!

If it is the coil, you can replace just the coil, keep your good heavy duty starter. Parts can be found on Ebay.

If you go to an electric supply, and don't have an account, or know them from being a regular customer, don't expect a warm welcome. They will likely refuse service or hit you with a "go away" price.

Be sure before buying something you don't need!
 

Did you check the over load on the starter, push the reset button?
The coil on the magnet could be bad.

If people would post the area the are at, maybe someone that's in the same area would give them a hand.
 
This is the culprit. After I manually started it, it has continued to run however I know the condition will get worse. Bad thing is I was needing to surface some wood yesterday to get a deck put in before the weather turned bad at the end of the week.

I do know of a reputable place in Garland I could take the switch to be repaired. They were next door to one of the first jobs I had when I was 18 and are still there. The phase converter I'm using I bought used from them about 15 years ago. It's Tolbert Electric Motors.
 
(quoted from post at 17:30:16 02/23/21) This is the culprit. After I manually started it, it has continued to run however I know the condition will get worse. Bad thing is I was needing to surface some wood yesterday to get a deck put in before the weather turned bad at the end of the week.

I do know of a reputable place in Garland I could take the switch to be repaired. They were next door to one of the first jobs I had when I was 18 and are still there. The phase converter I'm using I bought used from them about 15 years ago. It's Tolbert Electric Motors.

You can replace the offending magnetic switch yourself, no harder than disconnecting all the wires to take it to a shop!

You MAY be able to find an exact replacement contactor on ebay in good used or "New Old Stock" condition, and there are ALL SORTS of brand new modern contactors on ebay, Amazon, etc. that you could replace it with. Once you select a modern contactor in the rewuired HP range it can be "dialed in" to the running current of the motor, etc. with little switches, no need to get the exact "heaters" to match you motor as had to be done in the past.
 
You are probably right but it started working before I tried the re-set button. The next time it goes down I will do that. Just confused why the breaker is tripping. The breaker tripped one time when I just had the phase converter idling.
 
It's an old woodworking planer. The problem I was having was the motor on the top that powers the cutter quit working. What scared me was the shaft for the motor was also the cutter head and it went all the way through the machine and the motor. The machine is somewhere around 90 years old so I'm sure everything is thoroughly rusted in. Very thankful I don't have to take the motor out.
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Wow, what a hunk of iron! Good thing you don't have to turn it into a door stop as it is a little oversized for that. That should hold the floor down during an earthquake.
 


I used to replace a lot of contactors, sometimes on some pretty old stuff. I got them from Graingers and paid a lot less than OEM. It isn't hard to go to their charts and pick out one that has the specs that you need. looking alike is not important. When trouble shooting electric don't condemn something like that motor that isn't working until you verify that it actually has current to it.
 
Yea it's a hunk of iron. I needed to move it 10' one time and it took me two days to do it. Had to work to get a pallet jack under it and then dragged it with my tractor.
 
In the post below showing the magnetic switches there was a cast iron cover over it I had to remove and the cover probably weighted 40 pounds. The weight of the machine really shows up running it. It's quieter to surface a 24" wide piece of hardwood than it is to surface a pine 1x6 in the little portable 12" planer I have.
 
Breakers trip on heat. Take a switch rated for a certain current and you have a cross sectional area designed to tolerate the current-resistance of the contact-temperature for the desired rating. Use the switch-contactor for a period of time especially with inductive, motor, or lamp loads and the material on the contacts migrates'burns off/welds to the other contact....on and on....net result is reduced contact area meaning Ohms law gets the contacts hot and the switch thinks it's in an overload condition...which it is under the circumstances and it trips.

Burnishing (sanding) the contacts working down to 1000 grit range paper could solve your problem if it's the contactor.
 

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