Hi All.
Hello all. Here is a novice machine owner question for those in the know. I’m desperately trying to preserve the life of my planer as I can’t justify a major power tool purchase just yet.
When last using my generic 15″ planer, the motor began to emit whisps of smoke, then tripped the breaker. It started up again, then did the same thing. After cooling off, it started and ran fine.
-I took the motor off and checked the cutter head bearing. They roll easily by hand.
-I checked the motor bearings, also roll easily.
-I disassembled the motor and couldn’t see any abvious burning on the windings.
-Then I looked at the capacitors, thinking one would be melted for sure.
They look fine, but there are mysteriously two start capacitors and no run capacitor. Is this normal? I did some research online and couldn’t come up with any reference to two start capacitors.
I would love to hear from some of you guys with motor experience. It would be nice to get this motor running, since a new one seems like it would exceed the value of the machine.
Here are the specs:
motor 2hp 60hz 10amp 3450rpm class A 220v single phase
start cap #1 125vac 400uf 125vac460uf
start cap #2 300mfd type 110/125/125L300 110/125v, AC50/60hz
Any other info I can provide?
Thanks in advance!
davidb
Replies
What about smell? Did you check the cord ends etc.
If you could not see exactly where the smoke came from, a good thing to do, is to shut off, and start feeling with your hands. When you have to stick your fingers in your mouth, you know exactly where the problem is.
Hi KeithThe cord ends seem OK. Heat and smoke seemed to be coming from the motor body. It smelled kind of like burned wiring insulation though. davidb
Does the motor have a centrifugal switch to cut out the start winding? Sometimes these get jammed and the start winding is energized continuously - the start winding is a high-current winding and if it isn't switched out, they get really hot.
It does have a centrifugal switch Ray. I will check to see it it's jammed. Thanks for the suggestion!davidb
Spray a little WD-40 on the mechanism and work it back & forth with a screwdriver. Make sure it's dry before applying power or the WD-40 will go boom!
I'll try that as soon as I can get into the shop
Ray. Thanks again!
Hey Ray, I fussed around with the centrugal switch then planed around 20 bf of poplar today. No sign of overheating! Since I also dropped oil in the rollers and lubed the drive chain, I'm not sure which did the trick, but the main thing is that I'm back in business. Thanks again for the advice.Best wishes,
davidb
Hi David, glad I could help. I learned that from an old, retired machinist about 50 years ago, now it's your turn to pass on that little bit of info. :-)
"motor caught smoking"
Obviously, it should be spanked and sent to its room. ;-)
Yeah, let's hope that motor learns a lesson from this!
Hi, David.
My DIY lathe project died because the motor started smoking when I reversed the direction of rotation. Although I have been using a freebie lathe to gather initial experience, I still want to complete the original project.
Your thread sparked, and rekindled my interest. So I followed along, focusing on Ray's suggested area of action.
I am happy to report that last thing today, switch-on showed instant start with no smoke. I still have to run it on load before I can be certain, but the moribund project is alive again. It certainly is a benefit to have access to Knots, and to experience the shared problems and solutions which surface from time to time.
My thanks to all.
Lapun with the white grass.
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