I have a new (6 months old) Baldor 2HP on my contractors saw. Recently the saw bogs down as if losing power even on 4/4. Using a WWII blade that has been cleaned and is still sharp. Saw bearings spin freely. Pulleys are secure and link belt is tight. Motor spins freely. Running at 220 on 30A circuit. No wiring changes since it was working fine. Any ideas on what the problem could be? Possibly the capacitor? Appreciate any help.
Ken
Replies
You know if the motor has run windings or run capicitors?
What is the model # of the motor?
Here fishy fishy....
Run winding I think. I see only one capacitor anyway. It a Baldor model L3515M. Fence is in alignment. Most noticeable when ripping. Am cutting 4/4 red oak and mahogany. Blade is clean and sharp. Thanks........
Ken
Several things...
You have start windings. Nominal draw is 11.5 amps. SF1. LR 90A. Hard load draw can be up to 24 amps. Also a 30 amp circut is to hot for this motor. It'll let you over draw current allowing the motor to over heat hurting the run windings which makes the power suffer permentaly. That you may have already done. If you use to cut well but now you have a loss of power, same methods - blades, you see where this is going...
Questions - are you feeding from a main or sub panel? Long cord to the saw? What size cabling? How many belts? Should be 2 at a minimum. 1 per HP. Pulleys or shieves? What brand of saw.
Minimum of a 12gage short as you can cable w/ 20Abreaker for power. You could get by with a #14 but it would be good to allow for locked rotor draw.
The saw blade HAS to fit the mission. More teeth the more power it takes to cut. That is why there are 24 and 32 tooth ripping blades. Ripping naturally takes more power than cross cutting. You handicap yourself by using a trim or cross cut blade. You could rough cut with a rip blade and then shave off a 32nd with a finish blade. Also blade RPM should be around 5 / 5.5K. However the more RPM the less torque. A slower blade will give you more torque. Your motor at a 1:1.4/1:.5 ratio will give you an all around speed. 1:1.2 or 1:1.25 will give you a lot more power and the feed rate will be a fuzz slower but steady.
If you change motors (OUCH!) go for a 230V, 2.5HP with a service factor of 1.1+ and 3400 RPM. 3HP might be too much for the saw arbor. A Marathon is a good bet for the money. Think farm service also. Avoid a motor from China or some such place.
Here fishy fishy....
I am operating from a 150A subpanel. Only one machine operating at a time. 15' of 10 gauge from panel to outlet, and 10' of 10 gauge from outlet to saw. Am using a 40 tooth combo Forrest WWII blade which has been cleaned and appears to be still sharp. It is a Craftsman saw and all bearings spin freely. It has a single link belt and machined and balanced pulleys on a 1.5:1 ration, which according to my calculations should be about 5100 rpm.
What has me confused is that I used to have no problem ripping small amounts of 8/4 oak and I have to be careful cutting 4/4. I have not noticed any problems crosscutting. I realize my blade is not designed for ripping, but it used to work fine. I only cut small amounts (enough for a single furniture project) at any given session. Maybe I'm assuming that my blade is sharper than it actually is.
If I reduce my breaker size to 20A will that not cause it to trip under start load?
Maybe I'm assuming that my blade is sharper than it actually is.
This is a good bet. Best so far....
If I reduce my breaker size to 20A will that not cause it to trip under start load?
No.. If it does you have motor problems or are over working the motor. It's working amperage is 11.5.
It has a single link belt and machined and balanced pulleys on a 1.5:1 ration, which according to my calculations should be about 5100 rpm.
If the belt is glazed or the tension isn't right you could be throwing away 25% of your power. It's a good bet that you have pulleys. Go to a 2 belt system. Cancel the 2.5 HP motor. Max it out at 2HP.
Here fishy fishy....
Appreciate the help. I will get it changed over. Thanks......
Ken
what kind of wood are you cutting? And are you ripping with a combo blade? Is your blade aligned with the fence correctly?
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled