Alternative Power sources - OT (maybe) Anyone out there knowledgable about small AC electric motors (1/4hp)

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OT (maybe) Anyone out there knowledgable about small AC electric motors (1/4hp)

George@Jetson.com

2005-10-21, 7:21 pm

Hi:

This is probably off topic here. If so, could one of you direct
me to another newsgroup where it might be more appropriate.

I have a 1/4 hp AC electric motor that runs a 5000gallon/hr pump
for my pond.
It was made in 1991 in Germany, and I contacted the company.
They no longer do any business in the US or Canada: no distributers or
dealers. Parts would have to be ordered from England or Germany.

To make a long story short, it usually starts, but sometimes it
just hums and won't spin unless I give the main shaft a little
push
..
Long story:
It is a split-phase permanent-capacitor induction motor. It
was not run for over a year. When I tried to run it, the shaft
refused to turn, and the motor got VERY hot, very quickly. I opened
it up and it had a little bit of water/moisture in it along with a
little rust and junk near the wiring. I cleaned it out the best I
could.
Now I'm running it again. 7/8 times out of 10 it spins, but
occassionally it still needs a push to get it spinning. After 10-15
minutes the motor case (aluminum) still stays very cool but the black
cylindrical capacitor box gets very hot. I can still touch it, but
its much more than warm. I'm afraid to leave the pump running by
itself.

I checked 2 local repair shops. One wanted $60 to look at it,
and the other wanted $75. I mentioned to both of them that the
motor company no longer does business in the States. Without
looking at it, they both said the best thing to do is buy a new U.S.
motor. (about $350 without pump Its a very well-built, high eff,
low-amp, high service-life motor.)

Here's my question (finally). If the windings are
bad/open/shorted/grounded then I would guess that the case should get
warm/hot. But it doesn't. That leaves me thinking that its the
capacitor.
What are the chances that it could be bad? Does a capacitor box
usually get very warm/mildly hot?
Is there a simple test to confirm whether the capacitor is bad?

If it is bad, do you have any suggestions on what I should do?

(The solution would be __so easy__ if the German company still
did business in the US.)

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc. would be most
appreciated.

George

George@Jetson.com

2005-10-21, 8:21 pm

Boy, did I mess that one up!

The motor was made in 2001, not 1991.

It's only 4 years old.

George

On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 17:54:41 -0400, George@Jetson.com wrote:

>Hi:
>
> This is probably off topic here. If so, could one of you direct
>me to another newsgroup where it might be more appropriate.
>
> I have a 1/4 hp AC electric motor that runs a 5000gallon/hr pump
>for my pond.
> It was made in 1991 in Germany, and I contacted the company.
>They no longer do any business in the US or Canada: no distributers or
>dealers. Parts would have to be ordered from England or Germany.
>
> To make a long story short, it usually starts, but sometimes it
>just hums and won't spin unless I give the main shaft a little
>push
>.
> Long story:
> It is a split-phase permanent-capacitor induction motor. It
>was not run for over a year. When I tried to run it, the shaft
>refused to turn, and the motor got VERY hot, very quickly. I opened
>it up and it had a little bit of water/moisture in it along with a
>little rust and junk near the wiring. I cleaned it out the best I
>could.
> Now I'm running it again. 7/8 times out of 10 it spins, but
>occassionally it still needs a push to get it spinning. After 10-15
>minutes the motor case (aluminum) still stays very cool but the black
>cylindrical capacitor box gets very hot. I can still touch it, but
>its much more than warm. I'm afraid to leave the pump running by
>itself.
>
> I checked 2 local repair shops. One wanted $60 to look at it,
>and the other wanted $75. I mentioned to both of them that the
>motor company no longer does business in the States. Without
>looking at it, they both said the best thing to do is buy a new U.S.
>motor. (about $350 without pump Its a very well-built, high eff,
>low-amp, high service-life motor.)
>
>Here's my question (finally). If the windings are
>bad/open/shorted/grounded then I would guess that the case should get
>warm/hot. But it doesn't. That leaves me thinking that its the
>capacitor.
> What are the chances that it could be bad? Does a capacitor box
>usually get very warm/mildly hot?
> Is there a simple test to confirm whether the capacitor is bad?
>
> If it is bad, do you have any suggestions on what I should do?
>
> (The solution would be __so easy__ if the German company still
>did business in the US.)
>
> Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc. would be most
>appreciated.
>
> George

daestrom

2005-10-22, 9:21 am

<George@Jetson.com> wrote in message
news:sclil1lhmr2avc4p3kv2nm2015pfb9ti7q@4ax.com...
> Hi:
>
> This is probably off topic here. If so, could one of you direct
> me to another newsgroup where it might be more appropriate.
>
> I have a 1/4 hp AC electric motor that runs a 5000gallon/hr pump
> for my pond.
> It was made in 1991 in Germany, and I contacted the company.
> They no longer do any business in the US or Canada: no distributers or
> dealers. Parts would have to be ordered from England or Germany.
>
> To make a long story short, it usually starts, but sometimes it
> just hums and won't spin unless I give the main shaft a little
> push
> .
> Long story:
> It is a split-phase permanent-capacitor induction motor. It
> was not run for over a year. When I tried to run it, the shaft
> refused to turn, and the motor got VERY hot, very quickly. I opened
> it up and it had a little bit of water/moisture in it along with a
> little rust and junk near the wiring. I cleaned it out the best I
> could.

Are you *sure* it doesn't have a centrifugal switch? Sometimes they will
get hung-up and the next time it starts it will just hum and overheat. Spin
the shaft and it starts up, and maybe jostles the switch enough to close
properly the next time it shuts off. Do you hear a 'click' when it
starts/stops?

daestrom

George@Jetson.com

2005-10-22, 1:21 pm

On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 18:22:09 -0400, Steve Spence
<sspence@green-trust.org> wrote:

>George@Jetson.com wrote:
>
>
>Sounds like a blown cap. They are about $20 or so from your plumbing house.

Thank you, Steve.

That's what I thought too, but I'm not very knowledgable about
these types of things.

George

George@Jetson.com

2005-10-22, 1:21 pm

On Sat, 22 Oct 2005 12:08:14 GMT, "daestrom"
<daestrom@NO_SPAM_HEREtwcny.rr.com> wrote:

>
><George@Jetson.com> wrote in message
>news:sclil1lhmr2avc4p3kv2nm2015pfb9ti7q@4ax.com...
>
>Are you *sure* it doesn't have a centrifugal switch? Sometimes they will
>get hung-up and the next time it starts it will just hum and overheat. Spin
>the shaft and it starts up, and maybe jostles the switch enough to close
>properly the next time it shuts off. Do you hear a 'click' when it
>starts/stops?
>
>daestrom
>

Hi,

No, it doesn't have a centrifugal switch. I got 2 books from the
library about motors, and they both mentioned that capacitor-start
motors have them. I took the motor completely apart, and there was no
switch.
Then I went to the company's website and found out that it was a
permanent-capacitor motor. They don't have switches. The cap runs
continously.
Thanks, though, for your response. I appreciate it.

George

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