Help with electric motor I salvaged

[icu812]

I brought this home from work the other day thinking it would work well for a home made tumbler. I know it came off an old garage door opener but thats about it. Any ideas on how to wire this thing up? Im not sure what the two wires with quick connects on them coming out of the top would do. Also it looks like a counter weight type peice has fallen off under the cover I have removed in the pic below. Any ideas before I go tripping breakers in my basement?

 

[Greg Langelius *]

At this point the motor is unusable for several reasons.

The first is that you have no idea how to proceed, and that is a fatal impediment.

The second one is that the motor likely has internal damage.

The third one is that electric motor repair is a highly skilled occupation. I know, I was designated by The Marine Corps as being an electric motor repairman on my separation from active service, and under no circumstances would I accept the potential for liability by advising this potentially hazardous effort via posting over the internet.

The fourth is that electric motors have evolved to the point where repair is usually neither economically feasible, nor achievable without specialized tools, parts, and knowledge.

Ask yourself what could possibly go wrong. Remember, I'm talking about electricity here.

This is something I call penny wisdom. It reaps a pound of foolishness.

Quit trying to do this on the cheap. The cost of a serviceable tumbler isn't high enough to overcome the potential for harm, and the overall expense acquiring one will probably be cheaper in the long run. This motor's only real value is as scrap.

Greg

 

[ZombieMonkey]

Don't do it. Many of the house fires I get dispatched to all have one thing in common, someone tried to do something stupid to save some money and caused a house fire or came damn near close.

 

[icu812]

Thanks for the concern. The motor was working before it was removed so im sure its fine. I work with high voltage everyday, just on the other side of the transformer. Im pretty sure I can play around with this motor without killing myself. Thanks.

 

[Rhyno]

Look up in the phone book for electric motor repair have them inspect it and go from there.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

OK, I think Rhyno hit the right chord with this.

Greg

 

[pawprint2]

One can purchase a New 1/2HP for around $100. Many towns have shops offering used/rebuilt motors for far less-unless you really know what you are doing-and getting how to for the net is crazy-get a professional to refurb, or purchase a new one.

 

[KUSA]

I would search the Internet for the schematic and go from there.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

So them 6 brass 'weights', are they for a 'governor' of some sort? THAT would be a very interesting contrivance. Be sure to post pics of it in action, just to show the nay-sayers that persistence and perseverance wins over, almost every time.

Then that way, the others can come up with the next set of 'after action' pictures.

This looks to be fun. Next question, which clause is best fought for litigation defense?

 

[garageguy2013]

The two quick connect wires are likely for a capacitor. Not sure what all the other wires are for.Since the weight is busted off,I'd scrap it and find a motor off an old washing machine or dryer.Much easier to wire up.

 

[Michael]

washing machine motor. It's scrap value at this point.

 

[EasyGravy]

The 2 small wires are for capicitor as its a single phase motor its designed to help start the motor without damaging internal conductor insulation.

 

[DarnYankeeUSMC]

The 2 small wires are for a capacitor but the data plate does not indicate what size. So it will take some research to find that out. Any way the motor is rated at 3.5 amps on 115 volts. I am sure you could find something more efficient for your task. When pulling that much current on a regular wall plug outlet combo you may end up with some heat build up after running for extended periods. I enjoy a good Rube Goldberg project as much as the next guy but I think you may be pushing a chain with this one.

 

[icu812]

Thanks for the advise fellas. To the scrap pile it goes.

 

[Alpine 338]

Take it to a metals salvage yard, if you have one close, they may give you some money as the windings are copper, and of value.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I have a little background with these types of motors so I will give this a shot. Years ago I designed controls for security gate openers which are basically a heavy duty garage door opener. My advice is free and I would heed the warnings of the others here and use caution.

Here goes-

What happened to the back plate on the motor? Do you still have it?

The weights on the back are for what looks to be a centrifugal start switch that is mounted to the motor on the left side. It is basically a switch in series with a start winding in the motor, and the capacitor, to give the motor a bump start. The switch snaps open the moment the motor reaches full speed. If this switch/circuit is not working correctly you can burn up the motor as the circuit should only be energized for less than a second when the motor starts.

The first time you start up the motor, let it run for a minute and then shut it off. If the motor housing gets really hot then you know something is wrong. There also looks to be a thermal cutoff on the back of the motor so that would probably trip first if it is working.

Not that you would need it for a tumbler but you can reverse the motor using this type of setup. These motors are also smoother running than those in a washing machine, etc. because of the design.

The two leads look like one is for motor power and the other goes to energize the solenoid that is laying in the pictures. You don't need the solenoid or the related circuitry anymore but take pictures of all of the wiring, and label each wire, before un-terminating. You will be lost without that info.

You can probably find a motor capacitor by going to your local motor shop or Grainger and giving the part/model number. They are not expensive ~ $10.

Definitely give the motor a good cleaning before using it. It relies on a clean housing to dissipate heat.

 

[Guest]

Remember, always pre-charge the capacitor before connecting it to the motor. This prevents damage to the internal components.
"Extra" wires are not needed, so just snip them off even and leave them bare so they can breathe. If you tape them over you will shorten the lifespan of the motor through ozone starvation osmosis rentifillication.

This is pretty simple straighforward stuff.

 

[Unknown]

Being the former king of doing things on the cheap, I can offer some advice. My first suggestion is notice that I am the FORMER king...I learned that although many projects are tons of fun, and I would get great satisfaction out of building stuff, I learned that people who build stuff professionally can usually buy better parts, more cheaply than I can get them. Plus, they have the jigs and tools to put these parts together better than I can.

I still enjoy doing some of those things. But I limit myself to things I KNOW I can do. Recently, I made and installed a tool steel blade into a folding knife that I had worn out. The knife had sentimental value, and although it took me nearly 30 hours to fabricate, heat treat, and install the blade, time and cost weren't important.

I really suggest you follow the advice that precedes mine, and either buy a tumbler, or buy a motor that is ready to work. Just fabricating a stable mounting system for your motor will likely be a major effort. A used rock tumbler can't be all that expensive.