My TS Motor went POP

[tom holton]

So I was putting together a small shop cabinet and when reaching down to turn of the saw, I might have pushed a little light on the on button. Thats when i felt the $$$ eject from my wallet.

A pop sound and then that electricial burning smell...Pulled the plug out of the wall and opened up the cabinet. I was hoping I fried the switch, but the smell was all in the motor. (I did burn up a switch a few months ago)

The motors pulled out. Several questions: How to test, who to take it to, rewind a good idea, new motor source, HELP Please!!!

Oh, its a 3HP Steel City 220v and NO its not under warranty.

Thanks,

Tom

[jim sauterer]

do a search for motors have all the info off motor plate.what kind of motor is it chinese or american.i stumbled across some seller that had leeson and baldor.if you can get right frame size and rpm.

[Phil Thien]

I'd be inclined to call Steel City and ask them if they'd be willing to give you a good deal on a replacement. They certainly have the volume to get good pricing. And they may be willing to pass on a good price for a good customer.

I haven't heard that their motors are prone to failure, otherwise my advice may be different.

[scott spencer]

It could be a capacitor that you heard pop, which is a cheap and easy fix. Check inside those little cans out the outside of the motor housing.

SC's warranty is 5 years, why wouldn't it be covered?

[Brent Leonard]

Local motor shop would be my next move.

They can tell you for little or many times nothing whether you have fried the motor, capacitor or other component and whether it's reapirable or time for another motor. I don't replace something until I know it is shot. That gets expensive.
If you need a new motor, and it cannot be rewound (or isn't feasible or possible to rewind), I like the idea of calling steel city, next step would be local and online sources.

[Dan Friedrichs]

As others said, pop off some of those canister-shapped covers on the outside of the motor and look for a capacitor that's fried. Essentially, the motor is just some pieces of wire, a capacitor, and other mechanical stuff. It's pretty hard to hurt the pieces of wire without tripping the breaker, so I'd bet that you fried the capacitor. That happens frequently - just replace it with an identical size and rating.

Otherwise, visit any local motor shop and they should easily be able to help you out.

[tom holton]

THanks for the info. I pulled the capacitors off and sure enough, there is one that is clearly burned up.

FYI, the saw was a factory second purchased off Craigslist. No warrenty inclueded. It was pretty badly racked when I went to set up, but a few hours and patience later, I had it lined up pretty damn good. Other than the initial dissapointment of the racking, a switch that went bad and now hopefully just this capacitor, its been a good saw. The switch was a $20 part.

I'll call Steel City and try and get the capacitor.

Thanks,

TOm

[Paul Murphy]

Tom, go to a Grainger or order from a place like McMaster over the internet. Your capaciter will be somewhere in the $5 to $8 range.
All you need to know is the capaciter voltage and mfd rating.

Example: 125vac 400mfd

It is truly a plug and play procedure.

[tom holton]

THanks everyone. It was indeed the capacitor. We have a Old Old motor shop here in town with Roy behind the counter who has seen and knows all. Thats not a knock, but a much deserved compliment. He looked at my burned up capacitor and said, Piece of junk that paper cooled capacitor. You need a metal oiled cooled one. Grabbed a box and found one close in size with the correct rating. Its not a perfect fit, but it worked and he told me it wont ever go bad. The only concern I have is the fit in the metal shround that the originall fit it. The shroudn is riding about 1/4" off the motor now. I electricial taped up the gap and its under the motor so shouldnt see much dust. Ill check in in about a week and see if dust is accumulating. If so, have to come up with a better cover.

thanks again for the info. sure beats a $350 new motor.

Tom

[Myk Rian]

If the cap has leads on it you could mount it outside the cover.
Drill a hole in the cover and use a grommet to protect the wires.

[Steven J Corpstein]

buy a small roll of closed cell, adhesive backed weatherstrip tape for a gasket.

[Chip Lindley]

Your motor indeed will probably never fail again, but it might be better to get a high grade paper capacitor which actually fits your 3hp motor shroud! Those oil-filled are usually oval/rectangle shaped, where a paper capacitor is cylindrical.

Many Many capacitor-start, capacitor-run motors still have paper capacitors running strong after many many years! I can honestly say I have had TWO caps. go bad on me in 35 years. No doubt your Tiawanese motor had a cheapo dud installed. Get an industrial-grade capacitor of same size and value as your fried one, and appreciate the fact that Motor Shop Roy got you up and running in a hurry, but lacks a little finesse in his fit and finish!