Another PM3520 question

[Tom Giacomo]

I just got my PM3520 and was wondering, is it normal for the RPM readout to be on all the time ? I am a hobbiest and only turn once a week and feel a little uncomfortable about the readout being on 24/7. The only way I can get it to go out is to pull the plug.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Tom - the Powermatic and Jet both do the same thing and it is considered common practice (to me) to unplug the lathe when not in use. I got in the habit because of frequent lightening strikes - sure didn't want to lose my lathe!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tom,

Like Steve said, that's normal for the PM3520B. I unplug mine. I've been working in high powered electronics since the late '60s. I've seen what lightning can do should it run in on power lines. A circuit breaker will just be jumped across and so will a switch. Thus I unplug mine for safety's sake.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree and never leave my lathe plugged in when I am not in the shop.

[Ron Bontz]

Me four. Always unplug all of my tools. Frequent power surges here and little kiddies got me into the habit. :)

[alex carey]

Definitely unplug it, better safe than sorry.

[Jeff Nicol]

Here I am again early in the morning and I have to think! Well here is what I have experienced. In the last 40 some odd years that I can remember things, I can only think of 2 incidents of lightning doing damage to things in houses or garages, smaller structures not larger commercial buildings. In those 2 cases the telephone and a TV were the only causualties. When I was still doing commercial sheetmetal work, just about every fan, motor, and other items needing adjustable control had VFD's on them. So if lighting was going to trip these or ruin these very easily why are they used in just about every building to control fan speeds, pump speeds, etc. ? Should all of them be unplugged too? Like I said before I have never unplugged anything and have never had a problem, if you unplug everything in the house that has an electronic clock, you have to reset it. Just seems like over kill to me. Make sure your shop and home are grounded to the dirt around it and that all the wiring in your panel is done correctly and unless you get hit directly by a lightning strike (Most likely fire will ruin things then) the odds are slim at best that anything will happen.

Just my totally semi-uneducated thought process and opinion,

Beat but not broken in Wisconsin,

Jeff

[Bob Borzelleri]

I pull the plug on all the shop tools when I am not using them. A common scene in my shop is the power cord draped over the machine with the plug close to the business end of the machine. That way, I can readily confirm that there is no power to the machine should I decide to do that quick adjustment before using it.

In addition, there is no chance of inquisitive visitors fingers activating a spinning sharp thing.:(

[Bob Stroman]

I unplug it too when I leave the shop. You don't have to think about LED lifespan, power surges, chuck keys, big or little fingers.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Here I am again early in the morning and I have to think! Well here is what I have experienced. In the last 40 some odd years that I can remember things, I can only think of 2 incidents of lightning doing damage to things in houses or garages, smaller structures not larger commercial buildings. In those 2 cases the telephone and a TV were the only causualties. When I was still doing commercial sheetmetal work, just about every fan, motor, and other items needing adjustable control had VFD's on them. So if lighting was going to trip these or ruin these very easily why are they used in just about every building to control fan speeds, pump speeds, etc. ? Should all of them be unplugged too? Like I said before I have never unplugged anything and have never had a problem, if you unplug everything in the house that has an electronic clock, you have to reset it. Just seems like over kill to me. Make sure your shop and home are grounded to the dirt around it and that all the wiring in your panel is done correctly and unless you get hit directly by a lightning strike (Most likely fire will ruin things then) the odds are slim at best that anything will happen.

Just my totally semi-uneducated thought process and opinion,

Beat but not broken in Wisconsin,

Jeff

Jeff.

I've seen lightning surges melt copper conductors bigger in diameter than my thumb. I am a pretty good sized lad. In this instance, it melted them back 4" ....turned a phenolic insulator 4" in diameter into carbon. We had to take a hack saw and cut the big military cannon power plug apart. This happened a radar used in air traffic control. There were firefighters sitting in a rescue/fire/crash truck about 50 yards from the radar. The lightning strike was not a direct hit. It hit 1/4 mile away and ran in the shore power lines going to the radar.

I find it absolutely no problem disconnecting my lathe. A switch or circuit breaker could be jumped by lightning. A disconnected power plug would be a little more difficult.

[Dick Sowa]

The consensus is to unplug it when not in use, although the manual doesn't say anything about needing to unplug it. So I am not sure if there is an electronic reason to unplug it (other than protecting from surges and lightning).

I unplug mine most of the time, but sometimes just forget. I've had mine for about 3 years, and it has gone days, or sometimes weeks being plugged in and not running. If there is ANY chance that someone else could access your shop, then you really should unplug it.

[Jon Lanier]

I just got my PM3520 and was wondering, is it normal for the RPM readout to be on all the time ? I am a hobbiest and only turn once a week and feel a little uncomfortable about the readout being on 24/7. The only way I can get it to go out is to pull the plug.

All I can add to all of this is: "I wish I had that problem." ;)

[Jeff Nicol]

If we all worried about if, maybe, could be, possibly, sometimes, what if this that or the other we would never get anything done! I agree that stuff happens and that is not good. But when everything is unplugged and the friendly neighborhood thugs decide to set your garage, house, or whatever on fire it really won't matter. Or if they decide to break in and do all sorts of damage just for the heck of it, how do we really plan for that. Ken I was a radio mechanic in the Army and saw lots of things get fried, but most of the time it was because someone did something wrong and caused the problem. I am a big guy too but all it takes is a little squirrel in the wrong place to mess up the neighborhood electric service! Electricity is a dangerous and delightful thing and we should respect it but not fear it. Unplug if you must but you can't be prepared for the unknown.

Read and follow instructions and things should turn out fine. I know that is hard for the male of the species to do, sort of like asking for directions!

Just keep safe, whatever that takes for each individual,

Jeff

[Tom Giacomo]

Thanks for the replies, I just didn't know if that was the way this machine worked, it says nothing in the manual. I think I will just keep unpluging it, If I remember, the gray matter is getting a little old.