Grizzly Planer Smoking!

[Charlie Barnes]

First, and most importantly, Happy 4th of July to everybody!

Now on to my problem. I was using my Grizzly GO453Zbefore lunch today and it was running fine. When I went to start it up after lunch, it would not start and tripped the breaker. I reset the breaker and tried it again with the same result. Ipulled the switch cover off and the start/stop switches seem to be OK when checked with my multi-meter. I pulled the lower covers off of the base and the cover to the magnetic switch assembly and noticed that the thermal overload had tripped. I reset it and tried to start it again. Again, nothing happened except that I noticed a little smoke coming from the junction box where the start and run capacitors are. I pulled the cover off the junctionbox and found a lot more smoke. I also noticed that the thermal overload had tripped again and this time it will not reset either.

I tried calling Grizzly and they are closed today, so I’ll call them tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m guessing at the minimum that my start capacitor and thermal overload are bad. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I’d like to do as much trouble shooting as possible prior to calling Grizzly to make sure I end up with the parts I need. So any ideas as to the cause would be greatly appreciated.

Charlie

[Mike Metz]

Charlie,
I had the same problem Twice with my G0454z. Both times it was the start capacitor. When i called grizzly tech support to troubleshoot, they advised me that it is a very common problem on those motors. The part was about $10 + shipping & took all of 10 min to replace.

Hope this gives you a little insite
Mike

[Charlie Barnes]

Charlie,
I had the same problem Twice with my G0454z. Both times it was the start capacitor. When i called grizzly tech support to troubleshoot, they advised me that it is a very common problem on those motors. The part was about $10 + shipping & took all of 10 min to replace.

Hope this gives you a little insite
Mike

Thanks for the advice Mike. Maybe I'll order 2 and have a spare based on your experience. I wonder if the problem is the capacitor itself or something else that causes it to go out?

[Keith Bohn]

When i called grizzly tech support to troubleshoot, they advised me that it is a very common problem on those motors.

Were they at least apologetic about that little factoid?

[Mark Blatter]

I am curious when you bought your planers. I have the same model and am wondering if this is a recent issue, one from years ago that has been corrected, or an on-going one that Grizzly chooses not to fix.

[glenn bradley]

Charlie,
I had the same problem Twice with my G0454z. Both times it was the start capacitor. When i called grizzly tech support to troubleshoot, they advised me that it is a very common problem on those motors. The part was about $10 + shipping & took all of 10 min to replace.

Hope this gives you a little insite
Mike


Were they at least apologetic about that little factoid?

No trouble with planer, bandsaw or jointer after years of use. My cyclone blew a start-cap and after blowing two replacements I swapped out the centrifugal switch contacts (although I followed the tech support recommendations for cleaning them). Problem solved.

Shipping put the hurt on getting the parts from Griz so I went local for the cap after the first two (http://www.temcoindustrialpower.com/search.html?category=Capacitors)(slow learner :o). The cent-switch contacts are so cheap that if I ever have a problem with a cap again, I think I will just swap the contacts on general principles; would've saved me some time and money.


I am curious when you bought your planers. I have the same model and am wondering if this is a recent issue, one from years ago that has been corrected, or an on-going one that Grizzly chooses not to fix.

Blowing a start capacitor can come from so many actions/conditions that the problem is certainly not limited to one tool, maker or motor. Frequency of power cycle, quality of power, quality of breaker/wire/outlet/power-cord, etc. Of course inexpensive tools need to use inexpensive parts. A higher quality cap is not much more than a cheap one for you and me but, someone like Jet/Powermatic, Grizzly or Delta who sell thousands of machines can really make a difference on saving a couple bucks. My cyclone is the only recent tool I have blown a start cap on. When I was an idle-youth the previous occurrences were, no doubt, helped along by questionable power and my ignorance.

[Charlie Barnes]

I am curious when you bought your planers. I have the same model and am wondering if this is a recent issue, one from years ago that has been corrected, or an on-going one that Grizzly chooses not to fix.

Thanks to all who weighed in. I spoke to Grizzly customer service yesterday morning and after a brief discussion, they were pretty sure it was start capacitor alone. They are sending one out free of charge without me even suggesting it. My planer is almost exactly 2 years old, so it is out of warranty. I'm not sure if the fact they are sending the part means anything more than good customer service (vs. indirectly responding to some known issue). I have a few days off and my woodworking plans for the weekend really depend on my planer. I made some calls and was able to find a start capacitor locally for $11. I was back up and running as of about noon yesterday. So I'll just keep the part from Grizzly as a spare.

Charlie

[Jim Matthews]

I was going to suggest that if your jointer was looking smug and satisfied, you might need to separate the two for awhile...

Glad to hear your positive report on Grizzly sorting things out.
Any word on why the cap went bad?

[Rick Fisher]

Start capacitors fail. Its not a Grizzly issue, its a single phase motor issue.

Good thing is they are easy to swap out ..

I recently blew a run cap on a single phase European motor which is 3-4 years old. One capacitor will run 20 years and another will fail in a year.. its just life.

[Keith Hankins]

I was in a big cabinet shop once of a guy I was building a computer for. He had a lot of grizzly. I noticed that and said that I had grizzly too, and thought it funny a pro shop was using it especially since they moved a lot of wood through theirs. They build cabinets and furniture for the hotel industry. He said can't beat the price. He said however, I buy them throw away the motors and put Baldor's in them. They are great value. I've had my TS, BS, 12" jointer and Horizontal boring machine for years and not a single issue. (original stock motors). Good luck on the repair.