Another Ammeter Accessory for a Performax 16-32 Drum Sander

[Paul Stoops]

As with many other users of the Performax 16-32 drum sanders, I have frequently been frustrated by the inadvertent tripping of the thermal motor circuit breaker. I have noticed that some folks on this forum and others have installed AC Ammeters into their sanders for monitoring the motor current to allow manual adjustment of the conveyor speed in order to avoid tripping the circuit breaker. I appreciate the solutions that other forum members have shared to resolve this problem. I hope this solution will help someone else who may be experiencing the same problem. A complete description of my solution to the problem may be found here: (PM Paul for address)

Further information has been submitted as an article. Hopefully it will be approved and posted in the near future.

Paul

[david brum]

Wow, that's much prettier than my installation. It sure is nice to have that data so you can learn the machine's limitations without burning a divot in your project.

[Jim Foster]

I have a 22-44 Performax and was having a similar problem until someone on the forum told me to always make sure I could manually slide the board back and forth under the drum after setting the table height. (With the drum and conveyor off) This makes sure the drum is not loaded too much. Never had a problem since learning this trick, and in general I pass a board through at the same table height two to three times. Not sure if the 16-32 is similar in this respect, but I did not like my machine until learning this.

[Paul Stoops]

Thanks David, but prettier doesn't make it any more useful. Sounds like your system is working for you. I wholly agree with you -- nice not to be flying blind!

[Paul Stoops]

Yes, Jim, that is the way I make the initial setup on my sander. However, it would seem to me that using this technique for every pass would greatly slow down an already time-consuming machine operation. That said, it would be one way of making sure the machine wasn't overloaded. However, I find that the visual meter display of motor current allows me to take off more material per pass without overloading the motor, speeding up the overall sanding time.

[Alan Lightstone]

Anyone have the wiring diagram for the ammeter.? Mine had no directions, and I'm a little confused by it.

[Paul Stoops]

Hi Alan,
My ammeter did not have a wiring diagram either. However, there was a graphic on the top edge of the meter bezel that showed the connections:

280965

With this meter, the input voltage is connected to the two wires on the white plug (This is AC, so ignore the wire color coding). The Current Sensing Coil connects to the green connector on the far side of the board. Those connections appear to be just the opposite on the meter in the link.

Essentially, there are two connections to the line voltage which power the meter -- your input power connections can be either black & white, or two black, depending upon whether you are hooking it up to 120VAC or 240VAC. Not all of those meters are the same -- the one I bought is no longer listed and the one in the eBay link has a slightly different arrangement.: [URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-AC-Digital-Ammeter-Voltmeter-LCD-Panel-Amp-Volt-Meter-100A-300V-110V-220V-/360773352889?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_"]

The Current Sensing Coil has two green wires which connect to one of the two connections on the meter board. One of the two input AC power leads to the sander motor must pass thru the Current Sensing Coil.

Schematic is shown below:

280968

If you need more information, please PM me.

[Andy Pratt]

I had no end of frustration with my 16-32 burning wood/belts and/or tripping the breaker until I started doing the following things:

- Run each board through twice per face at each setting, flipping it 180° each time.
- Use 150 grit paper or coarser (I am happiest with 120 grit)
- Always use the highest conveyor speed, and don't turn the knob more than 1/4 each time for wide material

Yes, these procedures are slow compared to what you wish you could do with the machine, but they work and in my experience they are all you are going to get out of it with wide hardwood, and will work up to the full capacity of the machine. If you are just running 2" strips through you can be more aggressive, but not much more than twice this or you'll burn the wood/belts.

When I was learning the machine I would have liked to have an ammeter (if it was free) so I would know when I was close to tripping it, but now that I'm used to it I can easily tell by sound how close it is to tripping. As an example in the first hour I used the machine I probably tripped the breaker every 2nd pass, and now I trip it a few times a year of weekly use. If you are considering the 16-32, know that you will figure this out in the first hour or so of using the machine. The ammeter is a good idea as a learning tool but I would add that for $30/$40 (generic) or $90-120 (pro) you can buy a clamp style portable ammeter that you could use to learn the tool with without wiring anything (just make a loop over the existing wires), and then you would have this for any other electrical applications you might have in the future.

[Peter Quinn]

Looks like a nice upgrade. Pretty much every wide belt I've used has some form of ammeter to gauge motor capacity. I used to trip my 22-44 all the time and always at the worst time, I knew the tricks but wS always pushing close to the limit to gain speed. Now I've slowed down a bit and it's quicker than re sanding burns and digits. Maybe I'll borrow a clip on to see where I'm at.

[Paul Stoops]

Hi Andy,

I'm glad you developed a sanding routine that works for you. As I get older, my hearing is not what it used to be, so I find it difficult to gauge the motor loading by the sound, particularly over the noise of the dust collector when wearing hearing protection. I find that the visual meter display makes up for that. For me, this was a useful <$25 upgrade. BTW, a clamp-on ammeter will not work as you describe -- you must isolate one of the motor power leads and clamp the meter over only one lead, which usually means providing some access to the motor wiring or input circuit.

[Curt Harms]

Good job, nice and clean.

[Jim Foster]

I only have to do this on the first setting of the table height. For each subsequent change in table height I rotate the handwheel about either 5 or ten minutes (in clock time). Once I realized patience and getting the first pass set properly was critical to success, my 22-44 is a pleasure to use. I also usually use 80 or 120 grit paper. Also, I usually only use the 22-44 when I have 10 or so boards to run, so, the initial setup for table height is a very small portion of the overall time. If I was doing one off boards quite a bit, I might not be as satisfied with my procedure.


Yes, Jim, that is the way I make the initial setup on my sander. However, it would seem to me that using this technique for every pass would greatly slow down an already time-consuming machine operation. That said, it would be one way of making sure the machine wasn't overloaded. However, I find that the visual meter display of motor current allows me to take off more material per pass without overloading the motor, speeding up the overall sanding time.

[Paul Stoops]

Hi Jim,

Glad to hear that you have worked out a sensible procedure that makes the most out of a wonderful machine. I guess I have an aversion to "flying blind", having worked in industry for a long time where we had some sort of readout on most motorized equipment to monitor performance. I know my solution does not appeal to everyone, but it has solved my "problem", making my Performax 16-32 and even greater and more pleasurable asset in my shop. Thanks for commenting.

Paul