Jet 1632 Drum Sander - Motor Circuit Breaker Trips Frequently

[Marty Tippin]

I bought a used Jet 1632 drum sander several months ago but am only now getting around to using it for the first time, to sand an end-grain cutting board. I'm not sure about the history of the sander, but I suspect it was used in a commercial cabinet shop for at least some of its life.

I find that the circuit breaker on the motor trips and what I would consider to be a "not very heavy" load. Either I have much higher expectations regarding what the sander "should" be able to do than what it really can do, or else the motor and/or circuit breaker is weak.

The reset button on the motor doesn't seem to do anything when I press it - there's no mechanical "reset" sound or feel to it and the motor doesn't start running again. I have to kill the power, wait a few seconds, press the circuit breaker reset button and turn the power back on to get it to start running again.

How do I diagnose this issue?

[Bill Huber]

What grit paper are you using?
How much of a cut are you doing?

I have a 10-20 Jet, if I try to take off to much it will trip the breaker, you have to let it cool down before it will reset.
When I sand end grain cutting boards I only take off a very small amount at a time, on my sander it is like an 1/8 of a turn on the crank. I am using 120 or 100 grit in the sander most of the time.

[Shawn Pixley]

I have the performax 16/32 (from the time of the sale to jet) and I have never had the breaker trip even when using a few hours straight. 1/8 to 1/4 turn max per cut depending upon grit, width, an wood hardness. Mine has a TEFC motor but you need to keep the fins and appatures clean.

[Marty Tippin]

I'm currently using 120 grit sandpaper and probably taking a bigger bite than I should be. Maybe should switch to 80 or 100 grit for sanding the end-grain cutting boards.

[Wade Lippman]

It is not a circuit breaker; it is a thermo-overload breaker. You have to let it cool off before it will restart.
Take smaller bits, slow the drive down, or used coarser paper.

The new ones automatically adjust the drive to maintain the maximum rate without tripping.

[Gary Holcombe]

Marty,

I had a new Performax 16/32 (same as the now Jet) ten years ago that continually did the same thing. It would trip before I could run a board through it, didn't have anything to do with load nor over-heating as some have suggested (not to discount their views)....

The owner of the WW store where I bought the 16/32 told me there seemed to be an issue with this switch, and recommended (to my best recollection) to remove the switch... I think I removed it and wired it up as if bypassing the switch. I'm in no way advocating you do the same. I think the switch is bad and would recommend you look into replacing the switch. I just now while typing this response did a quick google search and yes, there are a number of posts to be found on this unit discussing the "random tripping" of the 16/32 breaker. I would suggest you google "16/32 circuit breaker tripping" and see what other owners did to resolve the issue...

My wonderful wife surprised me one Christmas with the Performax 22/44, and that solved my problem!!! :)

I sold the 16/32 to a friend and it's still chugging along today.... 8 years later.

[Wade Lippman]

The owner of the WW store where I bought the 16/32 told me there seemed to be an issue with this switch, and recommended (to my best recollection) to remove the switch...

So instead of dealing with the warranty issue he advised to just wire out the defective part?! Amazing.

[Gary Holcombe]

Wade, I was living overseas at the time, would have been amazing if he could have helped beyond advice given.....

[Ken Krawford]

I had the same issue with my Performax 16/32 and also removed the overload switch. That was many years ago and many board feet of lumber. No problems since.

[Curt Harms]

I found it very difficult to judge how much of a load the motor was under. I had the same issue, the thermal protection mechanism would trip. I bought an inline ammeter and rigged it in a box with an outlet to plug the sander into. My motor is rated for 13 amps so I set the depth and feed speed to draw 13 amps. I haven't had a trip since. My meter is analog and wired straight through. If I were buying today I'd probably get something like ebay # 131153244228. I think some new Jet drum sanders come with something called 'sandsmart' which automates the process, sounds like it senses motor load and regulates feed speed.

[Andrew DiLorenzo]

I don't have one of those, but I would suggest making sure the cooling fans are clear of debris, just in case that is causing some of the overheating.