Question for Sawstop ICS owners - Saw bogs down on cold mornings

[Brian Tymchak]

I volunteer at a furniture bank where we build dressers and bedframes from donated materials. We use a couple of Sawstops, both are ICSs, one is 3hp, the other is 5hp. I'm not sure of the ages of the saws, my guess is the 5hp is 2-4 yrs old, the 3 hp is a little older. Lately, when we make our first cuts in the morning, the 5hp saw bogs down quickly, just cutting sheet goods. After 20 minutes or so, the saw will cut normally. The 3 hp does not do this. We put a new belt on the 5hp, but that had no impact. This saw did not do this in the warmer months, starting roughly about the beginning of October. Not sure this is a temperature related issue, but it's the only thing I can think of. The shop is kept at a lower temperature, maybe 50* during off hours.

Has anyone who owns a Sawstop experienced this behavior, and what have you done about it?

Thanks for your help!

[mreza Salav]

Have a 3HP ICS and certainly have not experienced this in any way or form. Maybe managed to slow it down while cutting some 8/4 maple aggressively but for a 5HP you should notice anything.
First place I'd check is the electrical connections. Also are you sure the belt is not slipping and its the motor that is slowing down?

[Frank Pratt]

First thing I'd do is call SawStop tech support. They'll help you out, in warranty or not.

[Ron Selzer]

have a 5hp ICS bought fall of 2014
Only time this saw slows down I am doing something majorly wrong and need to hang on.
This saw is in the basement so not subject to temperature swings
Only guess I will make is there is a loose connection that warms up and makes a better connection due to the heat generated from the resistance.
Definitely recommend someone goes thru ALL electrical connections and tightens every one to proper spec's, then eo voltage checks and amperage checks when saw is running under load along with using an IR detector on all connections, something will show hot I bet.

Good Luck
Ron

[Donald Hofmann]

Sounds like a bad capacitor. Does the motor have both start and run caps? If so the start cap is probably intermittently open when cold. If so try "borrowing" the start cap from the saw that works.

[Mike Henderson]

I would not suspect a start cap from the way you describe the slowdown. You describe the saw coming up to normal speed but then slowing down when you put a load on it. If that's the situation, the starting circuit has been disconnected which would eliminate the starting cap as a suspect.

Some type of loose connection would be a long shot, in my experience, but not impossible.

Try running the saw with no load on it for about 5 minutes and then try your first cut.

I'd take the motor apart and clean and lubricate - or replace - the bearings and then try it again.

Mike

[I agree with the people who suggested checking for a slipping belt before you do anything more major.]

[Izzy Charo]

Along the lines of the belt slipping.... sounds a little bit like what one experiences with a loose fan belt in a car; unlike most materials, rubber expands when cold, and then contracts when heated...so, the fan belt noise stops after motor starts running and belt heats up. Just a thought....
Izzy

[Earl McLain]

Another long shot could be sap on the blade. Might not be visible, but seems like pitch on a cold blade would have more drag through cold wood (especially pine), then as things warm up would see improvement. Like I said...long shot, but try cleaning blade.
earl

[Brian Tymchak]

Thanks all for your responses. I agree with Mike that this is likely not a start cap problem, as the saw does come up to speed on start up. I did not realize rubber would contract with heat, so thanks Izzy for that info. Does make me think this temp related. I also did some googling this morning and confirmed there are 2 belts on these saws, a motor belt and an arbor belt. I believe we only changed 1 of those although I'm not sure which. Someone else made the change. I'll check later this afternoon if I can find the manuals online to learn more on this.

Thanks again!

[jack duren]

Ours slowed down after a long period od time as well. The dust collection wasn't very good on the sawstop and kept choking the motor. It's just a bit slow now and doesn't like hard cutting now. This saw is in a commercial surrounding...

[Frank Pratt]

What did SawStop tech support have to say about it?

[Brian Tymchak]

Have not talked to Sawstop about it yet. That will be for someone else to follow up on, probably not before this coming Tuesday, when we're back in the shop. I'm trying to do some research to cut down on the down time when we address the problem for real.

[Brian Tymchak]

Interesting. That saw is 2nd in line on that DC run, with the other Sawstop first. I'm thinking that maybe the inner belt is loaded with dust in the grooves, and slipping, albeit silently, when cold. That might explain why the first saw is not behaving the same way. Hopefully, with the manuals and some YouTube searching, I can figure out how to quickly check the condition of that belt before we get rolling Tuesday. Thanks!

[Lee Schierer]

It sounds to me like th 5 hp saw hasheavier grease in the bearings. Once it runs for a while the grease warms up and the saw runs like it would in warm weather.

[Patrick Walsh]

I don’t know your problem but I have a 5hp ICS that is one of the first of the line. It’s in a unseated basement shop. Never had a issue. I do bog a 5hp saw down on the regular ripping up hardwood. But you know I tend to rush and not showing respect my may machines limitations.

[Bill Dufour]

My lathe motor would growl for the first few minutes when the shop was 50 or below. I changed the bearings and the problem went away. Run the motor for a few minutes and feel the bearings to see if they are too hot.(motor off obviously). Feel if belts are warm etc.
A heat gun might be a good way to locate a loose connection that overheats.
Bil lD

[Brian Tymchak]

Interesting thought Lee. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, sounds like a ,slipping belt and/or a dull blade.

Are you using a rip blade for ripping?

Regards, Rod