Joiner Motor Question

[Darrell Bade]

Have a Grizzly Joiner that is 13 years old but probably has less than 10 hours actual running time on it. The 3 hp motor smoked. New motor from Grizzly $300. USA made motor in the closest NEMA Frame size (Lincoln brand) $500. Was this China motor that was on it the exception with its short life span or the norm? My gut tells me go Lincoln.

[glenn bradley]

I've been running mine since 2007 or so. Have a few other Griz machines. Never had a Grizzly motor smoke. Are you sure you didn't just lose a starter capacitor?

[Mike Henderson]

I agree with Glenn. Check out the motor before you purchase a new one. The coils generally don't go bad very quickly or easily.

Mike

[Darrell Bade]

Motor has been checked. Capacitors are fine. Ohmeter didn't make sense across the coils. Finally took it apart. One set of windings is smoked, burnt and black.

[sean meltvedt]

Darrell, my oldest Grizzly is a 1026 3hp shaper from 1996. The motor is still going strong after 26 years.
Cheers
Sean

[George Makra]

Non use can also damage a electric motor.
Corrosiom,critters and moisture can all get into the windings and cause trouble.
Just get a new motor as long as it spins i wouldnt worry where it was manufactured.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Burnt windings are not common at all. I wouldn't spent that much money to avoid the perceived risk of it recurring. To put it another way: you're proposing spending an extra $200 to avoid the risk of having to spend $300...

Seems very odd that you can't find a 3HP motor for cheaper. WEG (made in Brazil) makes reputable motors:
http://www.electricmotorwholesale.com/WEG-00336OS1CCD56-S/

[Alex Zeller]

I have a Powermatic 8" jointer with a 2hp motor and I've never felt the need for more hp. Take a look at other brands of the same size and see what size motors they use. Grizzly tends to put larger than needed motors on tools. I recently bought a Leeson 2hp motor for well under $300.

[Richard Coers]

How old are you? 13 years almost takes me to "too old to do woodworking". Just like cars, sitting unused for long periods of time is really hard on it. Bearing grease dries up, and you can ruin the motor. $300 over 13 years is just over $23 a year. That's cheaper than coffee.

[Travis Conner]

I've wondered about this on these newer chinese made machines. When the motor goes out can you replace it with a name brand motor? Like WEG, Baldor, Marathon, etc?

[David Kumm]

You need to determine if the motor is IEC ( metric ) or NEMA frame. There are good Chinese motors but manufacturers tend to supply whatever they can get cheapest. I have commercial clients who run Chinese motors as throw away items and expect them to go bad. Smaller Leeson, ABB, and others are made in China now to keep costs down. Lincoln may or may not be sourced abroad so check that out. Baldor motors are still made in US. Farm duty motors are usually a good value for single phase so watch for those. Dave