Problem with Grizzly bandsaw motor

[Aaron Wingert]

I've had a problem with my G0514X 19", 3hp, 220v, $1250 bandsaw for the three years since I've had it, and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it. It is motor-related, and I'm not that knoweldgeable about electric motors, so bear with me.

Right now I have a basement wood shop full of smoke. Blown start capacitor. It smoked so much this time I ran and got the fire extinguisher out of fear that it was actually on fire. (it wasn't)

Shortly after I bought the saw I blew a start capacitor. Grizzly's tech was helpful and advised that this saw isn't designed to be started and stopped multiple times per hour and that I'd be better off leaving it running. I find that inconvenient and often unsafe but I've learned to heed his advice and manage. Grizzly did send me a new capacitor that time.

Last time the saw went poof I got a very helpful tech on the phone who walked me through digging into the motor itself and checking the contact point on a bakelite board in there....Something to do with little centrifugal contacts that engage as the motor winds up. That contact point had signs of damage so Grizzly sent a new one.

Now I'm back in the same mess. I need my bandsaw for a project and it is dead as a hammer. Gotta drive 35 miles to a friend's to use his bandsaw to have my project done when it was promised. Going to have to order a capacitor from Grizzly or get one at a local electrical shop.

I upgraded to this saw from a G0555, which was a wonderful machine. The G0514X is a joy to use when it is running...Easy to tune, limitless resaw power. But I'm at the point where I am simply afraid to turn the saw on for fear that it'll die again, so it is something I'm wanting to fix once and for all or replace. I'd sell it, but I wouldn't want to sell this lemon to another woodworker unless and until I can fix it for good. I've lost track of how many capacitors I've bought in three years, but it has been a few. After three years of relative patience with the issue I'm at the point that this is unacceptable to me.

Definitely not trying to bash Grizzly here. I like Grizzly and would buy one of their cabinet saws right now if my wife would let me. As stated, I loved my G0555 and my 6" Grizzly jointer. Just looking for advice from anybody that knows what might cause the saw to go through capacitors so often.

I'll be calling Grizzly Monday, but I'm hoping to have some ideas of what is causing this when I call them, as I don't want to keep just replacing capacitors and keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks for reading my rambling. Hope someone has had the same problem and fixed it!

[Chip Lindley]

Aaron, double-check to make sure you have the motor wired correctly. One wrong wire makes all the difference. Also, check the proper path of all connections from the wall plug, through the magnetic starter, to the motor.

If all wire connections check out, the fault is evidently inside the motor. The centrifugal start winding switch is usually the culprit with blown start capacitors. It should slide freely up and down the shaft under spring tension, opening when the motor revs up; returning to it's closed position when the motor spins down. You have already visited it once, so you should already be familiar. If the centrifugal switch is ok, the motor's internal wiring or windings may be faulty.

A reputable motor service can check out the motor for a small fee to let you know what's going on. Of course you will have to dismount the motor and take it in for inspection. A big 3hp motor is worth fixing. If it needs to be rewound, you will have a hard decision to make. Repair or buy another Chinese Grizzly motor or upgrade to Baldor or Leeson. Best of Luck!

[John Davidson]

There is no reason a good motor can not go through several start stop cycles an hour. I have never had problems with any of my tools and stop and start them as needed. That includes my 3 hp Agazzani. If you motor is bad upgrade to Leeson, Marthon or Baldor and you won't have this problem. The Motor Wharehouse has great pricing on replacement motors and I am sure there are other suppliers that have good deals. I would not purchase another motor from Grizzly since they never resolved the problem the first time.

[Michael Schwartz]

I start and stop my motors frequently all day long, every day. Never had an issue on large bandsaws either, we used to start/stop the 20" rockwell I worked with a while back frequently.

I own the 14" grizzly bandsaw and have never had an issue with that motor.

I would check to make sure you have everything wired correctly, and go through everything and check that you have nice tight connections. Beyond that I would ask for a new motor. Sounds like the centrifugal switch is bad.

[Tom Veatch]

... Blown start capacitor. ... I blew a start capacitor...Now I'm back in the same mess. ...

Typically, start capacitors, unlike run capacitors, are intermittent use devices. There's no more certain way to blow them than to keep them energized for more than a few seconds (exact time will vary) after the motor starts. If your centrifugal switch is sticking so that it doesn't open immediately as the motor comes up to speed (about 70-80% of full rpm), you can count on having to replace the start cap on a regular basis.

Don't know that's where the problem is, but it's the first place I'd look.

[Ray Bell]

Yikes, I hate to hear this. I have the same saw except X2, and have had it for about a month now. Because of other commitments, I have never cut anything with it yet. Just fired it up once to see if it would run, and how it tracked. It seemed to be fine. I hope this isn't a chronic problem with all of these saws. I also hope Grizzly makes this right for you, since this was a problem from the start. Good Luck!

[scott vroom]

I had the same problem with my jointer motor right out of the box (damaged centrifugal contacts). Grizzly sent me a new motor, it arrived 3 days later. Awsome customer service!! I also don't want to bash Grizzly, I have a shop full of their tools and love them. It sounds like you've had trouble with their motor from day 1, if I were you I'd ask them to ship you a new one free of charge.....my guess is that is something they should have done the first time you reported the motor problem(s).

Maybe your post will guilt Shiraz into authorizing the new motor you deserve !!

[Willard Foster]

Does this motor have a magnetic starter? My last motor class was thirty years ago, but I thought if you had a magnetic starter, you didn't need the centrifical starter switch. My recollection is the magnetic starter relied upon a momentary contact switch that energized the start windings.

You may want to call an electrician to look at your problem. Also, I wouldn't buy any more start capacitors from Grizzly.


Bill

[Aaron Wingert]

Typically, start capacitors, unlike run capacitors, are intermittent use devices. There's no more certain way to blow them than to keep them energized for more than a few seconds (exact time will vary) after the motor starts. If your centrifugal switch is sticking so that it doesn't open immediately as the motor comes up to speed (about 70-80% of full rpm), you can count on having to replace the start cap on a regular basis.

Don't know that's where the problem is, but it's the first place I'd look.

Tom that might be the ticket but I don't know for sure. The motor has always "clicked" about 1 to 2 seconds after the motor starts, which I attribute to the centrifugal switch kicking in. When the start capacitors go, it is always right after the saw is started, within a few seconds of startup. I suspect you're right that the capacitor is not capable of sustaining the load and isn't kicking over to the run capacitor.

When we replaced that contact point some time ago, the Grizzly tech walked me through it on the phone as I did it, so I'm fairly positive the centrifugal switch is correctly adjusted.

Going to call Grizzly tomorrow in hopes of finding final resolution to this problem. I'll report back and let you all know what transpires.

I appreciate all the advice.

[Aaron Wingert]

Spoke to a nice guy at Grizzly this morning. Walked him through the problems I've had since purchasing the saw. He's thinking that the saw is drawing too much amperage, based on an observation I made last night when I took the cover/fan off the motor, regarding damage to the contact behind that centrifugal switch. It was sticking....Seems like the contacts were very slightly tack welded together.

Unfortunately, he said the saw is 3+ years old so he can't do anything for me under warranty. I (maintaining composure and general friendliness) said that in good faith I'd hope that they'd recognize that this has been a problem for me as long as I've owned the saw and Grizzly has failed to correct the problem so it doesn't continue to happen. He put me on hold, checked with a supervisor, came back and apologetically said that there was nothing they would do. He said there was a stretch in time when I hadn't ordered parts in a while, seemingly suggesting that the problem must have been fixed at some point. When you go through as many start capacitors as I have, it is wise to find a local source for 300mfd/250vac start capacitors, and I did. He suggested taking the motor to a motor shop in my area and having it checked out. Or, buy a new motor. $473.00 for their version. A Leeson or Baldor is bound to be at least that based on a quick internet search. I'll sooner buy a new saw than spend $500 on a motor for one that may or may not work right.

He was apologetic, I thanked him, I resisted the urge to get angry since he was nice, and we hung up. Pretty disappointed with the outcome here. You hear all these people lauding Grizzly for standing behind their tools.

Anybody want to buy a bandsaw with a bad motor?

[Curt Harms]

would charge to diagnose it? I agree, this is not an optimal outcome so far. It'll be interesting to see if Shiraz checks in on this one. I had a similar problem with a Rikon 10-325 motor when I first got it. I called Rikon and offered to swap out the start cap. They declined my offer and sent me a whole new motor.

[Aaron Wingert]

Any idea how much a motor shop would charge to diagnose it?

Not yet Curt. I'm too PO'd about the whole thing right now to even make that phonecall. Not sure I want to know the answer.

What has me most upset is the fact that I found a local source for a few of the start capacitors in the last 3 years and therefore Grizzly looks in their records and sees what appears to be a resolution to the problem since I wasn't ordering parts from them every time a capacitor went out. In hindsight, that was a mistake. I should've been more vocal about the problem and kept my start capacitor orders with them instead of just trying to get the saw running again each time. Mechanically it made no difference because the capacitors were the same rating and the local guy's capacitors occasionally went POOF just the same as Grizzly's.

[Aaron Wingert]

Grizzly customer service comes through folks. Someone () at Grizzly saw this thread and I have been contacted by a very nice lady regarding getting this problem taken care of. She said that their parts department sells very few of these motors, which is testament to the fact that they don't usually have problems.

My heartfelt thanks to them, as well as all of you who have offered your advice.

[Shiraz Balolia]

[QUOTE=Curt Harms;1408833] It'll be interesting to see if Shiraz checks in on this one.QUOTE]

Here's a sequence of events:

12/16/06 Machine ordered
1/09/07 Replaced capacitor and table
2/4/09 Ordered a capacitor (paid for it as a part)
4/9/09 We repaced capacitor "under warranty" , plus sent some new contact points at no charge.

Today - we are offering to replace the motor at no charge.

Here are some do's and don'ts about machine issues (I am sure some people will try to critique this common sense approach):

1) Don't live with a problem. You should not have to. Contact the customer service dept. and if you are having issues we will resolve them. We would have gladly sent out a new motor during the warranty period, and have been known to do that even after the warranty has expired.
2) Don't wait years before contacting us. It is not fair to us. I myself have had issues with something I bought and kept putting off contacting the company until after the warranty expired. I was mad at myself as I knew the company would have fixed it within the warranty period.
3) Do be nice to the people you speak with on the phone (Aaron did that), but this info. is for the people that yell at our operators. Lots do, and we put up with it, but believe me that it reduces your chances of getting help dramatically when you are out of warranty. Do not use profanity at our operators. I have instructed them to hang up on customers that start yelling obscenities. The operators are there to help, not be punching bags.
4) Do not abuse the machine and then expect us to cover everything. It obviously is not the case here, but some people treat the machines like the outsides of barns. We have had several machines returned to us during the warranty period and you would think these machines were 25 years old - left out in the rain, huge dings on the cast iron from where they have used tables for assembling who knows what (probably car engines), etc. Then they claim it does not perform as expected. Some even use the machine for a project and return the machine after completion of the project saying it is "defective". When the machine comes back we find nothing wrong with it. These are just a few examples of what we put up with on a day to day basis.

Anyway, we were able to help Aaron today.

[Rod Sheridan]

[QUOTE=Shiraz Balolia;1408951]

It'll be interesting to see if Shiraz checks in on this one.QUOTE]





1) Don't live with a problem. You should not have to. Contact the customer service dept. and if you are having issues we will resolve them. We would have gladly sent out a new motor during the warranty period, and have been known to do that even after the warranty has expired.
2) Don't wait years before contacting us. It is not fair to us. I myself have had issues with something I bought and kept putting off contacting the company until after the warranty expired. I was mad at myself as I knew the company would have fixed it within the warranty period.
3) Do be nice to the people you speak with on the phone (Aaron did that), but this info. is for the people that yell at our operators. Lots do, and we put up with it, but believe me that it reduces your chances of getting help dramatically when you are out of warranty. Do not use profanity at our operators. I have instructed them to hang up on customers that start yelling obscenities. The operators are there to help, not be punching bags.
.

Words of wisdom that makes life better for everyone............Rod.