Help with electric motor for tumbler please!

[Bighunter]

You can try use an old school light dimmer. It MAY slow down. Don't choke it too far as you will over heat and cook this motor.

The lack of starting is the start cap. Replace as needed.

The earth is a safety.

[LocknLoad]

You can try use an old school light dimmer. It MAY slow down. Don't choke it too far as you will over heat and cook this motor.

The lack of starting is the start cap. Replace as needed.

The earth is a safety.

I actually counted and it's running at 92rpm right now, with slight tension on the belt.
Reason I thought it would be ok to run like this is that is how the tumble dryer itself works, so as you say as long as I don't overdo it it should be ok.

Ran it for about 2 hours and heated up slightly, but nothing too severe.

This is an old tumble dryer that I picked up for R100 and was still going strong (heating element was shot and had rust hence the price), so seems like a healthy motor.

very cool

Thanks

Will glue in some rubber padding on the inside to give it a bit of cushion, as the 20L drum is quite large, and while I'm at it waterproof as well.

Will post a pic when it's complete.

[Andrew Leigh]

The earth wire would not come from inside the windings. It is an important safety feature, if you have the neutral floating above 0V the frame of the motor is live and dangerous.

Was there not another cap anywhere?

The cap you have there was fitted afterwards and may not be the correct value.

Will the motor run without the cap fitted.

That motor should be running at 1400rpm, if not the connections are not good.


Do you have a multimeter to check voltage with?

[LocknLoad]

The earth wire would not come from inside the windings. It is an important safety feature, if you have the neutral floating above 0V the frame of the motor is live and dangerous.

Seems to be coming from inside....

Attachment 10446

I've cut the neutral and will tape it up out of the way?

Was there not another cap anywhere?

The cap you have there was fitted afterwards and may not be the correct value.

Nope, just the one. I actually went and purchased another cap, but still the same problem, it only starts to spin once I give it a manual nudge.

Will the motor run without the cap fitted.

That motor should be running at 1400rpm, if not the connections are not good.

Yip, it runs just fine without the cap.

Well it has a fan (you can see it in the above pic) connected to it and the belt is connected to the drum which is quite wide. The motor more than likely runs at a higher rpm but the setup ensures the drum only rotates at a lower speed, as with a dryer's drum.

Do you have a multimeter to check voltage with?

Nope, think I need to read up on electronics a bit more though, and purchase some of the necessities....

[Andrew Leigh]

So the red and black go to the terminal block and the yellow is connected to earth on the frame? Or is the yellow wire the one you have taped out of the way?

It would appear as if your run winding is connected but not the start, your hand spinning the rotor is the "start winding". A= Run winding, B = Start winding. We need a multimeter.

You have an internal connection which is making the one side of the winding common and the other two open hence the three leads.


A !-----------------\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/------ CAP-------- L
N !
B !-----------------\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/------------------- L


We need to check the resitance of the windings then we can establish the neutral point and the rest is easy.

The cap causes a phase shift between the two windings which allows the motor to start turning. Without the cap there is no "second phase" and therefore the motor cannot turn on its own.

[LocknLoad]

So the red and black go to the terminal block and the yellow is connected to earth on the frame? Or is the yellow wire the one you have taped out of the way?

Yeah, the second one.

The wire is just folded up at the moment (looks likes it's connected to the frame but it's not touching), still haven't taped it up yet.

It would appear as if your run winding is connected but not the start, your hand spinning the rotor is the "start winding". A= Run winding, B = Start winding. We need a multimeter.

You have an internal connection which is making the one side of the winding common and the other two open hence the three leads.


A !-----------------\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/------ CAP-------- L
N !
B !-----------------\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/------------------- L


We need to check the resitance of the windings then we can establish the neutral point and the rest is easy.

The cap causes a phase shift between the two windings which allows the motor to start turning. Without the cap there is no "second phase" and therefore the motor cannot turn on its own.

hmmm ok.

Gonna need to do a little reading up if I'm to follow those instructions but I think my first step is to go out and get me a multimeter tomorrow.

One question before I proceed though -- can I touch the frame as the setup is now without getting shocked?

[Andrew Leigh]

Physically where are you in Cape Town? I can then recommend a rewinder for you to go to, I am sure they will show you without charge.

[LocknLoad]

Physically where are you in Cape Town? I can then recommend a rewinder for you to go to, I am sure they will show you without charge.

I'm in Meadowridge, which is near to Bergvliet and Constantia.
Seriously though, it's time I got to grips with this stuff, just been lazy and busy with other things....

[Bighunter]

I can come take a look if you want. I travel south a lot

[LocknLoad]

I can come take a look if you want. I travel south a lot

Thanks but my local electric shop where I bought the cap offered to take a look so taking it in tomorrow. In the mean time it's getting the job done nicely... with a little encouragement.