It just quit running

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ActionDave

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People bring in motors all the time saying, "It just quit running." The first time ever finding this to be the problem. This came off a hydraulic pump at the local concrete block co.
 

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People bring in motors all the time saying, "It just quit running." The first time ever finding this to be the problem. This came off a hydraulic pump at the local concrete block co.

With that extra "i" in the title it looked like it said "it just quit ruining"!

I'd say that about summed it up though!:lol:

How'd all that concrete get in there?
 
We've got a motor shop and that type of stuff never stops being hilarious to me. I think my favorite was the one where the "maintenance" guys pumped so much grease into it that they filled the gap between the rotor and stator. I may have pictures of that somewhere.
 
We've got a motor shop and that type of stuff never stops being hilarious to me. I think my favorite was the one where the "maintenance" guys pumped so much grease into it that they filled the gap between the rotor and stator. I may have pictures of that somewhere.
That I have seen. Grease surpasses WD - 40 for maintenance guys and farmers for motors.
 
... How'd all that concrete get in there?
It would be cement, not concrete. Concrete has sand and gravel... But I know what you meant.

I've seen similar. The fans suck in the Portland cement dust, then via condensation when the motor is turned off, it gets a little moisture, so some of it solidifies. Layer by layer over time it finally builds up to interfere. I used to recommend motor space heaters to cement plants, but they are often so cheap that they don't think it's necessary. "It doesn't get that cold here!" I found myself constantly explaining relative humidity and dew points to cheap plant managers, most of which ignored it anyway. I gave up. Helps keep motor shops in business anyway, so that's kind of a good thing.

Same thing happens with people making powdered glue by the way, only faster.
 
we get stuff crammed in lawn and garden equipment also.if

we get stuff crammed in lawn and garden equipment also.if

People bring in motors all the time saying, "It just quit running." The first time ever finding this to be the problem. This came off a hydraulic pump at the local concrete block co.

Awesome! In my semiretirement I am now helping a very close friend of mine build his small engine business. It is not all that uncommon to find a mouse nest built is riding lawn mowers and even more so with snow blowers.
But, we got one riding lawn mower in with a vertical shaft engine this fall where some critter had just packed the area around the top of the engine where the flywheel and cooling fins were with crushed limestone gravel as well as craming the stones around the carburetor area.
It made one hell of a noise when the engine was stared.
 
...the Portland cement dust, then via condensation when the motor is turned off, it gets a little moisture, so some of it solidifies....
Exactly the problem I've run into trying to do switchgear maintenance at cement plants: Adding lubrication to anything will accomplish the exact opposite of what your were hoping to achieve.

Who the devil specs unprotected 5kV switchgear standing out in the middle of the batch processing floor? We had to use shovels to get to it.
 
:blink:TEFC still has a fan; Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled. I think you meant TENV, Totally Enclosed Non Ventilated. They are a lot more expensive and only available up to certain sizes. In the case of Baldor, it stops at 1-1/2 HP.
 
Hey Dave, after you get that gunk out, then what?

Assuming that no rewiring is involved...

Do you dip it, do you use any chemicals at all? Is it just vacuumed and that's it?
 
Hey Dave, after you get that gunk out, then what?

Assuming that no rewiring is involved...

Do you dip it, do you use any chemicals at all? Is it just vacuumed and that's it?
This one did get dipped and baked but only after a trip to the car wash and then some detailing with a nylon brush, an old screw driver, and what was basically a popsicle stick to dig out the crud, along with repeated blasts with the air hose.
 
:blink:TEFC still has a fan; Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled. I think you meant TENV, Totally Enclosed Non Ventilated. They are a lot more expensive and only available up to certain sizes. In the case of Baldor, it stops at 1-1/2 HP.
Got me confused as well, TEFC has a fan but is still totally enclosed so nothing gets inside.

I run into this issue all the time with OEM motors on crop drying fans, and a few other machines that they decide to do with an open style motor yet they sit out in the open and collect all kinds of debris, insects, etc. that do nothing but cause troubles, where a TEFC motor (if possible) usually ends up replacing them at some point and those troubles mostly go away. Is worse with single phase motors that use a centrifugal switch to cut out starting capacitors as debris that enters the motor often effects proper operation of the switch.
 
:blink:TEFC still has a fan; Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled. I think you meant TENV, Totally Enclosed Non Ventilated. They are a lot more expensive and only available up to certain sizes. In the case of Baldor, it stops at 1-1/2 HP.

We use TEFC for all locations where water and dust may be present. The fan cooling is pretty much a necessity on motors running near full load. I don't recall any that clogged up, but I'm sure it happens. Easy to clean, though. Just a fan cover, not end bells, bearings, windings, etc.
 
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