Need a cheap motor exerciser

[iwire]

Then what is seizing?

The shaft gets tight on the bushing at the bottom end.

A motor of that size and type has some good starting torque, so what ever is seizing is doing a good job.

Yes it gets tight, I can get it going by hand but it is not just break it loose you have to turn it by hand quite a bit to get it loose enough for the motor to spin.

Once the motor runs for a couple of minutes it will run free as it should.

 

[GoldDigger]

Keep in mind there is no shaft seal on this, it is simply a steel shaft running through a fairly loose bushing of unknown material.

Is the unknown material closer to metal (oiled Babbit metal?) or closer to plastic (should be nylon or teflon maybe?) or to some sort of porous composite material?

If the pump is well designed and has not been exposed to liquids that it was not designed for, I can see no reason for the shaft to lock up within the bushing.
Maybe dissolved solids in the water drying and causing interference?
What I am thinking is that if the pump fails after sitting idle for some time during the dry season and it is not practical to lubricate the bushing in some way maybe all it would take is washing it down with clean, soft, water once after the last rain. Possibly using the bucket inside the sump technique suggested earlier for making the pump run periodically, but just doing it once.

It sounds like your primary goal is something that will not require you to keep lifting the pump out of the sump to work on it, correct?

If the problem is that the unknown material bushing is expanding or warping or that rust is forming on the shaft, that is a different problem than contamination, but really suggests a design or manufacturing defect.
JFG, have you tried contacting the manufacturer?

 

[__dan]

Disassemble and reassemble with Never Seez marine grade on the shaft / bushing interface annually, probably after the wet season (April - June), so once every August - October. That is if the disassembly / reassembly is designed by the manufacturer to be doable in ten minutes or so with practice.

You can slave the one shot timer to the lighting load circuit to save the cost of the on delay timer. One shot timer with a small hp rated relay triggered on with the lights, paralleled with the float switch.

If you're really intent on something non code and fruit stand looking, cut the cord and parallel the float sw with the relay right there, tape it back up, tape the relay to the cord and run the rest of it in class 2 wiring. Light load circuit powers a CL 2 transformer that powers the one shot timer. Christmas tree wiring.

I've got a picture somewhere showing exactly that for the relay that controls my DHW circ pump, cut the cord, place in the relay contacts, with the rest in CL 2.

 

[jim dungar]

I would not be either.

But the one in the box would not be rusted up would it?

Especially, because I buy the plastic impeller style.

 

[__dan]

Bottom left grey cord plugged into the Isobar TVSS outlet, Honeywell relay to the immediate left

And the Tekmar 356's do exercise the 007 circs, but the Tekmars would be overkill for what you want.

 

[peter d]

Bottom left grey cord plugged into the Isobar TVSS outlet, Honeywell relay to the immediate left

And the Tekmar 356's do exercise the 007 circs, but the Tekmars would be overkill for what you want.

That is absolutely disgraceful. And this is coming from the resident forum hack too.

 

[__dan]

That is absolutely disgraceful. And this is coming from the resident forum hack too.

You do recall we had this conversation before. It is true I have the most awesome and effortless heat. I love my firemaking.

Everything in the photo is my design, choice of materials and equipment, and installation labor (including the sheetrock, the wall, the floor, and the foundation). The concrete wall, floor, in the photo is wrapped in 2" EPS blue foam board and incorporated as a radiant heated thermal mass component of the heating system. There is more than the eye can see. 3 cord / year cordwood and not one drop of oil, heat and DHW.

Competing in the market, I do have to compete with that fruit stand grade level of competition. Which obviously means this is the only time you will ever see a Froling, primary secondary piping, and Tekmar 356 reset injection pump controllers. You may see what you wish to in the photo. The heat itself is the sensitive issue, not any discussion about it.

 

[mbrooke]

Bottom left grey cord plugged into the Isobar TVSS outlet, Honeywell relay to the immediate left

And the Tekmar 356's do exercise the 007 circs, but the Tekmars would be overkill for what you want.

Hey! Stop taking pictures of my old work! And no that is not the reason I am unemployed. :rant:

 

[peter d]

You do recall we had this conversation before.

I do, now that you mention it. That explains the deja vu.

I fail to see why you can't put some effort into neatening that mess up.

 

[mbrooke]

I do, now that you mention it. That explains the deja vu.

I fail to see why you can't put some effort into neatening that mess up.

I don't bash people. And that is not my intent, but that looks awful I hope all those pipes are electrical bonded.

 

[__dan]

I do, now that you mention it. That explains the deja vu.

I fail to see why you can't put some effort into neatening that mess up.

I am busy writing up someone else's statutory violations.

jk, they're already written, just have to run off more copies.

Got the JD 310B running again this summer, cleaning the yard to receive two different secret projects. Could work on a personal large software project if I can get the time.

Heat works perfectly as long as I have well cared for cordword to put in it. Have a five year supply in the yard.

 

[GoldDigger]

...
...
Heat works perfectly as long as I have well cared for cordword to put in it. Have a five year supply in the yard.

That woodpile reminds me of photos of mine spoil dumps ready to collapse on the people downstream, although I am sure it is perfectly well engineered.

 

[__dan]

That woodpile reminds me of photos of mine spoil dumps ready to collapse on the people downstream, although I am sure it is perfectly well engineered.

Land is pretty flat for a mile around although it's on a hill compared to the flat center of town. Probably slopes up at 500 ft over 5 miles. I'm in a flat spot in that slope. There was a deadfall I could point to for (visiting mouthy criminals) but that left town when he did. Town is as crooked as the state, which is pretty bad. Would need more than the super giant spoil pile to clean them out.

The cordwood is stacked on 340 cubes of utility Royal Burgandy, Suffield, and one other. It's not going anywhere. Except into the next year stack with a top cover, then into the Froling. Effortless heat with some effort to get the fuel into the yard.

Don't want to hijack the thread, relay cut into and taped in series with the pump cord, firing the control circuit with CL 2 wiring, Christmas tree style.

 

[kwired]

You do recall we had this conversation before. It is true I have the most awesome and effortless heat. I love my firemaking.

Everything in the photo is my design, choice of materials and equipment, and installation labor (including the sheetrock, the wall, the floor, and the foundation). The concrete wall, floor, in the photo is wrapped in 2" EPS blue foam board and incorporated as a radiant heated thermal mass component of the heating system. There is more than the eye can see. 3 cord / year cordwood and not one drop of oil, heat and DHW.

Competing in the market, I do have to compete with that fruit stand grade level of competition. Which obviously means this is the only time you will ever see a Froling, primary secondary piping, and Tekmar 356 reset injection pump controllers. You may see what you wish to in the photo. The heat itself is the sensitive issue, not any discussion about it.

Your profile says electrical contractor, your installation looks like you should have been a mechanical contractor. Your piping job is spectacular compared to some I have seen from those that supposedly do that all the time.

I have an HVAC contractor friend that is particular about neat installs of his equipment, but if he runs any of the wiring to it, it may look a little like your wiring here does. Could never figure him out on that one.

 

[Fulthrotl]

So what I am thinking (I am open to any suggestions / mickey mouse ideas as long as they are cheap. ) is setting up a timer that will run the pump maybe 15 seconds every few days or a week not really sure how often. I don't want to kill the pump over doing it either.

Anyway this being in my own home codes and listings are down low on the priority list, function over form is fine.

TIA, Bob

you could just replace it when it burns out with a submersible pump that works.
just a thought.

8-CIA, 4/10 HP, 45 GPM - Automatic Submersible Sump Pump, 25ft power cord Little Giant brand logo

 

[peter d]

you could just replace it when it burns out with a submersible pump that works.
just a thought.

8-CIA, 4/10 HP, 45 GPM - Automatic Submersible Sump Pump, 25ft power cord Little Giant brand logo

I said that too, but this is man that can turn a penny into #26 wire.

 

[mbrooke]

I said that too, but this is man that can turn a penny into #26 wire.

A penny is good for about 100amps, how could you not know that? :roll:

 

[gar]

170107-2401 EST

iwire:

You seem to want to specify 15 seconds once per week, but this is an experiment that you want to do cheap and really don't have any true information on what parameters will accomplish your goal, if your goal can even be met.

So instead of trying to automate the experiment consider a manual experiment. Run a pair of wires to a pushbutton at you breakfast table. Use a pencil and paper to record what you do. Every Sunday at breakfast hold the pushbutton in for 15 seconds. Obviously the pushbutton is wired to run the motor.

With a KUP 24 V DC relay and some parts I have on my shelf I can easily make a single shot relay to produce a pulse from milliseconds to 15 seconds with moderately consistent on time.

.

 

[Besoeker]

170107-2401 EST

iwire:

You seem to want to specify 15 seconds once per week, but this is an experiment that you want to do cheap and really don't have any true information on what parameters will accomplish your goal, if your goal can even be met.

.

It seems that his goal was being achieved by manual activation except the odd occasion when he was absent minded.
A couple of us have suggested a commercially available relay that would replicate what he was doing - without the memory lapses.

 

[iwire]

you could just replace it when it burns out with a submersible pump that works.
just a thought.

8-CIA, 4/10 HP, 45 GPM - Automatic Submersible Sump Pump, 25ft power cord Little Giant brand logo

You mean the submersible pumps that last me about five years? Yeah, thanks.