Jointer wiring question

10328 Views 50 Replies 6 Participants Last post by bigredc, Dec 31, 2007

BradleyB

Discussion Starter · Dec 6, 2007

Hello all,

this is a repost from the General Forum (I think I should have posted it here in the first place - apologies)

I just bought the Craftsman Professional 6 1/8 1hp jointer at an auction. When I got it home I realized it was wired for 240v (the plug gave it away). I need to get it back to 120 and there are no wiring diagrams on the motor. Can anyone help me make sense of many wires coming out of the motor housing? I tried to call Craftsman and after spending 45 minutes on the phone to various Sears/Craftsman call centers all over the world I finally got a very poor response: they told me to go to one of their repair centers and try and talk to a repair technician...and no, I couldn't call them directly. Very frustrating. All I need is the wiring diagram for this motor.

can anyone out there help me?

Many thanks

21 - 40 of 51 Posts

bigredc

· #21 · Dec 13, 2007

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: That's a good one.
You are absolutely correct about the voltage. If you use 10 amps at 220 then you use 20 amp at 110. It all works out the same. Guy's get confused because we are always told 277 volt lighting saves money. that's a whole different discussion. If you had a capacitor you would easily see it. They are mounted to the side of the motor. They measure any where from 2"X2"X 4" up to 2"X 4"X 8" and up. I had a hard time finding anything about capacitors on small motors. The info I have starts at 10 hp. I'll check out the web. When that centrifugal switch kicks in after you turn it off, it's like putting on the brakes. It slows it way down. It turns the motor into a generator and charges the capacitor for a few seconds so it ready to go the next time you turn it on. I just bought a used 3 hp motor for 50 bucks. It might pay you to leave that motor at 220 and pick up a used 110 motor. It's cheaper than the electrician and It's fairly easy to swap motors. Food for thought.

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bigredc

· #22 · Dec 13, 2007

Tom I was writing at the same time as you. Did you know the PO. That would be good info to have. Your saying he switched the motor before he sold it.

BradleyB

Discussion Starter · #23 · Dec 13, 2007

My motor definitely has a capacitor mounted on it's side. How do I tell if it's (not) working? My research says I can check it with an ohm meter set to the 100x or 1000x scale and see if it swings to 0 ohms before drifting up again. Can I replace just a capacitor? Or could it be the windings OR am I asking impossible questions for an electrician to answer over the internet for free?

I'm not against swapping it out. Maybe get a more powerful one for all that cocobolo I need to true up. I understand that hp is a relative statement and that amperage is a better gauge motor power. Can I have a motor that's too powerful on a jointer? Does power affect rpm? If it does, do I need to worry about my jointer going too fast and burning the wood? Or will my edges just be REALLY flat:icon_smile:

(the cocobolo crack is a joke. I only wish it weren't)

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donn

· #24 · Dec 13, 2007

Electric Motor Information

I just got a Sears model 113.206933 jointer/planer like your's (I think). I needed some info on the motor wiring too and got a nice discussion from:
http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/elec-mtr/elec-mtr.html

BradleyB

Discussion Starter · #25 · Dec 13, 2007

thanks donn - that's exactly where I was getting my information from! The internet is a small world.

TomD

· #26 · Dec 13, 2007

bigredc said:
Tom I was writing at the same time as you. Did you know the PO. That would be good info to have. Your saying he switched the motor before he sold it.

My old timers is kicking in again. I think I got threads mixed up, I thought the original post said the guy was running it off another motor. A little reading fixed that defective thought. What I said about the switch is true. You should hear it kick out as the revs build and you should hear it close after shutting it down and it winds down. The motor can be opened and the switch repaired. However, If you are not doing the work yourself a new motor will probably be cheaper than the repair! Motors do go bad. The old cast iron GE's and Baldor's ran for a very long time. It's been my experience that a lot of newer stuff just doesn't hold up. My back ground is HVAC repair work.

Tom

TomD

· #27 · Dec 13, 2007

To check a capacitor with an OHM meter, set the meter to the highest scale and attach it to the capacitor. Remove and reverse the meter leads going to the capacitor. The meter should give a big kick and then return to zero. I like an analog meter better than the digitals for doing this. Of course, many new digitals give a reading directly in micro farads. Safety - it is best to discharge a capacitor before touching it. The best way is with a bleed down resistor. The most often used way is shorting the terminals with a screwdriver. If you don't get a spark it is discharged. If you do get a spark, you just saved yourself a nice wallop, and it is now discharged.

Tom

bigredc

· #28 · Dec 13, 2007

I'm seeing something very interesting. That link shows the wires grouped different that my book. My book shows, (2,4,5)&(1,3,8) or (2,4,8)&(1,3,5) for 115 volts That link shows (1,4,8)&(2,3,5) or (1,4,5)&(2,3,8) Try switching the wires to the grouping from the link.
My book's diagram is for a split phase motor. Your's is not that. it's a capacitor motor. The information on the link say's they are wired the same, but his diagram is different. Switch it then just bump it. On off real quick. If it groans and doesn't turn or barely turns don't try it again. If it takes off an runs good. Give it another try for like 10 seconds. If it seems good leave it on let it run a bit. Hopefully this is the problem.

bigredc

· #29 · Dec 13, 2007

this is my book

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bigredc

· #30 · Dec 13, 2007 (Edited)

I found a different page that is the same grouping as my book.

BradleyB

Discussion Starter · #31 · Dec 13, 2007

I tried the (2,3,5) (1,4,8) grouping and that doesn't work. I popped the switch on and off and the blades sat there and gave an energetic quiver with no rotation at all and an angry hum.

bigredc

· #32 · Dec 13, 2007 (Edited)

Are you going to try to test the capacitor like Tom said? I don't know what else to tell you. Is it feasible to rewire back to 220 and tie it into the panel with a piece of romex or extension cord? If you did that and it still didn't run, then it would probably be the capacitor. You can't just call an electrician the average electrician won't have a clue. You would need to find a motor shop. I have a few around me. You bring them your motor and they test them and rebuild them if they need it. I think it's cheaper to rebuild a motor than buy a new one. If you haven't priced new motors yet you'll be in for a shock.

bigredc

· #33 · Dec 13, 2007

Gerry try this site to see if it is any help. Everything I have found was similar to this.http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/el.../elec-mtr.html

BradleyB

Discussion Starter · #34 · Dec 13, 2007

Thanks for all your help. When I have a moment, I'm going to run a string of romex down to the panel in my basement and try it on 240. If that works I'm going to run that 60 amp pony panel out to the garage to run all my tools and my wife's kiln (she's a ceramics artist; aka potter. She's glad I have this problem as she's been asking me to wire up her kiln for a while now).

I'll let you know if I ever get the darn thing working.

Thanks again

TomD

· #35 · Dec 14, 2007

Guys,

I just want to re-visit the capacitor for a second. Discharge it before you pull the wires off. I like to isolate components before testing. BTW, I only forgot to discharge the capacitor once and I knew it was good without using the meter! The other test you might try is with your meter set on ohms, check the resistance of the start and run windings and then test the windings to the case. The start winding is a higher resistance than the run and there should be no reading at all to the case. When reading to the case, set the ohm meter on the highest scale and hopefully you will see no movement.

Tom

Gerry KIERNAN

· #36 · Dec 15, 2007

Sorry bigreddc

I tried the link, and didn't get anything but an "oops"

Gerry

bigredc

· #37 · Dec 15, 2007

Gerry, It's the same link as in post #24.

Gerry KIERNAN

· #38 · Dec 16, 2007

Thanks bigredc.
I can pull up the link on post 24 fine.

When I get an opportunity I will try to work out the wiring for my sander, and see if I can get it to work,

Gerry

TomD

· #39 · Dec 17, 2007

BradleyB said:
thanks bigredc,

The plate definitely says 12.5 amps at 110.

Something else to be aware of is a rating of 12.5A at 110V is what is commonly referred to as the FLA rating. This is Full Load Amps. A motor is an inductive load and will try to draw enough current to do the work at hand. A light bulb is a resistive load and will always draw the same amount of current. If there is no load I can't imagine the motor drawing more than 4 or 5 amps. The breaker should definitely not be tripping and I doubt the electrical service is the problem.

Tom

bigredc

· #40 · Dec 17, 2007

I must have missed post 15.
I was still hoping the breaker was tripping because it was 12.5 at 220. I think you going to have to dig into that motor. Coincidently I picked up a belt disc sander for 30 bucks about a month ago. It seemed to work fine. Over the weekend I decided to mount on stand I found, and rewire the switch. I got it all done. When I turned on the switch it made all kinds of noise, stopped. I played with the switch I could get it to run, but something was definitely wrong. I tore into it. I'm going to post pictures of the centrifugal switch so you can see how it works. My motor was full of dirt and saw dust. I just cleaned it up real good. It runs fine now

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