I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
through the side of the house.
We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
lava stones.
I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
fan started to hum
I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
Thanks
On Jan 20, 12:30=A0am, woodchucker <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 1/19/2013 7:03 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:24:05 -0800 (PST), Father Haskell
> > <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >> On Jan 19, 2:42 pm, Keith Nuttle <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, b=
ut
> >>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing=
.
>
> >>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vente=
d
> >>> through the side of the house.
>
> >>> We used it all last winter. =A0This fall when we started it up the fa=
n ran
> >>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. =A0A=
t
> >>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
> >>> lava stones.
>
> >>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. =A0Messed=
with
> >>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and t=
he
> >>> fan started to hum
>
> >>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down in=
to
> >>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>
> >>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? =A0This=
one
> >>> is running about 200F. =A0(taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meete=
r
> >>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
> >>> Thanks
>
> >> What type oil? =A0WD40 is a solvent, makes a good cleaner, but dries
> >> out. =A020 weight motor oil is a better general-purpose lube.
> > =A0 Forget 3 in 1 - get sewing machine oil, turbine oil, or something
> > like =A0"duratrode", "tuff-oil Lub-it" or "Chevron Handy-Oil ISO 15". I
> > have a tube of each of those 3 - and the shop where I spend 2
> > afternoons a week has sewing machine oil by the gallon (a leather shop
> > with all kinds of leatherworking and sewing machinery)
>
> Sewing machine oil and mineral oil are about the same.
> I have a quart of mineral oil and use it to oil a lot these days as I
> notice it does not gum up like 3-1.
Someone here said it's vegetable oil based, to make it easy
to launder out.
On 1/19/2013 5:21 PM, Artemus wrote:
> "Keith Nuttle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but collectively
>> the people on this form have experience with every thing.
[snip]
>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one is running
>> about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter with the probe on the out
>> side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
> Measure the temps at other places in the motor. If the field windings
> or iron are excessivly hot you may have a shorted winding.
Several have mentioned the possibility of shorted windings.. Depending
upon how long that motor was "stalled out" when Keith noticed the
problem, might that not be the problem now? If the bearing/bushing
seized up and let the motor cook long enough, simply freeing up the
bearing isn't going to do much if the windings have now become a "hot plate"
Any idea how long that puppy was powered up and just sitting there
groaning, Keith?
On 1/19/2013 8:23 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
> On 1/19/2013 7:06 PM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
>> Any idea how long that puppy was powered up and just sitting there
>> groaning, Keith?
>>
>>
> OP: The first time it stopped; no. It was the first cool evening of
> the fall. I turned it on and went about watching TV, and checking the
> newsgroups on the computer etc. Some time later I noticed the fan was
> not running. Other times I was monitoring it so it was stopped for a
> minute or to until it was turned off.
>
> The comments about the windings shorting could be true as the wrapper
> around the coil has darkened, but on the bench they did not seem
> excessively hot. The coil resistance is about 9.5 ohms with my cheap ohm
> meter. There is no continuity to the ground on either tab.
Not sure if 9.5 ohms is indicative of a short in the windings or not,
but with everything you've told us, I suspect it is. I'd go out and
check against a small motor here but the shop is in the garage and
temperature is falling like a rock right now. I'd rather stay inside by
MY wood stove.<g>
Short in the winding is different from a short to ground. The latter is
going to blow the fuse or trip the breaker, the former should heat it up
as instead of having 2000' of wire in the windings, the "short" will, in
effect, shorten the total length of the windings.
At least that's my understanding of it. We have enough electricians
hanging around here that if I'm all wet, they'll hose me down and let me
hold a plugged in toaster as they do so<g>
"Bruce" wrote:
> Almost guaranteed to be a shaded pole motor. Basically bullet proof
> but prone
> to the bushings on the rotor getting scummy.
--------------------------------------
Most likely an "air over", fan duty motor.
IOW, depends on the driven fan to provide the cooling air for the
motor.
Engineered for application specific duty cycle as a throw away device.
Lew
On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:42:16 -0500, Keith Nuttle
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
>Thanks
Sounds hotter than usual. I'd be looking at the McMaster or Grainger
web site for a new one. Small motors are not worth rebuilding.
On Sun, 20 Jan 2013 08:09:28 -0700, basilisk wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):
> On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:42:16 -0500, Keith Nuttle wrote:
>
>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>>
>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>> through the side of the house.
>>
>> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>> lava stones.
>>
>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>> fan started to hum
>>
>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>>
>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>>
>> Thanks
>
> One thing to consider, If the fan is running with a less restricted air
> flow on your bench it will be loaded heavier than if the flow is
> somewhat restricted, more flow, more load, more amps, more heat...
>
> Sounds counterintuitive but a blocked fan will draw the least amount
> of current.
>
> basilisk
Almost guaranteed to be a shaded pole motor. Basically bullet proof but prone
to the bushings on the rotor getting scummy.
-Bruce
On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:24:05 -0800 (PST), Father Haskell
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Jan 19, 2:42 pm, Keith Nuttle <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>>
>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>> through the side of the house.
>>
>> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>> lava stones.
>>
>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>> fan started to hum
>>
>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>>
>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>>
>> Thanks
>
>What type oil? WD40 is a solvent, makes a good cleaner, but dries
>out. 20 weight motor oil is a better general-purpose lube.
Forget 3 in 1 - get sewing machine oil, turbine oil, or something
like "duratrode", "tuff-oil Lub-it" or "Chevron Handy-Oil ISO 15". I
have a tube of each of those 3 - and the shop where I spend 2
afternoons a week has sewing machine oil by the gallon (a leather shop
with all kinds of leatherworking and sewing machinery)
On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:42:16 -0500, Keith Nuttle wrote:
> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>
> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
> through the side of the house.
>
> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
> lava stones.
>
> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
> fan started to hum
>
> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>
> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
> Thanks
One thing to consider, If the fan is running with a less restricted air
flow on your bench it will be loaded heavier than if the flow is
somewhat restricted, more flow, more load, more amps, more heat...
Sounds counterintuitive but a blocked fan will draw the least amount
of current.
basilisk
On Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:21:53 -0800 (PST), Father Haskell
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Jan 20, 12:30 am, woodchucker <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 1/19/2013 7:03 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:24:05 -0800 (PST), Father Haskell
>> > <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >> On Jan 19, 2:42 pm, Keith Nuttle <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>> >>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>>
>> >>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>> >>> through the side of the house.
>>
>> >>> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>> >>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>> >>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>> >>> lava stones.
>>
>> >>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>> >>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>> >>> fan started to hum
>>
>> >>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>> >>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>>
>> >>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>> >>> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>> >>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>>
>> >>> Thanks
>>
>> >> What type oil? WD40 is a solvent, makes a good cleaner, but dries
>> >> out. 20 weight motor oil is a better general-purpose lube.
>> > Forget 3 in 1 - get sewing machine oil, turbine oil, or something
>> > like "duratrode", "tuff-oil Lub-it" or "Chevron Handy-Oil ISO 15". I
>> > have a tube of each of those 3 - and the shop where I spend 2
>> > afternoons a week has sewing machine oil by the gallon (a leather shop
>> > with all kinds of leatherworking and sewing machinery)
>>
>> Sewing machine oil and mineral oil are about the same.
>> I have a quart of mineral oil and use it to oil a lot these days as I
>> notice it does not gum up like 3-1.
>
>Someone here said it's vegetable oil based, to make it easy
>to launder out.
MOST are highly refined chemically treated petroleum oils, but some
are silicone oils, some are ester oils, and some are jojoba oil - or a
mixture of jojoba and ester. and sometimes also silicone.
On Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:00:12 -0600, "HeyBub" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>> MOST are highly refined chemically treated petroleum oils, but some
>> are silicone oils, some are ester oils, and some are jojoba oil - or a
>> mixture of jojoba and ester. and sometimes also silicone.
>
>Not only:
>
>I got a non-working grandfather clock.
>
>I put the innards in a hydrosonic batch for a couple of hours (don't ask me
>to describe the resultant solution - it was gross). In my legacy drawer was
>a small bottle of watch oil left me by my grandfather.
>
>The oil was made from real whales.
>
>Clock works fine, now.
>
That "real whale oil" was likely over 70 years old. GREAT stuff for
those very fine applications.
[email protected] wrote:
> MOST are highly refined chemically treated petroleum oils, but some
> are silicone oils, some are ester oils, and some are jojoba oil - or a
> mixture of jojoba and ester. and sometimes also silicone.
Not only:
I got a non-working grandfather clock.
I put the innards in a hydrosonic batch for a couple of hours (don't ask me
to describe the resultant solution - it was gross). In my legacy drawer was
a small bottle of watch oil left me by my grandfather.
The oil was made from real whales.
Clock works fine, now.
On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 18:06:17 -0600, Unquestionably Confused
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On 1/19/2013 5:21 PM, Artemus wrote:
>> "Keith Nuttle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but collectively
>>> the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>[snip]
>>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one is running
>>> about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter with the probe on the out
>>> side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
>
>> Measure the temps at other places in the motor. If the field windings
>> or iron are excessivly hot you may have a shorted winding.
>
>Several have mentioned the possibility of shorted windings.. Depending
>upon how long that motor was "stalled out" when Keith noticed the
>problem, might that not be the problem now? If the bearing/bushing
>seized up and let the motor cook long enough, simply freeing up the
>bearing isn't going to do much if the windings have now become a "hot plate"
>
>Any idea how long that puppy was powered up and just sitting there
>groaning, Keith?
>
MOST of those motors are "impedence protected" and will not
dangerously overheat even when stalled.
On Jan 19, 2:42=A0pm, Keith Nuttle <[email protected]> wrote:
> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>
> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
> through the side of the house.
>
> We used it all last winter. =A0This fall when we started it up the fan ra=
n
> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. =A0At
> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
> lava stones.
>
> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. =A0Messed wit=
h
> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
> fan started to hum
>
> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>
> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? =A0This one
> is running about 200F. =A0(taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
> Thanks
What type oil? WD40 is a solvent, makes a good cleaner, but dries
out. 20 weight motor oil is a better general-purpose lube.
On 1/19/2013 7:03 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:24:05 -0800 (PST), Father Haskell
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Jan 19, 2:42 pm, Keith Nuttle <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>>>
>>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>>> through the side of the house.
>>>
>>> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>>> lava stones.
>>>
>>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>>> fan started to hum
>>>
>>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>>>
>>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>>> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>
>> What type oil? WD40 is a solvent, makes a good cleaner, but dries
>> out. 20 weight motor oil is a better general-purpose lube.
> Forget 3 in 1 - get sewing machine oil, turbine oil, or something
> like "duratrode", "tuff-oil Lub-it" or "Chevron Handy-Oil ISO 15". I
> have a tube of each of those 3 - and the shop where I spend 2
> afternoons a week has sewing machine oil by the gallon (a leather shop
> with all kinds of leatherworking and sewing machinery)
>
Sewing machine oil and mineral oil are about the same.
I have a quart of mineral oil and use it to oil a lot these days as I
notice it does not gum up like 3-1.
--
Jeff
On 1/19/2013 2:42 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>
> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
> through the side of the house.
>
> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
> lava stones.
>
> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
> fan started to hum
>
> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>
> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
> Thanks
I have no experience, but I can tell you that it is too hot.
Does it have a start capacitor, or run capacitor, or is it a small motor?
Sounds like maybe the winding might be shorting if the bearings are free
now. If it is not free spinning, than that is still the cause of the heat.
Figure the motor should be no hotter than 120 at the most.
--
Jeff
On Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:42:16 -0500, Keith Nuttle
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>
>My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>through the side of the house.
>
>We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>lava stones.
>
>I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>fan started to hum
>
>I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>
>Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
That's a bit hot, IMHO. Squirrel cages usually scavenge air around
the motor, so it should stay a bit cooler in the breeze.
The methods of your testing indicate that you already know that the
motor bearings are suspect. (Probably dry) Replace the bushings or
bearings if the motor can be rebuilt, or just replace the motor,
Keith.
--
The problem with borrowing money from China is
that thirty minutes later, you feel broke again.
--Steve Bridges as Obama
On 1/19/2013 1:42 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>
> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
> through the side of the house.
>
> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
> lava stones.
>
> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
> fan started to hum
>
> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>
> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
> Thanks
Is the fan sucking HOT air? What is the temp of the air immediately
coming out of the fan? Probably pretty high, the temp from the fan will
radiate to the motor.
The fan motor probably should be fitted with better bearings.
On 1/19/2013 3:39 PM, Leon wrote:
> On 1/19/2013 1:42 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>>
>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>> through the side of the house.
>>
>> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>> lava stones.
>>
>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>> fan started to hum
>>
>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>>
>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>>
>> Thanks
>
>
> Is the fan sucking HOT air? What is the temp of the air immediately
> coming out of the fan? Probably pretty high, the temp from the fan will
> radiate to the motor.
>
> The fan motor probably should be fitted with better bearings.
It is setting on my work bench in my garage ambient air is about 60 with
the exhaust blowing into the air above the workbench. No restrictions.
Even in the fireplace it will be pulling room air about 70F and blowing
it up behind the firebox, and out from above the fireplace. It has been
running for about 3 hours now. I wonder how long it will run when put
back in place?
I believe this an assembly that come as is from the manufacture. I have
not looked for the motor only yet.
woodchucker wrote:
> I have no experience, but I can tell you that it is too hot.
> Does it have a start capacitor, or run capacitor, or is it a small
> motor?
> Sounds like maybe the winding might be shorting if the bearings are
> free now. If it is not free spinning, than that is still the cause of
> the heat.
> Figure the motor should be no hotter than 120 at the most.
I agree that the motor is running way too hot for being out in ambient
temperatures. My first suspicion would be the bearings. Like Jeff says,
the first thing to make completely sure of is that the bearings are allowing
the shaft to spin freely. These motors aren't built to develop a lot of
torque and any bind in the bearings will overheat the motor. At some point
running it like this will likely result in Jeff's other speculation -
shorted windings resultant from over current.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
"Keith Nuttle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but collectively
>the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>
> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented through the
> side of the house.
>
> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran for a
> while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At that time I cleaned
> the area under the firebox, there were were some lava stones.
>
> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with it and
> tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the fan started to hum
>
> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into the
> bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>
> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one is running
> about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter with the probe on the out
> side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
> Thanks
A bearing temp of 200F indicates a dragging bearing. If the motor
has bushings and not bearings there will usually be a felt pad
surrounding the bushing. Take the motor apart and clean the inside
of the bushing with a q-tip soaked in 3-in-1 oil (the 20W kind is too
heavy) then liberally apply the oil to the felt pad and soak it. Let it sit for
several minutes then wipe up any excess oil. Clean the gunk off the
armature shaft and reassemble. Add a drop of oil to the shaft/bearing
interface. I do this to my fans once a year and they are all still running
after 10+ years.
Never use WD40 to clean or lube as it will gum up in a few days/weeks
and is difficult to get it all out of the felt.
If the motor has actual bearings they may need replacement.
Measure the temps at other places in the motor. If the field windings
or iron are excessivly hot you may have a shorted winding. You may
also just have insufficient airflow over them on your bench. Compare
it to the airflow when installed in the fireplace.
Art
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
.
> Forget 3 in 1 - get sewing machine oil, turbine oil, or something
> like "duratrode", "tuff-oil Lub-it" or "Chevron Handy-Oil ISO 15". I
> have a tube of each of those 3 - and the shop where I spend 2
> afternoons a week has sewing machine oil by the gallon (a leather shop
> with all kinds of leatherworking and sewing machinery)
Many years ago I needed to lube my turntable and grabbed what I thought
was sewing machine oil from the wifes sewing area. It gummed things up
quite nicely. ??? Turns out I grabbed her fray check by mistake as it was
in a similar bottle.
Art
On 1/19/2013 7:06 PM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
> On 1/19/2013 5:21 PM, Artemus wrote:
>> "Keith Nuttle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question,
>>> but collectively
>>> the people on this form have experience with every thing.
> [snip]
>>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This
>>> one is running
>>> about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter with the
>>> probe on the out
>>> side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>
>
>> Measure the temps at other places in the motor. If the field windings
>> or iron are excessivly hot you may have a shorted winding.
>
> Several have mentioned the possibility of shorted windings.. Depending
> upon how long that motor was "stalled out" when Keith noticed the
> problem, might that not be the problem now? If the bearing/bushing
> seized up and let the motor cook long enough, simply freeing up the
> bearing isn't going to do much if the windings have now become a "hot
> plate"
>
> Any idea how long that puppy was powered up and just sitting there
> groaning, Keith?
>
>
OP: The first time it stopped; no. It was the first cool evening of
the fall. I turned it on and went about watching TV, and checking the
newsgroups on the computer etc. Some time later I noticed the fan was
not running. Other times I was monitoring it so it was stopped for a
minute or to until it was turned off.
The comments about the windings shorting could be true as the wrapper
around the coil has darkened, but on the bench they did not seem
excessively hot. The coil resistance is about 9.5 ohms with my cheap ohm
meter. There is no continuity to the ground on either tab.
From the first my working theory was the a piece of lava stone got
sucked into the fan, and blocked it from turning. The lava stones have
been removed. Now I am wondering if that is what happened and the
symptoms I am now experiencing are related to the initial stoppage.
This after noon the fan ran at about 200 for about 7 hours and was
running well when I turned it off.
With your comments I believe I will do further testing with it in the
fireplace. A new one will cost about a hundred dollars, and a service
call would be more than that.
It is a cheap motor not worth spending any money to rebuild it,though I
may check with the local fire place shop an see if I can get the motor only.
Thanks for all of your help.
On 1/19/2013 5:24 PM, Father Haskell wrote:
> On Jan 19, 2:42 pm, Keith Nuttle <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>>
>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>> through the side of the house.
>>
>> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>> lava stones.
>>
>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>> fan started to hum
>>
>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>>
>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>>
>> Thanks
>
> What type oil? WD40 is a solvent, makes a good cleaner, but dries
> out. 20 weight motor oil is a better general-purpose lube.
>
OP: I use SAE 5W40 that I use in the car. I know that works with high
temperatures
On 1/19/2013 2:48 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
> On 1/19/2013 3:39 PM, Leon wrote:
>> On 1/19/2013 1:42 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
>>> I realize this is not probably the best place to ask this question, but
>>> collectively the people on this form have experience with every thing.
>>>
>>> My question concerns our gas fire place. it is the kind that is vented
>>> through the side of the house.
>>>
>>> We used it all last winter. This fall when we started it up the fan ran
>>> for a while made some noises, and the squirrel cage fan stopped. At
>>> that time I cleaned the area under the firebox, there were were some
>>> lava stones.
>>>
>>> I put it back together and it ran for a while then stopped. Messed with
>>> it and tried again and it ran for a few minutes and slowed down and the
>>> fan started to hum
>>>
>>> I took it out and put a little oil on the shaft and worked it down into
>>> the bearings. It has been running for about an hour and a half.
>>>
>>> Is it normal for a small motor like is on the fan to run hot? This one
>>> is running about 200F. (taken with thermoprobe on a volt/ohm meeter
>>> with the probe on the out side of bearing housing over the bearing.)
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>
>>
>> Is the fan sucking HOT air? What is the temp of the air immediately
>> coming out of the fan? Probably pretty high, the temp from the fan will
>> radiate to the motor.
>>
>> The fan motor probably should be fitted with better bearings.
>
> It is setting on my work bench in my garage ambient air is about 60 with
> the exhaust blowing into the air above the workbench. No restrictions.
> Even in the fireplace it will be pulling room air about 70F and blowing
> it up behind the firebox, and out from above the fireplace. It has been
> running for about 3 hours now. I wonder how long it will run when put
> back in place?
>
> I believe this an assembly that come as is from the manufacture. I have
> not looked for the motor only yet.
OK not recirculating hot air, recirculating room temp air at most. I
think you have an inexpensively built motor with marginal bearings.
Obviously the bearings either and dry or will now only function with the
addition of lubrication. If the later, it will probably run till the
lubrication seeps out again.
How long???? Probably for years on end on your work bench. An hour
after reinstalling back in the fireplace especially if it is difficult
to R&R. ;~)
Seriously I would test it for normal run times for a week on your bench.
Any failure at all would dictate replacement with a better motor.