Scrap Yard uh, Tutorial yea tutorial

[Bob Warner]

There are bargains in them piles of junk.

Something I do that many people don't think to do is to go to the big pile of motors they have. Don't assume the motors are all bad. Some industrial motors must be replaced after a certain amount of time in service even if they are still good. I go through the pile and look for several motors of the same type. This indicates they were all replaced at once. Check them for physical damage and check the HP and also see if they are single phase.

If they are single phase, and the right HP and are not physically damaged and if they will spin freely, I buy the motor. A 10 pound motor costs me one dollar at the scrap yard I go to. That is a pretty cheap gamble. IF I see a few motors I buy them all.

After I get home. I ohm them out with a meter to see if they have shorts. The ones with shorts go into my scrap pile. The rest are hooked up to see if they run.

On my next trip to the scrap yard I take the scrap motors back to the scrap yard with me but I first paint them with a gray stripe so I don't buy it again on another trip.

The scrap yard here weighs you as you go in and weighs you as you go out and you pay or get paid, for the difference. I take the bad motors in and toss them out and get the stuff I want from the yard and get weighed again, paying the difference.

My 9" disc grinder is made with a motor from the scrap yard and my future surface grinder is also using a scrap motor. I have given them to friends for their projects as well. Giving a friend a motor for his project really helps him out and only costs you a buck or two. You'll get that back easily when he comes to help you move something heavy like my grinder stand.

Just thought I'd share this in case anyone does not think to look at the motors.

Happy Scrappin'

[cactusforge]

Good idea Bob next trip to Phoenix I will go shoping. Gib

[David Peterson]

Bob,
I went to the salvage yard today and found a 1HP motor for $10. My question is... How do you check them for shorts as you stated in your post? I tried hooking this motor up, and it keeps popping my breakers. Could it be a bad one, or are my breakers too weak in the house? It spins freely and the guy said he had it running. The motor says it's lo volt =115, hi volt=230, 14.5 amps, 7.2 amps, 1HP, 60 hz, and made by Dayton.

The picture below is the wiring for the motor as shown on the nameplate. I connected the p1 to the ground, tied p2 t8 and t3 together, tied t2 t5 t4 together and connected each bundle to one prong of the plug. Is that correct? Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

-Dave



>>>After I get home. I ohm them out with a meter to see if they have shorts. The ones with shorts go into my scrap pile. The rest are hooked up to see if they run.>>>

[Bob Warner]

From the looks of your diagram P1 should not go to ground.

I would suggest that P2,T8, T3 should be taped together and not connected to anything.

T2, T5, T4 would all be tied together and go to one of the legs to the wall outlet.

P1 would go to the other leg to the wall outlet. I would make this the hot leg and the T2, T5, T4 leg connect to the common.

There should be a green wire in the motor that usually mounts to the case where the wiring cover gets screwed on. Your ground wire can connect there also.

Please check your diagram and see if the motor is reversable. I will bet that you can reverse the direction by switching T5 and T8.

What I do to test the motors is to use an ohm meter from the case to the wires to see if they are grounded. The T2, T5, T4 leg to the P1 leg should show "Some" resistance but not an open.


Let me know how it goes.

[Jamey Saunders]

You've got it Bob.

The left wire (P1) is one power leg, the T2-T5-T4 bundle is the other leg, and the other wires (P2, T8, T3) are put together (we used wire nuts). If you don't have a green wire, connect the ground wire to a screw in the casing somewhere (the ones holding the covers on are a good bet.)

To check motors for shorts, you can take the ohm meter to the junkyard with you. What you'll want to do is test for continuity between either of the power leads and the case of the motor. If you have continuity, the motor's toast. (It may still be toast. Try to look inside for black windings. Sniff around any vent holes or in the connection box for a burnt smell. You'll know it when you smell it. These are bad signs.)

[David Peterson]

OK, I tested the wires with the ohm meter, and this is what I got. I'm new to electronics, so forgive the terminology.
I tested P1 to P2 and got 0 (full reading),
tested P1 to T2 and got 0 (full reading),
tested P1 to T3 T4 T5 T8 (each separately) - no reading,
tested all wires to the case and no reading,
tested P2 to T2 and got 0 (full reading),
tested T8 to T5 and got 0 (full reading),
tested T3 to t4 and got 0 (full reading).

With T2-T5-T4 connected to one leg and P1 to the other leg, P2-T8-T3 wired together and left hanging, and the ground wire from the wall wired to the motor, I still popped the breaker. I hope I'm doing this right. I'm so glad you guys are helping me. Thanks.

-Dave

[David Peterson]

Hey guys, I got the motor running thanks to your great instruction. I had the lines crossed in the extension cord I made, which was popping the breaker. Anyway, I thank you for your help, and for a great idea. I got a 1HP motor for $10, and a couple of rollers for $5. If I can find a good motor in the middle of nowhere Wyoming, anyone can. Now I can start building my 2x72 grinder.

[Bob Warner]

Great.

Good to hear you got it running. Kinda fun finding stuff like that. I found an old punch press that had been picked up and dropped several times by the big magnet in the sky. It was damaged severely but I took a lot fo parts off of it. I have several handles (round wheels with handles on them) and other types of handles. I also got a bunch of ball transfer bearings.

I look like the junk yard Ninja when I head for the scrap yard.

[wrathlord]

good Idea for cost concoius shoppies,may I add to also check for brush wear,this is easy ,just remove the housing,the brushes are the small cresent shaped shoes around the coil, they should be meaty,if they are badly worn,just replace em with better ones from another motor,this will greatly improve the motors performance.

[PaulD]

Try this site for hook up info, I think I got the link from one of these forums,

http://shop.emotorstore.com/estore/T...c_Diagrams.asp