Post by HankRocks on Jul 21, 2022 15:23:59 GMT -5
Back in June of 21 the motor on my UV-18 stopped running. Took it off but could not find a suitable replacement so ended up buying the replacement from the Vendor. It was not quite the same and had to drill a new holes in the mounting plate. Installed and 6 months, maybe 2 3 months usage, later it died. Removed it and the counterweight was difficult to turn. Called Vendor and he commented that I had tightened the motor too tightly. I mentioned that the motor shaft has a counter-weight and not tightening it securely did not seem to be an option.
My good friend who is very mechanically minded enters the picture. We attempted to find the same motor but it was not happening. He said he would take the motor and do an autopsy to see what the problem was, and possibly repair. That is not very easy on a 1/20 hp motor but he enjoys challenges. He managed to get it apart and the bearings were not good and it seemed they may have been cheap to begin with. Found matching size and better bearings at Grainger and put the motor back together. While doing that he noticed that although it had a cooling fan, the end opposite the fan had no openings so there was no flow thru cooling possible. He drilled several 1/4 holes in the backend housing plate to provide circulation. He also noticed that the bearing housing end plates are just pressed metal as opposed to machined so lining up the two bearings and the shaft is a crapshoot.
Brought it over today after an overnight run in his shop with no real issues. I re-assembled and am running with a load in polish now. Checking it every 20 or 30 minutes and will not run at night or while I am away. Fingers crossed to see that it holds up.
Lesson confirmed, counterweight on a motor shaft is not a good design. Even the best of motors will eventually die. The less than good motors from overseas just get to the failure quicker.
My good friend who is very mechanically minded enters the picture. We attempted to find the same motor but it was not happening. He said he would take the motor and do an autopsy to see what the problem was, and possibly repair. That is not very easy on a 1/20 hp motor but he enjoys challenges. He managed to get it apart and the bearings were not good and it seemed they may have been cheap to begin with. Found matching size and better bearings at Grainger and put the motor back together. While doing that he noticed that although it had a cooling fan, the end opposite the fan had no openings so there was no flow thru cooling possible. He drilled several 1/4 holes in the backend housing plate to provide circulation. He also noticed that the bearing housing end plates are just pressed metal as opposed to machined so lining up the two bearings and the shaft is a crapshoot.
Brought it over today after an overnight run in his shop with no real issues. I re-assembled and am running with a load in polish now. Checking it every 20 or 30 minutes and will not run at night or while I am away. Fingers crossed to see that it holds up.
Lesson confirmed, counterweight on a motor shaft is not a good design. Even the best of motors will eventually die. The less than good motors from overseas just get to the failure quicker.