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vac motors

T

txheat

Member
Replace 4 vac motors friday. After little over 14 months, vac motor went bad. Out of 5 vac, 2 still going without replacement. One of them being least used.

Got a question. What is the vac brush replacement (video on KR) and what is its purpose?
 
In most cases, by the time the brush has worn down to the point of failure, the commutator becomes burned due to the arcing and replacement brushes will only last a fraction of the time they normally would. If you replace the brushes on a routine basis they never wear down enough to cause damage from failure.

Are your motors failing from worn-out brushes or from bearing failure? I quit using the GS motors long before they were discontinued because the top bearing would get noisy long before the brushes needed changing.
 
Yes they are replaceable. We have motors running that the brush wore out on ,i do however check the motor by spinning by hand to make sure it is turning ok. As others stated the motor may have other issues.

Many operators just change as a regular maintance item ,depending on use.

The brush (usually 2 per motor) is located at the top of the motor,you will see a small wire going to a wire connector,usually held in place by a couple screws or a small wire clip.Take one apart ,you will see how simlpe it can be to swap a brush. You may consider changing out on your still good vacs before they also fail.

Good luck
 
Well the motor is original from JC. I guess i have to replace all 10 of these old grey style out before i can change brush. So how often do you replace brush or how do you know when to replace brush? As for motor bearings , all the motors sound the same. I dont hear a difference yet even the new ones i just replaced. Only time i notice would be if the suction is reduced but by then the motor is out and need to be replace.
 
I don't know what motors JC uses, but you should be able to get brushes for them.

You'll have to figure out how often to change the brushes by changing them on a schedule you know is too often and gauging how much is left. I do them once a year but I could probably get by with two since there are so many vacs.
 
I change the brushes and change out the filter bags, we have an extra set in our vac’s every September. When the bearing go bad we toss the motor. Sometimes you can replace the brushes in a motor that the brushes have completely worn down, it all depends if there has been any damage to the Armature. I have also found that the replacement brushes don’t last as long as the ones that came with the motor when it was new.
 
Randy said:
I change the brushes and change out the filter bags, we have an extra set in our vac’s every September. When the bearing go bad we toss the motor. Sometimes you can replace the brushes in a motor that the brushes have completely worn down, it all depends if there has been any damage to the Armature. I have also found that the replacement brushes don’t last as long as the ones that came with the motor when it was new.
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i want to see how these motor hold out/last. They said these are better then the one from JC. So is it safe to say change brush every 7 months, since my motors burn out in 14 months.

you change those filter bags? man, those bags looks like high quality material. anybody wash and reuse those bags? @ $25/bag x 4/vac= $100/yr/vac...hmmm very costly to replace yearly. Cleaning them bi-weekly isn't enough?
 
No, you don't just replace the bags every year, you can remove them and wash them. I use a bag that's probably a different material than you have. It doesn't trap the dirt, so I don't have to change bags unless someone vacuums enough water to get them wet.
 
MEP001 said:
No, you don't just replace the bags every year, you can remove them and wash them. I use a bag that's probably a different material than you have. It doesn't trap the dirt, so I don't have to change bags unless someone vacuums enough water to get them wet.
Click to expand...
What bags are you using and where are you getting them? Thanks.
 
Randy said:
I have also found that the replacement brushes don’t last as long as the ones that came with the motor when it was new.
Click to expand...

I wonder if that has something to do with following the instructions for properly seating the brusshes at one half the voltage?
 
For what its worth, I check my vac brushes every six months and replace as needed.

I change all the vac motors every couple of years...at $28 a piece from Kleenrite, that's less than $100 per vac. A good investment for trouble free operation of my highest margin revenue center.

I also use bags that require no maintenance, except for shaking once a week. The material feels like silk, but I forget what type they are (some kind of nylon I'm sure).
 
bigleo48 said:
Half The Voltage?
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As far as I know, only the Ametek motor brushes recommend this wear-in procedure. To get half-voltage, you wire the motors in series. Instead of one lead from each motor connecting to hot and one from each connected to common, two of the motor leads are connected together and the remaining two leads are hooked up as one motor, then the motors are run for 30 minutes with no load.
 
KTM300 said:
The ones you linked to are better bags and fit the same?
Click to expand...
I'm not certain they'll fit in the Coleman vacs - instead of pulling up from the bottom and needing to be pulled tight to seal, these have a spring steel ring that you flex to snap into the opening, so that circular opening needs to be the same size as an Adams or Industrial vac to make a seal.

I wouldn't say they're better bags, but I like them a lot better than what came in the Industrial vacs. The original thick material ones trap a lot of dirt and clog up pretty quick, and they're very difficult to clean. The ones I linked are a cloth that isn't fuzzy on the inside so the trash and dirt falls out very easily. I put stainless steel keychain belt hooks in the top of the vacs so I can change the bags out without opening the bottom door or removing the dome.
 
MEP001 said:
As far as I know, only the Ametek motor brushes recommend this wear-in procedure. To get half-voltage, you wire the motors in series. Instead of one lead from each motor connecting to hot and one from each connected to common, two of the motor leads are connected together and the remaining two leads are hooked up as one motor, then the motors are run for 30 minutes with no load.
Click to expand...

Interesting...I'd never heard of that wear-in procedure. Makes sense, but I would not spend the time to do this with a $50 or less part.

Big
 
I wouldn't either, unless it was absolutely necessary. When this came up, I considered trying it by changing out one pair of motors at a time, building a bench rig to clamp the motors into and using a timer so I could start the motors and leave so they'd finish their break-in and shut off, but I'll stand by my original comment:

MEP001 said:
In most cases, by the time the brush has worn down to the point of failure, the commutator becomes burned due to the arcing and replacement brushes will only last a fraction of the time they normally would. If you replace the brushes on a routine basis they never wear down enough to cause damage from failure.
Click to expand...
 
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