Need help finding a capacitor for my lathe motor

[xXvapourXx]

Hey guys my lathe recently died on me while machining it has done this before were it would slow down then stop but all i would do was just turn it off then on again and it would work fine all though this time nothing happens not a sound or anything. I took the capacitor out, but some of the info on it has rubbed off and don't have much of a clue what im really looking at hahaha :/ So would some one be able to point me in the right direction i also added a picture of the capacitor. (only assuming that its the capacitor.)

290309

Cooper

[th62]

The capacitor has all the information on it you need, the values shown are pretty standard. K.D. Fisher in St Marys, or anybody else that sells capacitors, should be able to help you out. They're only about $20, or $10-$12 bucks on line. You didn't mention how many capacitors the motor has.

[jhovel]

You are looking for a 16µF (micro farad, sometime written as "MF" or "uF") motor capacitor for 380 or better still 450VAC. The rest of the lettering is not that critical.
Like these: 16 uf motor capacitor | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_odkw=16+uf+capacitor&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.X16+uf+motor+capacitor&_nkw=16+uf+motor+capacitor&_sacat=0)

[BobL]

If you turn it on and spin it by hand for a couple of turns does it eventually get up to full speed?

If it does keep spinning then it is definitely the "start" capacitor, if not then it may or may not be the "run" capacitor.

The capacitor in the picture is a motor running 16 microfarad (mfd) 450 V jobbie by the look of it.

These are a common motor capacitor just do a search on the web or flea bay

I guess you don't need me to tell you to be careful.

[xXvapourXx]

Ahk cheers guys i got really confused when i saw the 315v and 450v ahahah :/ the motor only has the one capacitor.

[azzrock]

a air con place should have it

[Auskart]

You are looking for a 16µF (micro farad, sometime written as "MF" or "uF") motor capacitor for 380 or better still 450VAC. The rest of the lettering is not that critical.
Like these: 16 uf motor capacitor | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_odkw=16+uf+capacitor&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.X16+uf+motor+capacitor&_nkw=16+uf+motor+capacitor&_sacat=0)

Big difference in prices, who's trying to rip who off ??:o Australia the most expensive country in the world.

[eskimo]

could be capacitor? but could also be something else.

I can test capacitor for you, what area are you in?...without looking in the odds n sods bin, may also have 1 if yours is crook

[nadroj]

That old cap was made by Ducati, the motorbike company.

Jordan

[nearnexus]

Ahhhh, made in Italy.

That explains a lot.

Your lucky it went this long.

Rob

[Sterob]

You are looking for a 16µF (micro farad, sometime written as "MF" or "uF") motor capacitor for 380 or better still 450VAC. The rest of the lettering is not that critical.
Like these: 16 uf motor capacitor | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_odkw=16+uf+capacitor&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.X16+uf+motor+capacitor&_nkw=16+uf+motor+capacitor&_sacat=0)


What Jhovel said....

Also, you will also probably be able to find a suitable replacement from Radiospares and/or Element 14 ( formerly Farrnell ) Thats where I get mine from. Best not to skimp on Capacitors as they work hard and I don't trust the chinese ones....
Capacitance is not critical, just something relatively close will do and as long as the voltage rating is as high or higher, would suit.
Buy two and you will have a spare.....

[th62]

K.D Fisher are otherwise known as Plessey Capacitors. Plessey have been around for years.

[BobL]

Ahhhh, made in Italy.
That explains a lot.
Your lucky it went this long.
Rob

I think the Romans might have a bit to say about that.

[xXvapourXx]

well i ended up buying this 16uF Multi Purpose NEW RUN Capacitor Suit 240V Motors | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16uf-Multi-Purpose-NEW-RUN-CAPACITOR-suit-240v-Motors-/190734356718?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item2c68a750ee) should come by Friday, didn't want to wait a couple of weeks for one to come from china but ill be bidding on this motor Vintage Electric Motor | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/181239160190?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649) just in case but if it works ill just use the one ill buy on the drill press since it needs a new motor :) Ill let you guys know if all is well!

Cooper

[tanii51]

check the rpm may be the wrong one usually 1440 or 2850 rpm drill press maybe different from lathe
john

[xXvapourXx]

Sent a message to the guy selling it and said that he couldn't find were it said how many rpm it had, could have been spray painted over or the badge removed but i won the auction and now i wait for it to be delivered, cant go wrong for $26 and free postage!

Cooper

[_fly_]

Just for next time, this mob have em all and post.
They are in Aus.

Capacitor Technologies (CapTech) || Power Factor Correction || Capacitor Supplier (http://www.captech.com.au/)

[Dingo Dog]

Made by Ducati. Surprised it lasted so long, any good place that sell electric motors should be able to help you out.

DD

[nadroj]

Ducati, which started out as an electronics manufacturer, and still is, were pioneers of electrolytic motor-start capacitors.

Jordan

[Sterob]

check the rpm may be the wrong one usually 1440 or 2850 rpm drill press maybe different from lathe
john


Good point
2 pole will be 2850 rpm and
4 pole will be 1440 rpm

[andrew_mx83]

I had a small issue with the capacitor on my lathe motor recently...

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4276/bo2o.jpg


And the guts of it...
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8817/1c4i.jpg


Must have been a Ducati one :-)

[Uncle Al]

I had a small issue with the capacitor on my lathe motor recently...



Can't imagine how much noise that would have created when spilling it's guts.
Bet you needed a good stiff drink to settle the nerves after that little incident.
Anyway, a new capacitor and a six pack of undies from K-Mart should get you back in business.

Alan...

[eskimo]

Ahhhh, made in Italy.

That explains a lot.

Your lucky it went this long.

Rob.

yeah i know what you mean...my swmbo is still going ....:D

[nearnexus]

.

yeah i know what you mean...my swmbo is still going ....:D

:rolleyes:

[eskimo]

:rolleyes:

oh I didnt spell it out...she comes from the same place..italy

[nearnexus]

oh I didnt spell it out...she comes from the same place..italy

I fully understood the comment :D

On a more serious note, the internals of old capacitors can be highly carcinogenic and should be cleaned up with care.

I had one explode big time on an old Kelvinator air con unit, sprayed it's guts everywhere, and the techos refused to touch it.

It was sort of semi liquid sticky stuff. Had a funny smell and was over everything.

So bought a new Fujitsu.

Rob

[RayG]

I fully understood the comment :D

On a more serious note, the internals of old capacitors can be highly carcinogenic and should be cleaned up with care.

I had one explode big time on an old Kelvinator air con unit, sprayed it's guts everywhere, and the techos refused to touch it.

It was sort of semi liquid sticky stuff. Had a funny smell and was over everything.

So bought a new Fujitsu.

Rob

Hi Rob,

The old oil filled capacitors have pretty much dissapeared these days, they used to use things like polychlorinared biphenyl (PCB) and dimethyl formamide (DMF) as the dielectric.. nasty stuff.
The dielectric material you'll find in a motor start, or motor run cap you are likely to find these days is pretty much guaranteed to be toxic, (doesn't hurt to assume that anyway) but probably not carcinogenic :)


I realise the OP has already got replacement caps, but in the event anyone else is looking...

I've been on-line in the last week ordering motor caps, trying to revive a dead airconditioner in the electronics workshop. I got some caps off these guys, they are local, delivered within a couple of days and look to be stocking good brands

capacitor items - Get great deals on Spare parts items on eBay Stores! (http://stores.ebay.com.au/RR-DAVIDSON-CO/_i.html?_nkw=capacitor&submit=Search&_sid=748213653)


Regards
Ray

[Oldneweng]

I had a small issue with the capacitor on my lathe motor recently...

snip


And the guts of it...

snip

Must have been a Ducati one :-)

I had the same thing happen on a 2 hp motor on my shearing plant some years ago. It was a CMG motor. It blew the connector box to bits. Bloody loud.

Dean

[xXvapourXx]

I had a small issue with the capacitor on my lathe motor recently...

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4276/bo2o.jpg


And the guts of it...
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8817/1c4i.jpg


Must have been a Ducati one :-)

:oo:

[Dingo Dog]

Thought I would get a bite from the Ducati remark.

DD

[nadroj]

My Ducati buddies sometimes tease poor old British bike owners for the alleged bad electrics.
I tell them that if my Ducati's were as good as Lucas, it'd be an improvement.

Jordan

[nearnexus]

My Ducati buddies sometimes tease poor old British bike owners for the alleged bad electrics.
I tell them that if my Ducati's were as good as Lucas, it'd be an improvement.

Jordan

Yes, British electrics don't work.

Italian electrics just pretend to work.

Rob

[andrew_mx83]

Can't imagine how much noise that would have created when spilling it's guts.
Bet you needed a good stiff drink to settle the nerves after that little incident.
Anyway, a new capacitor and a six pack of undies from K-Mart should get you back in business.

Alan...

Yep it made a hell of a bang and took about 2 hours for the workshop to clear of smoke. Stiff drink and new undies needed indeed.
No way i was putting 240v through that motor again, it lives in the scrap pile now. I ended up fitting the old 3hp 3 phase motor from my big mill and a VFD instead which is just great.

In a stange turn of coincidence one of the caps on my small mill melted a few days later, destroying the terminal box :S
No big explosion this time luckily!


The cap that spilled its guts was only 4 or 5 yrs old, hopefully no carcinogens! I still find little bits of oil soaked paper hiding in a corner or crevice occasionally...

[nearnexus]

No way i was putting 240v through that motor again, it lives in the scrap pile now.

The motor usually is not the problem.

The cap just gets dried out or leaky and craps itself.

You can bridge out the cap wires and the motor should still start in a free running (nothing connected) state.

All the cap does is add extra volts to flash overload the motor to get it up to speed.

Rob

[andrew_mx83]

No thanks. The bang was violent enough for me to not want that to happen ever again.

Getting that motor to work correctly on the lathe had stretched the limits of my AC electrical knowledge and i did not wish to press my luck any further. This one had a run cap only (permanently connected), the one it was replacing had a start cap only (on a centrifugal switch). In the run cap only scenario you have to flip the cap over to a different set of windings to go forward and reverse, which is fine if you only want to go one way... but if you want both selectable by a switch then things get a bit complicated.

VFD solved all these problems, and more.

[Oldneweng]

I think the one that blew on me was caused by low voltage. I was using an old generator to run the motor. I was at the motor, or shearing hand piece and just walked towards the gen set and bam. The gen set was a bit tricky to get running right until it had warmed up. I don't think it was running fast enough. Not like my current gen set that you just start, push in the choke and go. That was my first time running a gen set as well.

Dean

[xXvapourXx]

Got this capacitor in the mail today 16uF Multi Purpose NEW RUN Capacitor Suit 240V Motors | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16uf-Multi-Purpose-NEW-RUN-CAPACITOR-suit-240v-Motors-/190734356718?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item2c68a750ee) But im wondering if it has a certain polarity? Or do i just wire it what ever way? If not ill just try and copy my other capacitor to the way it used to be wired

Cooper

[eskimo]

Got this capacitor in the mail today 16uF Multi Purpose NEW RUN Capacitor Suit 240V Motors | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16uf-Multi-Purpose-NEW-RUN-CAPACITOR-suit-240v-Motors-/190734356718?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item2c68a750ee) But im wondering if it has a certain polarity? Or do i just wire it what ever way? If not ill just try and copy my other capacitor to the way it used to be wired

Cooper

same two wires anyway round...its an ambidextrous type...lol...they all are


Oh I see what your query is....it has four spade terminals....

two on each side are actually joined/connected...use any two that are not connected to each other

edit...put one wire on anyone of top two terminals you see in the pic, and a wire on any of the bottom two.

[xXvapourXx]

same two wires anyway round...its an ambidextrous type...lol...they all are


Oh I see what your query is....it has four spade terminals....

two on each side are actually joined/connected...use any two that are not connected to each other

edit...put one wire on anyone of top two terminals you see in the pic, and a wire on any of the bottom two.

Oh awesome, easier than what i thought! :D Thanks eskimo and to everyone else who helped out! ill let you guys know if its up and running :D

Cooper

[xXvapourXx]

well i replaced the capacitor and no luck :/ so i decided to take the motor off my lathe had a quick look around the motor to see what was wrong and couldn't find anything. After another search thinking that my motor is stuffed i saw this liitle black button that was hidden with the rest of the motor and i pushed it and it made a click sound, turned the power on to the motor and now its working hahahahahah, so now i know it wasnt the capacitor but it was that button which must have been a overload switch or some sort of safety switch hahaha o well typical me :B

Cooper

[nadroj]

You can bridge out the cap wires and the motor should still start in a free running (nothing connected) state.

All the cap does is add extra volts to flash overload the motor to get it up to speed.

Rob

Not quite correct, Rob. The capacitor in a single phase induction motor is what makes it want to spin, instead of just sitting still and humming. It doesn't do this by adding volts, but by creating torque.
With no cap, you can start it off with a light push of the shaft with your hand. Like a 2 stroke engine, once it's started, momentum will keep it spinning.

Jordan

[eskimo]

overload switch or some sort of safety switch

yep..its a thermal overload.

you must have had the motor under some load for it to trip....can you recall what you doing at the time immediately prior to the motor having stopped working

[xXvapourXx]

yep..its a thermal overload.

you must have had the motor under some load for it to trip....can you recall what you doing at the time immediately prior to the motor having stopped working

I was turning down some metal for my drill press for the motor to mount onto, i had also realised that it only does this at the highest speed.

Edit: Like these to metal rods on this plate http://i22.ebayimg.com/03/i/001/00/2c/2993_35.JPG