Confused by new Carbatec Jointer

[creativegrain]

I bought a Carbatec 6 inch jointer today from the Canberra wood show to save on the freight as its very heavy unit. It was their display model but everything looked in fine condition.

I've got it home and am now looking at it and am really confused by its set up. I don't have a manual so I can't cross check that everything is how it should be but assume it would be if its their display model and set up by them.

On the unit is this power unit and switch with these two power cords coming out, one ends in a a wall plug and the other ends in a kettle lead, as shown in the photos below:

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Then inside the enclosed stand there is the motor with another power pack with another wall plug and a cord that plugs directly into the motor.

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There is nowhere i can see that I can plug the kettle lead into, and can't for the life of me figure out why there is two wall plugs and two power switches.

If anyone could shed some light for me, that would be great!

[doug3030]

There is nowhere i can see that I can plug the kettle lead into, and can't for the life of me figure out why there is two wall plugs and two power switches.

If anyone could shed some light for me, that would be great!

The cord coming out of the motor should have a kettle plug on it, to plug in to the kettle pug attached to the switch. or the switch under the unit needs mounting outside the cabinet. Either way it would seem you are in front by one zero-voltage switch when you get it all sorted out, put it on your router table or similar.

Possibly there is a kettle plug in the lead coming from the motor to the switch inside teh cabinet if you have a close look.

Cheers


Doug

[creativegrain]

There is no female kettle plug coming from the motor for the male plug from the zero-voltage switch to plug into. The zero voltage switch attached to the motor will not reach outside of the cabinet. Carbatec have been pretty useless so far (ironic that they sponsor this forum). Have called four times today trying to get onto someone and by the end of it I've essentially been instructed to fix it myself (zero electrical experience) or hire an electrician to do it.

[ironik]

The motor and switch look identical to the one I recently (perhaps 6 months ago) setup for the 10" carbatec branded contractors table saw. In my motor there is a female kettle plug at the end of a short cord exactly as Doug described. I'd be surprised that they put it together for the show but failed to notice no way to connect it to the power. Perhaps the motor simply wasn't completed at the factory and somehow passed QA in which case I'd be taking a few more photos and angle for a replacement.

[Treecycle]

Here is the link to the Grizzly equivalent. http://www.grizzly.com/products/6-Jointer/G0452
The manual can be downloaded from the link near the bottom of the page but there is not much that will help you I think.
Attached are a couple of clips from the manual electrical pages. I assume it does have a 240V motor and not a 110V?
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[Yanis]

Question... does the cord coming from the "power pack" on the motor unplug or is it hard wired? It may be that the power cord on the motor is simply an IEC (yes that is the correct term not kettle cord) cable in which case unplug the power cord and plug in the IEC connector from the switch. If the cord is hard wired get one of these (http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Products-Electrical/Distribution-%26-Interconnect/Moulded-Leads/IEC-C14-Male-to-3pin-Mains-Socket---150mm/p/PS4100)to connect the motor to the switch unit.

John

[creativegrain]

The power from the motor is hardwired in, and then travels to a switch and then to the wall plug. Essentially instead of that, it would need a female IEC plug. Is this normal procedure for them to basically instruct me how to fix it myself? I have zero electrical experience and don't feel comfortable messing with power. I also feel pretty ripped off having a brand new machine that would need electrical work done by an electrician who doesn't know the machine either.

[mark david]

Funny thing is that the emergency stop switch that you have doesn't match the paddle type switch shown on any of the Carbatec jointers.
Are you sure it is a correct part for this machine ?

The paddle switch is connected to the motor via a hole in the cabinet base on the infeed side of the machine,if there is no socket internally to connect it to then it may be an incorrect part.

[Yanis]

The power from the motor is hardwired in, and then travels to a switch and then to the wall plug. Essentially instead of that, it would need a female IEC plug. Is this normal procedure for them to basically instruct me how to fix it myself? I have zero electrical experience and don't feel comfortable messing with power. I also feel pretty ripped off having a brand new machine that would need electrical work done by an electrician who doesn't know the machine either.

I understand your frustration, I have been in a similar position but electronics was my day job. They get these from China and it may have been that they just included the wrong parts or they may throw in an adapter. In any case the adapter below which is $10 from Jaycar should do the trick.

http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Products-Electrical/Distribution-%26-Interconnect/Moulded-Leads/IEC-C14-Male-to-3pin-Mains-Socket---150mm/p/PS4100

Plug the IEC cable in one end then plug in your motor power cord and you should be good to go. They have stores all around Australia so there should be one within cooee of you. There appear to be 3 around Canberra.

[Yanis]

...
Are you sure it is a correct part for this machine ?
...


I agree - probably the wrong part. Not unheard of.

John

[Fuzzie]

I'd say it looks like they mixed the motors from different machines when they were in hiatus assembling things for the show. I can't quite see what sort of switch is attached to the motor - which might give a hint, but given the short wiring it may be an under table mount for a bench saw. Sad thing, there is also probably someone out there with a table saw who is trying to work out how to connect it up using an IEC extension lead.

[Yanis]

I hope you got it for a good price.

John

[Treecycle]

I just got home and pulled the back off my Carbatec Jointer (mine is an early model when they were still basically selling Delta rebranded). Attached are a couple of photos of how it is set up inside.
The lead from the paddle switch goes in through the side of the machine with an IEC plug on the end. The motor has the other half and just plugs in to it.

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[creativegrain]

Carbatec recognise it has been wired incorrectly and have sent me the part to fix it. Insurance would not cover if the machine ignited into a ball of flames and burnt my house down as i'm not qualified to do the electrical work as they have told me to do. Do you think its worth pushing for a replacement or organise for a sparky to come do the work and invoice them?

[NCArcher]

Don't attempt to invoice them after the fact. Either get them to do the work or get agreement from them, in writing, to pay for the work done by your electrician before he does it.

[Yanis]

Carbatec recognise it has been wired incorrectly and have sent me the part to fix it. Insurance would not cover if the machine ignited into a ball of flames and burnt my house down as i'm not qualified to do the electrical work as they have told me to do. Do you think its worth pushing for a replacement or organise for a sparky to come do the work and invoice them?


Can you post pictures of the part. As I said the $10 adapter from Jaycar will fix the problem with no re-wiring needed.

John

[Fuzzie]

Can you post pictures of the part. As I said the $10 adapter from Jaycar will fix the problem with no re-wiring needed.

John

I'd guess with two no volt release switches in parallel there might be some issue with using just a simple connector. If the one connected to the motor is located inside the cabinet because of the cord lengths, it could get tricky trying to access it every time you want to turn the machine on.

As far as I understand this doc (http://www.search.act.gov.au/search/click.cgi?rank=8&collection=act-gov&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.planning.act.gov.au%2F__data%2Fassets%2Fpdf_file%2F0014%2F2039%2F2013_-_Electrical_Note_04.pdf&index_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.planning.act.gov.au%2F__data%2Fassets%2Fpdf_file%2F0014%2F2039%2F2013_-_Electrical_Note_04.pdf&auth=3pzTHKhJwI%2B%2Fs5zWdcBL8Q&query=license+electrical+work&profile=www-planning) for the ACT, it is legal for an unlicensed person in the ACT to work on the plug as it is part of the supply cord used to connect the equipment, although I'm a bit surprised a Test and Tagger doesn't need a license.

I would think if you have enough confidence to use woodworking machinery safely and enough commonsense to construct projects likely to require said machinery, you should be able to perform a minimum amount of maintenance on the machinery for setup and your own ongoing safety, which will include fixing plugs. There's not many colour combinations you can get wrong if you follow the instructions which come with most plugs these days and if you can use a screwdriver on wood screws, it works pretty much the same way with a screw and nut for electrical wires.

[Yanis]

I'd guess with two no volt release switches in parallel there might be some issue with using just a simple connector.

If they are both no-volt switches then using the Jaycar adapter will definitely not work. Sorry I missed that.

John

[Big Shed]

Am I missing something here?

Carbatec sold a machine that doesn't work, so it is Carbatec's responsibility, based on our consumer laws, to fix it so that it works as intended OR replace it with a working machine OR refund the purchaser's money.

It is obvious that the OP has no electrical knowledge and/or skills and forum members should not give him advice on how to fix an electrical problem that he is not skilled enough to fix.



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[rwbuild]

Am I missing something here?

Carbatec sold a machine that doesn't work, so it is Carbatec's responsibility, based on our consumer laws, to fix it so that it works as intended OR replace it with a working machine OR refund the purchaser's money.

It is obvious that the OP has no electrical knowledge and/or skills and forum members should not give him advice on how to fix an electrical problem that he is not skilled enough to fix.
Totally agree on all counts. Also, if something goes wrong during the warranty period,they will deny responsibility because it has been changed from original manufactured specs. The safety factor re electrical is of primary importance.

[Fuzzie]

Too much guessing going on here. Was the machine sold as an AS IS demo with a deep discount to RRP, or sold as fully working with all attachments, setup, ready for use at RRP?