Thanks: 0
Needs Pictures: 0
Results 1 to 11 of 11
Thread: 'Lectricity and black magic
-
18th December 2023, 12:12 PM #1
'Lectricity and black magic
Electricity is the black art to me, and my level of knowledge, and respect, is somewhere in line with magic and wands.
About 2 months back, the control board on a 5 year old Nova Saturn lathe went to control board heaven. The lathe had not been used for a few weeks - my use is generally light and limited to turning legs and spindles, not bowls (one day ...) - there was a quiet "pphhiiiittt", and ... dead. Nothing else like this has occurred to me before. There is a Nova Voyager drill press which gets much use (attached to a different circuit, now I think about this), and a Festool CT26, which is run from the same circuit as the Saturn.
The workshop (aka garage) has the usual 10 amps circuit in line with the house. I just added extra outlets when building it. There is also anither circuit with 15 amp, for Hammers K3 slider and A3-31 combo, and a 20 amp plug, the latter for a Hammer N4400 bandsaw. The Saturn and Voyager run on 10A (recommended). This second circuit was professionally installed about 15 years ago.
Now I am a little wary of this re-occuring. The repair to the Saturn was not cheap. Plus inconvenient. And so I am trying to ascertain what may have caused this. I have asked about surge protectors and told that they are unnecessary in Perth since surge protection is built-in at the main box (I recall asking about this on this forum when I purchased the Saturn). Nova do recommend a 3700 joules. Good luck finding one in 240 volts here in Oz. I have tried. I have now added surge protectors rated 1900 joules to each of the Novas, and am running them from the (assumed) good circuit.
Any advice, what to look for, or add as protection?
Regards from Perth
Derek
ADDED BY ADMIN
DISCLAIMER
No liability is accepted by U-Beaut or the Wood Working Forum's administrators
or moderators for advice offered by members posting replies
or asking questions regarding electrical work.
We strongly advise contacting a Licensed Tradesperson for all electrical work.
WARNING
Information supplied within posts is not to be considered as detailed formal instructions to complete a task.
Members following such information do so at their own riskVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
-
18th December 2023 12:12 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
- Join Date
- Always
- Location
- Advertising world
- Posts
- Many
-
18th December 2023, 01:01 PM #2SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Sep 2009
- Location
- Newcastle
- Posts
- 549
So just one machine has died?
Most electronic failures will not be related to a 'bad' supply circuit.
A house electrical circuit is just a couple of wires appropriately sized for the load, and protected by a circuit breaker.
Note that circuit breakers are to protect the wires (and thus your house) from overheating / fire. Circuit breakers are not and don't protect attached equipment.
A surge can't be generated by a house circuit. A surge can result from the supply coming in, or faulty equipment locally.
Most electronic device failures are due to failure of components in the device itself.
There is wear and tear on electronic components just like there is for mechanical components. Some fail early, some last much longer than expected lifespan.
Any reason to suspect a surge?
(I think a surge is often a convenient thing to blame a failure on)
-
18th December 2023, 02:05 PM #3GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Nov 2007
- Location
- melbourne australia
- Posts
- 2,661
That's often (but certainly not always) a capacitor. My oscilloscope made the dreaded "phuttt" noise and emitted smoke a while ago. It was one of the X2 capacitors on the power circuit board. Caps in power circuits work hard and eventually die.
You can confirm whether your mains power box has surge protectors by have a peek inside.
-
18th December 2023, 05:09 PM #4
From a quick google it appears the lathe is powered by a Striatech digital variable reluctance motor and looks to use a solid state controller.
One common issue with solid state controllers is failure of the output stage with the mosfet's or other device suddenly releasing the magic smoke. This release is usually accompanied by a "pphhiiiittt".
Examination of the circuit board will expose this failure type with clear escape holes and marks.
Make sure the machine is disconnected and only proceed with disassembly if you are confident with your abilities with regards to electronic circuit boards.
-
18th December 2023, 05:41 PM #5
Replacement smoke
This should fix these sort of problems.
H.Jimcracks for the rich and/or wealthy. (aka GKB '88)
-
18th December 2023, 05:57 PM #6GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Nov 2007
- Location
- melbourne australia
- Posts
- 2,661
Lucas- the Prince of Darkness.
-
18th December 2023, 07:01 PM #7
No obvious surge that I know of ... no other machine was affected.
Having said this, we do get breakers tripping in the middle of the night (then the radio alarm does not go on and all the clocks in machines like the microwave need to be reset).
Is it necessary to switch off all machines/outlets in the workshop at the end of the day? I've never done this in the 30 years in this house/garage/workshop.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
-
18th December 2023, 07:04 PM #8
I wonder what a capacitor costs to replace? The repair to the control board was around $600-700. (Cost of a new Saturn is around $4K).
I did have a technician from a power tool mobile repair shop come in. He appeared to test the electronics (well, he pulled the controller out and poked it with a meter), and said it was beyond him.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
-
18th December 2023, 07:08 PM #9Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
-
18th December 2023, 08:32 PM #10GOLD MEMBER
- Join Date
- Nov 2007
- Location
- melbourne australia
- Posts
- 2,661
-
19th December 2023, 04:43 PM #11
Ah so already repaired looking for option for prevention of future occurrence.
Even switching the equipment off at the outlet is often only disconnecting the active, unless you have specific double pole outlets.
Big surges can be induced across into the neutral cable or even bridge the gap in a switch on the outlet so safest option is disconnect the equipment from the outlet totally by unplugging it.
There are surge protectors that can be purchased to assist, the downside with a lot of them is a small surge can render them inactive as they are a sacrificial device without any visible signs that they have been used. Then you are left with a false sense of security that the equipment is protected when really it is not.
Maybe someone has a lead on better surge protectors that indicate when they have gone off.
Similar Threads
-
Magic
By labr@ in forum WOODIES JOKESReplies: 1Last Post: 17th December 2015, 12:42 PM -
Black-white-black Stripe Pickguard Ligero
By Penl8the in forum WOODTURNING - PEN TURNINGReplies: 4Last Post: 19th August 2013, 07:55 PM -
The Magic Within
By efgee88 in forum WOODTURNING - GENERALReplies: 6Last Post: 21st December 2012, 08:08 AM