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5hp motor maintenance?
- Thread starter bochnak
- Start date
sberry
Banned
I don't see oil ports here, many comp motors don't have them, sealed bearings. As long as its not full of dust and dirt, is working fine run it till there is a problem.
A little depends on duty. if its over 30 yrs old and had the snot ran out of it a set of bearings wouldn't hurt it. But if a guy is familiar with the sound then may be able to tell when something is going south.
A little depends on duty. if its over 30 yrs old and had the snot ran out of it a set of bearings wouldn't hurt it. But if a guy is familiar with the sound then may be able to tell when something is going south.
Some motors come with a grease zerk in one of those holes. And, that same motor most likely comes with sealed bearings! Why? You can't grease a sealed bearing. But thats just how they do it. If the motor sounds ok, no grease needed. Now some old cheap home use type motors came with a oil reservoir for lubing the bushing bearing. These were light duty use motors and they had a spring loaded flip cap. Probably more info than you needed, but until I started working industrial maintenance 20 years ago, my home use air compressor got a squirting of grease a year. I opened it up to see grease everywhere, except inside the bearings!!
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marinusdees
Well-known member
The motor is clean and runs smoothly. I guess I'll just keep running it. Thanks.
If it ain't broke, don't break it.
at most I would blow it out with air to get the dust out of it . providing it's an open motor lol
Augus7us
Well-known member
Some motors come with a grease zerk in one of those holes. And, that same motor most likely comes with sealed bearings! Why? You can't grease a sealed bearing. But thats just how they do it. If the motor sounds ok, no grease needed. Now some old cheap home use type motors came with a oil reservoir for lubing the bushing bearing. These were light duty use motors and they had a spring loaded flip cap. Probably more info than you needed, but until I started working industrial maintenance 20 years ago, my home use air compressor got a squirting of grease a year. I opened it up to see grease everywhere, except inside the bearings!!
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I've been educating myself on electric motors over the last five years and I have always wondered this myself. Why, in today's lean and cost efficient world, do they put zerk fittings for a sealed bearing? Does anyone know?
Top plug is for a zerk fitting, bottom plug is grease drain. Check the nameplate, it may have the bearing ID numbers (industrial motors do). You can determine if it has sealed bearings.
If you really want to do it right, look up the manufacturer’s data sheets. The type of grease used initially, lubrication interval and quantity will be defined. Regreasing should be done with a compatible grease rated for electric motors.
Grease relief: https://www.mcmaster.com/1093k11
Grease chart: https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1865/grease-compatibility
If you really want to do it right, look up the manufacturer’s data sheets. The type of grease used initially, lubrication interval and quantity will be defined. Regreasing should be done with a compatible grease rated for electric motors.
Grease relief: https://www.mcmaster.com/1093k11
Grease chart: https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1865/grease-compatibility
matt_i
Well-known member
A motor that ran 24 x 7 I'd grease with 1 shot every 5 years.
A motor that runs 16hrs x 5 days I'd grease with 1 shot every 10 years.
They don't need much.
A motor that runs 16hrs x 5 days I'd grease with 1 shot every 10 years.
They don't need much.
Dagny
Well-known member
Take the belts off and run it. Bearings full of grease are very quiet. and actually will have more drag than bearings that need grease. Kinda like a raw egg compared to a hard boiled egg when you spin it. Don't wait till they start to drag the rotor on the stator or winding damage may result.
A motor that ran 24 x 7 I'd grease with 1 shot every 5 years.
A motor that runs 16hrs x 5 days I'd grease with 1 shot every 10 years.
They don't need much.
Contrary to industry practices. Interval and amount are based on bearing size & operating conditions:
https://reliabilityweb.com/articles/entry/electric_motor_bearing_greasing_basics/
https://www.lubetechnologies.com/assets/baldor-motor-lubrication-recommendations.pdf
I work industrial maintenance. My old neighbor is sales and service for motors gearboxes and the such. His technicians have told us by the time the bearings in a motor are noticeably sounding dry, that motor is shot. You can rebearing it, but the damage is done to the end bells, windings have been stressed, and so on. We didn't believe them, thought of it as a sales ploy. Sure enough, those rebearinged motors all failed not to long after. I know this got off subject, I learned, bearings are for the life of the motor. When one part is shot, or failing, the rest isn't far behind. Time to replace.
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86turbodsl
Well-known member
That looks like an open drip-proof motor to me, and no oil cups, so as long as it's quiet, should be good to go. Motors don't need much as long as you don't overheat them.
Nothing on the motor that hasn't been addressed. But there is certainly other areas that will drastically increase its life that do need occasional maintenance or replacement. Those being the line contacts for actuation. If you're using the pressure switch or a magstarter the contacts should be cleaned and dresses or replaced periodically. Burned and pitted contacts will kill a motor in short order if they get fobarred bad enough.