GLPStandard
Member
Hello everyone. I am new here and an electrical *****, but I will try to explain everything and understand any advice given. I am from the US but currently living in Germany where they obviously use 220V 50hZ. I recently purchased a mid 2000s Craftsman 30 gallon compressor with a Weg 110v 60hZ single phase motor.
The gentleman I bought it from brought it over from the US. He stated he used it dozens of times in the US with no issues but when he plugged it in here through a step down converter the garage breaker kept tripping. After 3 or 4 times resetting, the start capacitor blew, white smoke, nasty smell, and the compressor was dead.
Rather than fix it, he decided to sell it and for $50 I figured why not. I bought a new start and run capacitor and switched both out. I also bought a 3000W converter which should be plenty to run the 110v @15amps. I had identical issues as him. This time the start capacitor literally blew up and the house breaker tripped.
I started suspecting maybe he had the capacitors hooked up in place of one another, so I took the end cap off the motor and traced the wiring. They were hooked correctly, so now I am thinking maybe the centrifugal switch isnt opening at speed to disconnect the start capacitor, causing it to run constantly and overheat.
I moved the switch by hand and it does feel a bit weird. It doesnt make the characteristic snap back into place when you release it. It sounds a bit squeaky and sluggish. So this is what I suspect though like I said, I'm an idiot and know very little about how these work and even less about electricity.
So my questions are, am I on the right track? What further diagnosing can I do? How do I know what I need as far as a replacement centrifugal switch? How do I replace the switch? There is a bearing on the end of the shaft that I can't see how to remove so I dont know how I would remove the old switch.
I did check continuity of the start switch (I think that's what its called) and it is working fine.i thought to run the motor with two run capacitors just for 5 or so seconds with the end plate off to watch the centrifugal switch and see if it opens at speed but I wasnt sure if this is safe for me or the motor, or if I would need to remove the compressor piston side first.
Any advice you can give is appreciated.
The gentleman I bought it from brought it over from the US. He stated he used it dozens of times in the US with no issues but when he plugged it in here through a step down converter the garage breaker kept tripping. After 3 or 4 times resetting, the start capacitor blew, white smoke, nasty smell, and the compressor was dead.
Rather than fix it, he decided to sell it and for $50 I figured why not. I bought a new start and run capacitor and switched both out. I also bought a 3000W converter which should be plenty to run the 110v @15amps. I had identical issues as him. This time the start capacitor literally blew up and the house breaker tripped.
I started suspecting maybe he had the capacitors hooked up in place of one another, so I took the end cap off the motor and traced the wiring. They were hooked correctly, so now I am thinking maybe the centrifugal switch isnt opening at speed to disconnect the start capacitor, causing it to run constantly and overheat.
I moved the switch by hand and it does feel a bit weird. It doesnt make the characteristic snap back into place when you release it. It sounds a bit squeaky and sluggish. So this is what I suspect though like I said, I'm an idiot and know very little about how these work and even less about electricity.
So my questions are, am I on the right track? What further diagnosing can I do? How do I know what I need as far as a replacement centrifugal switch? How do I replace the switch? There is a bearing on the end of the shaft that I can't see how to remove so I dont know how I would remove the old switch.
I did check continuity of the start switch (I think that's what its called) and it is working fine.i thought to run the motor with two run capacitors just for 5 or so seconds with the end plate off to watch the centrifugal switch and see if it opens at speed but I wasnt sure if this is safe for me or the motor, or if I would need to remove the compressor piston side first.
Any advice you can give is appreciated.
