Oiling electric motor - How much?

[streetcore]

He everyone,

I bought a Craftsman Jointer model 113.20682c on the weekend and it has an electric motor with oil ports on both sides (see pics below).

I'm wondering how much oil to add? The motor sounds pretty good when it is running, but it did squeal a bit when it was first starting and when powering down, just before it stopped. I was going to put a couple drops of 20W in each side, but I looked online and found the site below that talks about some electric motors using 20 to 150 drops! That sounds excessive to me, but I really don't know. The manual and the label on the motor don't say how much to add, but does say "DO NOT OVERLUBRICATE". The previous owner had the jointer for a year, said he used it twice, and did no maintenance to it.

https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Electric_Motor_Lubrication.php

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[rlitman]

The noise is probably the centrifugal switch, if it sounded quiet when at speed.

 

[vekster]

as you drop the oil in the cup will probably fill up with only a couple of drops and you wont be able to add any more than that

 

[streetcore]

Thanks for the quick replies. I'll try a few drops and see how it goes.

 

[Richard Cranium]

put a couple of drops in and then turn the motor by hand and put a couple more in. I Kenmore heating system says to put in 2 drops every 5 yrs. if that helps. So I have written the year on the motor when I have oiled it.

 

[streetcore]

put a couple of drops in and then turn the motor by hand and put a couple more in. I Kenmore heating system says to put in 2 drops every 5 yrs. if that helps. So I have written the year on the motor when I have oiled it.

Good idea. Thanks.

 

[Bob P1]

Shouldn't take much regular 3 in 1 oil works fine.

 

[nbpt100]

I have used everything from 3 in 1 to 10 w 30. Many years ago I bought at Sears electric motor oil and I think it was SAE 20. Used it in the circulating pumps in the heating system where I use to live. Now they are all sealed motors.

 

[cdeer001]

3 in 1 makes a 20wt oil

 

[streetcore]

3 in 1 makes a 20wt oil

Yep, that's what I have.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

as you drop the oil in the cup will probably fill up with only a couple of drops and you wont be able to add any more than that

Some of those older motors would only hold a couple drops, like You mention.
I have seen this on some older motors with the hinged oil caps, and some of these would state the number of drops needed, as well as the service intervals on the name plate.

Being curious, I checked the 1 hp motor on My old Craftsman table saw that looks similar to the OP's 1/2 hp motor. Both have the removable oil caps that pull straight out. I dribbled 5 drops of oil into one side and it disappeared as fast as I dribbled it. I stopped at 5 drops, because that should be plenty, if not excessive for that size of motor.. Dern name plate states the service intervals, but leaves one guessing as to how many drops.. I agree that a couple drops should be adequate.

 

[streetcore]

I dribbled 5 drops of oil into one side and it disappeared as fast as I dribbled it. I stopped at 5 drops, because that should be plenty, if not excessive for that size of motor.. Dern name plate states the service intervals, but leaves one guessing as to how many drops.. I agree that a couple drops should be adequate.

I had the same experience tonight. The oil disappeared as fast as I could add it, so I put about 6 drops in each side. I turned the motor by hand while I was adding the oil and it did sound a bit squeaky. So hopefully the oil will help, and hopefully I didn't add too much.

 

[redmondjp]

You don't want to add too much oil as it will run all over the inside of the motor (ask me how I know).

Most of these motors (with sleeve bearings) also have a fiberous oil wick/reservoir inside each end that holds several drops of oil. This wicking material seems to degrade over time (and turn into a paste) so sometimes I remove it and add some fabric or felt material in replacement.

 

[nbpt100]

You don't want to add too much oil as it will run all over the inside of the motor (ask me how I know).

Most of these motors (with sleeve bearings) also have a fiberous oil wick/reservoir inside each end that holds several drops of oil. This wicking material seems to degrade over time (and turn into a paste) so sometimes I remove it and add some fabric or felt material in replacement.

The few that I have seen sure did look and feel like felt. Once that material is saturated in oil you should be good for a long time.

 

[rsanter]

Does not take much
Just keep up with it every so often and it will last forever