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Capacitors

Hello all,

I've been turning up a storm on my new midi lathe, and it's recently developed a bit of a quirk. When I turn it on, the spindle stays stationary, and the lathe makes a buzzing noise. A small twist in either direction will set the lathe spinning in the direction in which it was twisted, allowing the lathe to run in reverse, even though it was not designed for that. After some looking around, it seems that the most likely cause of this is that the capacitor on the motor has gone out- but it's kind of nice to be able to get it moving the other direction anyhow.

What I'm wondering is whether this is something I need to get fixed up, or if it's fine to run as it is. The lathe is still under warranty, and I'm sure Delta would be happy to send me a new part. I'd almost like to keep it just how it is, but I'm concerned that it could cause some damage in the long term. Anyone here have any experience with this?

Thanks! Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Reply to
Prometheus
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If under warranty, you should get it fixed. I believe your title pinpoints the problem.

Reply to
ks

If the storm you've been turning included some dust clouds, you may have another problem - dust buildup.

Give it a good blast with compressed air if available, or vacuum. Sometimes the amount of buildup can overpower the slight capacitive boost.

Call Delta, they'll likely deliver a fresh capacitor.

Reply to
George

It will not hurt the motor to leave it the way it is provided you don't let it sit there and buzz very long.

Reply to
TBone

Nope, I get it spinning right away. I think I'm going to leave it for a bit, and see if there's any noticable advantage to being able to reverse it. If all else fails, it's still got another 23 months under warranty! Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Reply to
Prometheus

could be interesting for those bowls that just won't sand smooth because of the grain direction..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Either the Start Cap is defective or the centrifugal Switch that disconnects the start cap after the motor is running is defective. The only danger is forgetting to start the motor after applying power as eventually it would trip the breaker. Realize that if the motor is not running no counter EMF is genreated so the motor draws starting current which could cause the field winding to fail if it didn't trip the breaker. I don't believe that running the motor backward would hurt anything but the airflow through the motor would be backwards. Then again it is probably a sealed motor so it may not make any difference at all.

Reply to
Floyd "Who"

The "fan" in almost every electric motor are straight finned and work the same regardless of the direction of the motor

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Floyd "Who" wrote:

Reply to
Leo Van Der Loo

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