The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest overheated motor

well, my compressor motor started pouring out smoke today, and it was so hot i could barely touch it. i don't know alot about electric motors but this does not look good. i let it cool down and tried it, and i saw arcing inside ...any fellow bolters have this experience before? it's not even a year old, i expected i would get this one restoration job out of it.

sounds like you overworked an undersized motor - compressor motors are frequently over-rated .... if there's a motor shop [like auto-electric] around they could check it for ya, maybe tweak it a bit to get along awhile longer .... you might need to lower your pressure setting a bit, or rest it frequently

Bill

All e motors have a duty rating on the tag on the motor it will tell You say 50% or 75% duty cly. it means the time it can be run at full HP most compressors for home use have low duty ratings because they are not built to run for long periods of time thats why garages and constuction crews use compressors that are much more expensive , if You realy like Your unit You can go to a motor shop and get a better motor only it gets expensive , compressors are one of those things You get what You pay for , or You can have more coffee braks and let Your compressor motor cool off , I'll go for the latter ,Pete

Thanks for the input guys...i brought the motor to a good electrical repair shop i use and he told me the motor was a cheaper variation of the normal A.O. Smith motor. there wasn't even a catalog number on the tag. SO... he told me what i pretty much already knew,just get another motor.500 bucks later,and like pete said,i will keep a close eye on how much i work it.also i got the windows to open in the toolshed it is in for better ventilation.