1. Home
  2. ⏣ General Metalworking
  3. Electric chainsaw motor

Electric chainsaw motor

I have a new 3.5hp (I think) "Works" largest 14" chainsaw that I want to
use the motor for a project. I need to know the RPM. I've had no luck
researching this and I no longer have an RPM meter. I imagine all
chainsaws have similar rpm. I need to get the ratios on timing belt
sprockets close to optimal. If this works, you will all be dazzled by
my brilliance!
Reply to
Tom Gardner
Loading thread data ...
Affix something to the chain that sticks out a little. Now make another attachment or hold something close by that will hit it. Like the old clothespin, playing card and bicycle spokes. Turn it on and record the sound. Use something like Audacity to measure the frequency. Viola!
Reply to
Leon Fisk
I have a new 3.5hp (I think) "Works" largest 14" chainsaw that I want to use the motor for a project. I need to know the RPM. I've had no luck researching this and I no longer have an RPM meter. I imagine all chainsaws have similar rpm. I need to get the ratios on timing belt sprockets close to optimal.
" If this works, you will all be dazzled by my brilliance! "
Or baffled by your bullshit. Either way I am looking forward to being entertained.
Reply to
Bob La Londe
A big, 16" bar, 15A corded electric Makita chainsaw has a no-load chain speed of 2900 ft/min -- 48 fps. I'd use my digital camera in timed multi-shot mode (10 frames/sec., I think) and take a series of photos, and then measure the distance between a marker in two sequential shots. You'd have to do it multiple times to be sure you get two visible, sequential photos with the marker.
Then work backward from the sprocket and chain pitches to get the motor rpm.
(Yes, there must be a simpler way.)
For reference, I saw specs on a Greenworks corded 14.5A saw that said 6000 rpm. Another saw said 5500 rpm. A Remington Versa 12A 16" says 3200 rpm.
If this is a cordless saw, all bets are off. As for 3.5 hp...that sounds like Sears or Ridgid horsepower to me -- like 22A, if they're talking gross horsepower.
Reply to
Ed Huntress
Remove the chain and take the thing to an RC hobby shop. They will for sure have optical tachs for sale. They will probably check the RPM for free if you ask nicely. Make a constrasting mark on the sprocket before you bring it in. Maybe color half the sproket with a black Sharpie. Eric
Reply to
etpm
Hard to know from your (lack of) description, but I'll offer warning...
My limited experience with Works tools is that they're near the bottom for ruggedness. In general, a cheap hand tool rated at 3.5 HP may deliver that for short bursts, maybe. It's not designed for ANY continuous duty, at any power level.
Again, my limited experience with electric chainsaws and related devices is that the universal motors with brushes fail because the brush overheats and melts the plastic, yes, the brush holders are typically plastic. It seems to be working fine, but the next time you turn it on, the plastic has hardened around the brush and it's stuck. You can often take it apart and free it up. It will work for a while until it freezes up again.
I'd not put a lot of time or $$ into a project based on a Worx motor.
Reply to
mike
and if it doesn't work...?
My Husqvarna 350 tops out around 12,000 RPM.
Reply to
Jim Wilkins
I've seen a rating in "electrical horsepower" calculated from how much juice it pulls, probably without considering efficiency or power factor.
Reply to
Jim Wilkins
The question is what is its RPM when producing the power the load needs. Could you fake the drive with hardware store vee belts and pulleys to find out?
My collection of pulleys that weren't the right size has helped a lot on subsequent projects.
Reply to
Jim Wilkins
I think that some of them, including Ridgid, don't even go that far. They stall it and measure the current; multiply by the voltage; divide by 750; and claim that as "horsepower." My Ridgid shop vac draws, I think, 10A when it's running. But they claim it has "4.25 [peak] horsepower."
HA-Ha-ha-ho!
Reply to
Ed Huntress
The RPM at what point? Under load? Tht's going to be tough unless you can rig up a brake or drive a pump with a restricting valve.
Just driving the chain? A couple of people have proposed some methods.
Under no load? Be careful. If it's a shunt wound or permanent magnet motor, it will be OK. If it's a series wound motor, there is no theoretical maximum RPM and it could be damaged by overspeed.
Reply to
Paul Hovnanian P.E.
We should call that "puke" horsepower since the motor is about to toss its magic smoke..
Reply to
Jim Wilkins
Yeah, that would be a better term for it. This is what Popular Mechanics said about it in a shop-vac comparison. To me, this is unbelievable:
"In addition to being designated by capacity, most wet/dry vacs carry
think that means a vac motor is as powerful as a garden-tiller engine, think again. Like many other consumer-grade tools, the horsepower rating is modified by the word "peak." This indicates the electrical draw at the point where the motor is overloaded and stalls. The upshot? Horsepower ratings aren't the most accurate way to compare wet/dry vacs. Looking at amperage makes more sense."
Reply to
Ed Huntress
Well, the motor is physically able to do it, just not for long. Kettering made the automotive electric starter practical by designing for brief peak power, 5 HP from a motor smaller than a 1/2 HP continuous-duty motor.
-jsw
Reply to
Jim Wilkins
OK, but this isn't real horsepower they're talking about -- even for a minute. They're defining "horsepower" as current times voltage (/747).
But if that's "horsepower, then you could have a really big power resistor that developed 10 horsepower.
That electrical value is "power," but it's just *potential* horsepower. If you measured actual, kinetic horsepower, in terms of torque times rpm, it would be a minute fraction of that. If the motor is stalled, there's no real horsepower at all.
I wonder if Sears started that practice? That was the first place I remember seeing it.
Reply to
Ed Huntress
Only one thing I can say for certain - it will NOT be a series motor.
Reply to
clare
It's called "smoke horsepower"
Reply to
clare
I thought they measured the peak power at the motor's breakdown torque, just before speed drops.
formatting link

I have a 5.5HP, 3750W generator that struggles to start a 1/2 HP motor on an air compressor, as long as the tank pressure is low. I can't measure the compressor motor's torque vs RPM curve but it clearly is drawing that much electrical power at startup.
-jsw
Reply to
Jim Wilkins
On vacuums and compressors it's actually "air horsepower" - and there is a defined specification
water column) / 6,356
Reply to
clare
Don't know about HP of the "TECO Master" (TECO = T Eato Co) shop vac I picked up for five bux six years ago - the seller let it go because no one was interested since it wasn't wet/dry - he had kept it in the original box with the printed printed sheet "owners manual". When I opened it up for inspection I found the date stamp "Aug.31 1971". My son's evaluation as a shop vac is "IT REALLY SUCKS" I keep it in the laundry room outside the shop door for lint trap cleaning, puppy haircut cleanup and any other use I come up with like disk/belt sander dust removal.
Reply to
Gerry

Further Reading

  • chainsaw backpressure

  • Can a 2 cycle chainsaw motor run without backpressure? Im too cheep to gobuy...

  • Electric chainsaw duty cycle?

  • Well the electric chainsaw I have is about 2100W and I live in the UK so 240V...

  • Teles Chainsaw

  • I "inherited" a teles that had a villiers engine, it only operatedwith the...

  • 12" Craftsman chainsaw parts?

  • Picked up a 12" Sears electric chainsaw a while ago. Works well..but thehandle...

  • need good chainsaw chain

  • I bought two Logger truck loads of oak logs. They have been cut for a fair while...

  • Chainsaw

  • Does a chainsaw constitute a stationary...

  • 3.5hp Lister Startomatic?

  • Gents,On Saturday I went to Cambridge to retrieve a Startomatic generator...

  • chainsaw chain

  • I have a chainsaw where the chain wants to not stay in the bottom ofthe blade....

  • Chainsaw advice?

  • Hi folks. I just scored a chainsaw from my neighbors trash. It ismostly...

  • Chainsaw recommendations

  • Pretty much for any job, the smallest chainsaw that would do it, isbest. Sitting...

  • electric motor

  • Hi Ya'll.I have an electric motor from a Maytag washer that I would like to...

  • Best chainsaw sharpener?

  • Greetings All,I'm looking for a good manual chainsaw chain sharpener. I...

  • Wanted Clinton Chainsaw

  • I am looking for a clinton chainsaw,in any conditionI hope I am not breaking any...

  • Chainsaw redux

  • Well, I jumped on a Husky from Norwalk Power Equipment Company. A good price...

  • Chainsaw spares

  • Anyone know of a supplier of spare parts for Black and Decker chainsaws. I need...

  • 3M abrasive shop tips

  • 3M is offering email subscriptions to their newsletter for professional...
  • « previous thread

  • Range of ER32 collets?

  • Hi Folks, If I were to buy one of these sets of Chinese made ER32 collets on...
  • next thread »

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.