The 1 horse three phase motor on my bin dump water pump emits a howling squeal about one in five starts. Let it squeal a while, shut the line down,and restart. All better now. At least that's been the fix during the rush.
One week left till winter shutdown. Do I just trash the motor, or is it easily repairable? FWIW, the motor stands on end, So the noise is likely the armature rubbing on the motor housing. I'm surprised I haven't let the magic smoke out yet.
Karl
If you can get the bearings out, a bearing shop should be able to sell you replacements. Call them with the number from the bearing to be sure.
Replacing bearings in motors is v ery easy if you have a"bearing puller".
i
Tear it apart and take a look inside. Replacing the bearings is easy stuff.
Wes
If the motor is rated to stand on end, the bearings should be angular contact bearings. I recommend replacing them with angular contact bearings even though the original ones are not. Angular contact bearings will take the side load of the armature standing on end much better than plain bearings.
John
Thanks, I just learned something. Don't happen too often.
Karl
If it's the armature rubbing, the question is why it's going away. I'd be inclined to bet on a bearing spinning on the armature or in one of the bells. Have a bottle of the bearing retaining grade of Loctite handy when you tear it apart. If something was spinning, new bearings will be a temporary fix only - the bearing races are harder than the shaft or bells, and it's the shaft or end bells that have worn.
John Martin
There isn't any provision for loading the bearings. Are you advising using an angular contact to take thrust and a deep groove for the other end?
Wes
Had some 4" bore ball bearings at work that showed they aren't so hard once some dipstick has over-packed them with grease. They get quite soft when they get hot enough :-(
Mark Rand RTFN
Having read the many responses, I suggest a teardown and inspection. My hunch says the bearings are simply dry----and squealing as a result. New bearings are not expensive, and there's almost nothing to go wrong with three phase motors, considering they have no starter switches or capacitors to mess with. You might have that motor back to good as new condition for under $10.
Harold
My experience parallels Harold's advice. I had an intermittent, erratic squeal in a vertically mounted 220 V fan motor. The top bearing was squealing, intermittently, probably having been worn slightly out-of-round by uneven thrust produced by the fan blades. A shot of oil on the bearing cured the problem. Eventually, the motor was replaced at my convenience. FWIW, this problem is not likely to occur with ball bearings. Balls usually shake, rattle, and rumble long before emitting any audible noise.
Having read the many responses, I suggest a teardown and inspection. My hunch says the bearings are simply dry----and squealing as a result. New bearings are not expensive, and there's almost nothing to go wrong with three phase motors, considering they have no starter switches or capacitors to mess with. You might have that motor back to good as new condition for under $10.
Harold
IT depends on the amount of axial load that is transfered to the shaft. A 6xxx aeries deep row ball would be better than a plain bearing if the axial load is not too great, but as you said, to use a angular contact bearing, 7xxx , the bearing should be preloaded or use a plain or deep groove bearing on the top end.
John
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