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Motor Fan - Not Fan Motor - Sigh!

Now onto the next problem. The reason I pulled the cover on that Leland motor in the first place was because there was a dent in the back case. Now that I have the wiring figured out I need to address that... with a hammer. And the more serious damage from whatever dented that housing. Two broken blades on the cooling fan.

I figured finding an exact replacement was probably a no go. I stopped by a local motor shop and they want to order in a blank arbor fan that may or may not fit and then bore it to fit to be held on with a couple set screws. That may be what I have to do eventually, but I thought it sounded a little pricey for a fan blade. Even with a legitimate 30-45 minutes of machine work to make it fit my motor if it fits the space available.

I am looking at other options first. The first and least likely is somebody saying, "I have one of those on my junk pile. How about $XX.xx for it Bob?"

Searching with google for industrial motor cooling fans is beyond my Internet savvy. I can find thousands of motors, but finding sources for fans blades is a bit trickier.

Its off the cooling motor on a Leland 6273. The part number molded on the blade is D252999. The fan is approximately 9.75 inches in diameter. It is about 1.380 inches tall, and has a concave base. The bore when checked with a caliper is .650 +/- The motor shaft measures at .660 so there is no doubt some flaw in my technique.

There is an old grind mark that looks like the fan was balanced when it was new.

Picture can be seen here:

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Reply to
Bob La Londe
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TIG?

Reply to
Pete C.

On 1/10/2012 6:31 PM, Bob La Londe wrote: ...

Looks like you have the pieces; why not just weld 'em back on and rebalance?

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Reply to
dpb

I'd silver braze, myself - or silicon braze. Tigging castings is possible, but not as simple. My buddy would likely "tig braze" it.

Reply to
clare

Its beyond my welding ability. I don't have a TIG, and while the thickness is within the range of my MIG, I am pretty sure I would just vaporize that porous aluminum casting. (looks about like pot metal) Tomorrow If I have time I'll go by Mike's Metalworks and see if he thinks he can weld it.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

The darn thing is ALUMINUM??? It looked like grey cast to me in the picture.

Reply to
clare

Have you tried Jenkins????

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Betcha they have what you need.

Reply to
clare

Looks like it would fit a Priority Mail box... send it to Ernie...

Reply to
Pete C.

Surely looks like it to me too, but I guess he's there...

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Reply to
dpb

My magnet doesn't stick from here.

Reply to
clare

What is "grey cast" and no a magnet doesn't stick. Not even a rare earth magnet.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Now THAT sounds like an idea.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

I might actually might have a fan that's off of a toasted 184T ( 112M ) frame motor that might actually fit that so suggest hold off till tomorrow mid-morning when I can take a look.

Other than that, suggest simply remove it and attach a 6in 110vac muffin fan onto the rear shroud and just keep it running anytime the inverter is powered up.

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Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

This is what I would do, also. The extra plus is better cooling at low motor speed.

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Reply to
Ignoramus6358

I would probably just break off the 2 blades opposite and forget about it.

Not to suggest someone else should do that though....

Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

I already thought of that. I do plan on working this motor though. I did also consider a 110V muffin fan. Both of those options are probably OK for my own use, but being the OCD person that I am I wanted to try replacing the fan first if I could.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

I'll bet I beat you to it by at least a couple decades

The muffin fan is good because it provides steady airflow regardless of motor speed...

Whereas the airflow from fan that's mounted on the motor shaft basically drops clear down to nothing when running at slow rpms.

Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

It's not surprising that the impeller is a diecast alloy (better than plastic, anyway).

Parts such as the fins merging into the disk portion are a great example of the versatility and practicality of using the magic/miracle aluminum repair rods.

Every HSM should become experienced with using these rods because eventually everyone encounters a broken part like this.

In less time than it takes to search for a replacement part, generally, an odd or unusual part can be solidly repaired and put back into use. Even if the impeller blade tips were missing, it wouldn't be difficult to fabricate a couple from sheet aluminum and weld them into place with the repair rod.. about a half-hour job at an expense of maybe $5 for gas and a rod.

I wouldn't recommend the impeller for a practice piece.. better to practice on scraps and/or some parts that can easily be replaced before attempting something less common.

Becoming familiar with the ease of use of the repair rods could even be preferred to using a TIG machine for a small job like this, even if the TIG were available.

MAPP gas with a turbo-type torch works well for use with the repair rods, much better than propane, IME.

For thin cross-sectional parts, the workpiece can be backed up with a steel scrap or heavy gage sheetmetal to support and align the loose piece into place.

If balancing a rotating part is critical, a small piece of aluminum can be welded on directly across from the repair, then gradually remove material for balancing.. although I doubt that balancing this part would be critical because of the mass of the rotor (the mass of the ass is equal to...).

Since the motor has an integral fan motor, this impeller is merely an assist to air flow, it seems.

As far as the error/difference in caliper measurements, a small error can be expected when measuring bores because the ID jaws have small flats on them (despite the wide chamfer) which don't seat fully in the concave arc of the hole.

Reply to
Wild_Bill

I thought it had already been determined in an earlier thread on this motor that the fan has a separate supply to the main motor and is to be provided with its own supply at 60Hz, or whatever is appropriate, so it provides a constant cooling airflow regardless of the main motor speed.

Reply to
David Billington

The op found that several vanes had been broken off of the original fan.

Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

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