Scrounging Washer Motor

The value of the washing machine motor will become clear on the day that the owner of the drill press you are looking at says,

"It probably ain't worth much....having no motor, and all. Why don't you just give me ten bucks for it."

That has happened several times to me with different machinery, and I always happened to have a salvaged motor stashed away somewhere that was "just right" for it.

yah, but the Neptune is one of those high-efficiency, infinitely-variable speed, reversible front-loader affairs. It has a motor which appears to be a DC servo motor with tach output. Certainly, it's a cheaper type than the Bodine servos I hooked out of a computer tape drive, but still pretty sophisticated technology for a washing machine.

LLoyd

Did a washer motor fit a drill press???

The ones I saw would be hard to mount on anything.

i

You must free your soul and quell those pack-ratish thoughts. Throw----stuff----out!!!

Ignoramus29901 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.alt.net:

You just have to build a mount if you can't find on e at the local junk yard. I have done it many times. The harder part for a drill press IMHO is replacing (making) a return spring.

then it is just easier to buy a regular foot mounted motor, I bought one for $10 recently (on ebay, no shipping). Why bother with this washing machine junk.

i

sorry, forgot to say 1 HP.

As far as I can tell from the circuit diagrams and wires, the Neptune washer has a genuine

3-phase 120vac motor and a genuine baby VFD drive made by Panasonic or the likes. That is, for the 1st gen Neptune, your mileage may vary.

I'm sure I could figure it out if it were in front of me, but I can't be of much help over the internet.

I'll give you $20 for it as-is.

The Maytag neptune has a switched reluctor motor. You can look it up, but it's basically a DC servo. It takes a very special drive.

Maytag wouldn't cover the washer? The only time I ever called them I was pleasently surprised with how helpful and courteous they were. 10 yr warranty on everything. I don't know, but labor probably wasnt' covered. But I told them what the problem was(blown motor drive) and they said stop by, the parts will be at the front desk(local service center). Gave me a whole new drive and motor. No questions asked.

FWIW - I kept the old motor and drive(looks like it blew a FET), but haven't ever come up with anything to try it on. I have too many higher priority projects for now.

JW

========== I don't have the URL handy, but special mounts are made to do this. A large hose clamp or two holds the motor in a cradle that has the standard slotted footprint.

Unka' George (George McDuffee) .............................. Only in Britain could it be thought a defect to be "too clever by half." The probability is that too many people are too stupid by three-quarters.

John Major (b. 1943), British Conservative politician, prime minister. Quoted in: Observer (London, 7 July 1991).

WTF went wrong with American products?

My family all have American made washers and dryers 10 to 20 years old that are still going strong.

Did Maytag have a death wish?

Unka' George (George McDuffee) .............................. Only in Britain could it be thought a defect to be "too clever by half." The probability is that too many people are too stupid by three-quarters.

John Major (b. 1943), British Conservative politician, prime minister. Quoted in: Observer (London, 7 July 1991).

Switched *reluctance*, if you're looking it up. It's similar to a DC

*brushless* motor, which is essentially a 3-phase AC synchronous motor with a feedback device to control commutation. My very hazy understanding is that the main difference between a DC brushless motor and a switched reluctance motor is that the brushless motor has PM magnets on the rotor, while the magnetic field in the switched reluctance motor's rotor is induced by the stator windings.

I doubt the Neptune's motor is worth much without the controller that goes with it. I have experimented successfully with using a brushless motor as a synchronous motor by driving it with a VFD for a system that required very tight speed control of high speed spindle. (A vector drive and a high-freq induction motor proved to be a better solution.) I have no idea whether a VFD would work with the switched reluctance motor, but I can't think of any practical reason to try, either.

Ned Simmons

Nah. They were just bought out by Whirlpool along with all of these companies: KitchenAid Jenn-Air Amana Gladiator GarageWorks Inglis Estate Roper Magic Chef Acros Supermatic

Having seen the insides of most of the Whirlpool appliances that came with my house, I can certainly understand why your Maytag died. Circuit boards with cold solder joints; drip trays to catch the leaks coming from the spring hose clamps on plastic fittings; brass against steel connections; plastic everywhere a mechanical system is used; to name a few of the design/manufacturing flaws.

When you choose a replacement brand, you might want to look at a brand not listed. Also be aware that Whirlpool makes most of the Kenmore brand (Sears) appliances.

Gary

Maytag: never again

i

The one I am using did.....Maybe it isn't really a one-third-horse washing machine motor?

My D.P. was given to me by my father, who had it as a part of an old Delta Rockwell "Combination" table saw/jointer/drill press.

It was designed to bolt onto the side of the saw table, and a belt would run back off the spindle, over a couple of idler pulleys then down to the table saw motor.

It's an open frame motor, but it clamped right into a saddle-type of motor mount, which then bolted onto the bracket that was originally used for the idler pulleys.

Maybe it wasn't really a washing machine motor to start with, but it sure looks like the one I replaced a couple of times in my wife's old washer.

I still have all the original pulleys in case somebody spots this D.P. in my shop and cannot live without it in their Delta Rockwell "Combination:" saw restoration.....LOL!!

BTW - The old Delta Rockwell bandsaw I recently bought for $20 at a lawn sale - which is about the same vintage as my D.P. - is powered by a quarter-horse motor that says "Maytag" right on it.

This particular motor looks quite old, and it had a flat plate attached to the motor housing that has four holes with which to bolt it down....

I don't remember what brand the D.P. motor is.

Don't forget, you can make your own (much stronger) by killing some hydrochloric acid with a handful of zinc. (I presume you have zinc lying around if you're galvanising stuff.) Otherwise use scrap galvanised steel.

Cheers

-- Jeff R.

Sounds interesting. I am getting ready to take my DP out from the basement to the garage, and to replace its stock motor with a 2 HP motor and a VFD. I am hoping that this combo would let me do a lot of drilling and tapping without having to change belts.

i

======================= From the description of the Neptune washer it appears that this was needless technical elaboration raised to an art form. The "girls gone wild" videos aren't bad, but this edition of "engineers gone wild" looks like another bummer in that sorry series.

Are the high-line European or Japanese units this technically sophisticated? Was this an attempt to one-up or match? Did Maytag "recycle" a bunch of aero-space or NASA engineers?

Does anyone have a copy of the Neptune "product charter" or "design specifications?" Should be a case study in every engineering and business school in the country. Most likely considerable material for the Abnormal Psych and Industrial Sociology classes also. The Attic Greeks had it right when they observed "Those who the gods would destroy, they first make proud."

Unka' George (George McDuffee) .............................. Only in Britain could it be thought a defect to be "too clever by half." The probability is that too many people are too stupid by three-quarters.

John Major (b. 1943), British Conservative politician, prime minister. Quoted in: Observer (London, 7 July 1991).

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 20:20:18 +0000 (UTC), with neither quill nor qualm, Ignoramus29901 quickly quoth:

Magic Chef washer and dryer by Maytag: Never Again!

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