Wiring question OR I don't want to fry my motor!

2511 Views 15 Replies 5 Participants Last post by unklerichie, Dec 10, 2012

unklerichie

Discussion Starter · Dec 5, 2012

8

I spent $200 on this motor and capacitor and I'm hoping for some assurance from one of you pros out there before I wire it incorrectly and kill it.
Photo 1: The motor and capacitor. Photo 2/3: Plate info on motor. Photo 4: Info from capacitor. Is this correct---> I think I should connect the black wire from the 110VAC power source to the black and blue wires on the motor, connect the white wire from the power source to the yellow wire from the motor, and the white wire also to one side of the capacitor, connect the other side of the capacitor to the red wire from the motor. As for grounding everything, if I connect the ground from the power source to the metal frame of the piece I'm building, would I also need a ground coming off the motor? Maybe under one of the motor mounting screws?
All advice appreciated. Thanks for your time.
unklerichie

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micromind

· #2 · Dec 5, 2012

This is a fairly simple hookup;

Connect one of the 120 volt AC incoming lines the blue and black.

Connect the other incoming line to and one side of the capacitor. This would be one of the 3 spade terminals on either the left side as shown in the pic, or the right. It doesn't matter.

Connect the other side of the capacitor to red.

Connect the ground wire of the incoming line to the frame of the motor. There's usually a green screw for this purpose.

You can use wirenuts for the wire connections, for the capacitor, use .250 push-on spade terminals.

To be a bit safer, I'd connect the hot (usually black) of the incoming line to blue and black. This would leave the neutral (usually white) connected to the capacitor. The neutral is grounded, so there'd be no voltage at one of the capacitor terminals. The other one would have voltage to ground, be sure to insulate both.

Rob

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unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 6, 2012

Thanks Rob!

Thank you for your help Rob. I'm feeling good about this now.:thumbup:

TTW

· #4 · Dec 6, 2012

be careful with the capacitor, those suckers will hold enough charge, even when off, to give you a very nasty shock! Mount it in such a way that the terminals are not exposed and easily touched by accident.

unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 7, 2012

Capacitor discharge?

Thank you TTW. I purchased a capacitor mounting kit for this and it includes a rubber seal that fits over the spade terminals so they will be protected. But if I'm working on things and need to discharge the capacitor, is there a safe way to do this? Or does the charge eventually dissipate? How long would it take?
Thanks.

TTW

· #6 · Dec 7, 2012

Just short it out with a screwdriver. It'll discharge pretty much instantly. Might get a nice little spark.

I've been bit badly twice, the first time I was troubleshooting a 220 volt window AC unit, . I reached in to feel the temperature of the suction line and my palm hit both terminals of the starting capacitor, while it was running.

Knocked me back about 10 feet and actually cooked some of the muscle in my hand. Painful as hell. Spent that evening drinking beer to kill the pain with my hand in the ice in the cooler.

I am damn careful around capacitors.

unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 7, 2012

One more question please... would a rocker type switch be okay to install on the black wire between the wall and the black/blue wires of the motor in the setup described in the reply (micromind) to my original post?
Thanks again.

TTW

· #8 · Dec 7, 2012

You mean like a standard wall sw or a small toggle sw?

Either would be fine as long as they are rated for 1 amp or more.

What are you making?

unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 7, 2012

It's the type of switch pictured below. I'm building a prop with a simple conveyor belt kind of motion. It's a treadmill that I stripped down, scrapped the electronics and the motor that came with it, and bought a gearmotor from Grainger. I had to have a shaft adapter machined so I could use the original pulley and belt setup. Using the treadmill allowed me to have the bearings and belt and frame already assembled. I just had to hook up an appropriate motor for a slow, constant speed for 16 hours on 8 hours off. I haven't actually had it running yet. I'll be wiring it in the morning. I'm hoping for the best.

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unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 7, 2012

I need a little more clarification. I've followed Rob's direction and I'm unclear where to hook up the yellow wire from the motor. Does it need to come of the capacitor like the red wire from the motor or do I need to connect it directly to the white line in and bypass the capacitor? This is my last connection before I turn it on. Thanks.
Rich

Techy

· #11 · Dec 7, 2012

direct to white

Reactions: 1

unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 7, 2012

IT LIVES! IT LIVES! Thanks for your help everybody. Everything works as planned. Love this web site.:thumbsup:

jbfan

· #13 · Dec 7, 2012

unklerichie said:
IT LIVES! IT LIVES! Thanks for your help everybody. Everything works as planned. Love this web site.:thumbsup:

We need pics of the monster.:whistling2:

Reactions: 1

TTW

· #14 · Dec 7, 2012

Yes Pics please!

unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #15 · Dec 10, 2012 (Edited)

I'll post a pic of the finished piece in a bit...first, one more question: The motor in this piece is not connected to the metal frame. It's mounted to the wood structure. So I ran the ground from the line in to the metal frame and then a second wire from the frame to one of the screws on the metal mounting bracket I used for the motor. Here's a pic of my setup. Is this safe? The blue wire coming from underneath is coming off the switch I installed (not black like the line in would be w/o the switch) and I used a plastic box to house the two wire nut connections (don't know if this is necessary). I'll be putting a cover on it. Look okay?
Thanks!

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unklerichie

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 10, 2012

Not quite finished yet. (I blurred out the logo on the side since I don't have my client's permission to use this pic.) The brown paper is temporarily covering the conveyor belt that will have the store's product on it. Should be complete in a couple more days.
Thanks for your help and your interest!
Rich

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