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Guidelines for Maintaining Motor Efficiency
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The challenge for every motor repair firm is twofold: to 4. Dont short the laminations when grinding or
repair the equipment properly; and to demonstrate to their filing.
customers by means of adequate testing and documenta- 5. Dont increase the air gap.
tion that rewound motors retain their operating efficiency.
Following the guidelines in the DOs and DONTs below 6. Dont increase the resistance of the stator
will help you accomplish both. windings.
Numerous studies have been done to determine the ef- 7. Dont knurl, peen or paint bearing fits.
fect rewinding has on motor efficiency. These studies 8. Dont make mechanical modifications without the
identified several variables that can impact the efficiency customers prior approval.
of a rewound motor, including core burnout temperature,
winding design, bearing type, air gap and winding resis- What follows is a discussion of the individual points.
tance. The following guidelines were developed as a result
of those studies, which found that the efficiency of both DO:
standard and energy efficient electric motors can be main-
tained during rebuilding and rewinding. 1. Have a quality assurance program. Be sure that your
suppliers are shipping you what you ordered. Measure
To ensure that motors retain their efficiencies when re- your wire to be sure the spools are properly marked.
wound, EASA also strongly recommends that electric motor Check your lead wire and insulating materials for proper
repair centers comply with EASA Recommended Practice size. Maintain written documentation of your tests, and
For The Repair Of Rotating Electrical Apparatus and strictly especially of your stripping and bake oven tempera-
adhere to the DOs and DONTs that follow. These guide- ture cycles and times. Test your varnish at the intervals
lines, which contain safe values (based on available data) recommended by the varnish manufacturer.
and correct procedures, apply to both energy efficient and
standard motors. Further study of the matter continues, and 2. Implement a calibration program that will assure
these guidelines will be revised if additional information the accuracy of all measuring and test equipment.
warrants. Have your instruments calibrated at least annually by
an instrument testing service whose calibration is trace-
able to National Institute of Standards & Technology
DO: (NIST), National Research Council of Canada (NRC)
1. Have a quality assurance program. or an equivalent standards laboratory. For core test-
ing, use test instruments that read true rms values
2. Implement a calibration program that will assure
because core test voltage and currents may contain
the accuracy of all measuring and test equipment.
harmonics.
3. Conduct a stator core test before and after
3. Conduct a stator core test before and after strip-
stripping.
ping. Record the before and after core test readings
4. Repair or replace all defective laminations. and retain them as proof to your customer that you
5. Evaluate the impact on efficiency before changing have not damaged the core.
the winding design. If you do not have a core tester, follow the procedure
6. Measure and record winding resistance and room outlined in EASA Tech Note 17 (also contained in Sec-
temperature. tion 8 of the EASA Technical Manual.) To test for core
loss using this method, you must connect a single-
7. Measure and record amperes and voltage during
phase wattmeter in the circuit. You must also adjust
the final test.
the induced voltage to the value used in your calcula-
tions. It is also important to make sure that the coil
DONT: used for the after test duplicates as closely as pos-
sible the one used for the before test.
1. Dont overheat the stator core.
4. Repair or replace all defective laminations. Sepa-
2. Dont use an open flame for stripping.
rate all shorted laminations. When restacking a core,
3. Dont sandblast the core iron. use a coreplate varnish on one side of the laminations,
1
Guidelines for Maintaining Motor Efficiency
2
Guidelines for Maintaining Motor Efficiency
do not use a wire gauge to determine wire size. The possibly increase the temperature rise. Making me-
total circular mil area of the conductors-in-hand should chanical modifications to bearings and seals can affect
not be reduced. No change should be made that friction losses. Altering shaft material can also affect
changes the effective turns of the windings. rotor core losses. The result in each case could be
Before disturbing the winding, carefully measure and lower efficiency.
record the coil dimensions: inside nose-to-nose; span;
CONCLUSION
core length and coil extensions. Count the turns care-
fully, being sure to count the turns in a full group. If you Following the above guidelines and complying with EASA
find different turns in coils of the same group, check Recommended Practice For The Repair Of Rotating Appa-
another group for same pattern. ratus will help assure that the motors you rewind and repair
When making replacement coils, measure the wire after retain the same efficiency. By adhering to these guidelines,
the first group of coils has been wound. Too much ten- you will also have the appropriate documentation to dem-
sion can stretch the wire, thereby decreasing its onstrate the quality of your work to your customers.
diameter and increasing resistance and stator copper
losses.
7. Dont knurl, peen or paint bearing fits. Bearing fits
should not be knurled, peened or painted because they
could become loose in service. Loose fits increase fric-
tion losses and cause early bearing failure.
8. Dont make mechanical modifications without the
customers prior approval. Changes to the fan can Note: First published in May 1992; revised in September
adversely affect the cooling system of the motor and 1999.
L APPA
ICA R
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Electrical Apparatus Service Association, Inc.
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EA SA 1331 Baur Boulevard St. Louis, MO 63132 U.S.A. (314) 993-2220 Fax (314) 993-1269 www.easa.com
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SSOC Reliable Solutions Today! Version 999PDF - Copyright 1999
Copyright 1999 by EASA