Electric Motor Maintenance & Repair Guide

Proper maintenance and operation are the keys to getting the most from your general purpose electric motors and other electrical equipment. One should schedule routine preventive maintenance procedures at regular intervals.  Routine maintenance should include lubrication, cleaning the inside and outside of your motor, and electrical and mechanical testing. To be effective, each of these operations must be performed with accuracy and care.

MAINTENANCE & REPAIR TIPS

Lubrication: To relubricate standard duty motors, follow the original manufacturer's specifications. The best time to lube a motor is while it is at running temperature. Remember too much of lubrication is also one of the reasons of premature motor failure. If excessive amount of grease or lubricant is applied, it eventually forced out of the bearing housings and starts dripping over motor windings and internal switches.  

Cleaning: It’s very important to keep the motor in well-to-do-condition by keeping it clean from outside as well as from inside, this includes the totally enclosed-fan cooled motors as well. Keep the air passages clean and dust free so that the motor can dissipate the heat by circulating the cool fresh air throughout it. To assure proper cooling, make certain nothing prevents sufficient amounts of fresh air from reaching your motors  Make sure that your motor is not recirculation the same hot air it pushed out because it's vents are placed to close to a wall or another motor and hot air can't escape.

Replace or Repair: If you are thinking replacement, consider an energy-efficient motor for applications requiring near full output on continuous loads.  The term energy-efficient covers a wide range of efficiencies so carefully check all of the manufacturer’s actual ratings. Repairing a motor often has advantages over replacement.  Some adaptation costs can be high on special mounts so repairing the original motor can save these costs.  In most cases, the insulation system in a rewound motor will have a higher temperature rating which will extend the life of the motor.