Ahhhh!!!! Much quieter!!!!!!!

[Alan in Little Washington]

My big DC motor has been getting louder and louder- it still ran OK for a 22 year-old unit that was used hard. I got it from a Lumber and millwork shop that used it hard before they went out of business. Last Friday, the motor started making even more, really suspicious, nasty noises, so I unbolted and removed the cyclone, then lowered the motor/blower to the floor from its 10' high mount against the garage wall. I removedthe impeller then the motor from the base and took it to my shop to replace the bearings. One bearing was all torn up- pieces of the metal shield were scattered around inside the case!!! The other bearing was intact but in bad shape.

A local machine shop wouldn't pull the bearings while I waited, so I got a loaner bearing puller from AutoZone and pulled them myself. I bought replacement bearings from an Auto parts/machine shop and installed them. I put everything back together, mounted the motor/blower back on the wall, then mounted the cyclone.

When I powered it up, first of all it worked fine, but just as important, I couldn't believe how quiet it was compared to what it sounded like before!!!!! The motor is good to go for another 22 years!!

My wife and I did all the lowering and lifting! Not a problem since I installed it on stilts!

 

[ptt49er]

Don't ya love it when it's something simple like that?

I'm sure your ears feel better already!

 

[jeff...]

A local machine shop wouldn't pull the bearings while I waited, so I got a loaner bearing puller from AutoZone and pulled them myself. I bought replacement bearings from an Auto parts/machine shop and installed them.

I knew there was a reason I like you Alan - I just couldn't put my finger on it. :gar-La;Replacing bearings is no trivial task, especially big bearings. Jim, as always taught me something new... just a thin film of anti-seize makes quick work when it comes to pressing bearings into place.

 

[Travis Porter]

I thought you had a clearvue.....?

How big of a motor is that? Single phase?

Did you build the cyclone or have it built?

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

I thought you had a clearvue.....?

How big of a motor is that? Single phase?

Did you build the cyclone or have it built?

ClearVue is nice, but too pricey* for my blood as are all commercial cyclones(I did buy a ClearVue mini on sale last year). The motor is only 3 hp (but a true 3 hp), single phase, but the sucker is heavy. The blower has a 14" impeller and the thing sucks great.

I built the cyclone- 26 ga. galvanized from a local HVAC guy and some soldering with a propane torch and a big old soldering iron. It is based on the Pentz design, except it is what is called a 3D - the cone height is 3 X the diameter of the cylinder. Most cyclones based on the Pentz design are 1.64 D. A 3D is supposedly better than a 1.64D at separating out the fines. There aren't many 3D's out there (I don't know of any others) mainly because they are very tall and hard to fit into many shops.

*I removed the motor/blower from a very old Grizzly bag style DC. I paid $200 for it on Ebay and disposed of the bags and bag unit. I built the cyclone for $50 in sheet metal and some scrap 3/4" ply. Total cost for a great DC- less than $300 + $40 for new bearings!:icon_thum

 

[ErnieM]

Alan,

Glad you were able to quiet the beast down ..... I could hear it from my house.

Ernie