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What IS an electric motor?
In the most basic terms, an electric motor is a machine that can convert electrical energy into mechanical energy by using an electromagnet to create motion. (You can read a more detailed description of how an electric motor works in the link below.)
Electric motors are all around you. If you woke up and ground some coffee, whipped up a smoothie in your blender or used an electric razor or blow dryer this morning, an electric motor helped you start your day. One helped transport you to work if you started your car, and may have even gotten you all the way there if you took a streetcar or drive an all-electric or hybrid vehicle!
Electric motors enable us to clean house (vacuums), preserve food (refrigerators, freezers), wash our clothes (washers, dryers), move water (well and fountain pumps), keep things cool (fans), run power tools (compressors, drills, saws) and manufacture things. There are literally thousands of industrial applications for electric motors.
They come in all sizes—from the tiny, simple motors in a child’s toy, to large industrial motors used in manufacturing. Some of the most powerful motors in the world drive the propellers on the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship and run a wind tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
How does an electric motor work?
This link to HowStuffWorks has a great explanation. With moving pictures and everything.
John couldn’t have said it better himself!
When is it worth repairing a motor?
That can depend on a number of factors. Here are some things to consider:
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What kind of motor is it? Large, expensive or highly specialized motors are almost always cheaper to repair than to replace.
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Is time of the essence? Can you get a new motor right away, or will it be faster to repair it than to order a replacement? If the well pump or other critical piece of equipment goes down, repairing it now may be the best way to get it back up and running quickly.
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Is the rest of the machine the motor powers in good shape? If the motor’s the only thing wrong with a $200 compressor, or a $2000 treadmill, getting it fixed makes sense.
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How attached are you to the thing the motor powers? If you take pride and pleasure in still using your very first table saw or your grandmother’s classic 1952 Singer sewing machine, if you just love an all-metal antique fan, or if that stand mixer in a now-discontinued color went perfectly in your kitchen, why not repair or replace the motor and give that object many more years of useful life (assuming number 3 applies, of course).
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Is the cost of the motor repair less than the cost of a new one? Fixing a $500 sump pump for the price of a new switch and a hour labor ($130)? Totally worth it. Doing a complete motor rebuild on a $30 blender? Probably not (unless number 4 applies).
We’re always happy to take a look for a reasonable bench fee of $35, and give you an estimate on repair costs to help you decide.​
Do I need an AC or DC motor?
DC stands for direct current. AC stands for alternating current. But what exactly do those two terms mean? Basically, with direct current, the electrons or particles that carry the electric charge flow or move in only one direction, and that direction stays the same all the time. With alternating current, the flow of electric charge periodically reverses direction.
When a magnetic field is placed near a wire, electrons are repelled by the negative side and attracted to the positive side of the magnet. This causes them to flow in one direction along the wire, producing direct current. In contrast, systems that generate alternating current, or AC, use a rotating magnet. As the magnet flips direction, so do the electrons.
DC can be stored in a battery, which is then used to power something. Cordless tools, vehicles, and virtually all computers and electronic devices all operate on direct current. AC cannot be stored, but it can be converted to DC by means of an adapter, which is why the charging cord for your laptop or drill has that big box at the plug or along the cord.
AC motors are more efficient than DC motors because they need lower current to operate and have a faster start-up speed than a DC motor that requires more voltage to push it. However, you can better control the speed of a DC motor, which is why they are often used when a slow steady speed is required under load.
​We work on both kinds here at the shop!
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