Fan Motor failure

[spimps]

I seem to have problems with ELCO fan motors.
Bought about 30 in an offer 3 0r 4 years ago and have now changed approx 75% which have failed,used ma-vib for replacement.
Fitted a cellar cooler which I was called back to in less than 2 years because of excessive noise and again replace the two ELCO evap motors,sadly with the same make as they are unusual blade mounting length,plus was under pressure so will be back there in a couple of years I expect.
Just had a 2 year old fosters freezer with both ELCO syncronous evaporator motors having failed,wont be replacing them like for like either.
I bought the offer cheap and as always we get a kick up the backside,"buy cheap buy twice",why didn't I remember that one!
Hate tattoos but might have that on the back of my hand just to remind me next time I'm tempted by what appear to be bargains.

[al]

To be honest i'm amazed if i get more than a year out of these multifits, bugger all choice here though unless i import something, where do you get ma-vib from?

al

[spimps]

Sussex Refigeration Wholesale
telephone 01273455530
WWW.SRW.co.uk
Speak to Jamie

[al]

Thank you!

al

[cadwaladr]

ebm,nothing better.

[spimps]

Iroughly worked out that a couple of 10watt evap motors would cost just short of £2-50 a monthe on constant run.
50% saving with syncronous - £1-25.
£15 a year saving.
At least they have saved up £30-00 towards my bill in the two years they have had it,don't think that will quiet cover it though!
Progress is a strange animal to understand sometimes.
Time I retired perhaps!

[Moomin23]

We have Vanstox multifits on offer at www.pentlandparts.co.uk if they're any good to you. They seem to have been very reliable since we introduced them.

[chemi-cool]

As said before, EBM are the best!

"The bitter taste of low quality, remains long after the sweetness of the low price has been forgotten"

[Andy AC]

[QUOTE=

"The bitter taste of low quality, remains long after the sweetness of the low price has been forgotten"[/QUOTE]

I like that Chemi, it just about sums up all recent fridge cabinets and lg a/c units

[charlie patt]

you will find the issue being most of these motors are phosurus bronze bushed, i had a issue withe the same elco/ polestar then they issued a rubber bush to fit on the shaft to reduce dirt entry also very critical to fill the holes on the front i also found out they reduced the temp range of the fans, i now fit roller bearing motors on condensors and standard on evaps with the bush and fill the holes in the front of the motor you will also find they sell a ring mount for freezers that fail if evap at minus 29 great on a freezer room thats what they limit it to work at. 5 years ago just used to fit phosuru s motors with no issues all to do with cut back and costs

[monkey spanners]

Been fitting Polestar motors (which used to be part of elco i think) but spec them with ballbearings. Not had one fail yet but may be too soon to say.

The problem with the bronze bush motors is they ain't bronze any more but steel, have taken failed ones apart and checked with a magnet,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbL2-aP_SdQ

[essex boy]

Try using the pump house ones from climate, very reliable and think even fosters now using them

[Pole Star]

Yes we at Pole Star used to own 50% of Elco UK until the recent Elco buyout by Regal Beloit. We are never happy with any returns however due to the huge volume Elco make (50,000 per day in Italy alone) making changes to the design was troublesome. As a result we released our own dual NMB ball bearing multi-fit.

A sleeve bearing motor of today is not in our opinion to the same standard some ten years ago, the step up in quality from a sleeve is a ball bearing and the very best design is a unit bearing motor (more popular in the USA). In our catalogue there is a page (10.1) which is devoted to the sleeve vs ball bearing discussion (you can download if from our website if it is of interest to you).

A few key points with sleeve motors which people often do not realise are that you will get premature failure if you mount your motor beyond a 45degree angle off horizontal, sleeve motors rely on end float and beyond that angle it is reduced which stops the grease recirculating.

Fosters use mainly Elco motors for their cabient applications with some of ours for their new projects. They do sell Pump House multi-fit spares labelled as their own. However Climate now stock our ball bearing.

Regards
Pole Star

[al]

In fairness Polestar, that bit of not mounting beyond 45degrees would explain the failures i see on open deck displays, does this rule sleeve motors out for cold room evaporators etc?

al

[Magoo]

I agree with Chemi.., EBM everytime, this energy saving stuff is more fizz and burn. Give it tens years and they may get it right.

[Pole Star]

In fairness Polestar, that bit of not mounting beyond 45degrees would explain the failures i see on open deck displays, does this rule sleeve motors out for cold room evaporators etc?

al

A standard sleeve bearing motor is either IP42 or IP44 depending on the enclosure and temperature rating you will find is -30 or -40 to +40 depending on which grease is used, but again the angle of operation will affect the longevity.

A ball bearing motor has no preference as to which angle is used as it does not depend upon recirculating grease in order to operate at its full potential, also since they are sealed for life you will also eliminate failures do to dust ingress into the grease via the front end shield. Elco did bring out a "slinger washer" which did reduce their number of failures for this reason.

I will PM you al a link to our download page so you can all the "pro's and cons" of ball bearing vs sleeve.

I agree with Chemi.., EBM everytime, this energy saving stuff is more fizz and burn. Give it tens years and they may get it right.

EBM are definitely the benchmark when it comes to quality and as a result the cost of EBM products reflects this. There is always a balancing act when manufacturing products, it is possible to make a unit bearing multi-fit which would run for many years, however the cost would be greater and I know several customers who would take the approach that a motor that lasts too long is not good for their business.

When EBM/Elco/Mavib supply to OEMs the key factor is always cost, which sadly is the way of the world at present.


regards
Pole Star

[spimps]

Trouble is once you have problems with a particular brand/make then generally you dont go there again.
I could have returned faul;ty ones to supplier and tried for credit ect but thethought of the hassle and chasing what were relatively low cost items I took the hit, plus customers shouldn't feel any impact of those types pf problems so infast and sort it out, plus if customers dont pick up the problem early trhen damage through overheating and head pressure could damage compressor.
Another supplier recently introduced "own brand" condenser motors which they pushed but not for me thanks!
How can you be sure other than sticking to what you know has been decent in the past,hopefully they dont start downgrading quality in the future.