The 3hp motor on my Grizzly G0441 Cylone failed around Jan 1st this year. I was working hard to finish the flooring in the new basement room, so was doing a lot of cutting and fitting over a 7 hour workday.
This cyclone was installed in 2007: Delivery, installation, duct work, and enclosure links…
I just left the cyclone running all day as I worked. Each row of flooring required cuts on each end and then lots of work around the door frames.
At the end of the day I smelled something that was NOT right. I turned off the cyclone. When I turned it back on it was making a noise that is typical of a bad bearing. I immediately turned the unit off. Opened the enclosure to make sure noting was actually burning. Got my ladder and checked the motor ( 9 feet up ). It was too hot to touch. So I just stopped for the day.
So the search for a solution begins. Did the normal GOOGLE thing hunting for any posts or other stories. Called Google. New motor is $550+. Ouch ! I searched for motor repair shops in Atlanta. Found a couple of big companies. From way back in the brain, I remembered
So I contacted North Atlanta Motor Repair. One guy in a very cluttered shop. Lots of motors and 30 years of experience. Told him my problem, of course he says bring it in. He is about 15 miles from me. In Atlanta Metro area, that is like next door. He is hidden in a industrial building behind the ACE Hardware.
So 5 days later, the motor is ready. When I picked up the motor he was very nice and took time to talk to me. The bearing got so hot he had to cut it off with a torch. Put new bearings on both end. I told him I had run the motor for 7 hours. Pointed out the “continuous” on the motor. He laughed and told me never to run that motor for 7 hours. he also pointed out the motor is very long so the shaft can move.
Brought the motor back home and in about 3-4 hours had it installed and running.
So what did I learn ????
- The price we pay for our “hobby” grade equipment in our woodworking shops reflects the duty cycle of the equipment. I never expected the motor to fry a bearing. But, everything fails eventually.
- When you install equipment, always design so you can easily remove the motor and other moving parts of equipment.
- This stuff is heavy, be careful.
- Sometimes it is much better to pay people to fix things, like electric motors.
- North Atlanta motor, is a owner run business that is the backbone of America.
North Atlanta Electric Motor
4945 Atlanta Highway # D
Alpharetta, GA 30004
770 740-1982
