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15 HP Motor Rebuild

Bubbles Galore

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Long story short, I have (4) 15 HP dryer motors that all need rebuilt. They are Baldors, any idea what a rebuild would cost?

Thanks.
 

Earl Weiss

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Don't know if it varies by brand.

IMNSHO not usualy worth it. BUT I just had one rebuilt. Why? It was from my hold Sherman Blower. Motors were proprietary in that the shaft was drilled and tapped. No longer could find such an animal. So, supposedly it was cheaper to rebuild than buy new and try to find a machine shop to drill and tap it..

Bad news was I got a quote of $700.00 and when I went to pick it up I was told they had to send it out for something and they needed $200.00 more.

Since a new AVW 15 horse blower unit (Sans arch) is about $3500.00 If I knew the costs up front (Plus labor of course) it would have been a real incentive to replace the blower.
 
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Long story short, I have (4) 15 HP dryer motors that all need rebuilt. They are Baldors, any idea what a rebuild would cost?

Thanks.
Why do all 4 have to be rebuilt? Just replaced a 10 hp blower motor and it was cheaper to put a new one on rather then rebuild , get a price both ways just my 2 cents.
 

MEP001

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If a motor just needs bearings it's usually not too expensive to have that done. If it's any worse, it can cost you most of what a new one runs.
 

Randy

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Baldor used to be a pretty good motor. We gave up on Baldor about 2 years ago after we got 3 bad motors. Our electric motor guy only sells Lesson now. That’s all we use now.
 

Tom Thumb

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Local repair shop charges around $ 250 if winding are still good, has rebuilt 3 motors for me work great so far.
 

Bubbles Galore

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I went with the Lesson, two new ones for $1600...didn't really want the expense, but whatcha gonna do?
 

Bubbles Galore

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Can someone post or send me a picture of their motor control box for their dryers? I put up the brand new Leeson's last night and am getting the same results with the motors tripping the breakers. I need to do some comparisons against the way mine is set up. Thanks!
 
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Can someone post or send me a picture of their motor control box for their dryers? I put up the brand new Leeson's last night and am getting the same results with the motors tripping the breakers. I need to do some comparisons against the way mine is set up. Thanks!
What voltage do you have the motors wired for, have you checked the connection diagram on the motor to make sure. You are triping the breaker or is the motor starter triping out? Do you have a picture of your starter set up? Do they start up and then trip out, if they do have you checked rotation?
 

Waxman

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Bubbles;

Email me later and I will get out my blowers manual and look at the schematic with you.
 

Bubbles Galore

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Keep in mind, I'm only running 2 15 hp motors. I have my motors wired for low voltage (230 V). I have a 100 amp breaker in my main panel going out to my dryer enclosure in the bay. From there it goes from a distribution block into a 50 amp breaker (each motor is on an individual breaker) and then into the contractor/starter. When I try to manually push in the contactor, it trips the breaker instantly. I get a very small amount of rotation on the individual motor, but that is it...any ideas?
 

Washmee

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Keep in mind, I'm only running 2 15 hp motors. I have my motors wired for low voltage (230 V). I have a 100 amp breaker in my main panel going out to my dryer enclosure in the bay. From there it goes from a distribution block into a 50 amp breaker (each motor is on an individual breaker) and then into the contractor/starter. When I try to manually push in the contactor, it trips the breaker instantly. I get a very small amount of rotation on the individual motor, but that is it...any ideas?
Sound like a dead short to me. Did you check the wires to make sure there are no short circuits? Disconnect the motors and manually engage the contacts in the motor starter. Does the breaker trip if the motors are not hooked up? If so, disconnect the wires to the motors at both the starter and the motor. Then use a continuity tester between the wires to see if one of them is rubbed through and touching a grounded surface or another open wire in the conduit. If not, then make sure you have the motor leads connected for the correct voltage. One other thing, I have 60 amp breakers for my 15hp blowers.
 

MEP001

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Double-check the wiring of the motors themselves. You should have 1&7 together with one line lead, 2&8 on another and 3&9 on the third. 4, 5 and 6 wire together and connect to nothing.
 

Bubbles Galore

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I checked the motors and they are both wired up perfect. Could it be that my 50A breaker is seeing more than that on startup and that is why the breaker is tripping?
 

Waxman

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Surely you have an electrician who helps you in a bind, right? At the point you are at, I would call a 'sparky' for on-site help with this.
 
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