Is Baldor motor quality dropping?

[luke_barber70]

I just had a second 5 hp Baldor motor on a blower fail. This one has not even been used a year. Both failed motors look identical. I'm not sure if Baldor mislabeled a 1-phase with a 3 phase plate? But the electrician would notice it during wiring, right? My understanding was Baldor is the top motor line in the US. The motor in question is, http://www.clrwtr.com/PDF/Baldor/Baldor-3-Phase-Totally-Enclosed-Foot-Mounted.pdf

 

[MEP001]

You can replace a 3-phase motor with a single-phase, but the motor wouldn't fail because of that. The wiring and controls would be grossly undersized and that's what would fail.

I've heard others say the same, that Baldor's quality has gone downhill.

 

[Greg Pack]

I too have heard baldor quality has gone down.

Yes, the electrician would notice.

I did read an article about how a bad ground will destroy the bearings on a three phase rather quickly. What specific kind of failure is it?

 

[cmawash]

found failure rate on single phase baldor units excessive had 5 5hp single unit 3 failed in a year quality is way down excessive current draw or start winding failures.

 

[MEP001]

I've read that running a motor well under its rated peak power can cause it to run too hot and can shorten its life. Everyone builds SS equipment with 5 HP motors, I replace them with 3 HP and they don't seem to have the same failure rate.