johnthegood Posted August 27, 2009 Report Share Posted August 27, 2009 Hi folks - Please forgive my total ignorance aboout my own question here. I have an old conveyor motor - 115vac, 3.4 amp, 60 Hz, 260 watts. I have it connected to a start capacitor that says 370V, 60 Hz. (at least I think it's just a start capacitor) At any rate, this capacitor doesn't always seem to work. I am wondering what the most powerful capacitor is that I can use with this particular motor? I would also appreciate if anyone could explain in the simplest terms (I'm a carpenter not a motor guy) how I would go about figuring this out for myself, should I ever need to. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuri Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 Hello. Capacitors "have" capacitance mentioned on them. Units of capacitance for motors are micropharads - mF. What has yours on its side written? (it may be 20 mF, for instance). Why do you think it is bad - the motor does not work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marke Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 Hello johnthegood welcome to the forum. If a capacitor gods bad, you replace it with the same capacitor rating. You can not "supe up" the motor by changing the capacitor. Too small or too big a capacitor will degrade the performance of the motor. Unfortunately, it is not a simple calculation unless you know a lot about the motor. It is best to rely on the expertise of the motor manufacturer and just use the one that they specify. Best regards, Mark. Mark Empson | administratorSkype Contact = markempson | phone +64 274 363 067LMPForum | Power Factor | L M Photonics Ltd | Empson family | Advanced Motor Control Ltd | Pressure Transducers | Smart Relay | GSM Control | Mark Empson Website | AuCom | Soft Starters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnthegood Posted August 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Hello johnthegood welcome to the forum. If a capacitor gods bad, you replace it with the same capacitor rating. You can not "supe up" the motor by changing the capacitor. Too small or too big a capacitor will degrade the performance of the motor. Unfortunately, it is not a simple calculation unless you know a lot about the motor. It is best to rely on the expertise of the motor manufacturer and just use the one that they specify. Best regards, Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnthegood Posted August 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Thanks mark and yuri - The writing on the capacitor is pretty difficult to read but i think it also says 25 uf +/- 6% 70deg. celcius. When I say that the the capacitor doesn't work I mean that sometimes it will start the machine that it runs and sometimes it needs me to coax it a little in order to get it moving. Just a small amount of "elbow grease" and the drive shaft starts turning. The capacitor looks like it could be be twice the age of the motor - I'm not sure whoever paired these two was certain that they were the right combination. Thanks again for the response, I appreciate the help very much. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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