I've found a new 2.5 horse d/c variable speed motor with controller from a surplus supply house For $49.95 plus shipping.But it's rated for intermittent use.would this be a waste of money to try to use this for a grinder?I spent all my extra cash on a new grinder,so now I've got a grinder with no motor and no money left to spend on a motor.

If you aren't going to run it 24 hours a day,thenit is intermittent use:) As long as you can put your hand on the motor housing and it is not too hot to touch, you will probably be just fine.

Where did you find a 2.5Hp motor for $49.95??

No kidding! I want one too!:D

What type enclosure does the motor have? Some of the motors from places like the Surplus Center are open framed and are from treadmills. They work OK, I have one on my bandsaw and one on my drill press, but they won't last very long on a grinder, the metal dust just eats them up.
Mike Conner

I found them at Surplus Center, 1-800-488-3407, item number 10-1806.I think one of the reasons it's priced so low is that they have nearly 3000 of them to liquidate.It has an open frame but I'm not too concerned with that because the motor will be under the work table,more or less isolated from the grinding dust.I went ahead and ordered one,what the hell,if it doesn't cut it on the grinder I'm sure I can put it to use somewhere.

Thanks for the info. Open housing? No problem! Just slide some of the better halfs pantyhose over the moter. Change it out every so often. Works great!

I got the motor and controller today.The motor is actually rated for continuous duty at 1.5 hp,but the shaft is metric.(made in Canada).The controller is made by KB Electronics,I called them to get more info and they told me the controller sells for $142! .Even if the motor burns up in a couple of months I think it was a pretty good deal.

Stan, the motor you got, is it a single phase? Is it 120 or 240 volt? Have you tried it yet? Whats the rpm's when its on all the way? Sounds like a good deal even if its a horse and a half. Ray

Ray,The motor is single phase,110 volts.Max speed at 130 volts DC is 6750 rpm(2.5 HP intermittent duty).The controller has a trim pot built into it so you can adjust the DC output,I trimmed it down to 95 volts DC.At this voltage it's 1.5 hp continuous duty running at 4800 rpm.From there I used pulleys to slow it down to the speed I wanted.

Stan, do these folks have a web site?
Thanks,
Dave

I got one too. No website, just the 800 number above. Plan to use it for a 9" disk grinder.