Electric Motor Wholesale? Not good

[Danny7]

Has anyone had any luck with Electric Motor Wholesale out of Delaware? I called them and asked for a motor for my 2x72 sander and they recommend a motor that I went ahead and ordered. After getting the motor and installing it I now see that the motor bogs down and has no torque it comes to a stop as soon as I put metal on the belt.

I have called and left 3 voicemails since Monday, and I have sent a few email to customer service and no one will respond.

i feel like they just hope I go away. After spending almost $400 You would think they would try to help resolve this, especially since it’s what they recommend.

if anyone has someone that they can recommend to get a motor from (with better customer service) please let me know.

Thanks for your help.

[M&J]

What motor and spec did they recommend?
I have Baldor and Leeson motors with some Taiwanese stuff in the big drill press and bandsaw. One Chinesium 1/2 HP motor in the smaller drill press.

There is probably a local supplier near you. If not places like K&G or Tru Grit are reputable shops for knifemakers.

https://www.knifeandgun.com/Default.asp
http://www.trugrit.com/

[Danny7]

They recommended a Marathon 2HP- 3 phase to work with my VFD, 3490 RPM
TEFC. I’m not sure how to see what the toque is on this motor but every time I try to push a blade a little hard on the belt it just slowed down to a point that it’s not able to move the metal.
It’s shocking that the sales rep said he knows belt sanders and sounded like he was sure it would be great. Now they email me saying I can’t return the one they screwed up and sold me, but they will be happy to sale me another motor that will work for sure this time... trust us...lol lol lol
And it’s only $455.00.... they are saying this price is below cost... wow

[M&J]

I'm not familiar with 3 phase and VFD compatibility. There are other makers here that run 3 phase, hopefully they chime in.

[Ed Caffrey]

What you've got is a VFD issue....NOT a motor issue. What you described often happens with the internal jumpers and/or trim pots inside a VFD .....at least inside a GOOD VFD. I'm hoping you didn't purchase one of the cheap VFDs (the ones with air vents on the case, and a small readout screen with "touchpad" up and down arrows? If you have one of those, it will only work with the specific motor it was design with.

Now, IF you have a KBAC controller, that will work with any motor with the units HP rating range..... all you need is the user manual....it will explain all the internal settings.

Post up the brand/model of VFD you have, and I can give you more information.

[Danny7]

Hi Ed, and thanks for the reply.
I have a KBAC-29 VFD. So far what I have changed was the HP jumper, It was on 3HP for the older motor but the new one is 2HP. I also changed the motor speed jumper to 1x the rated speed. The new motor is 3490. The old motor was 1725 so I had it set to 2x rated speed. I haven’t changed anything else. I read a little about trimpot setting but I wasn’t sure about them so I didn’t mess with them. After I made those changes it helped a very small amount and it still bogs down when it’s set to anything above 60% speed and with little pressure.
Any advice would be greatly accomplished.

Thanks
Dan

[Ed Caffrey]

I was just browsing through the 29D VFD manual, thinking about your situation. Based on what you've already done, and what you're describing.... I'm convinced that if you read up on, and start tweaking the trim pots.....you'll get it worked out.

I tried looking up the motor, but couldn't find it. Every time I read that it's a 3490rpm motor, I kinda cringe..... maybe because I've never worked with one of those rpm motors connected to a VFD.

That being said, I've found the folks at Wholesale motor to be knowledgeable and helpful.... in all the years I've dealt with them, I can only remember having to leave a message twice....and it was a few days before they called back. Keep trying.... I suspect that if you can talk to one of their tech people....they'll have the problem diagnosed, and give you a fix in no time. Keep us posted on what happens!

[Danny7]

Thanks for looking into it Ed, they have told me that there lead tech said there was nothing else that could make that motor operate any better or any other changes to make on the VFD. They have offered to sell me a motor that will do the intended job at coast.... but this will make it $700.00 for 1 running belt sander and a spare motor I don’t have any use for.
Not a good situation to explain to the accountant/wife lol
Still upset that they recommended a motor for a belt sander..... that they are now saying won’t do the job, but it’s mine now anyways. How am I supposed to know that it wouldn’t do the job unless I test it...... makes no sense.

[jimmontg]

i don't know if this is useful or not, but you can always go to a pulley system. I know a blacksmith who used the five speed pulleys out of a Harbor Freight drill press. Fabricated his pulleys onto the grinder table and at slow speeds he has all the torque one could wish for and he's using a one HP motor. Does well at high speed to if he doesn't push to hard.