Cleaning motors

[diggindeep]

What does everyone use for motor cleaner?
Is carb cleaner ok,brake clean, whats the difference b/w them if there is one?
My excuse for lhs does not carry nothing along these lines.

Don't want to hurt my hhmtm.

 

[EeePee]

A complete teardown and warm water and dish soap with a tooth brush.

I used motor spray in the past but compared to the aforementioned, no comparison.

 

[diggindeep]

A complete teardown and warm water and dish soap with a tooth brush.

I used motor spray in the past but compared to the aforementioned, no comparison.

Thanks, that I can do,never done one,looking forward to the experience. I like to see the who,what why and how.

How do I know if I need new brushes? Is there a length spec or something?

 

[EeePee]

Is there a length spec or something?

Probably, but I don't know it. I never go past a third missing for mine, or half missing for other people's that I would work on. It's not the brush that's the problem, but the change in spring tension, as it gets less and less as the brush wears down, which can change the drag brake performance, among other things.

 

[Charlie-III]

Probably, but I don't know it. I never go past a third missing for mine, or half missing for other people's that I would work on. It's not the brush that's the problem, but the change in spring tension, as it gets less and less as the brush wears down, which can change the drag brake performance, among other things.

+1.
When the brush wears:
1-Brush/spring tension drops (thus mechanical drag brake drops)
2-The angle of the brush changes, thus the timing of the motor changes.
3-ESC current to the motor is based on side contact of the brush to the brush hood......short brushes means less contact area thus less ampacity.

How short is too short....depends. I would look at an assembled motor and see how much space is between the brush spring and the bottom of the brush hood slot. When you get close to ~1/16th" clearance, it's about time to change brushes.

 

[EeePee]

ampacity

You made that up.

 

[Charlie-III]

You made that up.

Bite me...... Ampacity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Now, go infract yourself, again.......:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

PS: I work in the UPS battery related industry, I'm among the last guys to call out on some of this......Not picking/boasting, just saying.....8)
All in jest, except for the ampacity bit..........8)

 

[diggindeep]

Ok I'm following ya so far....

Now before I take this booger apart any tips or tricks on disassembly and reassembly?

Sorry for being such a noob, I just don't want to mess up my motor as I do not have the money for a new one. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Charlie-III]

Ok I'm following ya so far....

Now before I take this booger apart any tips or tricks on disassembly and reassembly?

Sorry for being such a noob, I just don't want to mess up my motor as I do not have the money for a new one. Thanks for all the help.

I'll "discuss" with EP later.......:lmao::lmao:

Yes, make a mark so you align the endbell to the motor can (thus the magnets) later on. This maintains your current motor timing.
There are spacers/washers on the armature (the spiney thing inside the motor) on each end. Some "may" get grabbed by the magnets. Try to keep track of which ones are on each end of the arm (Arm = armature......I'm lazy, hate to type too much......:roll

Try to find a local that deals with brushed motors, they can be a great resource.

 

[EddieO]

I am really close to having a full guide on rebuild.....gonna need an editor to make it sound all nice. (anyone who wants to help and has experience, PM me)

To answer some of your question, carb cleaner is BAD news for our little motors. If you are stuck with only an auto part store, look for the CRC contact cleaner....if they don't have that, non-chlorinated brake cleaner can work...

Or do a search for how to use mineral spirits....

Soap and water works great, specifically lysol bathroom cleaner.

Every motor that comes in for a rebuild to me gets clean like this

Lysol and Water...
Compressed Air
Ultrasonic Cleaner (except armature)
Compressed Air
Mineral Spirit spray
Compressed Air

Brush Length I usually don't like them to lose 20-25% of their length....

Later EddieO

 

[JeremyH]

Mineral Spirit spray
Compressed Air

These two are generally what I use to clean my motors...."thumbsup"

 

[diggindeep]

Well I found one of the wires coming off the brush to be very frayed,ended up breaking it.

What kind of brush do I need? I have a 22 turn Holmes mini torque master.

It seems you guys rebuild these,how much is going rate?

Does it look like it needs turned?

 

[JeremyH]

it seems you guys rebuild these,how much is going rate?

~$10

 

[diggindeep]

With brushes?

Is trueing the comm part of that or extra?

 

[jcboof]

Just send that little guy in to Holmes Hobbies. John does rebuilding. He will cut the comm, install new brushes, tweak brush hoods and whatever else needs to be done. Its not that expensive either. "thumbsup"

 

[Charlie-III]

EddieO, maybe I can help out.8)

diggindeep, it costs me ~$2 to refurbish my motors. Then again, I already own a comm lathe, motor cleaners, etc.
The shunt (the braided wire from the motor to the brush) carries very little current, most is from the brush/brush hood contact area. I wouldn't worry too much, it still works.

 

[diggindeep]

Gonna go to Holmes.