Hello! The comment about "specifically the US" is about single phase power... Some countries (like Germany) have three phase power and don't require a start winding. We have both 120 and 240 volts in every house in the US. In fact the motor in this video is 240 volts. So what is single phase? I explain that in this video. ua-cam.com/video/2XYdTogWcIA/v-deo.html
Just saw this, and subbed. My father is a retired R&D electrical engineer, all self taught. Yes he's that old, which makes me kind of old too now lols. You have a great way of explaining things, and excellent knowledge and presentation. I love the included bloopers (shows you are human too ROFL), and I hope to see more great and cool content!
@thx1138 ib3 but to answer your original question, 3 phase power is inherently "rotating - the AC in the legs is 120 degrees off. But when you have single phase power - whether it 120 volts or 480, there is no rotation, single phase power just goes up and down, up and down. And lets say you take two of the three legs of a 380Y220 volt, 50 hertz supply in Germany, it is still only back-and forth without rotation. So there is an additional, partial winding, slightly out of phase with the main winding which provides the initial "kick" to get it turning. Sometimes this winding is helped with a capacitor (capacitor start) or not using a capacitor at all (split phase). But... three phase is inherently rotating and a LOT simpler, regardless of voltage or frequency.
Being a 71yo woman, I confess that I have always been interested in tools and how things work. I lost 2 washing machines and one dryer because that little thingy broke. If I had known about that, and had some sandpaper, I could have probably fixed them. Now I know what to listen for, and can't be fooled by repairmen saying I need a new whatever. Thank you for the info.
I can't believe that you kind folks have been so kind to me with 96 likes because I like tools and actually learned the repairmans "dirty little secret"!!! JFYI, I have been hearing that strange noise coming from my washer so I called a repair man and diagnosed the problem to him. He showed up yesterday with the part, put it in, and whatdoyaknow, no more noise, and a compliment from him, and a back sided remark about me knowing what the problem was!!! He said he hoped I would keep that knowledge to myself and not tell anyone how to diagnose their own problems as thats how he makes his money! I said I would not make that promise.
You are awesome! Keep working on stuff. I’m 13 and am getting into tools. Anybody can start working on electronics and building things no matter their age!
@First Last No we do care. She had something to say and many of us found it intersting enough to give a thumbs up. Her being an elderly woman helps her story
_If I had known about that, and had some sandpaper, I could have probably fixed them._ There's a million simple little things that can break in any complicated machine. The trick is figuring out *_which_* simple little thing. It helps to have an honest mechanic, too.
You probably could use brass cleaner or rust eater (phosphoric acid) to clean the contacts so the minimum possible metal from the contact is lost or other than that maybe some metal polish like brasso or preferably autosol.
@@thetessellater9163 I’d imagine I am a prime candidate as I’ve been paying for UA-cam for years now. The second they said I’d not have to watch ads and suddenly videos had 3-8 ads in them it seemed and still seems like a good purchase every month.
I'm a "Show Me" guy, not a "Instructions guy", and you did an Excellent job of showing me how this motor switch works. The Video was clear and detailed. Thanks for a Great Video that went into detail. Super Job. Thanks again. Keep up the good work.
@onelove I Love UA-cam, Mr/Mrs Google and Wikipedia, I've never asked them a Question that they couldn't Answer or show me how something works. With all the problems we have in our World, these technological Giants are our Savior.
It's also used as a clutch in chainsaws. When the engine rotates fast enough, the centrifugal force presses the weights against the inside of the chain drive drum and turns the attached sprocket which drives the chain.
Thank you for watching! The oldest patent I could find was from 1926. But it seems to have been in regular use by then... fans from the 1920's already had them. Thus variations are likely much older than that.The comment about "specifically the US" is about single phase power... Countries that have three phase power use 3 phase motors which don't need a kick start. We have both 120 and 240 in the US. The motor in this video is 240.
James Watt used something like this on his first steam engine however it actually predates that with Huygens using them on Windmills somewhat earlier. The idea of spinning weights to manage actions at speed has been around for centuries.
Thanks for being human. Most UA-camrs would edit out the part about forgetting to shut off the power. It's nice to know we're watching someone just like ourselves.
I taught physics and math for 12 years. You're far better at explaining things than I am, and I think I'm pretty decent at it. I greatly enjoyed this, Jeremy! So did my brother, a union electrician.
Fun Anecdote about this, because I do this too: during a class in college, my instructor asked us how many GPS/GNSS satellites it takes to get a position. Anyone that had an answer said 3, and were baffled to find they were wrong. Lucky for me, I had watched a video explaining how GPS/GNSS works just a few months before. I was able to explain how 4 were required to compensate for time deviation, because the satellites are travelling fast enough that there is a significant error in the equations if time deviation is not accounted for. "Gobsmacked" is exactly the word to describe the class, and the teacher was quite impressed. So preload on! It's actually saving me in my college studies.
The switch resembles a centrifugal governor, also known as a Watt or fly-ball governor on a reciprocating steam engine. They pre-date the electrical era and are most likely the predecessor. Thanks for the video, I like your style, easy to follow along.
This was my thought too, but I'm not sure if it's the case. There are a lot of centrifugal switches out there from this electrical switch, to the fly-ball governor, to the centrifugal clutch used on a lot of small internal combustion engines.
Just so you know, whenever there's a capacitor involved make sure it's discharged before you go poking in there. Capacitors can kill. Normally you just wait several minutes after unplugging the device, and/or turn it on unplugged (some devices have been known to run for a fraction of a second when powered on unplugged, that means something is storing juice). Then using a screwdriver touch both contacts to make sure there's no spark flying.
The Centrifugal switch was a reinterpretation of an older invention. "Centrifugal governors were invented by Christiaan Huygens and used to regulate the distance and pressure between millstones in windmills in the 17th century.[1][2] In 1788, James Watt adapted one to control his steam engine where it regulates the admission of steam into the cylinder(s)[3], a development that proved so important he is sometimes called the inventor." - Wikipedia
Thanks, I was going to ask how this device is different to a governor on static engines I’ve seen (diesel wool clipper engines, fruit packing engines etc) which I was told were the same as used on James Watts’ steam engines. Apparently no different - in concept as least.
Julian Morrisco does a governor control speed in an analogue way, but this is a speed dependent switch in a binary way? (That made more sense in my head!)
Personally like the fact that he didnt delete the mistakes. This is important to trouble shooting to allow the trainees / followers what not to do along side with what to do. He also is informative and precise. Subbed and Appreciated.
As a technician that's worked on cars, appliances, computers, and printers, mistakes eventually happen to all techs, so I agree. It's valuable for a beginner to see it so they won't lose confidence if/when it happens. Just learn from it.
@Chi Sam For you to feel the need to criticize something so trivial and irrelevant, is a clear reflection of your lack of character. Your life must be very sad for you to even feel the need to post such a comment let alone actually post it. Good job at embarrassing yourself you sad individual.
@Chi Sam Aw, come on, man. I too appreciate showing the mistakes, as it is one way to help a novice not make them. So I like his comment. I am an exellent speller but I don't care if a nice compliment has spelling errors. For me, a kind heart and compliment will always override (oh, is that one word or two?) poor spelling and grammar. Also, Chi Sam, he does NOT need to make the last piece a complete sentence. Everyone will not only understand it (maybe not you), but it carries a certain conversational punch, just like the best of the best writers practice.
Touche! I can't believe I wrote "I am an exellent speller..." - can't stop laughing at the irony of that faux pas. You caught a good one. (I did say I appreciate showing the mistakes, didn't I? So I'm leaving it in.) Thanks for the heads-up.
Mechanical engineers gave us the world we have today. Sad thing is that you're under 40, chances are you have absolutely no idea how the machines you use every single day operate. Fixing your own stuff is almost a lost art.
@@roberthill5549 people are always amazed when I fix something on my own, or fix something like a dishwasher for them. It's a lost art for a couple of reasons; one, the throw-away culture, two, the increase in use of cheap plastic parts, and third, the advent of computer-centered controls, things that you can't figure out just by pushing them around manually or even doing simple electronics diagnostics. Poverty has taught me that if it's broken, even if I might destroy it completely, I'd might as well try to fix it, because I certainly can't afford a new one. Amazing how many times the broken part is a stupid little plastic piece, which can sometimes be glued back together or even replaced with something I carve myself out of another piece of plastic. Other times, it's just a loose wire, or a tiny piece that I can replace from the hardware store. My "destroy" versus "repair" rate has gone up and down over the decades, and the downs are mainly on the device makers, creating no-repair appliances that have every intention of forcing you to buy a new one. The better luck seems to come with fewer computerized bells and whistles.
@@roberthill5549 Unfortunately those of us that know how to fix things are meeting with so much resistance from manufacturers on access to parts and even facing copyright infringement for importing the base parts for things. We really need a Right to Repair bill.
Robert Hill Yes indeed. Besides Mr. Fielding’s channel, I also enjoy Mustie1. Similar verbal delivery tone, excellent teacher and both of them teach how to build, repair, repurpose items that most people would dispose of. I thoroughly enjoy this channel for that reason. I’ve rebuilt a lot of electric fans that I use to cool my garage while I putter around in it. Lots of free stuff is out there because people don’t have the basic knowledge needed to fix it. Mr. Fielding teaches the basics (and more) for free, and does a fine job of it.
When I stared working as a mechanic back in the 90s I blew all the other mechanics away when i started started fixing all the old shop equip. Most of them referred to the motors that clicked as two speed motors and when they quit working they'd shove it onto the corner and forget it I blew there minds when I fixed these types of motors with nothing but sand paper. Did i mention that I was only 17. Thanks to my grandpa an old a.c repair man he showed me enough stuff I was well beyond my years at 17 in maintenance.
My kind of guy, there Sparky. At 12 years old I repaired a half dozen A.M. tube radios and an antique RCA record player (talking 1940's) in my grandparents attic because "they're broken" didn't satisfy my curiosity. Don't change - don't ever let anyone tell you "you can't do that"!
The centrifugal switch is derived from the original centrifugal governor used to regulate windmills in the 1600s. James Watt applied it as the steam governor for engines in 1788. So it actually is near 400 years old! I only know because I think they are super-cool too! Your videos are always nice to watch!👍🏼
You know Watt did not totally invent the steam engine, I think he bought the original design, and then reversed the process from evaporation/vacuum to a power stroke. With that done it was used to run a more precise boring machine to make much better pistons and cylinders, to improve the steam engine, and on and on.
I learn the coolest things from these videos. I’m a 59 year old physicist (retired) running a homestead raising sheep and electric motors are an important part of our wood shop, machine shop and many powered vehicles and physical plants around the farm. This particular video just saved me about $600.00 on an industrial suction system for picking up cut grass-hay and bundling it in 64 cubic foot cubes to feed through a crusher and pellet maker for animal feed. You’re my new professor!
This is the first video of Jeremy's that I have seen. I think he had a very strong set of mentors to guide his thinking process. His approach is very much like what I had in my early mechanical development. I had 3 gentlemen that guided me to a strong mechanical field in the military, thermonuclear missiles. I taught repair and assembly for over 6 years and managed the extension course while teaching for another 6 years. I miss the teaching. My mentors were diverse. One owned a repair garage and yes, he taught me a lot of thinking processes. I had the chance to learn tune ups from him. Did my first one on my 10th birthday. Second was a watch repairman. Same skills, but on a much smaller scale. Plus, anything we couldn't fix that the owner didn't want, I hung up in a tree and we would shoot a 22 at it until it fell apart. Last was an engineer. I never did find out what type, but his analytical mind was used to refine my thinking in an awful lot of applications. Jeremy, thanks for bringing back many memories and some of the best explanations of different motors for the novice to learn from. Keep on teaching. MSgt David R. Smyth, USAF, Ret.
@@SAJe_53 HE'S WAY BETTER THAN NDT..............NDT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT,,,,,,,,,,THIS GUY DOES AND HE SHOWS YOU WHAT HE TALKS ABOUT.............
I promise you will only have to do it once. Much like being told not to touch something hot as a kid. No one ever believes it is that big of a deal until it happens to them. I got lucky mine was ~25 years ago installing a car stereo; I shorted a 0.5 Farad cap and it scared the shit out of me. Few years ago I saw a maintenance guy in a factory crawl inside a huge industrial milling machine to do an electrical repair. He locked-out and all the routine safety stuff, but didn't have on his ESD gear and didn't think twice about the multiple 5 Farad caps used for starting the huge motors. Apparently it got him good cause he went to the hospital on a gurney.
@@gizmogremlin1872 While you are just having a joke a stupid person might do it and that would be a good way to get someone killed over a bit of lame humor.
I have been repairing appliances for 40 years.. I have seen and repaired this type centrifugal switch and relay combination many times.. You did a good job explaining the mechanism.. Thank you for your service to the field..
These also serve double duty as a safety device on namely electric clothes dryers (double pole), if for any reason the motor for blower and drum stops it also kills heat.
@@dundalkmacgyver800 Unless the convection oven has manual fan control. Those can be used as either conventional or convection, and thus do not shut down heat when the fan is not running (present on some Vulcan ovens).
@@nuclearusa16120 Being more specific, that's correct. That type of convection oven (with manual fan control option) is less common, and are found in commercial gas ranges with oven (Vulcan is one make). Still, most commercial gas ranges with convection ovens use a normally open centrifugal switch in the fan motor. Almost all stand-alone commercial gas convection ovens use a normally open centrifugal switch in the fan motor. The one exception that I know of is a Montague model that has manual fan control.
I'd love to learn more from you! I'm an aspiring engineer that's quite disenchanted with college.... I want to learn create repair and maintain with knowledge I find in the world around me instead of something that's crammed down my throat
Yeah, I was thinking that spark was the capacitor discharging so (as you mentioned) unplugging wouldn't have helped prevent it. Next video: Repairs a CRT.
You, my friend, are a wonderful teacher. This is the first video I've seen of yours, and I'm subscribing even though I don't know what else you've posted. I'm also a teacher. I'm typically very critical whenever I listen to other teachers who can not get right down to the point, and who can not answer all the questions BEFORE a student has a chance to ask, and you've done both extremely well. You have a wonderful gift...I trust you continue to use it well.
I'm actually really proud of myself for knowing about this! I started an apprenticeship at an AC motor repair shop and I've really gotten to know Single phase motors. They're super simple but they are the neatest thing!
There are some old mechanisms that are just really interesting. A hundred years ago, people were designing fascinating mechanical devices. Take a look inside a sewing machine to see clever ways engineers transformed rotary motion into lots of kinds of linear motions. Very well explained. Great video, Jeremy!
think I just discovered the problem with a large extractor fan that one day just refused to run up to speed. Had another one nearly as good so just biffed it into the barn somewhere, years ago. Might now go and look for it again. Thank you.
I’m an electrical engineer with years of experience and often I’ll just lick my finger (just use the end of one finger) and use that to sense for 110AC on a circuit. It just creates a warbling sensation on the surface of the finger. But as many EEs, I have suffered inadvertent shocks over the years and so I sometimes won’t even immediately detect that I’m being shocked. I was working on a relatively small electrical device one day that had a SMPS power supply and I was occasionally feeling a shock but my Carpal Tunnel had also been bothering me so I just thought that the tingling was that and I mentioned something about it and my son said, “Did you intend to unplug the AC?” Eureka! 😂
You always come up with something fascinating. Well done Jeremy! And the title and image are Just Fine! Do what you feel and don't listen to anybody detracting from that.
Jeremy Fielding, I wish you had been my neighbor about 8 years ago when I was working on my washing machine. I replaced the capacitor but the problem was the centrifugal switch in my motor. The "repairman" that Sears sent out didn't help at all (He was no "Jeremy Fielding"). I bit the bullet and bought a new motor but not from Sears. Hey, I had clothes to wash. I kept the old motor and now I'm going to try to fix the centrifugal switch.
@@280zone No, he said he kept the motor. So just like the rest of us he'll go out to where he thinks it is, then call off the search after about 10 minutes. The good news is he will find something else he remembers looking for recently but can't seem to remember what he needed it for (again, just like the rest of us).
@@Milkmans_Son he will then put the thing he was previously looking for in an obvious spot. Years later, when he remembers what he was gonna do, he won't be able to find it, but he will find the motor, and put that in an obvious spot. Years later, ...
YOU ARE EXCEPTIONAL I've seen a lot of videos in my 52 years and you have a special gift to be able to teach in a very insightful and concise but fun way. Your video breaks and clips are excellent and your timing plus speech pattern is engaging and very clear. Thank you so much for sharing this with me and so many others that truly appreciate it. Bless you and yours in 2022
I don't know the exact technological lineage, but you could imagine this being a further development from the ideas that led to the centrifugal governor for mills and later on steam engines. It was invented by genius polymath Christiaan Huygens in the 1600's!
The centrifugal switch, and start capacitor, create a second magnetic field sets up a rotating magnetic field. It is the rotating magnetic field that creates the starting torque. 3 phase motors naturally have a rotating field.
This was like a more practical "Technology Connections."i love learning about clever mechanisms. Could you manage to get some high speed video of this?
Hello neighbor, when replacing a capacitor you can in deed use a higher voltage rated capacitor, but you can only go 20% above the the original capacitance (uf), otherwise you'll cause windings overheating, damaging the motor in the long term
I remember when affordable electrolytic capacitors routinely had a tolerance of -20% to +100%. So a capacitor rated at 100 mfd could still be in spec as long as its true capacitance was between 80 and 200 mfd. Were motor start capacitors more precise than that 30 or more years ago?
@@leehaelters6182 Any resistor above 1kΩ should work, anything less might dissipate too much power too quickly. The higher the resistor, the longer it will take to discharge the capacitor. Some capacitors like this have a permanently installed high-value resistor across them (about 100kΩ) called a "bleeder resistor", which is too high a value to affect the operating circuit, but will discharge the capacitor to a safe level after only a few seconds.
Thank you for being such an honest young scientist! People like you give me hope for a brighter future. There are too many people in this world that are willing to lie for money. You are a great teacher! Thank you!!
Very nice video! One minor point - very often contact points like those you cleaned with sandpaper here are plated with coatings that make them more resistant to damage by arcing. Once those coatings are gone, the contacts need to be replaced. You can get some more life out of it by cleaning off the burnt material with sandpaper, but it will very quickly build up more insulating burnt material because the base metal (which is now exposed without a coating) oxidizes very quickly compared to the coating material (which is usually something very expensive and with a very high melting point, like platinum or rhodium).
Is there a paste or other coating that you know of that could coat the plates to protect them and allow for conductivity, when doing a repair like this?
At last, to find someone who understands how things work and how to fix them including with sandpaper, doesn't just swap random parts until eventually half the parts are replaced and it starts working by luck (I get so irritated by supposedly skilled engineers who do that). You are an endangered species, respect to you!
Sir, I’m going to share this with a friend of mine who is teaching his grandchildren to repair cars and such. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with others. and your enthusiasm. Just imagine if we all knew more about how things work, how to get them to last longer and we all demanded as consumers that products be made to last instead of made to fail a few days after the warranty period is over.
Interestingly, I knew how it worked and why, have a couple motors where it's failed and they need kick-starting... but I've never actually _seen_ the centrifugal clutch! Just never gotten around to fixing one. Neat to see.
Thanks for a neat video! Also, be sure the multi-meter is set to the correct measuring scale. I tried to check voltage on a 240 volt circuit with the multi-meter set to Ohms. The new multi-meter wasn't really That expensive...
Really good info! It helped getting the long-dormant attic exhaust fan in my house going again. The switch was stuck in the closed position from being off so long and the motor sounded extremely unhappy. I just had to clean and lube the switch a bit to get it moving again, the hardest part was getting the motor off the fan. The start cap was also replaced just as a preventative measure, it was only about $10 in my case. Really is amazing that it still works fine after all this time with a little care (installed in 1962). Thanks!
@@taxicamel "or more correctly CENTRIPETAL force" let me guess, you think there's some kind of conspiracy to keep the power of the CENTRIPETAL force from the people, and that's why people always correct you and tell you it's centrifugal? it's centrifugal. as in, the force that shares its name with a Centrifuge. There is no such thing as a Centripet. I would think this was a troll post if you didn't actually know how these switches are integrated. Seems like you're actually just some old dumb coot.
For things like this, I usually steal an emery board from my wife. It got to the point a couple of years ago that she just bought me a small package of cheap ones for me to use on this kind of stuff.
To slow the corrosion and/or carbon buildup again, after using anything like sandpaper or emery board, burnish the contacts. At least polish them as much as you can with progressively finer emery cloth or boards.
The magic red Scotchbrite pads do this beautifully without removing more than the oxidation. I've used them for many years with electrical contacts, just be sure to blow off the debris when you're finished polishing.
Yes, Adam Savage has a video on his Tested series that talks about how he used to glue strips of sandpaper to Popsicle sticks until he discovered you can buy nail files in an assortment of different grits.
Good, informative video. I went through this issue on my (relatively new) milling machine. One thing you can add to list of diagnostics is if the motor suddenly starts sounding 'mechanical' like a loud BrrRRT noise or humming sound. I can't say whats going on electrically to explain that, maybe you can. The caps were new & checked out fine. But the CS points looked a bit smokey & very mildly pitted. So I dressed them & put CS back in service like you did. That worked for quite a while then the same problem arose. Turns out these devices are kind of sensitive to how they are positioned on the shaft before the set screw locks them down. Or maybe a better way of saying is how much tension is holding the points via the spring plate. If its too soft for whatever you may develop partial contact & maybe why it develops the same problem over time. I had to play around with this a bit & that seems to have fixed the issue. Another potential problem source is if the motor has a fan blade over the CS area. If the fan is improperly positioned along the shaft or is a bit loose & migrates over time to the extent the CS counterweights are impeded, that will also cause start problems.
You have great style, communicate clearly, very knowledgeable… somebody in television needs to make you the Bob Villa of home and machine repairs! Awesome.
5:09 you should not get one with higher capacitance. the capacitance value was chosen for a specific reason to give the correct phase delay on the start winding which has a fixed inductance so choose something close to what was already there +- 10% or even 20% is probably fine but you should not deviate more then that. remember the purpose of the capacitor is to create a rotating magnetic field in the winding from a single phase source so the capacitor chosen needs to be a specific value to accomplish this. the voltage rating is just that, the maximum rated voltage for the capacitor so as long as it is greater then or equal to the current working voltage then you are good.
@@darth1000blue starting uses higher loads than running. While generally a circuit won't pull more load than available, some big capacitors will still discharge more load than the circuit pulls. If you aren't properly accounting for this you get a nice big bang.
I repaired my 2hp table noize motor and that was my introduction to that little doojabbely action mess! I didn’t even watch this video! I saw your videos toenail image and knew exactly what it was! When I first saw it in my motor and how it works my mind blew. Someone thought that little theengee up and then made it!.....work! People are neet 🙂
After commenting on another of your videos on this subject this one here is exactly what i needed to see the part in cleaning the contacts of the clutch! Also, the symptoms that are associated with a bad contact! Thanks!!
I had an old Sharp portable "boombox" that had that exact mechanism on the motor. I loved it and miss it still the battery life on that thing was awesome. Come to think of it i will scour ebay for a well preserved one.
Starter capacitor and running capacitor. Haven't seen one in any motors I've came across. We have 230vac single phase and 400vac tri phase tho. Lower currens and bigger motors are tri phase, and those don't need a start capacitor. A replacement, more cost effective current shunt and a triac: once current on shunt rises above triac gate trigger voltage triac opens up and runs capacitor/starting coil. Shunt needs to be power rated and calculated resistance for the specific motor, just like the springs, and its a solid state thingamabob.
This is the best tutorial/how to video I've seen in s long time. Informative, interesting, clear, and entertaining. I'll be making this channel a regular in my routine.
Never seen before this device. Well, I’m in Europe. When you clean connects, NEVER use a sandpaper of that coarseness. If you want to use emery paper it should be very fine like 600. It takes time but is much better as the contacts have very delicate surface. The better the surface the better it conducts current. I have used a glass fiber scraper pen which has very thin threads or rough cardboard. Usual old style postcard without any gloss is good. It doesn’t harm the surface.
... or an automotive point file - assuming you still can get them at an auto parts store. My time as a mechanic was in the early '80s, though, so I guess this really dates me.
Appreciate this video - I know I'm three years late, but just wanted to say thanks. Was struggling to figure out why my bandsaw motor wasn't behaving today, and it turned out to be just as you described on this switch. Within an hour I was back in business, zero new parts needed.
Love your channel!!! I worked in hydro power for a while back in school. Those little cylinders you see on top of big hydro generators are centrifugal speed governors. Little balls on arms that swing up or down due to speed, controlling a hydraulic valve which controls bigger hydraulic valves which open or close wicket gates allowing more or less water through the turbine. Absolutely fascinating design!! I recently toured the Ford Museum and almost every old machine had the set of two balls on rods on top which were all speed governors. Woodward has historically been a maker of such devices.
I always wondered what that clicking sound was. I'll be looking out for this switch next time I take something apart. Great video, subbed, keep it up..
Very good video and very informative. I would caution against sanding the contacts on the stationary switch though. Very often the contacts are silver played with a coasting on top to prevent welding and pitting. If the contacts are pitted I would recommend replacing the stationary switch as well as the centrifugal switch. If the contacts weld it can cause the start circuit to stay in even if the centrifugal switch functions. Also, when replacing capacitors, if there is a resistor between the terminals make sure the replacement has that as well. The resistor is used in motors that have more on/off cycling to remove residual charge from the capacitor and help eliminate contract welding.
Jeremy, excellent video, explanation...and repair as well. As far as can be determined, a 1920's patent for a centrifugal switch (US Patent #1,630,394 of this basic type was granted to Royal Lee on May 31, 1927. It was the basis for the formation of the Lee Engineering Company. From engineering / technical experience, might suggest that as far as the centrifugal switch repair is concerned, using fine grade emery cloth to polish the contacts is better than sandpaper for a few reasons. Then a quick wipe with an alcohol wet cotton tip on all the cleaned contacts generally actually helps as well. Also, the motor used in your example, the bearings sound fairly worn, and if possible, they should be replaced at some point, especially if they are a ball-bearing race type, and re-lube the new bearings if not already done so.
yep he shorted it and i guess there is enough juice in the condensor to beam across the tabs. thats why you should always be careful around condensors. they can shock you even when there is no power going to the thing youre working on.
You did not mention that 3 phase motors neither need the capacitor or the "centrifugal" switch. Single phase motors need to be "tricked" into starting, the need for a phase change to make the motor "think" there are 3 phases. The capacitor synthesizes the 3rd phase temporarily to get the motor started. Once the motor is turning, only single phase power is required .
That is exactly the reason of The capacitor. It changes the phase of the incoming line and create a second phase and though a starting wind causes the motor to start sniping and also on the right direction, after that the clutch disconnect the starting circuit and continues to run in a single phase.
It synthesize a 2nd phase, not a 3rd. Even a Y wound 3 phase motor will start and run (poorly) on 2 phases. There used to be 2 phases motors that used 2 phases with 90° between them.
I've worked on a lot of stuff and I never knew about this centrifugal switch in electric motors. thank you for expanding my knowledge. motors are expensive. my time and expanded knowledge is worth the cost of a motor in a HVAC unit or whatever if I can fix it in 1 hr and save 300 or so bucks for sure! Not many people I know work for more than 300 bucks per hour. DIY is where it's at.
Royal Lee An 1920s patent for a centrifugal switch (US Patent #1,630,394) was granted to Royal Lee on May 31, 1927. It was the basis for the formation of the Lee Engineering Company.
I am going into my senior and final year as an Aerospace Engineering student and it's unfortunate we don't learn about cool mechanical devices like these in our day-to-day. Our curriculum includes control engineering courses, aero-thermo-fluid dynamics courses, systems, ethical engineering courses, but I wish there is a required course where we get to marvel at and break down devices that efficiently utilize engineering principles and that compose universal engineering feats like motors, engines, transmissions, heaters, air conditioning, you name it. I also think the lack of writing in the engineering department is abysmal and this is one way that we could incorporate and hone our technical communication skills, because if we are to articulate how these devices operate and are graded accordingly, then that is true understanding and learning. That was a bit of rant, maybe I'll write to our Head of Department ;). Thanks for the awesome video. I found your channel today!
at least you realize your education is full of holes and bullshit, and they didnt really teach you the basics required to be a good engineer. hopefully you will educate yourself over your life and become something truly rare. a good humble engineer. There arent many. and even less in aerospace.
Was learning about these in HVAC school today and remembered I had seen this video a year or so ago. So I looked it up again in order to fully understand the concept for class! Thanks!
😎 Hey, Jeremy: Ask your wife for a couple of "emery boards," for filing and smoothing her fingernails! 💅Very good for cleaning contacts! Really enjoy your work! 👍
I ran a search in some databases of old journals and found an early use of "centrifugal switch" in J. B. Wiard's article, "Induction Motor Design as Determined By Commercial Requirements" in 'The Journal of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute,' vol. VII, no. 3-4 (1904). Wiard describes the centrifugal switch's use in induction motor designs for motors running on alternating current, which, you'll recall, was new tech back then. For the essay, see pg. 283. HathiTrust, the database that houses this source, is housed at the University of Illinois and contains digitized books, journals, and essays from the archives of major world universities, including Ivy League institutions, the U. California system, and a number of top-rated state universities. Sources found in Hathi came from North America, Europe, and several other countries and date back to at least the eighteenth century. As such, this is likely one of the earliest uses of "centrifugal clutch," though it's certainly possible that there's another, even earlier, unscanned source out there waiting to be discovered in some archive. Because of COVID-19 , access Hathi is currently free and the essay I found can be accessed here: babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hxj23y&view=1up&seq=135
Hello! The comment about "specifically the US" is about single phase power... Some countries (like Germany) have three phase power and don't require a start winding. We have both 120 and 240 volts in every house in the US. In fact the motor in this video is 240 volts. So what is single phase? I explain that in this video. ua-cam.com/video/2XYdTogWcIA/v-deo.html
check into the steam engine guy ... he made the governors and switches like this and holds most of the patents on them ...
As a journeyman-qualified motor rewinder, I love this video; it explains things that I struggle to convey to my kids.
Just saw this, and subbed. My father is a retired R&D electrical engineer, all self taught. Yes he's that old, which makes me kind of old too now lols. You have a great way of explaining things, and excellent knowledge and presentation. I love the included bloopers (shows you are human too ROFL), and I hope to see more great and cool content!
@thx1138 ib3 but to answer your original question, 3 phase power is inherently "rotating - the AC in the legs is 120 degrees off. But when you have single phase power - whether it 120 volts or 480, there is no rotation, single phase power just goes up and down, up and down. And lets say you take two of the three legs of a 380Y220 volt, 50 hertz supply in Germany, it is still only back-and forth without rotation. So there is an additional, partial winding, slightly out of phase with the main winding which provides the initial "kick" to get it turning. Sometimes this winding is helped with a capacitor (capacitor start) or not using a capacitor at all (split phase).
But... three phase is inherently rotating and a LOT simpler, regardless of voltage or frequency.
Adding in to the list of "Weird things that are a norm in USA".
Being a 71yo woman, I confess that I have always been interested in tools and how things work. I lost 2 washing machines and one dryer because that little thingy broke. If I had known about that, and had some sandpaper, I could have probably fixed them. Now I know what to listen for, and can't be fooled by repairmen saying I need a new whatever. Thank you for the info.
I can't believe that you kind folks have been so kind to me with 96 likes because I like tools and actually learned the repairmans "dirty little secret"!!!
JFYI, I have been hearing that strange noise coming from my washer so I called a repair man and diagnosed the problem to him. He showed up yesterday with the part, put it in, and whatdoyaknow, no more noise, and a compliment from him, and a back sided remark about me knowing what the problem was!!! He said he hoped I would keep that knowledge to myself and not tell anyone how to diagnose their own problems as thats how he makes his money! I said I would not make that promise.
You are awesome! Keep working on stuff. I’m 13 and am getting into tools. Anybody can start working on electronics and building things no matter their age!
@First Last No we do care. She had something to say and many of us found it intersting enough to give a thumbs up. Her being an elderly woman helps her story
_If I had known about that, and had some sandpaper, I could have probably fixed them._
There's a million simple little things that can break in any complicated machine. The trick is figuring out *_which_* simple little thing. It helps to have an honest mechanic, too.
You probably could use brass cleaner or rust eater (phosphoric acid) to clean the contacts so the minimum possible metal from the contact is lost or other than that maybe some metal polish like brasso or preferably autosol.
I love when youtube just decides to recommend me a random video like this and lets me discover a new channel.
Same this is awesome and I know nothing about physical tech. All software related stuff here on my end.
You're a prime candidate for their plans to start charging for using UA-cam!
Same here, that don't normally happens.
I had to search for Jeremy after randomly seeing a vid and remembering the name.
@@thetessellater9163 I’d imagine I am a prime candidate as I’ve been paying for UA-cam for years now. The second they said I’d not have to watch ads and suddenly videos had 3-8 ads in them it seemed and still seems like a good purchase every month.
I'm a "Show Me" guy, not a "Instructions guy", and you did an Excellent job of showing me how this motor switch works. The Video was clear and detailed. Thanks for a Great Video that went into detail. Super Job. Thanks again. Keep up the good work.
@onelove I Love UA-cam, Mr/Mrs Google and Wikipedia, I've never asked them a Question that they couldn't Answer or show me how something works. With all the problems we have in our World, these technological Giants are our Savior.
Same
Agreed I already knew how they worked but I wanted to watch the video anyways he did an excellent job
This guy is smiling a lot. Happiness is a state of mind. I hope we all achieve some assemblage of that one day
No it's not. Watch faceandlms waw 1.1
Thank you!
semblage
semblance
@@pinchweasel 🤗🤗
Same mechanism was used for steam engines to separate power from them, when the wheel was spinning too fast.
It got history in steam engines.
It's where we get the term "balls out" from. When I was little I thought this was a reference to some particular male anatomy, boy was I wrong :D
That's a governor, these work on centrifugal force but operate a switch.
@@Dustinielson - on steam engines, the governor does not operate a switch;
it controls a variable pressure valve actually.
It's also used as a clutch in chainsaws. When the engine rotates fast enough, the centrifugal force presses the weights against the inside of the chain drive drum and turns the attached sprocket which drives the chain.
@@DP-hy4vh always wondered how that worked. Thanks for the knowledge!
Thank you for watching! The oldest patent I could find was from 1926. But it seems to have been in regular use by then... fans from the 1920's already had them. Thus variations are likely much older than that.The comment about "specifically the US" is about single phase power... Countries that have three phase power use 3 phase motors which don't need a kick start. We have both 120 and 240 in the US. The motor in this video is 240.
It's like an electric version of the speed governor on a steam engine.
James Watt used something like this on his first steam engine however it actually predates that with Huygens using them on Windmills somewhat earlier. The idea of spinning weights to manage actions at speed has been around for centuries.
Yeah, it is electrical version of centrifugal governor, that was originally used in steam engines since 17th century.
I bet you only searched American patents though, oh and by the way, there are a handful of households outside of America that have them too now... LOL
I had hoped was Tesla :)
Thanks for being human. Most UA-camrs would edit out the part about forgetting to shut off the power. It's nice to know we're watching someone just like ourselves.
I liked that. Reminds me of... me. My Fluke probes have some big arc wounds on them from these type of adventures.
In 2024 your videos are still valuable! This one saved me $200, thank you!!!!
WOW... I've been working on motors for 50 years and this is the first, best explanation I have ever seen.
Thanks
Except it's wrong
He is wonderful in his teaching style, with just enough dry wit to make the lesson even better.
Agreed. His voice holds my attention, and keeps my interest high.
This guy would be the coolest science teacher!
next to Electroboom Mehdi of course..
Electroboom who?
I came here to post the same thing. He really explains it clearly and interestingly.
Indeed..
great presentation, very well spoken and excellent video production.
I taught physics and math for 12 years. You're far better at explaining things than I am, and I think I'm pretty decent at it. I greatly enjoyed this, Jeremy! So did my brother, a union electrician.
You're just a bad teacher then
@@SaumyakantaSahoo ong bro☠️☠️😊
I like preloading my brain with information I might never actually need, but it's in there just in case. This is exactly in that vein.
"Preload your brain..."
That's a marvelous phrase!
Fun Anecdote about this, because I do this too: during a class in college, my instructor asked us how many GPS/GNSS satellites it takes to get a position. Anyone that had an answer said 3, and were baffled to find they were wrong. Lucky for me, I had watched a video explaining how GPS/GNSS works just a few months before. I was able to explain how 4 were required to compensate for time deviation, because the satellites are travelling fast enough that there is a significant error in the equations if time deviation is not accounted for. "Gobsmacked" is exactly the word to describe the class, and the teacher was quite impressed. So preload on! It's actually saving me in my college studies.
The switch resembles a centrifugal governor, also known as a Watt or fly-ball governor on a reciprocating steam engine. They pre-date the electrical era and are most likely the predecessor. Thanks for the video, I like your style, easy to follow along.
Check out David Richards channel, just look for "Old Steam Powered Machine Shop". You'll see governors in use and I think a couple rebuilt.
@@SyBernot absolutely!
He definitely has a one of a Kind shop!
That's where the term "Balls Out" comes from. Saw a video with Jay Leno talking about it on one of his steam engines.
This was my thought too, but I'm not sure if it's the case. There are a lot of centrifugal switches out there from this electrical switch, to the fly-ball governor, to the centrifugal clutch used on a lot of small internal combustion engines.
Farmall tractors in the 40's had them, I found out what happens when linkage pin comes out...
I wouldnt worry about forgetting to disconnecting the electricity when working on motors.
I find they remind you themselves sooner or later
😆
Yes always a shocking reminder.
heart stopping????
...it has been my experience...sooner ⚡ 😁
@@ltdees2362 yeap I mean zap
Just so you know, whenever there's a capacitor involved make sure it's discharged before you go poking in there. Capacitors can kill.
Normally you just wait several minutes after unplugging the device, and/or turn it on unplugged (some devices have been known to run for a fraction of a second when powered on unplugged, that means something is storing juice). Then using a screwdriver touch both contacts to make sure there's no spark flying.
The Centrifugal switch was a reinterpretation of an older invention.
"Centrifugal governors were invented by Christiaan Huygens and used to regulate the distance and pressure between millstones in windmills in the 17th century.[1][2] In 1788, James Watt adapted one to control his steam engine where it regulates the admission of steam into the cylinder(s)[3], a development that proved so important he is sometimes called the inventor." - Wikipedia
John Guilfoyle if it ain't Dutch , it ain't much ......
thanks!
Thanks, I was going to ask how this device is different to a governor on static engines I’ve seen (diesel wool clipper engines, fruit packing engines etc) which I was told were the same as used on James Watts’ steam engines. Apparently no different - in concept as least.
❤️❤️❤️
Julian Morrisco does a governor control speed in an analogue way, but this is a speed dependent switch in a binary way?
(That made more sense in my head!)
Personally like the fact that he didnt delete the mistakes. This is important to trouble shooting to allow the trainees / followers what not to do along side with what to do. He also is informative and precise. Subbed and Appreciated.
ElectroBoooomed it!
As a technician that's worked on cars, appliances, computers, and printers, mistakes eventually happen to all techs, so I agree. It's valuable for a beginner to see it so they won't lose confidence if/when it happens. Just learn from it.
@Chi Sam For you to feel the need to criticize something so trivial and irrelevant, is a clear reflection of your lack of character. Your life must be very sad for you to even feel the need to post such a comment let alone actually post it. Good job at embarrassing yourself you sad individual.
@Chi Sam Aw, come on, man. I too appreciate showing the mistakes, as it is one way to help a novice not make them. So I like his comment. I am an exellent speller but I don't care if a nice compliment has spelling errors. For me, a kind heart and compliment will always override (oh, is that one word or two?) poor spelling and grammar.
Also, Chi Sam, he does NOT need to make the last piece a complete sentence. Everyone will not only understand it (maybe not you), but it carries a certain conversational punch, just like the best of the best writers practice.
Touche! I can't believe I wrote "I am an exellent speller..." - can't stop laughing at the irony of that faux pas. You caught a good one. (I did say I appreciate showing the mistakes, didn't I? So I'm leaving it in.) Thanks for the heads-up.
I'm a Mechanical Engineer and I approve this message.
Glad you approve. feel so much safer now.
Mechanical engineers gave us the world we have today. Sad thing is that you're under 40, chances are you have absolutely no idea how the machines you use every single day operate. Fixing your own stuff is almost a lost art.
@@roberthill5549 people are always amazed when I fix something on my own, or fix something like a dishwasher for them. It's a lost art for a couple of reasons; one, the throw-away culture, two, the increase in use of cheap plastic parts, and third, the advent of computer-centered controls, things that you can't figure out just by pushing them around manually or even doing simple electronics diagnostics.
Poverty has taught me that if it's broken, even if I might destroy it completely, I'd might as well try to fix it, because I certainly can't afford a new one. Amazing how many times the broken part is a stupid little plastic piece, which can sometimes be glued back together or even replaced with something I carve myself out of another piece of plastic. Other times, it's just a loose wire, or a tiny piece that I can replace from the hardware store.
My "destroy" versus "repair" rate has gone up and down over the decades, and the downs are mainly on the device makers, creating no-repair appliances that have every intention of forcing you to buy a new one. The better luck seems to come with fewer computerized bells and whistles.
@@roberthill5549 Unfortunately those of us that know how to fix things are meeting with so much resistance from manufacturers on access to parts and even facing copyright infringement for importing the base parts for things. We really need a Right to Repair bill.
Robert Hill Yes indeed. Besides Mr. Fielding’s channel, I also enjoy Mustie1. Similar verbal delivery tone, excellent teacher and both of them teach how to build, repair, repurpose items that most people would dispose of. I thoroughly enjoy this channel for that reason. I’ve rebuilt a lot of electric fans that I use to cool my garage while I putter around in it. Lots of free stuff is out there because people don’t have the basic knowledge needed to fix it. Mr. Fielding teaches the basics (and more) for free, and does a fine job of it.
Thank you, Jeremy, from England, UK. YOU, my friend, are even more amazing than the centrifugal switch! God bless you
When I stared working as a mechanic back in the 90s I blew all the other mechanics away when i started started fixing all the old shop equip. Most of them referred to the motors that clicked as two speed motors and when they quit working they'd shove it onto the corner and forget it I blew there minds when I fixed these types of motors with nothing but sand paper. Did i mention that I was only 17. Thanks to my grandpa an old a.c repair man he showed me enough stuff I was well beyond my years at 17 in maintenance.
Hence the name Sparky?
My kind of guy, there Sparky. At 12 years old I repaired a half dozen A.M. tube radios and an antique RCA record player (talking 1940's) in my grandparents attic because "they're broken" didn't satisfy my curiosity. Don't change - don't ever let anyone tell you "you can't do that"!
@Heads Mess OwO
Also in wisdom, you were wise enough to take the knowledge that was shared with you. Always remember Old People Know Stuff.
The centrifugal switch is derived from the original centrifugal governor used to regulate windmills in the 1600s. James Watt applied it as the steam governor for engines in 1788. So it actually is near 400 years old! I only know because I think they are super-cool too! Your videos are always nice to watch!👍🏼
Make a video...good or bad (vid wise) your knowledge is invaluable to others.
I believe the original concept was an important advancement in the design of steam engines.
You know Watt did not totally invent the steam engine, I think he bought the original design, and then reversed the process from evaporation/vacuum to a power stroke. With that done it was used to run a more precise boring machine to make much better pistons and cylinders, to improve the steam engine, and on and on.
Watt?
Hahahaa!!!
I learn the coolest things from these videos. I’m a 59 year old physicist (retired) running a homestead raising sheep and electric motors are an important part of our wood shop, machine shop and many powered vehicles and physical plants around the farm. This particular video just saved me about $600.00 on an industrial suction system for picking up cut grass-hay and bundling it in 64 cubic foot cubes to feed through a crusher and pellet maker for animal feed. You’re my new professor!
I read this as you were raising electric sheep.
WOW! That is FANTASTIC. Yay Team!
THANK YOU for bringing attention and recognition to simple mechanisms that make our lives possible. This needs to be done far more often in society.
I love this channel. Never heard about this device before despite working as an electrician for years. Good info to have.
I knew there's a switch to bypass the capacitor. I just didn't know what sort it was.
Yeah, mechanical is likely still the cheapest way to do that.
@@its1110 Both cheap _and_ reliable. Win-win 😄
Found him by accident. This gentleman is a great teacher!
Same here. Great video!
Me too
Very clear.
Ye dude is great.
I'm an accountant. Why did i watch this video? Moreover, why did i like it? I had no idea what this guy was talking about!
This is the first video of Jeremy's that I have seen. I think he had a very strong set of mentors to guide his thinking process. His approach is very much like what I had in my early mechanical development. I had 3 gentlemen that guided me to a strong mechanical field in the military, thermonuclear missiles. I taught repair and assembly for over 6 years and managed the extension course while teaching for another 6 years. I miss the teaching.
My mentors were diverse. One owned a repair garage and yes, he taught me a lot of thinking processes. I had the chance to learn tune ups from him. Did my first one on my 10th birthday. Second was a watch repairman. Same skills, but on a much smaller scale. Plus, anything we couldn't fix that the owner didn't want, I hung up in a tree and we would shoot a 22 at it until it fell apart. Last was an engineer. I never did find out what type, but his analytical mind was used to refine my thinking in an awful lot of applications.
Jeremy, thanks for bringing back many memories and some of the best explanations of different motors for the novice to learn from. Keep on teaching. MSgt David R. Smyth, USAF, Ret.
@Craig Opperman Just couldn't let david reminisce could your craig?
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what a miserable existence looks like folks!
He's the Neil DeGrasse Tyson of engineering.
@@SAJe_53 HE'S WAY BETTER THAN NDT..............NDT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT,,,,,,,,,,THIS GUY DOES AND HE SHOWS YOU WHAT HE TALKS ABOUT.............
@@SAJe_53 NDT is a clown
@@Atlas.Brooklyn Believe it or not, not everything that scare you is a clown.
I feel like you should keep an eye in this guy if he comes over to your house.
He’s going to take everything apart to see how it works
I a have daughter which does that. It the reassembly that may or not happen. 😁
I have a nephew like that. We have to hide anything we really value or he’ll hack it and hook up to the Internet and control it from home.
Sounds like my ex father-in-law (who excels at taking things apart, and sometimes also manage to put them back in working order)
I'll hand him tools and help. I took everything apart growing up, now I repair things for a living.
@@keepup8868
Oh damn lol.
2am and I’m up learning about a switch, that I didn’t even know exist.
3am right now, same for me!
1:30 am here :D hello
4:50😴
@@taxicamel Well his video about it is much better than your video about it so...
Literally 2:02 AM here. Damn timing!
Use caution when handling capacitors. They can hold a charge for some time even after AC power has been disconnected.
I promise you will only have to do it once. Much like being told not to touch something hot as a kid. No one ever believes it is that big of a deal until it happens to them. I got lucky mine was ~25 years ago installing a car stereo; I shorted a 0.5 Farad cap and it scared the shit out of me. Few years ago I saw a maintenance guy in a factory crawl inside a huge industrial milling machine to do an electrical repair. He locked-out and all the routine safety stuff, but didn't have on his ESD gear and didn't think twice about the multiple 5 Farad caps used for starting the huge motors. Apparently it got him good cause he went to the hospital on a gurney.
@@gizmogremlin1872 While you are just having a joke a stupid person might do it and that would be a good way to get someone killed over a bit of lame humor.
@@bigwangmark
Well natural selection and all.
@@gizmogremlin1872 more like assisted murder, since you'll be complicit. Jokes don't stop people from getting arrested these days.
That's why properly designed stuff has couple megaomh discharge resistors.
I have been repairing appliances for 40 years.. I have seen and repaired this type centrifugal switch and relay combination many times.. You did a good job explaining the mechanism.. Thank you for your service to the field..
this guy seams like the type who's happy when his stuff breaks
Learning!
It's great, stuff breaking is the first step to learning if you can fix it!
you mean *seems ...which means ‘appears to’...not *seams which is what you get when you join to surfaces together!
@@PetroicaRodinogaster264 you mean ...join *two surfaces... not *to which has many uses but nothing numerical!
Even when the seems of his pants rip out. :D
Man it’s true you are never too old to learn something, that was a great presentation, keep up the good work Sir.
These also serve double duty as a safety device on namely electric clothes dryers (double pole), if for any reason the motor for blower and drum stops it also kills heat.
Commercial convection ovens, too.
@@dundalkmacgyver800 Unless the convection oven has manual fan control. Those can be used as either conventional or convection, and thus do not shut down heat when the fan is not running (present on some Vulcan ovens).
Thermal switches are used to cut the heat.
@@nuclearusa16120 Being more specific, that's correct. That type of convection oven (with manual fan control option) is less common, and are found in commercial gas ranges with oven (Vulcan is one make).
Still, most commercial gas ranges with convection ovens use a normally open centrifugal switch in the fan motor.
Almost all stand-alone commercial gas convection ovens use a normally open centrifugal switch in the fan motor. The one exception that I know of is a Montague model that has manual fan control.
@@unknownhuman1000 yes as a last resort either 1 time or resetable.
I'd love to learn more from you! I'm an aspiring engineer that's quite disenchanted with college.... I want to learn create repair and maintain with knowledge I find in the world around me instead of something that's crammed down my throat
Good one..... Yup, unplug, and also remember that a start capacitor can still give one good shock. even after the motor is unplugged.
Duke Makedo Hmmm ... what if he switches to a flux capacitor instead?
@@JillofAllTrades2
Perhaps, but you'd end up in the 1980s.
@@JillofAllTrades2 He'd just get a shock, unless he, and his motor, were travelling at 88 miles per hour.
I got a good boot from an unplugged VCR .my forearm ached for a week
Yeah, I was thinking that spark was the capacitor discharging so (as you mentioned) unplugging wouldn't have helped prevent it.
Next video: Repairs a CRT.
You, my friend, are a wonderful teacher. This is the first video I've seen of yours, and I'm subscribing even though I don't know what else you've posted. I'm also a teacher. I'm typically very critical whenever I listen to other teachers who can not get right down to the point, and who can not answer all the questions BEFORE a student has a chance to ask, and you've done both extremely well. You have a wonderful gift...I trust you continue to use it well.
I'm actually really proud of myself for knowing about this! I started an apprenticeship at an AC motor repair shop and I've really gotten to know Single phase motors. They're super simple but they are the neatest thing!
There are some old mechanisms that are just really interesting. A hundred years ago, people were designing fascinating mechanical devices. Take a look inside a sewing machine to see clever ways engineers transformed rotary motion into lots of kinds of linear motions. Very well explained. Great video, Jeremy!
think I just discovered the problem with a large extractor fan that one day just refused to run up to speed. Had another one nearly as good so just biffed it into the barn somewhere, years ago. Might now go and look for it again. Thank you.
I know you can't get around to reading your comments, but geez I appreciate all your videos! I've learned so much from you! Thank you
I’m an electrical engineer with years of experience and often I’ll just lick my finger (just use the end of one finger) and use that to sense for 110AC on a circuit. It just creates a warbling sensation on the surface of the finger. But as many EEs, I have suffered inadvertent shocks over the years and so I sometimes won’t even immediately detect that I’m being shocked.
I was working on a relatively small electrical device one day that had a SMPS power supply and I was occasionally feeling a shock but my Carpal Tunnel had also been bothering me so I just thought that the tingling was that and I mentioned something about it and my son said, “Did you intend to unplug the AC?”
Eureka! 😂
You always come up with something fascinating. Well done Jeremy! And the title and image are Just Fine! Do what you feel and don't listen to anybody detracting from that.
Jeremy Fielding, I wish you had been my neighbor about 8 years ago when I was working on my washing machine. I replaced the capacitor but the problem was the centrifugal switch in my motor. The "repairman" that Sears sent out didn't help at all (He was no "Jeremy Fielding"). I bit the bullet and bought a new motor but not from Sears. Hey, I had clothes to wash.
I kept the old motor and now I'm going to try to fix the centrifugal switch.
Wait a minute, are you saying you still have the motor...AND know where it is?
@@280zone No, he said he kept the motor. So just like the rest of us he'll go out to where he thinks it is, then call off the search after about 10 minutes. The good news is he will find something else he remembers looking for recently but can't seem to remember what he needed it for (again, just like the rest of us).
@@Milkmans_Son No, not 10 minutes, but about half an hour. He remembered he had the motor in the first place.... 8 years later. That's commitment. ;-)
@@Milkmans_Son he will then put the thing he was previously looking for in an obvious spot. Years later, when he remembers what he was gonna do, he won't be able to find it, but he will find the motor, and put that in an obvious spot. Years later, ...
Lmfaoo 😂😂😂
video name on the front page was cut down to "This Clever Device Is Found In Nearly Every American..." , had a good laugh after that haha
@@catfan__ hmmm... interesting
please help i cant stop thinking about *hidden skin pocket*
@@tltbruh1176 man has a cyst
😆
XD
YOU ARE EXCEPTIONAL
I've seen a lot of videos in my 52 years and you have a special gift to be able to teach in a very insightful and concise but fun way. Your video breaks and clips are excellent and your timing plus speech pattern is engaging and very clear. Thank you so much for sharing this with me and so many others that truly appreciate it. Bless you and yours in 2022
Thank you, I've been hearing that click and wondering what it was for years. But didn't have a bad motor to disassemble.
I've been an electronics technician for 50 years and I learnt something today. Thank you.
72 years for me - and so did I.
That many years and neither of y'all knew about that switch.... I'm only 43 and I knew of this switch well over 25 years ago maybe longer than that
I don't know the exact technological lineage, but you could imagine this being a further development from the ideas that led to the centrifugal governor for mills and later on steam engines. It was invented by genius polymath Christiaan Huygens in the 1600's!
yep fundamental Newtonian physics and mechanics.
The 18th and 19th centuries provided so much scientific and technical progress.
Indeed very close but governors also flung weights outwards, I think to limit RPMs of any rotations. This uses that principal in reverse.
I was thinking it had the exact same evolution, only I believed Watt to be the inventor (a full century later). thanks ;)
Came her to say the same, that the Huygens governor was the first version of centrifugal switch.
I understand that we get the term: "Balls to the wall" from the steam engine speed governors.
Electrical engineer who knows all about how motors work in theory but didn't know about this switch. You learn something new everyday. Thanks!
The centrifugal switch, and start capacitor, create a second magnetic field sets up a rotating magnetic field. It is the rotating magnetic field that creates the starting torque. 3 phase motors naturally have a rotating field.
This was like a more practical "Technology Connections."i love learning about clever mechanisms. Could you manage to get some high speed video of this?
Leo Staley Hi,
You can of course set the playback speed to 0.25x 😉
I see a reference to Technology Connections, i hit the Thumbs-Up.
Hello neighbor, when replacing a capacitor you can in deed use a higher voltage rated capacitor, but you can only go 20% above the the original capacitance (uf), otherwise you'll cause windings overheating, damaging the motor in the long term
Be sure to discharge them before removing
I remember when affordable electrolytic capacitors routinely had a tolerance of -20% to +100%. So a capacitor rated at 100 mfd could still be in spec as long as its true capacitance was between 80 and 200 mfd.
Were motor start capacitors more precise than that 30 or more years ago?
@@akbychoice, by shorting with a resistor, you mean? What would be proper values for such resistor, if you don't mind?
@@leehaelters6182 : or a screwdriver if you have one handy.
@@leehaelters6182 Any resistor above 1kΩ should work, anything less might dissipate too much power too quickly. The higher the resistor, the longer it will take to discharge the capacitor. Some capacitors like this have a permanently installed high-value resistor across them (about 100kΩ) called a "bleeder resistor", which is too high a value to affect the operating circuit, but will discharge the capacitor to a safe level after only a few seconds.
Thank you for being such an honest young scientist! People like you give me hope for a brighter future. There are too many people in this world that are willing to lie for money. You are a great teacher! Thank you!!
Very nice video! One minor point - very often contact points like those you cleaned with sandpaper here are plated with coatings that make them more resistant to damage by arcing. Once those coatings are gone, the contacts need to be replaced. You can get some more life out of it by cleaning off the burnt material with sandpaper, but it will very quickly build up more insulating burnt material because the base metal (which is now exposed without a coating) oxidizes very quickly compared to the coating material (which is usually something very expensive and with a very high melting point, like platinum or rhodium).
Is there a paste or other coating that you know of that could coat the plates to protect them and allow for conductivity, when doing a repair like this?
You could possibly put a layer of dielectric grease.
Could you electroplate them with something? Zinc?
At last, to find someone who understands how things work and how to fix them including with sandpaper, doesn't just swap random parts until eventually half the parts are replaced and it starts working by luck (I get so irritated by supposedly skilled engineers who do that). You are an endangered species, respect to you!
Exactly.
I've probably saved $300 over the last 6 months because of his videos. Normally I would have just bought new parts or motor altogether
I love the enthusiasm about small but critical details we’ve all become accustomed to ignoring. Subscribed!
Sir, I’m going to share this with a friend of mine who is teaching his grandchildren to repair cars and such. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with others. and your enthusiasm. Just imagine if we all knew more about how things work, how to get them to last longer and we all demanded as consumers that products be made to last instead of made to fail a few days after the warranty period is over.
Jeremy is an absolutely terrific EXPLAINER of all kinds of stuff.
Great work, man!
Interestingly, I knew how it worked and why, have a couple motors where it's failed and they need kick-starting... but I've never actually _seen_ the centrifugal clutch! Just never gotten around to fixing one. Neat to see.
Thanks for a neat video! Also, be sure the multi-meter is set to the correct measuring scale. I tried to check voltage on a 240 volt circuit with the multi-meter set to Ohms. The new multi-meter wasn't really That expensive...
Really good info! It helped getting the long-dormant attic exhaust fan in my house going again. The switch was stuck in the closed position from being off so long and the motor sounded extremely unhappy. I just had to clean and lube the switch a bit to get it moving again, the hardest part was getting the motor off the fan. The start cap was also replaced just as a preventative measure, it was only about $10 in my case.
Really is amazing that it still works fine after all this time with a little care (installed in 1962).
Thanks!
When he said ‘foreshadowing’ after he says he can’t get electrocuted I immediately became anxious.
Damn, I thought I was the only one!
@@taxicamel sir this is a Chili’s
@@taxicamel Feel better?
@@taxicamel "or more correctly CENTRIPETAL force" let me guess, you think there's some kind of conspiracy to keep the power of the CENTRIPETAL force from the people, and that's why people always correct you and tell you it's centrifugal?
it's centrifugal. as in, the force that shares its name with a Centrifuge. There is no such thing as a Centripet.
I would think this was a troll post if you didn't actually know how these switches are integrated. Seems like you're actually just some old dumb coot.
@@MelonJoose centrifugal is moving away from the center and centripetal force and towards the centers.
For things like this, I usually steal an emery board from my wife. It got to the point a couple of years ago that she just bought me a small package of cheap ones for me to use on this kind of stuff.
Yeah, sandpaper? Does he not have emery cloth or such like?
To slow the corrosion and/or carbon buildup again, after using anything like sandpaper or emery board, burnish the contacts. At least polish them as much as you can with progressively finer emery cloth or boards.
The magic red Scotchbrite pads do this beautifully without removing more than the oxidation. I've used them for many years with electrical contacts, just be sure to blow off the debris when you're finished polishing.
Yes, Adam Savage has a video on his Tested series that talks about how he used to glue strips of sandpaper to Popsicle sticks until he discovered you can buy nail files in an assortment of different grits.
The same to me. Lol.
Good, informative video. I went through this issue on my (relatively new) milling machine. One thing you can add to list of diagnostics is if the motor suddenly starts sounding 'mechanical' like a loud BrrRRT noise or humming sound. I can't say whats going on electrically to explain that, maybe you can. The caps were new & checked out fine. But the CS points looked a bit smokey & very mildly pitted. So I dressed them & put CS back in service like you did. That worked for quite a while then the same problem arose. Turns out these devices are kind of sensitive to how they are positioned on the shaft before the set screw locks them down. Or maybe a better way of saying is how much tension is holding the points via the spring plate. If its too soft for whatever you may develop partial contact & maybe why it develops the same problem over time. I had to play around with this a bit & that seems to have fixed the issue. Another potential problem source is if the motor has a fan blade over the CS area. If the fan is improperly positioned along the shaft or is a bit loose & migrates over time to the extent the CS counterweights are impeded, that will also cause start problems.
You have great style, communicate clearly, very knowledgeable… somebody in television needs to make you the Bob Villa of home and machine repairs! Awesome.
Super duper, Jeremy! I really enjoy and appreciate your approachable style.
5:09 you should not get one with higher capacitance. the capacitance value was chosen for a specific reason to give the correct phase delay on the start winding which has a fixed inductance so choose something close to what was already there +- 10% or even 20% is probably fine but you should not deviate more then that. remember the purpose of the capacitor is to create a rotating magnetic field in the winding from a single phase source so the capacitor chosen needs to be a specific value to accomplish this. the voltage rating is just that, the maximum rated voltage for the capacitor so as long as it is greater then or equal to the current working voltage then you are good.
I an Electronic Engineer and I agree 100%.
Agreed. Sometimes in the lab trying to build a new test rig I just grab a close enough capacitor. Sometimes I wind up blowing up circuits this way.
I think what you're saying is much more critical in a run capacitor rather than a start capacitor
@@darth1000blue starting uses higher loads than running. While generally a circuit won't pull more load than available, some big capacitors will still discharge more load than the circuit pulls. If you aren't properly accounting for this you get a nice big bang.
Agree to keep the replacement cap no more than 20% of the original... can cascade into overheated start winding due to overcurrent...
I repaired my 2hp table noize motor and that was my introduction to that little doojabbely action mess! I didn’t even watch this video! I saw your videos toenail image and knew exactly what it was! When I first saw it in my motor and how it works my mind blew. Someone thought that little theengee up and then made it!.....work! People are neet 🙂
"Doojabbely", I'll have to remember that one.
After commenting on another of your videos on this subject this one here is exactly what i needed to see the part in cleaning the contacts of the clutch! Also, the symptoms that are associated with a bad contact!
Thanks!!
I like the blend of "Hey look at this neat thing!" and "Here's how to fix that neat thing when it fails!"
And it WILL fail, and then fail again! It's a great money maker.
I had an old Sharp portable "boombox" that had that exact mechanism on the motor.
I loved it and miss it still the battery life on that thing was awesome.
Come to think of it i will scour ebay for a well preserved one.
Starter capacitor and running capacitor. Haven't seen one in any motors I've came across. We have 230vac single phase and 400vac tri phase tho. Lower currens and bigger motors are tri phase, and those don't need a start capacitor. A replacement, more cost effective current shunt and a triac: once current on shunt rises above triac gate trigger voltage triac opens up and runs capacitor/starting coil. Shunt needs to be power rated and calculated resistance for the specific motor, just like the springs, and its a solid state thingamabob.
This is the best tutorial/how to video I've seen in s long time. Informative, interesting, clear, and entertaining. I'll be making this channel a regular in my routine.
Never seen before this device. Well, I’m in Europe. When you clean connects, NEVER use a sandpaper of that coarseness. If you want to use emery paper it should be very fine like 600. It takes time but is much better as the contacts have very delicate surface. The better the surface the better it conducts current. I have used a glass fiber scraper pen which has very thin threads or rough cardboard. Usual old style postcard without any gloss is good. It doesn’t harm the surface.
I use the striking strip from a book of matches. Very fine abrasive and red phosphorous leaves behind a weld resistant surface.
The contact surfaces are likely a silver alloy, and for cost reasons the manufacturer isn't going to use more silver than is required.
Way back when car engines had distributors. Fouled "points" were very common. A very fine file or emery board was used to clean them.
What type of motors do you have there then champ?
Deoxit in aerosol cans is amazing for cleaning corrosion
Jeremy Fielding is such a clear thinking, articulate, curious guy. Thank you!
An emery board would make easier work of cleaning those contacts. They’re cheap and handy.
Good idea.
Nail files are the tool for the job, very cheap also!
... or an automotive point file - assuming you still can get them at an auto parts store. My time as a mechanic was in the early '80s, though, so I guess this really dates me.
use a "cratex" for contact cleaning
@@jhorne18 I was thinking the same thing! I had one for my VW van and it's still around for this type of stuff.
Appreciate this video - I know I'm three years late, but just wanted to say thanks. Was struggling to figure out why my bandsaw motor wasn't behaving today, and it turned out to be just as you described on this switch. Within an hour I was back in business, zero new parts needed.
Royal Lee... That's the creative mind behind that cool switch.
"... 10 minutes earlier..." *ZAP* You and Electro-Boom should join forces lol.
Even if this wasn't interesting (it was). I think I would have watched it anyway cause you look like a cool dude.
Black people are cool man
I wish I was his friend and living nearby. I love his work.
Legit was thinking the same thing 😂 something chill about his demeanor
Love your channel!!! I worked in hydro power for a while back in school. Those little cylinders you see on top of big hydro generators are centrifugal speed governors. Little balls on arms that swing up or down due to speed, controlling a hydraulic valve which controls bigger hydraulic valves which open or close wicket gates allowing more or less water through the turbine. Absolutely fascinating design!! I recently toured the Ford Museum and almost every old machine had the set of two balls on rods on top which were all speed governors. Woodward has historically been a maker of such devices.
I always wondered what that clicking sound was. I'll be looking out for this switch next time I take something apart. Great video, subbed, keep it up..
Very good video and very informative. I would caution against sanding the contacts on the stationary switch though. Very often the contacts are silver played with a coasting on top to prevent welding and pitting. If the contacts are pitted I would recommend replacing the stationary switch as well as the centrifugal switch. If the contacts weld it can cause the start circuit to stay in even if the centrifugal switch functions. Also, when replacing capacitors, if there is a resistor between the terminals make sure the replacement has that as well. The resistor is used in motors that have more on/off cycling to remove residual charge from the capacitor and help eliminate contract welding.
Jeremy, excellent video, explanation...and repair as well. As far as can be determined, a 1920's patent for a centrifugal switch (US Patent #1,630,394 of this basic type was granted to Royal Lee on May 31, 1927. It was the basis for the formation of the Lee Engineering Company.
From engineering / technical experience, might suggest that as far as the centrifugal switch repair is concerned, using fine grade emery cloth to polish the contacts is better than sandpaper for a few reasons. Then a quick wipe with an alcohol wet cotton tip on all the cleaned contacts generally actually helps as well. Also, the motor used in your example, the bearings sound fairly worn, and if possible, they should be replaced at some point, especially if they are a ball-bearing race type, and re-lube the new bearings if not already done so.
My word, but you are infectious in your curiosity. I actually learn when you instruct. Very grateful for you.
"foreshadowing"
I have seen enough electroBOOM videoes to know where this is going.
6:33 ? LOL
yep he shorted it and i guess there is enough juice in the condensor to beam across the tabs. thats why you should always be careful around condensors. they can shock you even when there is no power going to the thing youre working on.
@@taxicamel have a snickers.
@@taxicamel Have another Snickers. Maybe two will appease your hunger and give you the energy to work on a helpful video instead of ranting.
@@taxicamel Thank you brother. would you believe he posted a video on induction motors 2017 I just found ua-cam.com/video/2XYdTogWcIA/v-deo.html
You did not mention that 3 phase motors neither need the capacitor or the "centrifugal" switch. Single phase motors need to be "tricked" into starting, the need for a phase change to make the motor "think" there are 3 phases. The capacitor synthesizes the 3rd phase temporarily to get the motor started. Once the motor is turning, only single phase power is required .
Thank you, that helped reinforce my understanding of motor starting. The rationalization you wrote in black and white isn't always obious.
That is exactly the reason of The capacitor. It changes the phase of the incoming line and create a second phase and though a starting wind causes the motor to start sniping and also on the right direction, after that the clutch disconnect the starting circuit and continues to run in a single phase.
It synthesize a 2nd phase, not a 3rd. Even a Y wound 3 phase motor will start and run (poorly) on 2 phases. There used to be 2 phases motors that used 2 phases with 90° between them.
Thanks for another great video Jeremy - I appreciate the time and passion you have for explaining these things!
I've worked on a lot of stuff and I never knew about this centrifugal switch in electric motors. thank you for expanding my knowledge. motors are expensive. my time and expanded knowledge is worth the cost of a motor in a HVAC unit or whatever if I can fix it in 1 hr and save 300 or so bucks for sure! Not many people I know work for more than 300 bucks per hour. DIY is where it's at.
Jemery had an ElectroBoom moment there! :D
The fact that he didn't edit it out shows his integrity too...I appreciate that.
you do know, he does that purposely
@@richarde735 Electroboom yes, Jeremy, no.
Royal Lee
An 1920s patent for a centrifugal switch (US Patent #1,630,394) was granted to Royal Lee on May 31, 1927. It was the basis for the formation of the Lee Engineering Company.
I've had several ElectroBoom moments during my lifetime but I never knew they had a name!
Black crust and white icing... Never has corrosion sounded so tasty.
Who Yu tellin 🤣🤣
*frosting
Correo
Not corrosion, but arching
Maybe not black crust. Sounds like my mom talking about my undies when I was potty training.
I am going into my senior and final year as an Aerospace Engineering student and it's unfortunate we don't learn about cool mechanical devices like these in our day-to-day. Our curriculum includes control engineering courses, aero-thermo-fluid dynamics courses, systems, ethical engineering courses, but I wish there is a required course where we get to marvel at and break down devices that efficiently utilize engineering principles and that compose universal engineering feats like motors, engines, transmissions, heaters, air conditioning, you name it. I also think the lack of writing in the engineering department is abysmal and this is one way that we could incorporate and hone our technical communication skills, because if we are to articulate how these devices operate and are graded accordingly, then that is true understanding and learning. That was a bit of rant, maybe I'll write to our Head of Department ;). Thanks for the awesome video. I found your channel today!
Is there a small engine club at your school? Otherwise could start one. Just break down engines and watch Thang010146 videos together
You learn about them as an electrical major ;)
at least you realize your education is full of holes and bullshit, and they didnt really teach you the basics required to be a good engineer. hopefully you will educate yourself over your life and become something truly rare. a good humble engineer. There arent many. and even less in aerospace.
Trying to build a rocket to mars, cant fix a washing machine.....there MAY be a slight gap in the curriculum is all im saying.
@@DieselRamcharger LOL....I second that. :)
Was learning about these in HVAC school today and remembered I had seen this video a year or so ago. So I looked it up again in order to fully understand the concept for class! Thanks!
😎 Hey, Jeremy: Ask your wife for a couple of "emery boards," for filing and smoothing her fingernails! 💅Very good for cleaning contacts! Really enjoy your work! 👍
Mike Gustafson emery board will leave abrasive non conductive material on points and cause them not to make contact
@@chrishill6276 Yes. And some rubbing alcohol on a piece of cotton cloth, drag it through the contacts, all good now.
@@chrishill6276 You just wipe or blast it off....¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Easy!
I've used the newer "diamond coated" boards. seem to work for me. been through a few now with no apparent problems.
Hunt the car swap meets for point files. Basically looks like a small worn out file.
I ran a search in some databases of old journals and found an early use of "centrifugal switch" in J. B. Wiard's article, "Induction Motor Design as Determined By Commercial Requirements" in 'The Journal of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute,' vol. VII, no. 3-4 (1904). Wiard describes the centrifugal switch's use in induction motor designs for motors running on alternating current, which, you'll recall, was new tech back then. For the essay, see pg. 283.
HathiTrust, the database that houses this source, is housed at the University of Illinois and contains digitized books, journals, and essays from the archives of major world universities, including Ivy League institutions, the U. California system, and a number of top-rated state universities. Sources found in Hathi came from North America, Europe, and several other countries and date back to at least the eighteenth century. As such, this is likely one of the earliest uses of "centrifugal clutch," though it's certainly possible that there's another, even earlier, unscanned source out there waiting to be discovered in some archive.
Because of COVID-19 , access Hathi is currently free and the essay I found can be accessed here:
babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hxj23y&view=1up&seq=135
Fabulous, thanks for doing the leg work!
UA-cam is really promoting this video to me for a long time.
Hands down J. Fielding is my "go to" when I'm hung up on Questions that i need the answers to.. Very knowledgeable