# Electric Motor Problem



## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

My 10" table top drill press quit on me. The motor just hums when you turn it on and I believe it is the start capacitor. The problem is, I can not find a replacement capacitor anywhere. So, I thought maybe one of you may have an idea where to find such an animal. It is a CBB60.SH, 20 MFD, 250VAC, 50/60Hz. It's round with a 1 1/4" diameter, 2 3/4" tall and has two leads. Any help in locating a source would be appreciated.


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi George,

Check out Graingers. They may carry just what you need.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Thanks, Ken, but Grainger's didn't have anything even close to what I needed. However! I did finally have a brain storm and decided to check the Ryobi web site. (DUH!) Guess what? There it was, on the repair parts site, big as day. The thing is the capacitor only costs $6.99, but the shipping is $8. Aint that a kick in the a**?


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## seawolf21 (Jan 19, 2007)

Get an old washing machine motor 1725 RPM. I put one on my 32" Delta drill press. Works fine.
Gary


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

George, for the sake of $15.00 you went out and bought a new drill press and it isn't even digital!


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

hi George,

you might try a Baker Bros if you know where one is. they sell refrigeration and air conditioning supplies. they sell quite a few capacitors.

p.s. it doesnt have to be the same size physically as long as you can mount it. you need a 20 microfarad 250 volt ac start capacitor.


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## kolias (Dec 26, 2008)

But George are you sure it's the capacitor?


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

surpluscenter.com has had starting capacitors in the past. You might want to contact them if you don't see something in the online catalog.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

kolias said:


> But George are you sure it's the capacitor?


No. But, for 15 bucks it's worth a try.



> Originally posted by harrysin-
> George, for the sake of $15.00 you went out and bought a new drill press and it isn't even digital!


That's right, Harry. Digital just means one more thing to go wrong. I went for quality (Ridgid 16" Stand) instead of bells and whistles. Besides, the broken one is the cheap, $99, 10", Ryobi bench top I bought about 4 yrs. ago (can you say run-out?) and, if I can fix it, I will use it as a dedicated mortising machine or use the motor on my drum sander I recently built.


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

I guess I've been lucky, I've had my Delta 16" DP since 1990 and the only things I've had to replace was the drive belt and chuck.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

It's more likely that the centrifugal start switch has stuck than the capacitor has gone bad. Did you check the switch? It's inside one end of the motor. The ring needs to slide on the shaft for the switch to operate and this is what usually fails. All it usually needs is cleaning and some light lubrication. This switch connects the capacitor into the start circuit when the motor is at rest and disconnects it when the motor reaches about 800 rpm. After you are sure the switch is working OK and it still won't start, then replace the capacitor. There is usually a motor rewinding shop in every metro area. They can sell you a capacitor, or a switch if your motor needs it.

I just had a 6" belt/12"disk sander given to me that had a stuck centrifugal switch. Some cleaning, lubrication, a new power cord, and plug and I now have a working belt/disk sander that sold new for over $1K. 

CharleyL


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

Hi George:

You didn't mention the type of motor. For a drill press, I would naturally assume a single-phase, fractional-horsepower, "squirrel cage" induction motor. 

There are a number of causes for this type of problem.
1. Bad capacitor
2. Bad winding
3. Bad starting switch (if there is one, which I doubt)
4. Bad bearing
5. Binding between the rotor and the stator


Does the motor spin when you try to spin it by hand? This would eliminate causes 4 and 5.

If you have an ohmeter that reads low resistances, some simple checks:
1. Disconnect one lead of the capacitor and measure the resistance of the capacitor. It should be infinite.
2. With the capacitor lead still disconnected, measure the two windings of the motor. They should each be more than zero but not more than about 5 ohms.
3. Reconnect the capacitor lead.
4. If there is a starting switch, clean it and measure its resistance. It should measure well under an ohm.
5. Connect a voltmeter across the capacitor and apply power to the motor. There should a voltage across the capacitor. The voltage I would expect to less than the line voltage (120 V.) If line voltage appears across the capacitor, it usually means that the capacitor is open -- gone bad. 

As for supply of parts, look in your local yellow pages for "electric motor parts and repair". You can check out the ones on Fort Worth Electric Motor Parts & Repair in Fort Worth TX Yellow Pages by SuperPages 

HTH,
Cassandra


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