Air-Way Upright Trouble...

[vacuumkid3]

Well, the good news is I got my #1 "dream-machine!" An Air-Way upright. This is the plain model, not any fancy DirtMasteR.

Now, here's the problem. The motor is sounding absolutely awful even after I put in new brushes, greased it, cleaned off the wicks, cleaned off the sleeve bearings, etc. Please help me! Has anyone used an Air-Way upright and have had trouble with it? Who does motor work in the club, if anyone? If no one can help, I am thinking about taking it to my local motor shop. Thanks in advance!

~~K~~

 

[lux1521]

Well, as a person who does a fair amount of motor work I would usualy start with the following:

Check the fan
Look for fan case imperfections
Check for any clearance issues (rubbing between rotor and stator)
If the machine has ball bearings they might be bad
Look for missing or damaged commutator bars

I (and everyone else) might have some more ideas if you post some pictures.
Let me know if this helps.

 

[vacuumkid3]

Nope, everything on that list seems a-okay! I have checked those things too. I think this is a purely motor based issue, probably something with either the brushes (too much tension?), the sleeve bearings (even though it is relatively easy to turn it), or maybe something else that I haven't found. Who knows! I will get around to taking pictures of it. It's not in the best of shape, and my friend says that he wouldn't have paid $.60 for it! However, the bag is in great shape (with an ORIGINAL A-W PAPER BAG!!), a perfect swivel dial thingy (technical term for 'ya!)...and that's about it for the good! It does have a chip in the nozzle that I hope to find a replacement for. It's pretty big. Not something that I deem repairable. Thanks for the comments!

~~K~~

 

[vacuumkid3]

Anyone else? I would love to get this to be a working restored example, not just looking pretty. Thanks!

~~K~~

 

[74simon]

What kind of racket does it make?

Rumbles? Rattles? Screeching? Scraping? If it can be run partially stripped, it might help you pin down what is (or isn't) causing the noise.

Hope you suss it out!

Si

 

[vacuumkid3]

Well, it is like a buzzing. I tried my best to explain it to a vacuum shop and a motor shop, but I don't know if they got it...I will try explaining it here:

When I turn on the vacuum, it will SOMETIMES go, but it makes a lot of vibration and noise, like a wavering pitch. Once it gets up to speed, it decreases in the wavering, but you can still here it, however much quicker than start up. My guess is that one or two of the coils is dead and it shorts out when it touches a few contacts on the commutator, thus making the motor VERY hot to the touch and smells bad as well as not running correctly.

Now, the other times it will simply stay still and buzz loudly. It is attempting to start on one or two of the coils that must be dead, or at least that is the conclusion I have reached. Who knows...this one motor guy says it will be about $140 for me to get it rewound. I sure hope not!!

~~K~~

 

[lux1521]

I have always heard that when a motor smells bad then something is seriously wrong and a rewinding is required. Thats just what I have heard. I don't know how true that is.

Pictures would still be nice.

 

[74simon]

Hey Kyle,

I wonder if it's a build of of muck on the insulation between the commutator bars, or wear to the bars meaning the insulation is now level with the bars?

I found this from a very useful website - the symptoms you mention sound similar!

"The typical universal motor will have between 3 and 12 armature windings
which usually means a similar number of commutator segments. The segments
are copper strips secured in a non-conductive mounting. There are supposed
to be insulating gaps between the strips which should undercut the copper.
With long use, the copper may wear or crud may build up to the point that
the gaps between the copper segments are no longer undercut. If this
happens, their insulating properties will largely be lost resulting in an
unhappy motor. There may be excessive sparking, overheating, a burning
smell, loss of power, or other symptoms.

Whenever checking a motor with a commutator, inspect to determine if the
commutator is in good condition - smooth, clean, and adequately undercut.
Use a narrow strip of wood or cardboard to clean out the gaps assuming
they are still present. For larger motors, a hacksaw blade can be used
to provide additional undercutting if needed though this will be tough
with very small ones. Don't go too far as the strength of the commutator's
mounting will be reduced. About 1/32 to 1/16 inch should do it. If the
copper is pitted or worn unevenly, use some extra fine sandpaper (600 grit,
not emery cloth or steel wool which may leave conductive particles behind)
against the commutator to smooth it while rotating the armature by hand."

If the worst comes to the worst though, I'm sure you'll be able to find another Air-way with a better motor, and at least you've got a good dial and bag! Loads of my machines are really the best bits from two or three assembled into one good machine.

Si

http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_appfaq.html

 

[vacuumkid3]

The commutator is a little cut but not bad at all. I will clean out the slits some more. Anyways...that's a nice little website!! Thank you VERY much, Simon! I will let you know how it goes!

~~K~~