Ametek Lamb motor P/N for Kenmore Premier 12.0 canister

[jwbodnar]

I'm not a vacuum guy like some of you here (more vintage audio), but I do like to fix my appliances, and vacuums certainly aren't too complex.

So y'all will love this. My daughters (2 of them, aged 13 and 10) vacuumed water from the dog's bowl with my I'm guessing 1993 - 1994 era Kenmore Premier 12.0 canister vacuum. It hasn't sounded the same since, and reading some of the datasheets for Ametek Lamb motors makes it clear that water should not come anywhere near the motor (duh)... I won't even get into the lecture my kids got for how lucky they were to not get electocuted.

Anyway, I think the motor on this beast probably is a goner and needs to be replaced.

I had no problem finding the Sears part # for the motor. From what I've read here, it should be an Ametek Lamb motor. It's certainly a heavy beast.

I'd like to order the motor from someone other than Sears, but I cannot find the Ametek Lamb part #. My motor has no label or other identifying marks on it.

The Sears part # for the motor is 4368931.

The model number for the vacuum is 116.2411290.

Any idea which Ametek Lamb motor this is?

I spent a fair amount of time reading posts here, and I get the impression that while my Kenmore might not be a TOL unit, it's well built and could last me close to another 20 years if I clean it up and replace the motor as it's not exactly used frequently

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[louvac]

The first thing I would do is:

...Set the machine outside or at least in a very warm environment so as to fully dry out the machine. There are guys here who put motors through dishwashers in order to clean them. I am assuming that the motors are broken down, i.e., motor brushes removed and armature alike. When everything is <span style="text-decoration: underline;">thoroughly </span>dried, the motor is reassembled and all is good. 


 


In your case there may be water in the motor brush holders that is preventing them from making full or proper contact with the armature. More than likely your motor is fine, it just needs to dry out <span style="text-decoration: underline;">completely</span>. If anything I would first replace the motor brushes. This is very inexpensive  and fairly easy to do. Also, check that there are no blockages in the hose as a result of the water freeing some caked on dirt that now has moved on down the hose and is lodged somewhere. Since you didn't say exactly how differently the machine sounds it's hard to know exactly what is wrong. 


 


Another area to avoid when it comes to water is the toilet!  I have had it happen to me and seen it happen to others. If you go too close to the base of the toilet it is not impossible to draw water up from and around the wax ring <span style="text-decoration: underline;">particularly</span> if your toilet does not have a bead of chalking around the base (which is not necessary if your toilet is installed properly). 


 


Let us know what you find...

 

[jwbodnar]

Might be a little late for that...

Hi Louvac,

The kids sucked the water into the vacuum two weeks ago. I set it outside to dry with the bag compartment empty and the filter removed so some air flow could get to it, but I did not think to disassemble the motor compartment and especially not the motor at the time.

Last night is the first time I actually tried to run it since then. It running sound of the motor is definitely higher pitched than it used to be, kind of like a continuous asthmatic wheeze on top of the usually sound.

I'll have to take a picture of the motor and upload it so experts here can judge the condition. It appears to have some rust on it, but who's not to see that's just from spending nearly 20 years in the humid, Austin, TX area summers.