"Metal" Sanitaire 7 amp motors sold as new -- OEM NOS or aftermarket?

[superocd]

I've noticed that there seems to be 7-amp Sanitaire motors with the metal bearing plate (known as a "metal" motor by some) sold as new. Are these OEM new-old stock or are these aftermarket? If these motors are aftermarket, how well would they compare to an OEM original 7-amp Sanitaire "metal" motor or the newer "plastic" 7-amp Sanitaire motor?

https://www.vacshack.com/p-638.aspx...MIrd-R39W75wIVC47ICh3mWAIbEAQYAiABEgJz9vD_BwE

 

[broomvac]

Many sites show the old motor but ship the new one. The only photographic evidence that I have of the old motor being sold new is on EBay. These tend to have a bearing with red seals on top and, I have a hunch, are made by Perfect, not Sanitaire.

I’ve given it thought, and I have concluded that the new motor is at least as good as the old one. Quite possibly, it is better. The new style motor is a) designed to have a longer lifespan (2000+ hours), and b) is more easily serviced. The old motor is assembled using basically some big, proprietary press and is difficult to take apart. New motor is held together with 4 fasteners on top and easily comes apart for bearing relubrication or replacement, if ever needed.

But, we are all entitled to our opinions. If you dig the old design of motor, I hope you find one!



https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sanitaire-...986052?hash=item4d9bd62b44:g:WoUAAOSwmNlbvO7A

 

[superocd]

I jusr love the sound of the old one, though it is good to know that the new motors have a longer life.

 

[vacuumdevil]

@superocd I would be willing to bet that's just an old stock photo and you would receive a newer motor just based on the price.

@broomvac
I know they're claiming a 2000 hour lifespan I can tell you in the field that is not the case. Those new motors have about half the lifespan of the old ones.

I'm not sure why you think you need a press to service the old motor?
There are two screws that come out after you take the carbon brushes out and you can change the bottom bearing plate or top bearing plate as a whole.
The older style motor at one time had all the parts available to service the motor. The newer motor no longer has that part availability.


I talked about this in this video a little bit.

 

[sanitairewill]

From my experience the new motors are nowhere near as good. My oldest Sanitaire is a 1983 SC686 with the original metal motor and still runs great. Was used commercially originally I'm guessing because it had a magnet bar on it when i got it. My 1987 SC886B also has the original motor and runs perfect. I bought a 2007 SC886E2 with the new plastic motor in 2013 only 6 years old not abused and the motor was shot. My newest Sanitaire is the 2019 Bissell Sanitaire SC886F i bought on ebay 2 weeks ago with a bad motor. It obviously sucked something hard up and busted a few blades off the fan. Also busting the bottom on the motor up. I've seen older metal topped motors with fans that completely exploded and didn't harm the motor let alone destroy the whole bottom of it. I replaced it with a metal motor. Now my 2019 SC886F has a new old stock metal topped motor i was saving. Here's a pic of the bottom of the plastic motor

 

[broomvac]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Funny enough, my experience has been the opposite. The original old style motor which came in my S661 was a goner. The bearings were worn, the shaft was warped, and (I guess I can’t blame the motor for this, but...) the bottom plate was broken from when the previous owner exploded the fan. My new style motor has been flawless. I’ve put a decent number of hours on it and have had no problems. That said, I take care of my vac. That can’t be said for many of the commercial users.

As far as disassembly goes, please see the linked thread. I didn’t write it up, but I did read it, and it sure seems like there is no good way to disassemble the top end of the old motor. Take a look at that cooling fan. It wraps around the upper bearing such that nobody could fit a traditional bearing puller in there. If you can’t get the upper bearing off, the armature cannot be removed from the upper housing. No way. I’d really like to know how to take this apart without a press. How could I have replaced the upper bearing in my S661’s old motor without Eureka’s proprietary tools? It seems there is no way to remove the upper bearing from the armature.

In contrast, the new motor can be disassembled with the removal of 4 screws. No fuss. Once it is apart, access to the upper bearing is unobstructed and it can be pulled off with a traditional puller. Seems like a better design to me, but that’s just my opinion. I don’t see how a little steel disk adds much value to an outdated motor which is 95% plastic elsewhere. But again, that’s just my opinion.

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?13320

 

[vacuumdevil]

@broomvac I can tell you from all that years in the industry I've rarely seen them come apart like that. Usually the bearing comes off with a stamp sheet metal top.
If not I've always been able to watch them off with just two screewdrivers.

Keep in mind I form these opinions after working on thousands of machines.

 

[broomvac]

Makes sense. Thanks for the info.

You have more experience than I. I’m just a sample size n=1.

 

[speedqueen]

Sanitaire motors

"I can tell you from all that years in the industry I've rarely seen them come apart like that. Usually the bearing comes off with a stamp sheet metal top."

@vacuumdevil That is rubbish! They NEVER come off with the stamp steel top. No way you're getting them off with screwdrivers and even then you would also bend the cooling fan beyond recognition.

The shop I work in is very old fashioned, we have tools that most shops these days don't have, we still have a lathe from back when we turned the commutators flat again on excessively worn armatures, another such tool is an arbor press, and even with that it is a ridiculously difficult job to try and press the shaft out of the bearing past a thin flat plate that we can wedge between the top of the commutator and the cooling fan and even then it does heavy damage to the fan.

Eureka used to sell a special puller for those bearings, but I've never seen one and nor has my boss who has been in the business at this shop since 1971.

All in all it's a job that isn't worth attempting. Try cleaning and repacking it whilst it is still on the shaft and if it still sounds lousy it's a lost cause. The bottom bearings on the other hand I have luck pressing out after pounding in the little areas where the bearing is staked into the riveted in bearing holder cup. If you don't pound those in, you'll bend the sheet metal cup or worse crack the lower motor housing.

 

[lesinutah]

Hmm

Idk I found this motor in the link. It's a 8.5 amp but would fit in my s667a so I imagine it would fit yours.
Les
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264507934611
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264507934611