Surplus Center

T Blade

T Blade

Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Messages
1,466
Wow,

A BIG hats off to Surplus Center. I recently purchased the motor and controller that Pendentive is using for his “Variable Speed Grinder on a shoestring”. Well, I got the controller wired and when I turned the system on,,,,NOTHING,,,,what a bummer. I messed around with it for a little while and all of a sudden the motor starts running, OK, I turn the potentiometer and the speed changes, good speed control from 0 RPM to max RPM, very cool. I shut the motor off, and turn it on again,,,,NOTHING,,,,Major bummer. Well to make a long story short, (I know you’d like that), the motor starts intermittently; when it does it has real good torque and speed control.

Last Sunday, I e-mail Surplus Center explaining the situation, this is a used motor, so I wasn’t sure if they would take any liability in its failure. Today I checked my e-mail, nothing, so I decide to call. I just got off the phone with their tech department, a person named Ryan, it was a pleasant conversation, as I was explaining the problem, he asked me if I had e-mailed him, “oh yeah” I said, Ryan explained that they were just catching up from other e-mails and that he was just about to respond to my e-mail. Well anyway, tomorrow, they are sending me a new motor. Ya gotta admit, these people surely stand behind their products.

Now all I have to do, is weld all the steel for the grinder and get in touch with Rob Frink for the wheels that I will be using. I want to build the platen where I can change up for flat, convex, and cut a 2” wide piece off an eighteen inch pipe of appropriate length to bolt onto the platen for hollow grinding, do you think that would work?
:D :D :cool:
 
hey larry this saturday is looking good for me (as all saturdays do) how about you? i'm plannin on ordering my stuff this week too. i just made out at a local store. found some stainless heat treat wrap in 50ft rolls for a price i couldn't argue with so i grabbed the last two rolls. one of course for my mentor! not to mention some 7/8 X 2inch 01 for making some of those handy tools IG has laying around for your shop and mine!
 
T Blade,
I too purchased the same setup as Pendentive, and seem to have some problems with mine. First problem is if my potentiometer is set at "0" or 12 O'clock position, I have to turn it to 7 O'clock before the motor will start, also, the grinder will stop when I put a piece of steel to it, the motor has speed but no torque. also, if I slow it down to quickly, the circut board trips, and I have to wait 5 minutes before it will start again, I've tried to adjust the pods, but with only limited success. I will call Surplus Center to see what they say. Tom
 
very interesting...please keep us posted.

Maybe Steve (sando) or Roger (rlinger) could help us understand what's going on here.

Welcome to BFC copycat!

;)
 
Thanks for the welcome Pendentive, I called The Surplus Center, and explained to Ryan The problem i'm having and he said he will send me another motor, controller and potentiometer!!! Yiu can't beat that for service. Also thanks to T Blade for the heads up on the Surplus Center, I would have suffered in silence, and never called them. Say Pendentive, talk about a shoestring budget, you should see the KMG type grinder I built. I only had to buy the steel, I had the aluminum to make the wheels, and a friend donated the bearings. I must say that Rob Frink should get a lot of credit for his design, it was hard enough to copy, ( notice my forum name) let alone design it, I can't imagine how many prototypes he went thru. My hat is off to you Rob. I've learned so much from this forum, i hope i can contribute something. Tom
 
Ok. Let me know if it works better for you. Only thing worse than a bad suggestion is one that gets passed around...:footinmou :footinmou ...and around...and...

When do you think you'll have it up and running?
 
Surplus Center said they were sending out the replacements today, as soon as I get them i will put them in and let you know whats happening, Tom
 
copycat, that's cool that you've built your own grinder, as I am also working on one that will have a very strong resemblance to Rob's design. The major difference is I got the steel for nothing, but I will buy the wheels from Rob. As the thread started, the platen will be able to flat grind, have a slack portion, and if all works out, using a section from a large diameter pipe in place of the flat platen, to allow for hollow grinding. I don't know if the hollow grind platen will add too much heat, causing premature belt failure :confused: , but I guess I'll find out.

I'm also very pleased that Surplus Center is treating you right :)

pendentive, how is you motor and controller working for you, does it have enough torque, and speed control?

One thing, being an open cooling design, we must be aware of preventing grinding dust/grit from getting into the motor.

:D :D :cool:
 
Hi Guys,

I'm wondering if we are all talking the same motor/controller. But if Surplus Center knows what you have and expect it to work, then it must be the right combo.

Copycat, sounds like the potentiometer isn't wired in right, but ????

Please let me know how the next one works out.

Steve
 
T Blade & Sando
I wired the potentiometer the way Surplus Centers wiring diagram said to, I even changed it to try it a different way. A electrican friend suggested i try a 5k potentiometer for more sentivity, but the specs called for 10k so i didn't change it. I'll keep you guys informed. T blade, you cannot imagine the feeling you get when you turn on the grinder for the first time and it works!!, and just a short time ago it was just a pile of metal. Good luck with your project, and if you need and suggestions feel free to ask. Tom
 
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