Vacuum Motor Service

[deadfish13]

Hey guys I have 2 VBTST13431AEAD (Imperial Electric) vacuum motors that are getting to be very loud when in use.
i was wondering about the service life of the bearings and how does one change these bearings.

thanks.

[curtiss]

I would think the motor has an amp rating on it somewhere, ...if it is pulling more amps than the rating, you need to have it rebuilt before it bursts into flames...

[rb99]

How do you measure the amps being used by a motor?

RIB

[deadfish13]

Curtis thanks for the fast reply.
I already want to rebuild them, i just need to know HOW .

[curtiss]

How do you measure the amps being used by a motor? RIB

*****

You can find a nice amp meter at Sears, or maybe even one for $20 bucks at a pawn shop.

The process basically is to clip around the hot leg going to your router or whatever you are trying to measure.

I have a short extension cord with the insulated wire exposed that makes this easier. (you do not need to have any copper exposed, but you cannot measure amperage by cliping around both wires of 110)

An amp meter is great for establishing your baseline values, you can then tell at an early stage when something electrical is starting to go out... such as a refrigerator or whatever

[loriny]

I would suggest you check the impeller is tight first off. I had one that ran louder than the other and finally when it quit I found the nut had fallen off the shaft and the front bearing had siezed. Possibly the vibrations from a bad bearing loosened the nut?? Any way after replacing the bearing it is still loud so no doubt it is out of balance. I plan to replace it and keep this one as a spare. To rebuild them you must seperate the motor from the blower by dissasembling it from the back. Then you must remove the shaft nut and press the motor from the blower with this shaft. I don't know the proper way to dissasemble the blower housing to get the bearing out but the way i did it was to heat it with a propane torch because I thought it was glued. I don't think it actually was. Then I pounded a smal prybar between the outer housing and the base and slowly pried it apart. After that it is just a matter of R&R of bearings. I bought shielded rather than sealed as that is what my blown apart one appeared to have been.
Lorin

[Gary Campbell]

kamlesh...
You might try contacting Ward at Lighthouse Enterprises. ( http://www.centralvacuummotor.com/ ) He sells the Imperial motors, and may carry the parts that you need, along with replacement instructions.
Gary

[deadfish13]

Lorin
i got to the point where i have only the inner windings/shaft and the housing to separate, both nuts (front and back ) have been removed . IS there a proper way to PRESS the shaft out of the bell housing ? Also regrading the bearing on the motor side , did you use a bearing puller to remove it ?

thanks
kam

[loriny]

The small bearing on the motor side felt OK so I left it. The other bearing i got out by positioning everything on top of a vice. I threaded the bigger nut back on to protect the threads and hammered it to get it moving. After I had to remove the nut i pounded it the rest of the way out with a soft steel punch. The proper way would be a press. I did this as a temporary fix as my impeller had fallen off and looka a bit rough.
Lorin

[deadfish13]

That sounds like its going to hurt something or someone (me) lol. My first idea was to give it a few wacks but my worry was bending the shaft causing it not to run straight when the motor is reassembled.

i'll try contacting Central Vacuum Motor ( as Gary said )and see what they suggest.

Thanks Guys