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I've borrowed my Dad's beloved Atco Quite Shredder 2000. When I borrowed it, it was working. Now it seems to have a case of corvid-19. I'm having difficulty nursing it back to full health.
Symptoms: No longer fully starts. When you push the start button it makes a motor staring sound for a few seconds then gives up and turns off.
Treatment: I've had it apart, its build like a tank, and a pleasure to work on. I gave it a good clean, was full of garden debris. Greased all the (still good) bearings. Remade all the electrical connections. Nothing looks damages. Everything seems to spin freely. So I put it back together, fired it up, and bingo worked like a dream. Job done...or so i thought. Left it running for a couple of minutes, all fine. Tuned it off, put it into reverse, started fine again. Left, again for a few minutes, fine. Off, put it in forward, turned it on again and left if running. Happened to look at the blade at this point, was a bit dark so I could be mistaken, but I think the blade was running backwards even though forward selected. Thats weird I thought, so tuned it off, put it in reverse to see if I could see different spin. this time pressed the start button, it made starting sound...and turned off just like before. Since then, just makes starting sound for a few seconds then turns off.
Anyone have any ideas what might be causing that? It looks like most parts are available and would happily repair as its a great piece of kit. But at the moment I'm struggling to give an accurate diagnosis.
thought this was going to be about confined pump tracks, is disappoint 😉
Potentially a dry capacitor - that's my first thought anyway.
Otherwise it could be dirty contacts in a relay.
Lerk, interesting. There is a dirty great big white thing which I assumed was a cap, has some stuff looks like its oozed out of the bottom of it. I assumed it was just sealant, but now you come to mention it, i wonder if that is what wrong. perhaps I'll get a photo of it, and see what the consensus is...
Sort of kicking myself really. Having been prompted (by Lerk), its obvious that this cap is not happy. I'm at work at the moment so dont have the time, but I'll dig it out tonight and see if the spare is available.
Hope the pics work. Where has the preview button gone?
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49741267763_7ab522efbc_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49741267763_7ab522efbc_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2iMsZWT ]image[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/kingofbrad/ ]KingOfBrad[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49741267728_4ecc2a0745_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49741267728_4ecc2a0745_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2iMsZWh ]image2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/kingofbrad/ ]KingOfBrad[/url], on Flickr
Yup, that'd be it!
Thanks Lerk. I'm going to dig it out tonight, and see if I can get a new one. Can't quite read the spec off it while its installed, and wont come out with a mild tug. Needs a bit of persuasion.
You could test for output by licking your fingers and putting them across the cap terminals...
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But you really, really shouldn't 😁
The capacitor on my lathe did something similar. Once the goo comes out it won't go back in. I don't think the value is particularly critical as long as it is quite big. Mine is 18uF, 450v. Obviously the voltage is important.
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The value is import as the value is what causes the phase shift to allow to give the motor torque to start
Once the goo comes out it won’t go back in.
The goo is where the pixies live - once the case is broken like that, all the smoke comes out and the pixies die; the machine will not work until you install a new capacitor full of smoke and pixies...
Capacitor replaced, and all working again. Less than £10 all in, including delivery. Fantastic stuff, spent all weekend shredding last autumns branches. Thanks to all in this thread.