You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So this morning I ****ed up.
Hopped on the treadmill for an early morning run before work. Treadmill belt had a bit of stickshion on the base board. Next to the treadmill is my bike on the turbo. Next to the bike is a bottle of chain lube...
In a moment clearly not enough about it, I stopped the treadmill and squidged some chain lube betwixt the belt and the base board. whilst it was all good for a couple of mins shortly after the power tripped.
Bugger. Clearly the lube has got into the electrical motor where it shouldn't be.
I know I ****ed up, I know some will say just to run outside - but for my circumstances the treadmill works for me just now and likely so for the next 18 months at least (new baby en route).
How would one go about removing the lube from the electrical connectors causing the issue? IPA alcohol clean it out? Is the motor goosed? It's an old treadmill so a replacement is unlikely to still be available.
bugger!
Contact cleaner spray?
Yeah, probably alcohol, or contact cleaner (WD40 do something like this or say a PCB board cleaner spray), something to 'dissolve' the oil but doesnt leave a residue and non conducting.
Well I stripped the treadmill down and found no trace of unwanted lube anywhere in the electrical gubbins.
Disconnected various plugs in order and run the treadmill. Treadmill only trips (at the RCD / house consumer unit)) when motor is connected. Brushes on the motor have appropriate resistance and there is no obvious short in the windings.
Guess it's not been a lube issue and it's just goosed at the circuit board.
...I wonder what I could do with a 100vDC 1.5hp electric motor? Strapping that to a bicycle...?
It's not plugged in via an extension lead is it. Worth checking with a different socket to see if it blows the switch. Had a couple of issues with dodgy 'old' extension leads causing issues. Just had the same thing this morning at MIL's house - it's empty, but we traced the sockets tripping to an extension lead that was plugged in.
Sure it wasn't a tin of hairspray and you've bonded the belt to the base?
It’s not plugged in via an extension lead is it. Worth checking with a different socket to see if it blows the switch. Had a couple of issues with dodgy ‘old’ extension leads causing issues. Just had the same thing this morning at MIL’s house – it’s empty, but we traced the sockets tripping to an extension lead that was plugged in.
nice idea. Just used different extension cable and still tripping. Even. Led extension to house from garage so a different circuit and still tripping.
With the treadmill turned on there is no issue. It’s just when I press “go” and the motor is energised and starts to spin that it trips. The drive belt between motor and running belt is disconnected too so it’s not that that’s stuck.
If the RCD is tripping then it's a fault to earth. RCDs do become faulty but unlikely with a treadmill alone unless something has been spilt (or sweat inside controls?). You checked for that but it seems to coincide with the oil can, maybe spray some contact cleaner as suggested. Check that the flex isn't damaged and have a look inside the plug
If the MCB (or whatever) is tripping then it's trying to pull too much current, which suggests that something is jammed
Thanks Timba - it’s tripping the garage spur trip switch (RCD?) for the house on the board under the stairs. Is that an earth issue or too much current thing?
on the treadmill I’ve pulled power cables to the incline motor and the RCD? Still trips. I’ve pulled the power cables to the belt motor and it doesn’t trip.
there is no sign of continuity between +ve and the body of the motor, similarly between the -ve and body of motor.
of the motor itself, I’ve removed the drive belt itself and the motor spins freely by hand.
when the motor trips the power, it’s only after the (1/4 second ish) motor starts to spin up.
RCD is a family of devices and will usually be marked as such (RCD, RCCB, etc) and have a separate test switch. If incorporated in the consumer unit (CU) it will take out several different circuits simultaneously.
The MCB is a trip switch "fuse" and is usually half the width of the RCD. In a domestic CU it'll be marked B6 or B32, etc (the number is the amperage)
Whichever is the case, making sure that you haven't got oil where it shouldn't be is a good idea. Isolate from the power (pull the plug out?) before poking and squirting 🙂
Faulty wall socket somewhere ? I thought the hot tub was causing a trip due to the heater power. Took ages to find, but a wall socket behind the fridge, on the same circuit, went faulty - kept tripping when we swiched the tub on !
Remember: correlation is not causation
https://twitter.com/i/status/1224404802693668864
I'll include RCBOs into the mix just in case, although they aren't as common in houses as other types. They are a combined RCD and MCB and usually have a test switch on each device but they don't tend to be marked as RCBO. They will have the B6, etc marking
Bottom line with any of the consumer unit types; if you can't see an obvious problem leave the treadmill unplugged and get an electrician in
Does the motor actually start to turn, and if so does it trip in the same position each time? When you measured the resistances, did you try the motor in different positions?