Hmm - it appears the axel and belt fixtures prevent access to the screws to open everything. I need a lot of force to remove them (more than i can apply). Back to plan A.
Testing a motor...
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Update:
Ok, I had a look around the garage to find appropriate wires. All my rolls were too thin or the wrong type. Even old plig sockets have cables with twisted copper cables, no solid copper.
Then I came across some old worn/used carbon brush complete with copper rope wire and already attached terminal.
Broke of the carbon brush so I had a copper rope/wire with just the terminal at one end.
So...I managed to get the coil wire through the terminal hole and then also clamped the copper rope end in the motor terminal, bridging the small gap.
If you cant follow here is are pictures.....they are not great but hopefully you get the gist.
My question, since there is a large bit of brass terminal touching the rest of the coil, will this cause any issues. My head tells me that as all the coil wire is together anyway, it should not be an issue.
Successful bodge?
Ok, I had a look around the garage to find appropriate wires. All my rolls were too thin or the wrong type. Even old plig sockets have cables with twisted copper cables, no solid copper.
Then I came across some old worn/used carbon brush complete with copper rope wire and already attached terminal.
Broke of the carbon brush so I had a copper rope/wire with just the terminal at one end.
So...I managed to get the coil wire through the terminal hole and then also clamped the copper rope end in the motor terminal, bridging the small gap.
If you cant follow here is are pictures.....they are not great but hopefully you get the gist.
My question, since there is a large bit of brass terminal touching the rest of the coil, will this cause any issues. My head tells me that as all the coil wire is together anyway, it should not be an issue.
Successful bodge?
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I can see what you have done, personally I do not think the coil wire end is making a good electrical contact, did you scrape some enamel back and see what colour is the core, if it is silvery colour then it is aluminium, which you cannot solder readily using ordinary electrical solder, as it requires a very different flux and solder, and is sold very expensive, not that it can't be done.
As long as that end of the coil wire is in good contact with your brass piece, and that brass piece should not touch any of the windings, you may think those windings are like one big bunch together, they are but not electrically conductive to each other due to a think coating of enamel, that brown stuff is the enamel. and it insulates the windings from one another, and a rattling brass piece is most certainly going to break through the enamel and short out winding and cause a failure.
I am sure you can come up with something more suitable as a method to extend that wire and solder the other side of the small extension wire to the terminal post.
You could try some stranded wire wrap it around the broken wire, but before you do that you need to strip that enamel coating and then wrap stranded wire around it, tightly as possible, then apply glue on it to stop it uncoiling or falling loose, or even if you could some how squeese it together that might give you a good electrical contact, failing that it may not work reliably and may pack up whilst cutting grass.
As long as that end of the coil wire is in good contact with your brass piece, and that brass piece should not touch any of the windings, you may think those windings are like one big bunch together, they are but not electrically conductive to each other due to a think coating of enamel, that brown stuff is the enamel. and it insulates the windings from one another, and a rattling brass piece is most certainly going to break through the enamel and short out winding and cause a failure.
I am sure you can come up with something more suitable as a method to extend that wire and solder the other side of the small extension wire to the terminal post.
You could try some stranded wire wrap it around the broken wire, but before you do that you need to strip that enamel coating and then wrap stranded wire around it, tightly as possible, then apply glue on it to stop it uncoiling or falling loose, or even if you could some how squeese it together that might give you a good electrical contact, failing that it may not work reliably and may pack up whilst cutting grass.
Just buy a new mower.
I recommend one with an internal combustion engine.
I recommend one with an internal combustion engine.
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Never! It is an easy fix really, I am just trying to bodge it too much.
Another method you can extend that wire is to crimp a small brass ferrule, you know the ones used on end of show laces, similar to that in concept, but instead of crimping shoe lace end, you crimp the wire end, you could make one out of any food tin can, metal can not aluminium cans, cut a small piece roughly 1/4" by about 1/2" and first scrape off the surface of this tin piece as all food cans have a thin plastic layer or coating to stop acids in food from reacting with the tin, so you will need to scrape this layer off using a sand paper or similar, or even a knife to scrape off this coating until you get down to bare metal, then fold it in half over a paper clip pin, so you are left with a "U" shape tin piece, then open it up wide but don't straighten it up too much, using a pair of strong scissors cut the piece short near the U bend and using a pair of pliers wrap it around the pin, to form a complete circle around the pin, you may have a small amount of overlap, you will have formed a sleeve, you can now insert your broken end of the wire into the sleeve as well as a small length of any short piece of wire, insert them both into the sleeve and then squeese with a pair of pliers to clamp both wires, and this should give you a good strong electrical joint, then wire/solder the extended end to the motor post. (If you have a soldering iron, you could even solder the sleeve so that it does not unfold, it really is down to your skills. you may wrap some insulating tape over the sleeve so that it does not make any electrical connection with other windings nearby.
However, you will also need to scrape off the enamel off the broken wire end by about 1/4" that will go inside the sleeve.
However, you will also need to scrape off the enamel off the broken wire end by about 1/4" that will go inside the sleeve.
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Thanks - will give an update when it is done.
Also thanks for mythbusting somthing. I honestly had no idea the a coil in a motor is insulated. I thought the density of the wire was there to induce current and therefore I thought they they all conducted with each other when in contact. It always struck me as odd but just accepted it in my head. I did not realise that the brown layer is actually an enamelled insulator. I just thought it was bare copper wire.
Also thanks for mythbusting somthing. I honestly had no idea the a coil in a motor is insulated. I thought the density of the wire was there to induce current and therefore I thought they they all conducted with each other when in contact. It always struck me as odd but just accepted it in my head. I did not realise that the brown layer is actually an enamelled insulator. I just thought it was bare copper wire.
When I first moved in, I struggled with an electric mower I picked up cheaply.... until I stalled it on long grass and managed to strip some plastic (!!) gears (I said it was cheap!) Like you I replaced with a petrol mower and wouldn't go back
However I did come across this http://www.aaroncake.net/misc/showthought.asp?thought=60 a little while ago, All I can assume is that electric garden tools (even battery ones) are a lot better these days than they used to be?.... Either that, or I just let my lawn grow too much between mowings!!
A common failure mode is if the motor gets hot, the enamelling burns off, and you get a 'shorted turns' situation, and it gets hotter still and more enamelling burns off, and so on. It continues until either Someone smells it getting hot and switches the motor off, enough turns short out that its effectlly a short circuit and the fuse blows, or it catches on fire
Well - TBH, as I posted what I did above I was thinking "actually - I'd not be surprised if modern battery powered mowers are OK".
What I would "never go back to" is a corded mower, but the last time I encountered a battery electric they were still using lead acid batteries..
3.00 mark
To be honest, I have never had a problem with my electric garden appliances (caviat: This lawnmower is not mine it is someone else's). I think it all depends on the type of garden. I have had my flymo hover mower for more than 10 years. It picks up all the grass. The garden is not level everywhere so because it is a hover-mower it copes very well. You can throw it about, it is light and easy to carry, easy to store, no fuel to worry about, copes very well with my grass (not very dense). it is quiet, no fumes or petrol smell. I also use it as a path sweeper as it blows/sucks all the grass away. I even take the blade off and use it as a leaf/rubbish sucker.
If my garden was larger, the grass denser and the ground more level, I would certainly think about a petrol mower.
It is horses for courses, they have worked really well for my requirements.
P.s I also have a very good electric hedge cutter (cuts through thick branches no problem) and an electric chainsaw which is perfect for 90% of small garden tree branch cutting. My neighbour could not believe how good it was a few days ago. Like a knife through butter and no large kickback!
I think a lot of issues stem from the fact that people do not maintain electric equipment (or do not think they need to maintain them) as people maintain petrol equipment.
My hedgecutter still needs all the bearings greasing as would a petrol version to keep it in good working operation ....the lawnmower needs it's filters cleaning and blade sharpening...and so on
If my garden was larger, the grass denser and the ground more level, I would certainly think about a petrol mower.
It is horses for courses, they have worked really well for my requirements.
P.s I also have a very good electric hedge cutter (cuts through thick branches no problem) and an electric chainsaw which is perfect for 90% of small garden tree branch cutting. My neighbour could not believe how good it was a few days ago. Like a knife through butter and no large kickback!
I think a lot of issues stem from the fact that people do not maintain electric equipment (or do not think they need to maintain them) as people maintain petrol equipment.
My hedgecutter still needs all the bearings greasing as would a petrol version to keep it in good working operation ....the lawnmower needs it's filters cleaning and blade sharpening...and so on
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You do not understand how it works so don't try to repair it......Darwin award candidate in the making here.....
Oh please, go back to your troll cave. If you have nothing useful to add, keep your smarmy comments to yourself.
You've only made four posts thus far and you are already trying to mock other users and act the joker. Pathetic
You've only made four posts thus far and you are already trying to mock other users and act the joker. Pathetic
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