[whitecree]

I salvaged a couple of heavy duty motors from a washing machine and dryer. Problem is, I don't know how to connect the wires on the motors to a standard 3-wire plug. The color scheme of the wires on the motor is nothing I have seen before.

So, before I start with trial and error and attempting to electrocute myself, anybody here know how the wiring on an electric motor is supposed to go? Or maybe you know where I can look for a definite answer?

I've been searching google for the last day or so, and I find all sorts of fascinating stuff, but nothing on how connect the wires.

[Just Carving]

Whitecree,

Decoycarve is the man to go to for motor wiring. I believe that's what he does/did for a living. I think he even teaches motor control wiring too.

[Mark Gargac]

Washing machnine motors are excellent for sharpening and honeing rigs because of thier high torque. Identify your ground which should be the green wire. It does not matter what color wire you use for the hot leg or nuetral.You are sending 120 volts to the motors armature, this input of current interacts with a magnetic field to produce torque. We are dealing with alternating current (AC)SO so the other wire serves as the path of return current. Just currious what color are the wires?

[Ashbys]

Whitecree,
do you know the voltage? Some dryers are wired as a 220 single phase basically 2 110 volt power lines and a ground. Some are wired 110. Single power line and ground. But a lot of the older commerical dryers were 220 3 phase , meaning one 220 volt line with 2 110 volt lines with a ground line. The simple way would be to take them to a motor repair and let them check , they will usally only charge a couple of dollars to check the motor and then ask them to add the plug in which will be pretty cheap.

To offer a suggestion about the motors without know the voltage , you can look to see if they have a motor schematic drawning on either the outside of the motor or on the wiring cover plate . this will give any motor connections and the voltage line which go to power. Outside of that there is no real way to be safe in trying to answer this .

Ash

[Old_Gord]

It's always tricky trying to give advice about electrical wiring as some have aluded to. So rather than provide wiring connection sugestions to you and possibly create a hazard for you here's my suggestion. If you know what make of appliance these motors came from you could check here for wiring diagrams.
http://fixitnow.com/appliantology/la...ngdiagrams.htm

.

OG

[decoycarve]

This could be tricky. You need to know the voltage rating of the appliance that it came out of. How many wires are coming out of the motor? What color are they?
There may have been a couple of capacitors involved in the running of the motors. They are usally used to start the motor and sometimes in series with the windings and used for the different speeds the appliance had for different cycles. I f you know what appliance it came out of(make & Model) I may be able to track down a schematic for it.
Goody

[Thomp]

wow , so there is no easy answer

dang it

i been doing maintence on the 4 nearest houses to me for 25 years, when folks buy a new washer its usualy a clock or a belt.

so i been canabalizing them and saving the motors that i could trick into running. by jiggling switches orcrossing wires at some point.. then cutting wires and removing motors, i must have 10 of them saved back, from through years, never needed them becuse someone was always getting rid of universal 1175rpm 1hp bench motors,

guess i can just haul off all them 110 vt washer motors to the dump and clean off one shelve...
if there all gonna have to be brought to an electrician to be wired up..

[Ashbys]

Thomp,

It will get even more insane very soon, they changed the law a few years back where all motor controls and drvies have to be changed. In the 1950 you could control with 220 volts, that was changed in the early 70's no control could be over 110 volts, now it has been changed to 24 volts. It might still be a high voltage motor but all control releated to the operation has to be 24 volts. Now I have seen a 12 volt motor which is a 1750 rpm, in 3/4 hp that is slightly larger than a credit card. in width and 1.5 inches wide.
The problem that you might phase a motor is very real, you get it to run ,it functions, but not the way it is designed so you produce a fire hazard as the motor will short out.
Without know the correct wiring and not being able to see the motor and put a tester on it it just opens up too many hazards to offer a wiring answer. The old standard of white netural , Black power , green ground just isn't anymore especially with international assy.

Ash

[Thomp]

i think all these new discoveries and reinventions come simply from in that we want things for our kids to be better than they were for us we send them to collage, they return smart and they need jobs so they reienvent or do things to make it easier on their kids...

\
or just try to market their smarts in other ways... just wish they wouldnt make it so complicated...

[whitecree]

This motor came from a GE dryer, about 13-15 years old. I don't recall the model offhand. Something white - does that help?

The 3 wires coming from inside it are black, blue and orange. The blue and black both vanish inside the wire coil, while the orange appear to wander off to one side before popping back up to vanish in the wire coil close to where blue goes.

Says on the side

• 1/4 hp 115V 60hz ph1
  1725rpm fr 47 4.6a
  type kh

A sticker stuck on another side says it is

• model 4J792AS
  111D2221P006
  date: VE T test/inspect 01

It would be nice to rig a power polisher/honer with one of these, but if it is going to a fire hazard - (shrugs) - oh well, in the trash they go.