Thicknesser is blowing fuses - help please!

[bp122]

Hi all

Just as I am in a rush to finish off the Xmas presents, my planer thicknesser (Axminster hobby one) now just started blowing fuses.

No trips on the board.
Blew two fuses.

I can see the micro switch at the front is engaged.


Is it a matter of taking the covers off and checking the capacitors?

I saw this guy's video just now. I could really do without these issues at this time



Any advice?

Thanks

 

[Ttrees]

I've got some possible scenarios, would like to know a bit more,
Hopefully someone could address my unknowledgable whims, should they possibly have substance.


1. It's likely the cold I'd guess.
Is there any cowboys who bring in their extension leads into the house,
or heat it up first with say a shop vac?

2. Be interested to see if folks might suggest that more things like oil rads in the house are also compounding matters.
(For instance the shower gets cold when herself is using the hairdryer, in this renter.
TBH, I didn't check if both that socket and the shower are on the same MCB.)

3. How long of a run, and thickness of cable likely matters.
I think I've read some peculiar things regarding cable thickness,
I should have paid attention to this, but have I read of this happening when someone upgraded their extension lead, kinda seemingly the opposite of what one could expect.
Something similar, perhaps the cable is, or infact was coiled..should it have worked in the winter before.

(the above is likely two speculations, sorry I couldn't ask it better)


4. If nothing is unchanged, then I've often read that some 13a fuses can be a bit sensitive,
and it takes pot luck to find one in the cheapy pack that is a bit tougher than the rest.

5. Some other factors I'd be interested in knowing might be the clasps of the fuse not being tight enough...
could that cause some slag or whatever residue might possibly be on the fuse caps, or the clasps, it might be worth giving them a wee rub to polish them up.

Just some guesses from a joe soap, and wouldn't mind a good scolding if I suggested
something bad/wrong.

Good luck.

Thanks for your answers
Tom

 

[bp122]

Nothing has changed from last week, where it was even colder and it worked okay.

When I put the new fuse in, it makes a click and a hum and stops. Doesn't do that with old fuses.

I even checked the cable if it has any damage that is causing a short, nothing obvious so far.

 

[Stuart Moffat]

If it makes a click then a hum and fuse goes, can it be that the cutter block is physically stalled. With the power off can you turn the block?

 

[Ollie78]

So it's blowing the fuse in the plug not tripping the mcb ?
I would suggest the start up is drawing too many amps. These machines have pretty big start/ run capacitors.
Most planer thicknessers would be on a 16 amp ( blue plug) with a type d breaker for this reason.

Often you can get away with a 13 amp plug but it is not ideal.

It could be that the start capacitor is dying. Normally they will smell funny and then pop.

Ollie

 

[weekend_woodworker]

I had a similar problem in the past with my planer thicknesser. In the short term I found the solution was all down to the tension on the belt from the motor being too high. If I slackened it off slightly it was fine and could cope with the start up load. I have no idea how it moved to change the tension as I didn’t think I had done anything different from the last time I used it.

My longer term more expensive solution was to have a proper 16amp outlet put in the garage!

Best wishes,

Mark

 

[Tris]

If you can find a way of safely spinning the block whilst the machine is humming, if the motor can then keep it spinning it's most likely the start capacitor.

 

[baldkev]

I had a cap go on a dewalt planer, it just hummed. With a long scrap of wood to nudge the block ( approaching from behind!! ) it spun up just fine. 6 quid for the cap and it was fine again

 

[Henniep]

If nothing else has changed it is likely something giving after fair wear and tear - probably the capacitor

 

[bp122]

Thanks all, sorry I have been away from the workshop and trying to make do without the p/t.

Tested it again today, the cutter block was indeed blocked by the dust port. Upon clearing that, it now spins for about 2 seconds and then cuts off blowing the fuse.

Tried 3 times.

 

[Spectric]

with a type d breaker for this reason.

If the circuit parameters allow then a type C can be used, a type D needs ten to twenty times the rated current which is a bit OTT for a home workshop. A type C can be hard on domestic at five to ten times rated compared the normal type B at three to five times rated and is why you should not just swap out a type B for a C.

 

[johnny]

sounds like the cutter needs a complete clean and service as it is clearly drawing to much current due to an excessive load on the motor. Do an electrical load test with an Ampmeter and compare with the specification

 

[bp122]

I had left this untouched for a while because I was dreading changing the capacitor or taking the machine apart.

Got a pack of new 13A fuses from Toolstation and thought I'll run it one more time and test.

Working absolutely fine (at least for now)

As @Ttrees said (point #4), it was probably the quality of the fuse itself.

Time will tell if this was a lucky fuse or not.

Thanks for your help, everyone.

 

[Ttrees]

This is quite interesting, as I've only read about this occurrence.
I should point out that I wasn't suggesting that the other fuses were lesser quality,
infact likely the opposite. i.e safer=better.

That's a pure guess from an armchair enthusiast Joe Soap, so would like to see others
thoughts on the matter.

Should this scenario turn out to be reasonable practice, and a permanent solution by way of "if it's not broken, don't fix it" ...
Then I wonder if there's some rules to go by which haven't been mentioned,
or some/better clarification needed regarding some points, which may or may not be bad ideas.

Obviously some lighter cuts may be needed, and definitely not feeding a "wedge" into the machine,
(I've read about folks breaking machines doing so)
but having never used a thicknesser, I'd guess I'm missing a few tips which may be kinder to ones supply.

It's more so the other stuff in regards to temperature, resistance and supply which I would like to know more about,
Could it be a case of the spouse or neighbor drawing lots of amperage,
I got the impression before that this were interfering with my welding mojo.

Nice to know these wee tips from the knowledgeable ones were worth remembering!
Keep her lit
Cheers all

Tom

 

[Spectric]

It may be working Ok but a problem cannot resolve itself, there is still something amis and when you think that a 13 amp fuse can allow 20 amps of current to flow and not fuse, then you have to think about what might have changed. In the past it blew fuses, now it works so have you moved the machine and maybe dislodged some debris.

 

[bp122]

The last time it blew a fuse (I believe it was the fourth time I tested with a new fuse at the time), I made sure that the block was spinning freely. That's the only time the fuse blew after a few rotations.

Before that, it blew without spinning the block and after a click noise.

Even now I'm not fully convinced it is resolved, but the fuse I did use before were cheap ones from Amazon that I had lying around. So still not sure what went wrong and it might present itself again.

 

[TRITON]

I've got some possible scenarios, would like to know a bit more,
Hopefully someone could address my unknowledgable whims, should they possibly have substance.


1. It's likely the cold I'd guess.
Is there any cowboys who bring in their extension leads into the house,
or heat it up first with say a shop vac?

2. Be interested to see if folks might suggest that more things like oil rads in the house are also compounding matters.
(For instance the shower gets cold when herself is using the hairdryer, in this renter.
TBH, I didn't check if both that socket and the shower are on the same MCB.)

3. How long of a run, and thickness of cable likely matters.
I think I've read some peculiar things regarding cable thickness,
I should have paid attention to this, but have I read of this happening when someone upgraded their extension lead, kinda seemingly the opposite of what one could expect.
Something similar, perhaps the cable is, or infact was coiled..should it have worked in the winter before.

(the above is likely two speculations, sorry I couldn't ask it better)


4. If nothing is unchanged, then I've often read that some 13a fuses can be a bit sensitive,
and it takes pot luck to find one in the cheapy pack that is a bit tougher than the rest.

5. Some other factors I'd be interested in knowing might be the clasps of the fuse not being tight enough...
could that cause some slag or whatever residue might possibly be on the fuse caps, or the clasps, it might be worth giving them a wee rub to polish them up.

Just some guesses from a joe soap, and wouldn't mind a good scolding if I suggested
something bad/wrong.

Good luck.

Thanks for your answers
Tom

Extension cables, electricity and people in showers.

Is this the plot of an Agatha Christie novel ?

Or Tales of the Unexpected

 

[pe2dave]

I was told it was start up current which made sense.
Expensive solution, provide a 16A feed for the planer.

 

[Spectric]

How is your workshop supplied with electricity, this can have a large bearing on what happens because people overlook the issue of phase, with Ac and Inductive loads you get a voltage drop but also the voltage / current can move out of phase, max power is delivered when they are in phase. Look up power factor / Cos theta to get more details.

 

[pe2dave]

How is your workshop supplied with electricity, this can have a large bearing on what happens because people overlook the issue of phase, with Ac and Inductive loads you get a voltage drop but also the voltage / current can move out of phase, max power is delivered when they are in phase. Look up power factor / Cos theta to get more details.

How can the voltage and current get 'out of phase'?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor