[john martin]

Same motor ...    ametek from Czech or Italian plants .

   

[mr muzzy]

Good morning all how long should you get out of a vac motor , i put a new one in last november and it blow already my machine is an extracta i phoned them up but they only give six months warranty had this new motor seven months which cost me £250 .
Is there anywhere else i could get a motor or will i have to go back to them for another one .Or is there anyone around Darlington on here who could help me

 thanks Gavin

I use them machines ,the vacs take a bit of looking after, you need to change the bushes on them every 400 hours ,
if it an exel you use, vac one over loads vac two ,so you normally kill the second vac every year ,they are a bit over priced but you can change them your self no problem ,I myself would  buy them off extracta ,no way would I get them off ebay,, this is just my opinion hope it helps  

[CleanerCarpets]

thanks John

can motors blow so they just dont power on like mine has?

[john martin]

thanks John

can motors blow so they just dont power on like mine has?

It could be just your brushes need replacement  , but the whole thing could be toasted also .. its hard to tell 

[CleanerCarpets]

if it were just the bushes i would of thought it would still whirr but arc

i have nothing at all so i assume the motor itself has gone?

its done 5 years work on the original motors and this is the first to go so its not done bad!!

[john martin]

if it were just the bushes i would of thought it would still whirr but arc

i have nothing at all so i assume the motor itself has gone?

its done 5 years work on the original motors and this is the first to go so its not done bad!!

Ture , probably as well to change it ... they do loose power over time also im told

[CleanerCarpets]

i have ordered one of these -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251485204238?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

i will report back how i get on!!

from what i can see there are 3 wires - one of which is the earth. Is it possible to get the other two wired wrong or can they just be attached either way round?

[Kinver_Clean]

People go about cut price carpet cleaners and what a scam they are--- Then you buy the cheapest vac unit you can possibly find that is really not up to the mark.
It is amatek COMPATIBLE ie it comes from somewhere and is made roughly to the same dimensions so should fit???

Buy a genuine vac unit. Keep a note of roughly how many hours it has run ( x weeks @ z hrs/week ) and check the brushes every 400-500 hrs. When they have 1/4" left, change them. It is not difficult. Your vac unit barring accidents will run almost indefinitely. I have vac units that are 6-7 yrs old and still run sweetly.
I presume you change the oil in the van every so often? Brushes are the same, motors need a bit of TLC occasionally and they will repay it big time.

[john martin]

People go about cut price carpet cleaners and what a scam they are--- Then you buy the cheapest vac unit you can possibly find that is really not up to the mark.
It is amatek COMPATIBLE ie it comes from somewhere and is made roughly to the same dimensions so should fit???

Buy a genuine vac unit. Keep a note of roughly how many hours it has run ( x weeks @ z hrs/week ) and check the brushes every 400-500 hrs. When they have 1/4" left, change them. It is not difficult. Your vac unit barring accidents will run almost indefinitely. I have vac units that are 6-7 yrs old and still run sweetly.
I presume you change the oil in the van every so often? Brushes are the same, motors need a bit of TLC occasionally and they will repay it big time.

They are  Ametek ...   , mine have Ametek stamped on the side .

[CleanerCarpets]

could anyone tell me is it possible to connect the live and neutral the wrong way round on the motor? the wire colours are different on the new motor and i am told it doesnt matter which one the live connects to but i would just like to confirm that before i fire it up!

[john martin]

could anyone tell me is it possible to connect the live and neutral the wrong way round on the motor? the wire colours are different on the new motor and i am told it doesnt matter which one the live connects to but i would just like to confirm that before i fire it up!

red and black ?   red to the live

[CleanerCarpets]

Thanks John, but the wires on the machine are black and white, so which of them is live!?

[john martin]

Thanks John, but the wires on the machine are black and white, so which of them is live!?

So does your new motor not look exactly like the one in the picture from the seller , red and black there , does it have the same label ... if not it might not be the same as mine ... in any case just wire it up , id say you can do no harm , it might just blow insted of suck 

[CleanerCarpets]

Sorry John, don't think I am explaining myself properly - been a long week!

The wires on the motor are red and black, the wires coming from the switch on the machine are black and white, so which one on the machine is live - white or black?

Clear as mud!?

Thanks for helping

[john martin]

Sorry John, don't think I am explaining myself properly - been a long week!

The wires on the motor are red and black, the wires coming from the switch on the machine are black and white, so which one on the machine is live - white or black?

Clear as mud!?

Thanks for helping

I think vac motors are  polarity neutral   ,  go for white as positive and see what happens 

[CleanerCarpets]

Will do, thank you

[CleanerCarpets]

Just googled it, looks like black is live

[CleanerCarpets]

all done, vac fired up ok and sounded sweet

will report back on reliability!!

[CleanerCarpets]

OK - UPDATE!!

Used the Scorpion fitted with the new vac motor on a job for the first time today.

All was well until just before the end of the job and the motor turned itself off. Thinking of the above comments i assumed it had got to its max temp and shut off. So i finished the job, got home for 10 mins and tried it again and it was working - it had shut down due to overheat (the other 2 original motors were still happily working on the job and the Scorpion doesnt suffer from overheating the motors.)

I had contacted the seller about the motor before i received it and he stated it was made by Ametek in Italy hence the cheaper price, but it was Ametek.

I contacted him today and he confirmed it does have a thermal shut off point - not mentioned in the advert and obviously lower than that of an original Lamb Ametek motor it states it will directly replace.

I have been told i will get a refund if i return it - we will wait and see, a claim will be made.

These motors arent rated the same as an original Lamb Ametek, you may get away with one on small jobs or in a spotting machine but use it on any substantial job and you will be having the motor shut down until it cools off and will fail altogether fairly soon due to being overheated all the time - which would explain the short life spans some people have had as stated.

See the other comments on the thread - it did the same in a CFR machine and was put down to how the CFR can heat the vacs up more. It isnt down to it being a CFR - put them in any machine and run it on anything other than small jobs and it will let you down.

Putting in a spotting machine - yes worth a punt, anything under good load steer clear.

[stuart_clark]

To be honest mate, its not worth the grief, I would put original motors in if I was you, taking Scorpions apart aint easy!