Iron horse electric motor thoughts

S

Scoli Forge

Knife maker in training
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Feb 9, 2015
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Just as the title says I'm looking to see what people thing about the Iron Horse brand Electric motors. I'm working on piecing together a disk sander with vfd. Here is the motor in question. It's a 1hp reversible TEFC motor and comes with a 2 year warranty. I was looking at a Leeson motor but it's almost twice as much and only comes with a one year warranty. Any opinions appreciated.

http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Motors/AC_Motors_-_General_Purpose_and_Inverter_Duty_(0.25_-_300HP)/AC_Motors-General_Purpose,_Rolled_Steel,_IronHorse_(0.33_-_2HP)/3-Phase_Motors,_56C_(0.33_-_2HP)/MTR-001-3BD18
 
I've used the single phase 1.5 hp Iron Horse motor on my belt grinder for the last year. Worked ok. Got VERY hot though. Made me nervous. This last month I decided to convert my belt grinder to variable speed and considered getting a 3 phase Iron Horse motor. They aren't inverter duty. Plus with how hot my last one got it made we worry that when I ran the grinder at slower speeds the motor would overheat because the fan would be spinning to slow to provide sufficient airflow. I ended up getting a used 3ph 2hp inverter duty Leeson motor on ebay for $100 plus $40 shipping. So glad I went that route. It runs MUCH cooler than the Iron Horse, and in general just sounds and feels like a better motor.

I know this isn't an apples to apples comparison, but at least its a one data point.
 
I have that exact motor on my grinder with VFD. Works perfectly fine. No heat problems or anything for me. I do plan on upgrading to a more powerful motor at some point though.

If I were doing this full time and being able to feed my family depended on the motor then I'd go with the better quality motor. If it's getting occasional hobby use which is how I use mine then its fine imo. And they delivered mine in 1 day so even if it has a problem in the next 2 years you could have a new one on your doorstep incredibly fast.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I would imagine this motor would probably be fine on a disk sander if it works on your grinder. Which VFD are you using with this motor phorizt? I ordered a KBAC24d from wholesale electronics last night. I have the 27D on my 2x72 grinder and love it.

I think i'll roll the dice and see how it works out. I really like the 2 year warranty it has.

I doubt I'll ever be full time but I hope to turn it into a hobby/side business at some point.
 
I have 2 Ironhorse motors for disc grinders, I think one is a 1.5 hp and the other a 3/4 hp, both 3 phase, both running off the KBAC VFD
honestly I haven't used them much but they work fine
given the price and warranty it didn't seem like too much risk.

"They aren't inverter duty. Plus with how hot my last one got it made we worry that when I ran the grinder at slower speeds the motor would overheat because the fan would be spinning to slow to provide sufficient airflow." this is correct, however see this thread where I brought up the same concerns -

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1289018-inverter-duty-motor-3-phase-for-VFD-on-a-disc-grinder

76C09FF7-3FA2-44A4-AE36-6761150FA992_zpsn6waslmq.jpg
 
Good info. Thanks for the thread link. Not sure why mine got so hot. Sound like my experience was an outlier
 
hsc3_90293 said:
I have 2 Ironhorse motors for disc grinders, I think one is a 1.5 hp and the other a 3/4 hp, both 3 phase, both running off the KBAC VFD
honestly I haven't used them much but they work fine
given the price and warranty it didn't seem like too much risk.

"They aren't inverter duty. Plus with how hot my last one got it made we worry that when I ran the grinder at slower speeds the motor would overheat because the fan would be spinning to slow to provide sufficient airflow." this is correct, however see this thread where I brought up the same concerns -

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1289018-inverter-duty-motor-3-phase-for-VFD-on-a-disc-grinder

76C09FF7-3FA2-44A4-AE36-6761150FA992_zpsn6waslmq.jpg
Click to expand...

I have the KBAC 24d too.

I guess I should clarify on my previous statement too. I say there are no heat problems because I haven't noticed any in about the 6 months I've been using mine. I don't reach back behind the grinder and check it every time I grind either. Usually my grinding sessions are pretty short and light duty too. I'm doing a couple of smallish edc type blades at a time which is why the 1hp works for me. I'm not working it very hard grinding bowie blades out of hardened steel for hours on end.
 
I run the 1-1/2HP 3phase Iron Horse on my VS 2x72 and it works fine, no cooling problems.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEESON-1159...532?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item541085327c

Motors, and especially 3-phase motors, are frequently on Ebay in NOS condition at way below list price. The Iron horse motor you linked to is a Frame 56, which is the most common motor size made. Any fame 56 motor will work(i.e. with any letters after the 56) as long as it has a mounting base (some are face mount only). It's easy to find a new baldor or leeson with all of the specs you want at the same price or even significantly better. The link above took me about 90 seconds to find.

I have never had an Iron Horse motor apart. However, I have had a ton of other motors apart. My advice to you is, go for the Baldor or Leeson.
 
I saw that one catalytic but I saw that it had a 7/8th inch shaft on it. It seems that most of the disks are made for a 5/8th shaft. I didn't really want to mess with an adapter. On the rotation it mentioned reconn. I don't know if that mean it was reconditioned or not.

I'd like to get a rest for it at some point but most of the rests that I've found will only bolt on the a 56c face. I don't know if my fabrication skills are good enough to make my own.
 
I searched ebay every day for over a month and never found an equivalent name brand motor for a steal of a price. Of course now that I'm not looking they're probably all over it. ;)

I did score my KBAC drive practically brand new for about $100 while I was searching. and I found a lot of 40 brand new 2x72 trizact belts for $1ea shipped at the same time. you just have to get lucky with the timing.
 
Yeah, I've been watching my local craigslist for a while but haven't across any good deals. I don't think I'll beat that 125 price and free shipping.
 
I pulled the trigger on the Iron Horse. I'll let everyone know how it works after i've used it for a while.
 
I've been using a 2 hp 3ph Iron Horse motor for the last while on my grinder and it works just fine. No heating problems at all. If it were ran VERY slow for a long time, it would get hot as would any other motor. These ARE rated inverter duty, see specs "Inverter capable (3-phase only)" at link:

http://www.automationdirect.com/static/specs/ironhorsetprs.pdf

For the price difference, I'll continue using them.

Ken H>
 
Sounds like the Iron Horse motors have a good track record on this forum. I'm sure it will work great for you.

Just for clarification, inverter duty doesn't mean it's just capable of being run on a VFD, but that its designed for the voltage variation and slower speed associated with being driven by a VFD. Most any 3ph motor can be driven with a VFD

http://motors.automationdirect.com/Information/compare.html
 
catalytic said:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEESON-1159...532?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item541085327c

Motors, and especially 3-phase motors, are frequently on Ebay in NOS condition at way below list price. The Iron horse motor you linked to is a Frame 56, which is the most common motor size made. Any fame 56 motor will work(i.e. with any letters after the 56) as long as it has a mounting base (some are face mount only). It's easy to find a new baldor or leeson with all of the specs you want at the same price or even significantly better. The link above took me about 90 seconds to find.

I have never had an Iron Horse motor apart. However, I have had a ton of other motors apart. My advice to you is, go for the Baldor or Leeson.
Click to expand...

It's true they are available and I would also go for the Baldor or Leeson. But you have to have some patience and time to find the right match on ebay and CL. CL you have to go with cash etc and pick it up.
I even setup search alerts and looked regularly there is always some risk in buying used or even new equipment. Sometimes the savings at this purchase level is marginal.
In the end I never did come up with the right match and got tired of looking.
Frankly I have more money than time and therefore decided to go the Ironhorse route. It's not my first choice or best choice, but the choice that was appropriate for this use.
Also automation direct has pretty good technical support so I was comfortable. It was an easy purchase with free shipping and made my life easier.
 
Last edited:
For some reason I mistakenly thought you were looking for 1.5hp. 1hp motors with frame 56 are actually more common.
Try this search:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro... 460, 480)&rt=nc&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo&_udhi=150

Here are some results:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BALDOR-M354...944?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item463ce57738

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BALDOR-M800...180?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43deccd70c

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEESON-C6T1...644?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c4a4f7934

These are all new/new other, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 3ph motor used. Unlike single phase motors, there's really not much inside a 3ph motor that can go wrong. About the only thing one could do to one is smoke the leads if you wire it wrong or heat it up way past a normal amount (and many motors have overload protection and mag starters/heaters to prevent this).
 
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