Is a free treadmill worth picking up?

O

Omega Leather Works

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Jun 13, 2007
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A friend at work has a gym quality (her words. she claims it came from a gym) treadmill she just wants gone. Works fine.

I was just thinking, it must have a motor with some type of speed control.

Would it be worth my time to grab it to harvest the motor, or no?

How are speeds controlled on those things?
 
if it is fairly new then it has a dc motor and it is worth getting. i have 3 treadmill motors (1 is still in a working treadmill) and 1 is going on my belt sander and the other on my disk sander. when you take the motor, you need to take everything else attached including the dash since you will need it too. there is a pulley on the driven shaft you need to get too. there is a magnet that is for the speed control on the side of the pulley and without it the motor will not run. i'll put the magnet on one of the drive pulleys and attach the speed sensor pickup once i get the motor installed.
 
It may be worth a shot, that being said, a guy I know made a grinder out of one, and it was a major hassle. There were sensors he had to scab together so it would run, and it had some strange pulley system he had to work around. In the end it lasted about a week and then he had to buy a real motor. However ymmv, just don't pick it up and tell the wife it's for her lol.
 
Treadmill motors have several problems for converting into knife making equipment.
1) They are open frame and not made to be around metal dust. They tend to not last long in shop use.
2) The power rating given is not realistic. If it has a 2.5HP motor and draws only 10 amps.... the power rating is just pie in the sky talk for sales hype. The ratings are comparable to 5Hp shop vacs.....pure fantasy.
3) The bearings aren't made for the type of side load that a grinder gets.
4) The engineering is usually to get a smaller motor, not a big fat motor. Big fat motors have more and better windings for delivering the power.
5) The mounting is almost always a flange. It is almost always very flimsy. They are commonly made with stamped sheet steel and plastic bodies. Most are made in China.
6) The shaft is usually not made to accept a pulley. Many have a flywheel/friction wheel threaded on the shaft.
7) The controllers are made to run at slower speeds and low load. They usually can not handle sudden changes in current draw, as happens when starting grinders and hogging steel. They also have few protection circuits, so instead of tripping an internal protection circuit and shutting down safely....they burn up.
8) The wiring is usually a nightmare of uninsulated leads. It will take careful re-wiring and making enclosed mounting boxes to get all that working in a shop tool.
9) They are not made to take apart easily and get everything out in good shape. The control panels are also not easily re-configured. Re-programming the logic device is almost always not an option.


The only useful thing I have seen made from them in the knife shop is a disc grinder. Probably not the greatest, and probably won't last nearly as long as one made from a TEFC Baldor.

The honest truth is that selling the treadmill ( or using it as a treadmill) is the best use for it.

A 3/4HP 3Ph motor and VFD can be found quite cheaply. They will make a super-duper disc grinder.
 
I saw a video replacing the running belt with a custom sanding belt. hell of a setup if space isnt an issue. But selling it sounds like best choice. Make sure the friend is ok with that, Ive given things to friends that I would have sold to others.
 
Very good, thanks to all.

The story goes that she bought it from a closing gym, then (as is almost always the case), never used it.

I can't remember which brand it was, if that even matters, but was something like Lifestyle or Nautilus.

Apparently she tried to sell it and got no offers, and just wants it gone since it takes up half her garage. I don't believe it's anything super new or trick, but works well and has lots of standard features, elevation control, etc. She said the only problem is that the lanyard attached e-key is missing, but she rigged another from a paper clip or something.

I would feel weird about taking it and selling it (got enough of my own crap that needs sold anyway), but I know she'd be fine with me dismantling it for parts.

I'm not all that worried about a motor, I just parted with a new Baldor, but figured it might be good for something. I've got my truck, and she doesn't live far. I'll take it if she still has it when the weather improves a little.

Thanks guys (extra to Richard and Stacy as usual) :)
 
Glue a bunch of abrasive to it and crank the speed up. Now you have the only timesaver sander in the world with a fat burn mode. What could go wrong!
 
To me free always comes with strings attached or generally cost more than purchasing that same item new.
 
Even if you burn the thing out using it as a grinder motor? The price was right so?

I have both TEFC motors and open in my shop. Stacy is correct that the open can get fried from steel dust. I have two open motors that I picked up used years ago that i have been trying to fry and they are still working fine.

one is 1 1/4hp and the other is 2hp. I blow out the dust with the compressor every couple of weeks.
So if i am paying more that about 50 bucks I want a TEFC motor. under that if I get it to work for 6 months plus,
No worries!
 
those gym quality treadmills are quite pricey.

I don't understand why she could not sell it on craigslist. It will sell quick for like $2000. here in Atlanta or back in L.A.

Maybe it was her description or pics on the ad that turned people off.
 
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