Pheer grinder motor question

M

MJB206

Joined
Mar 24, 2023
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28
Hello all

Question for those of you who have Pheer grinders with the default motor they come with. (I’m also running a KBAC 27 vfd.)

I was doing some grinding today and on and off the motor seemed like it was getting louder. Not like a bearing noise, but definitely a louder whirring noise than normal. At first I thought perhaps it was the fan in the end of the housing but it looks like it runs all the time. RPM didn’t seem to matter.

I’ve only had the grinder a few weeks but I don’t recall it doing it before today - I didn’t grind any longer or differently than previously. I stuck my head next to it but couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was coming from.

Any thought to what it might be?

Thanks!
 
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If the noise will act up often you might have the phone by grinder when talking with Jose so he can hear the noise. If not, try to record on your phone so you can have a audio file to email to him. It's really hard to describe a noise, much better to hear it. Perhaps a short video with sound uploaded to YT?
 
Ken H> said:
If the noise will act up often you might have the phone by grinder when talking with Jose so he can hear the noise. If not, try to record on your phone so you can have a audio file to email to him. It's really hard to describe a noise, much better to hear it. Perhaps a short video with sound uploaded to YT?
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I’ll see if I can record it - it wasn’t super consistent so it’s a matter of running it until it does it.

I need to call him anyway as my tool rest and small wheels were back ordered.
 
RPM not making a difference with the noise is interesting?

Not probably related, but the only strange grinder sounds I've encountered was when my drive wheel loosened up.

I still haven't done it yet, but I recommend threadlocker on those set screws
 
Crag the Brewer said:
RPM not making a difference with the noise is interesting?

Not probably related, but the only strange grinder sounds I've encountered was when my drive wheel loosened up.

I still haven't done it yet, but I recommend threadlocker on those set screws
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That’s why I thought perhaps it was a fan kicking on internally. I’ll double check the drive wheel - I thought about adding thread locker when I installed it….
 
I didn't realize with the picture you sent me that with the 7 inch drive wheel, your table won't retract in enough.

Def don't run your table that way, too great of a pinch point, your fingers could get sucked into..... If you like that 7inch drive wheel I'd cut off the legs on your table support so you can get the surface closer to the face of the belt.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
I didn't realize with the picture you sent me that with the 7 inch drive wheel, your table won't retract in enough.

Def don't run your table that way, too great of a pinch point, your fingers could get sucked into..... If you like that 7inch drive wheel I'd cut off the legs on your table support so you can get the surface closer to the face of the belt.
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I was actually able to pull the tool platen arm out a bit more to allow for moving the tool arm closer in. The gap is about where it should be now and it feels like the tension is right. Only had to open the gap up a bit more for a surface conditioning belt
 
I was finally able to get out to the shop and reproduce the noise. If you listen, there’s a deeper noise that kicks in and out. I’ve listened all around the machine and it definitely sounds like it’s in the motor.


Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks!
 
You did a good job of getting the noise - and I don't have a clue.
That is with no belt - is the drive wheel removed? For sure send the video (or link) to Pheer (Jose?). Something isn't right.

I will be following this thread to see what you find.
 
There is actually a belt on it - a well worn 36 grit ceramic. I was just running it at low speed as it was easier to hear.

I’ll send the link to Jose. My dad is a machinist and is coming over today. I’ll ask him as well.
 
Update. Tried to recreate the issue again this evening. Wasn’t able to. However, I pulled the belt off and spun the idler wheel. It was super stiff. Pulled it off the bolt/axel and spun the wheel by hand with fingers in the bearing holes. One side is definitely bad. I suspect the sound was the wheel either stopping or slowing significantly such that the seam on the belt was hitting the wheel and making the sound. Emailing Jose about it shortly.
 
That sounds like an intermittent bearing rub....maybe some of the bearing balls have a flat spot that catches occasionally as they move around. The good news is that you will be able to figure this out eventually; because the bad news is motor noise rarely stays even. Almost always degenerative. I believe you will need to have this motor repaired internally. My 2 cents...

John
 
JV Knives said:
That sounds like an intermittent bearing rub....maybe some of the bearing balls have a flat spot that catches occasionally as they move around. The good news is that you will be able to figure this out eventually; because the bad news is motor noise rarely stays even. Almost always degenerative. I believe you will need to have this motor repaired internally. My 2 cents...

John
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Possibly. I determined that one bearing in the idler wheel is bad (and the other one could be.) I think the assembly was put together and arrived to me a tad too tight. There's no spacer between the bearings which means it's easy for them to be too tight in the wheel. I've loosened it a hair and after about an hour and a half of use, I've not heard the noise return. I've let Jose know about the bearings, so I'm assuming he'll send replacements. In the meantime, I'm just keeping my ears open.
 
Wait - you mention the "idler" wheel - I was thinking this was a motor noise. That's why I was asking if there was a belt on in the video link. Sounds like now you're thinking the motor is ok and the noise is from one of the wheels with bearings, such as the idler wheel? By idler wheel, you're talking about the wheel that puts tension on the belt? OR a platen wheel?

I don't mean to sound picky, but it does make a difference in testing.
 
Ken H> said:
Wait - you mention the "idler" wheel - I was thinking this was a motor noise. That's why I was asking if there was a belt on in the video link. Sounds like now you're thinking the motor is ok and the noise is from one of the wheels with bearings, such as the idler wheel? By idler wheel, you're talking about the wheel that puts tension on the belt? OR a platen wheel?

I don't mean to sound picky, but it does make a difference in testing.
Click to expand...
Not picky at all. I was originally thinking it was the motor as well. However, I pulled the idler wheel off (the one that puts tension on the belt) and pulled it off it's shaft to check the bearings - one of them is shot. The other isn't as smooth as I think it should be, so likely on the way out. I also noticed the nuts locking the wheel on to the shaft seemed a little too tight - and I'm guessing that contributed to the bearing(s) going south. I loosened them up just a tad and ran the grinder on a few blanks I'm working on. Wasn't able to reproduce the noise. So all I can figure is that that idler wheel was slowing up or freezing and the seam on the belt on the wheel (or the wheel itself) was causing the noise.

Interestingly, there is no spacer in the idler wheel that goes between the centers of the bearings - they are simply held in to a race in the idler wheel on either side with snap rings. If there was a spacer, it would be less prone to over tightening the lock nuts. It came assembled, so I didn't think to check it when it arrived.

Anecdotally, the idler wheel was previously getting much warmer than I expected prior to loosening the locknuts up. Since I made the change, the wheel has run a lot cooler.
 
Ken H> said:
Sometimes those weird sounds can be hard to find. Looks like you've got the issue solved.
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I hope so. It's definitely odd the sound seemed to be transmitting like that. We'll see if it ever comes back. In the meantime, looks like my replacement bearings will be here in a couple of days.
 
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