Bandsaw Motor Replacement Question

[charlessenf]

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Anyone know if this "SMITH + JONES 1 HP Farm Duty Agricultural Motor" 1hp 1800 RPM 'Farm Duty' motor would prove suitable for a 14" Delta Bandsaw?

Or a 'compressor duty one: 2 HP Compressor Duty Motor

 

[John Britton]

In my experience, 1.5 HP is a minimum for a band saw. But I have the 6" riser block so I can cut thicker wood, therefore need more HP.
Compressor duty is for motors starting under full load. They usually have 2 starting capacitors.
Farm duty is rated for long continuous duty. Usually having a duty cycle of over 1.0.

 

[charlessenf]

a duty cycle of over 1.0.

THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK

I have no idea what a duty cycle is as regards farm equipment or band saws. I know my cheap wire feed welder has a duty cycle - not sure about my old AC Tombstone Arc Welder. And my personal duty cycle seems to have changed over the years.

Is there a spec for a Table saw motor, another for a planer, bandsaw, etc? BTW, I thin my Delta BS only had a 3/4hp motor (ostensibly 'from the factory' across from the prison).

I remember, now, the reason for the second (well, first in operational sequence) capacitor on the compressor - so no need to install that motor on a bandsaw.

From what I gather (as I've mentioned, none of the YouTube bandsaw videos seem to run at 'real time' so they all seem to saw wood so much faster than I've been able to achieve when the going get thicker. Well, the going gets slower as the wood gets thicker.

The maple I was trying to cut through was under 4" and a bear. I wonder if I simply do not posses the patience to rip the maple.

 

[John Britton]

The farm duty motor will work, but see if they have a 1.5 hp in the same type of motor. Make sure the rotation is reversable.

 

[Tarhead]

You also need to pay attention to the backbone of the saw. Most 14" Cast Iron Asian copies of the original Delta don't have enough stiffness to keep adequate tension on the blade when you upgrade the motor...especially a 3/4" blade with thick hardwood. The drag on the blade can cause the spine to flex down and the blade can lose tension to the point that it cups during the cut and can run off the wheels.

 

[Oka]

TEFC (Totally enclosed fan cooled) is typically what is used on most machine applications. John is right 1.5 hp is preferred, 2 hp is better.

The Farm duty rating usually (not always) means it can handle a higher start resistance, like moving a compressor piston and it is a typical term used meaning it can handle all weather conditions.

The issues now days is the honesty of the brand you are buying. A lot of times, it does not live up to their claims and quality. Buy carefully

 

[bob vaughan]

"Compressor duty" is a descriptor for motors that can only have a 20% duty cycle. Run for two minutes, and cool down for at least eight. Generally they are 3450 rpm motors. They suck up the current heating the windings and thus, have to cool down. A motor with a continuous duty rating is what you want for anything that isn't a cheap compressor. Bigger compressors with big tanks often use continuous duty rating motors because of how long it takes to fill the tank and how much demand. In a home shop, 'compressor duty' is fine for a compressor.
I know a lot of people including me that overlooked that duty rating and bought a cheaper motor. Kicks the breaker a lot and has to cool down. Haven't made that mistake twice.

 

[JNCarr]

In my experience, 1.5 HP is a minimum for a band saw. But I have the 6" riser block so I can cut thicker wood, therefore need more HP.
Compressor duty is for motors starting under full load. They usually have 2 starting capacitors.
Farm duty is rated for long continuous duty. Usually having a duty cycle of over 1.0.

Duty cycle over one? Please enlighten.

 

[bob vaughan]

Most motors will show somewhere their duty cycle rating. Most will have: Cont. for continuous duty. Compressor duty motors will be labeled as such.
Then there's service factor. That will be 1. something. There are other ratings on the motor tag of better motors also.

 

[bob vaughan]

My motor supplier once explained the 'farm duty' moniker. The motor is the same, but there are a few little dust sealing details not usually found on a TEFC motor.

 

[JNCarr]

Most motors will show somewhere their duty cycle rating. Most will have: Cont. for continuous duty. Compressor duty motors will be labeled as such.
Then there's service factor. That will be 1. something. There are other ratings on the motor tag of better motors also.

View attachment 231212 View attachment 231213

Ah - you did say service factor in your post. I was stuck on duty cycle

 

[bob vaughan]

If you're using 1/4" and 3/8" wide band saw blades and cutting wood 2" thick or less, then 1/2 HP is fine. Wider blades require significantly more tension to make straight. This tension will require a higher HP motor to work correctly. Adding to the resistance mix is the possibility of making a cut in extremely thick wood. All of this can lead to over stressing the build quality of the saw. Also in the mix is the need to have the tires well glued on to the wheel when high tension is needed. Loose tires have worked fine for decades as long as the tension isn't high. With high tension, loose tires get rolled around like a rolling pin on a sheet of cookie dough and eventually stretch to the point of no longer being your friend.

 

[ErinJ]

Try checking with sawblade.com my friend. They carry parts for the delta saw and may have answers to all your questions.

 

[Mike Davis]

Also remember that re-sawing thick/wide wood (where the teeth are buried in the wood for several inches) requires a very low tooth count. 2 or 3 teeth per inch at most. The gullet has to be large enough to carry the sawdust through the cut. Otherwise the blade gets packed and overheats.

 

[chris_goris]

You also want a TEFC motor in a woodshop or it will fill with sawdust.