GNJC Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I am re-posting this here because I think it is pretty esoteric to the UK and also that nobody reads the 'bellows' section of the forges forum... I recently fitted an old (I guess late 60s), heavy, cast iron cased William Allday & Co Starter Regulator as a speed control for my fan blower. I had a friend who is an electrician check it over beforehand and he gave it the all-clear; he also went over the wiring connecting it to the blower, all is well there. The blower itself is a later one by the same firm; my maths and my electrician chum both state that the control is well capable of handling the power going through it. But… I was forging a couple of days ago and while waiting for a heat I happened to touch the casing of this regulator, it was pretty hot; of course, there must be resistors in it so I’d expect a temperature. But, how hot is normal, is touchable alright or is there a problem I need to solve? Thanks in advance for help. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Talk to your Electrician Chum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Is it a starter, or a regulator?The reason I ask is that starters for machinery do not get used constantly, heavy load, motor gets up to speed, then starter is kicked out and machine runs on normal loading at constant speed,A speed regulator however is usually a large box with a fair size knob on top/front that passes a contact arm over a series of contacts/windings which gives you the speed required. They are usually well ventilated with perforations on the box sides.Do you have a pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 My Buffalo forge has a factory electric blower with the factory rheostat and it gets so hot that you can't rest a hand on it - but it never smokes or gets to what I'd call "frying pan hot". I have not shot it with an infrared gun but would bet it's running at least 150 degrees F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNJC Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Hmm…clearly you have good mind Swede, that was my first thought too. However, after having checked the thing inside and out and finding no faults, he suggested I ask other smiths who are used to such kit, since some industrial electrical items were once expected to get hot and that was not a problem. HWooldridge, thanks for that; mine gets hot but nowhere near ‘frying pan hot’, after three hours of use it was still possible to put my hand on the iron casing. But that written, as we know, smiths are generally a bit less heat sensitive than others, so it may still be too hot. John, I have had problems with posting pics before so I have sent a photo’ to your usual e-mail address. As you will see it is a ‘Starter Regulator’; the wheel on the front moves an internal arm that passes across a number of contacts, each having less resistance - left to right as you look - as more speed is required. To be fair I have had it running at a fairly low speed, so there would have been a fair amount of resistance. I have seen the same unit – at least from the outside – at several smithies. There are no holes / vents in the iron casing other than for wiring. Thanks again for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Hi Giles, yes that is OK for the job, Some have perforated cases but that too can cause problems.Not knowing the condition I would would check out the cleanliness (Blow out with airline) and the other thing is that the contacts are in good fettle, if not they can cause excessive heat due to surface area contact being reduced.Like you say heat on the hand is relative, but they will get hot, always stick a small cooloing fan nearby if you think it may be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 for controlling the speed of a motor I normally use an inverter, it changes the frequency going to the motor and are all electronic, can have either push button controls or it can have a knob, normally there is a digital display, there are also thyristor controlled ones that work like the speed control on an electric drill but with a knob mostly then finally there are resistive ones that drop the voltage and if it is a 1hp motor ( 750w ) it can generate 750w of heat which is a lot. the first is best and the last is worst for heat generation. it will mostly depend on what temp it is meant to work at ( the element in an electric fire is a resistor and is made to be happy at red hot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNJC Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Thanks for all that gents, my concerns are now diminished. I suspected that the control was well-capable of the job it's doing, but wanted to make sure. Fair point Dwarf, many things are rated to work at different temp's, the problem is knowing just what the temperature an old thing like this was specifically built to cope with - the chance of coming across the original spec's is remote. A fan is one option John, I'll ponder some others too. Thanks again all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 you could add a plug in earth leakage trip as used for mowers and other outdoor tools, it will shut off the power if insulation burns or anything else goes wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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