KYBOY Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Ok, heres the thing...I just got a new craftsman 2 x 42 belt grinder..Just a few days old..LOL, it seems to be "cold blooded" :confused: Well I often work in the shop at night..Of course this time of year it gets real cold down in the hollar...When I turn the grinder on(when its very cold) it only wants to turn a few RPM's...Then when I either bring it in the house or take the belt loose it will wind out and run fine..After it runs for a little bit(warms up) its good for the est of the night...Now I know this sounds foolish but thats exactly what it does...Ive been around power tools my entire life, I mean I was working in my uncles woodworking shop when it was 9 years old and have never seen a power tool behave like this..At first I thought maybe it wasnt getting enough juice because of where it was plugged in but that dosnt make any sense because I use the same outlet for my welder ...Of course something dosnt sound right and normally Id just take it back but im wanting to make sure Im not overlooking something obvious..Reason being it was a speacial order and Sears will charge me a 15% restock fee for exchanging it :mad::mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devon blacksmith Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 HI I have a cut off saw that if it stands for a few days or is realy cold it takes time to reach full speed I have found that if I turn it over by hand first then start it it speeds up a lot faster,I also have a bench grinder with a week capacitor that needs a helping hand to start it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I've come across a couple of motors that need a shove to run, something wasn't right with them imo, but as far as that restock fee goes i'm afraid i'd be arguing the toss with Sears. I say if you paid their asking price for a fully working product then if theres any additional costs it's down to them, otherwise they should be on the tag when you buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt in NY Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Ditto on the Sears return. If you just decided that you didn't want it that is one thing; a new machine that doesn't work properly falls under the Sears gaurantee. The air compressor in my garage has been like this for as long as I can remember. I'm in my early 50's now and it was my Grandfathers garage. I remember clearly how I thought it was odd to start a motor by pulling the belt, even as a toddler. So it may last 50 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 The original Zoomspout oiler from Blue Lake Products. "Then when I either bring it in the house or take the belt loose it will wind out and run fine. " Perhaps it is not the motor but the belt mechanisim. Either way I would also argue with Sears. Other light aerosol oils ( LPS # 2 example ). May be the trick also. Currently 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canska Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 KYBOY, how long does it take it to finally get up to speed? I've got a 4"x36" belt sander, its slow to start when its <20F too, but it gets up to full speed in about 10 seconds at most. It seems the belt rollers have grease packed bearings, and when very cold, that grease is thick as mud. Which would explain why it runs fine if the belt is loose, or once the bearings have warmed the grease up enough. I don't think these things were really designed for freezing conditions. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arbalist Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I used to have a vertical Milling machine in the garage that used to take quite a few minutes to warm up in the winter time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 How many amps is the motor trying to pull on startup? If its cold its going to pull more. You may have it plugged into a 15amp circut when it really needs to be plugged into a 20amp circut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 (edited) While I might purchase Craftsman wrenches and hammers I will never purchase another electric tool from Sears. When we got our first house I purchased a set of tools for it consisting of one of their more expensive table saws, electric drill, scroll saw, and circular saw. The circular saw and the electric drill shot out sparks from day one and died at the end of the one year warantee period. Both the table saw and the scroll saw were almost unusable because the fences and guides would come loose and not stay in place during use. Also, the two slots in the table saw's top were not parallel, so that you could not slide jigs in the slots. When I went back to Sears their attitude was to go $%@& myself. A few months ago I took a Craftsman socket wrench back and they gave me a non-Craftsman socket wrench that does not look or feel well made. I replaced those tools with commercial grade tools from suppliers other than Sears and have not had trouble in the 26 years or more since. I would never recommend purchasing electric tools from Sears. Absolutely never! Edited December 5, 2008 by UnicornForge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Sears used to make high quality power tools but today they are pretty much just cheap import tools. It is most likely the oil or the grease that is in the rollers, and just gonna have to warm up a bit before you can use it. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 FYI i was told a while ago that sears does NOT warranty their tools for anything but home owner usage. NO commercial work. I pointed out my sister is a lawyer, and then they gave me a new socket, but also a paper stating the official return policy, so lifetime does NOT APPLY, to anyone that actualy uses their tools ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Well I went down there today and was ready to argue over the re-stock fee but they didnt even mention it again..They were real good about it and ordered me a new one right off...:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggraham Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I have an belt driven air compressor (not a sears/craftsman)that gave me trouble starting. Belt slipping or the motor tripping on overload. The oil that came in the compressor was 30wt. I changed it to 10w30 and i have not had any problems. 15 to 18 years. I tend to agree with welder19, you have a lubrication problem, but your bearings are probably sealed and you might have to live with it. does the manual say what the ambient operating temperature should be? Probably above 40 deg F. ggraham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 My little HF belt grinder does the same thing, if it's cold it runs at about 5% RPM, once it get's warm though it runs just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I took 4 Craftsman electric tools back to Sears a while back to see about getting them repaired. They said they would have to send them to their repair facility in TN or KY or someplace over that way and quoted me prices for repairs that were more than their new tool prices and when I walked away they offered to throw the tools away for me. I still have a couple Craftsman power tools left but as they die I will replace them with much better stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul B Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I have a craftsman drill, 1/2 inch chuck, turns 400 RPM. It gets used about four or five times per week. It has never failed me. Lives in the trailer with most of my other construction tools. The kicker is I bought it in 68 I think. In those days sears had as good a tools as any one. I still buy all craftsman hand tools, prefer them over snap on and the rest. I have never had a problem returning any tool to sears. You do have to insist on a new replacement, they will try to give you a remanufactured or repaired ratchet. I have even taken back bars and ratchets where you could clearly see the marks from the presuader and never questioned. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Well, I have a new one coming and if it does the same thing then Ill know its probably just thick grease in the bearings..Because of course a properly running electric motor dosnt bog down just because its cold..Ill feel better either way ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Is this sander belt driven? If it is, and it happens with the replacement, take the belt off and see if the motor starts and runs properly in the cold. If it does, turn the pully on the tool by hand to see if there is resistance. If there is, it could be (as previously noted) the lube in the bearings (or sleeves). I don't think I've ever seen a new motor bind up because of cold. A cover, like a towel, with a shielded light bulb under it will keep a tool like that warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blafen Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I got a bench grinder/buffer that needs a hand start, otherwise it wants to run in reverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Motors needing help to start is one thing - probably a bad capacitor. But running slowly until getting up to temp could be stiff grease in bearings or tight (new) bushings in the motor. A lot of bushings are aluminum alloys (may be part of the motor frame) and contract more than steel shafts when cold. Running slowly will draw a lot of current, you'd probably do better to warm the machine first. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 this is odd because i have left cheap drills out in the -5 weather before and they still work fine after.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverDamForge Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 this is odd because i have left cheap drills out in the -5 weather before and they still work fine after....I once dropped a 1/2" drill in a hot tank full of lye solution - you should have seen the foam from the aluminum case! We fished it out, dried it out and went back to using it - after closing the lid of the hot tank... Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 this is odd because i have left cheap drills out in the -5 weather before and they still work fine after.... Yea, I know me too...Thats why I figured its either a bad motor or thick grease in the bearings...I can live with thick grease...I cant abide a bad motor in a new grinder Ive worked with power tools in weather so cold the metal case would stick to your hand if you didnt wear gloves...Which sucks by the way..LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmotley Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 I bought a Delta bench grinder from Lowes a several years ago that ran slow when it was below 20 degrees. I didn't use it very much when it was cold so I didn't worry about it, by the next winter it was fine and never has failed to start right up since and it's about 10 years old now. I stopped dealing with Sears years ago because of too many problems with electric tools and not getting it straightened out in a reasonable amount of time without being ugly to them. I'll never set foot in another Sears for anything, if I want cheap for occasional use I go with Harbor Freight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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