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MMD > Archives > May 2007 > 2007.05.01 > 02Prev  Next


Pipe Organ Blower Motor Problem
By Bruce Newman

Dear MMD,  Thank you all for the insight into wiring the blower
motor.  I think John Nolte has hit the nail on the head.  When he made
his comment about joining two of the wires from the motor together,
a light bulb came on <grin>.  I did some digging through other boxes
that came with the organ and found a tattered tag that was originally
tied to the motor.  It has a faded, smeared schematic diagram showing
how to wire the internal motor terminals so it can run on either 220V
or 110V.  I have re-drawn the 220V schematic and I think I've been
able to reproduce it accurately.  I will send a scan of it to Robbie
to post.  Z, A, AZ and T are terminals inside the motor.

I've come to the conclusion that the Allen-Bradley starter is simply
acting as a 3-pole relay like the three pole switch shown in the faded
schematic diagram.  Perhaps the three pole switch is necessary to
prevent the capacitor from draining.  It appears that there is a jumper
connecting the lines from motor terminals Z and A on the "line" side
of the three-pole switch.  The confusing part to me is why one of
the leads to the 220V AC is marked "L" and the other is marked "N".
"N" to me means neutral, but apparently not in this case?

Andrew Pilmer was kind enough to forward my original post to the
company in England that made the blower and I think when I hear back
from them, it will confirm my theory.  In the meantime, hopefully
I haven't let too much of that "special smoke" out of the motor!

Regards,
Bruce Newman
Port Orford, Oregon

 [ In UK the 220 VAC appears from line "L" to neutral "N".  In North
 [ America 240 VAC appears across the two 'hot' lines, "L1" and "L2".
 [ Try connecting the motor to your mains L1 and L2 (instead of "N")
 [ as shown in the old schematic.  With any luck at all the motor
 [ will spin like new!  ;-)  I'll post your schematic diagram after
 [ the motor information is received from the blower manufacturer.
 [ -- Robbie


(Message sent Tue 1 May 2007, 15:25:32 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.)

Key Words in Subject:  Blower, Motor, Organ, Pipe, Problem

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