wiring new plug/cord on salvaged washer motor?

**hexmonkey** · 11-09-2008, 07:02 PM

Got a good deal (free!) on a salvaged washing machine motor on craigslist, but it has a cracked, old electrical cord on it that I want to replace. It's a 1/6 HP 115VAC 3A motor, and must be 50 years old, from the weight of it and the odd-looking (to me anyway) insulation on the electrical cord. I think it's cloth insulation, but it's dirty enough it's hard to tell.

I was thinking about using a plug and cord from a computer, since I work in IT and have easy access to a ton of those. They have 3 prongs and the plug on the motor only has two, so I'm not quite sure how that would work. Also, I'm not sure how to tell if it's heavy enough cable for the current this motor would pull.

Anyone know what kind of electrical cord and plug I should be able to use to safely replace this one?

**hexmonkey** · 11-10-2008, 12:25 AM

I just checked and it isn't a cloth-covered cable, it's tar-impregnated cloth. And the motor must weigh a good 30 pounds, if not more. It's made by Sunbeam, though I can't find the part number on google.

**Yuri_Rage** · 11-10-2008, 12:32 AM

Wire the hot and common leads (usually black and white, respectively) to the motor, and attach the ground lead (green) to the motor casing. Polarity doesn't matter since it's AC.

KiltLifter · 11-10-2008, 01:19 AM

+1 on Yuri

Look close on the computer cord, along the length it should say 14AWG or 16AWG then some other stuff. The 14 would be better, but at 3A the 16 would be OK. If you can, match the white and black locations that you had, but like Yuri said, it's AC so not imperative.

doctorcurly · 11-10-2008, 04:00 PM

So... out of morbid curiosity, what were you planning on doing with the motor?

**hexmonkey** · 11-10-2008, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorcurly

So... out of morbid curiosity, what were you planning on doing with the motor?

Haha, guess I forgot to put that in the OP...

I'll be using it to motorize a mill.

TimGrz · 11-10-2008, 07:34 PM

You could also splurge and go down to Harbor Freight and spend the $2.99+tax on a digital multi-meter and trace the lines. Good practice and you will learn from it.

Those cheap multi-meters are great to have in the tool box. I bought a half dozen of them and keep them in my vehicles and all over my house.

THIS is it but they go on sale for three bucks all the time.

/tg

**Revvy** · 11-10-2008, 07:55 PM

We just got a harbor freight in town!!!

**hexmonkey** · 11-11-2008, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimGrz

You could also splurge and go down to Harbor Freight and spend the $2.99+tax on a digital multi-meter and trace the lines. Good practice and you will learn from it.

Yeah I'm pretty sure my multimeter was from an HF sale, I forget since it was awhile ago.

I have no problem with the wiring part, my main issue was how to know how big I need to go in terms of wire gauge for a motor this size. In retrospect, maybe I could have just phrased it like that in the OP...