On 29 Nov 2004 04:04:19 GMT, (Don97623) wrote:

Hi

I've got a Rockwell Contractors saw which I recently bought. It's got a 1.5HP,
15A (@115V) original motor on it. The saw has seen a fair amount of use.

There doesn't seem to be any significant drag on the system, the motor, belt &
spindle seem to turn fine.

However, just about 50% of the time I turn it on, the circuit breaker trips.
When it trips, I can just reset the breaker, then turn on the saw and it will
always start the second time. If I shut it off, the next time I try to turn it
on (warm or cold), it will almost always trip the breaker.

Funny thing about breakers is that while they look like little
switches, they don't tend to work like them. I've found that once you
trip one once, you may as well just replace the sucker, because it's
going to trip again with less provocation and greater frequency as
time goes on. Could be there's nothing wrong with your saw, it might
just be a touchy breaker- is your saw the only thing plugged into that
circut, or did you genuinely overload it the first time by running too
many things at once?



I originally had it plugged into a 15A circuit, and figured the starting
current was just a little high.
I had been meaning to add a power circuit to the basement, so I added a 20A
circuit, and still have the same problem.

Does this mean the motor is bad, or are there soft-start options for these
machines, or what?

I could probably wire it up for 230V, but I'd like to have it remain somewhat
portable.

Thanx.

Don

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