A dimmed light is not great but quite common. It is a sign of undersized
wiring back to the breaker box and beyond (or an excessively large load
for the particular circuit). BUT....... if the bulb comes back up to
full brightness, you should have enough power to run your motor at full
speed/power.

Stick the leads from your multimerter (set to the voltmeter) into the
other plug on the wall outlet, measure the voltage. Turn the motor on,
see how much voltage sag you get at startup and at run. It should start
at 120 to 125 volts (standard power company voltage) will certainly drop
to something like 105 to 110 volts, then come back up to close to the
starting voltage. You want to measure as accurately as you can the
DIFFERENCE between no load and running load. A couple of volts
difference is normal, 6 or 8 volts difference is a sign of wiring issues.

Alex wrote:
When I turn on the motor I can see that light bulb above me gets dimmer
for a second.
I now realize it might be a sign of a voltage dip. Am I right?

Thanks,
Alex



Alex wrote:

Christopher Tidy wrote:

Alex wrote:

I shouldn't be able to stall it easily. But I can.
Some one suggested it might be the circuitry and wiring.
I have original 1927 wiring in my house. Is it any way I can check
if my wiring can handle the load? I have a multimeter.

Thanks,
Alex





What does the motor data plate say? Do you have a picture of the
data plate? What voltage is the supply in your house?

How did you stall it? With a long wooden stick or what?

Chris

It's a metal 2x72 grinder. I can stall it by grinding small piece of
steel or aluminum quite easy.
I have 115V in my house.

It's a WEG motor model #00158ES1BF56C.
you can find it on www.wegelectric.com/catalog

Here is the specs:
# Output: 1.5 HP
# Poles: 4
# Frequency: 60 Hz
# Torque: 4.44 lb.ft
# Voltage: 115/208-230 V



Check that the motor isn't wired for 208-230 V. There should be two
main windings connected in parallel for 115 V operation, or series for
208-230 V operation. There will also be a start winding. For operation
at the lower voltage the start winding is connected directly across
the supply by the centrifugal switch. For operation at the higher
voltage one end of the start winding is connected to the point at
which the two main windings are joined, and the other end to the
centrifugal switch.

To test your supply voltage you need to set your multimeter to measure
AC volts. Most have a 250 V range which would be the best to choose.
Figure out a safe method to connect the meter in parallel with your
motor. Don't just try to push the probes against the terminals under
the motor cover. Be careful!

Best wishes,

Chris