1/2 hp motor control faulty selinium rectifier?
 

I have a bulk tank with a 1/2 hp agitator motor, the motor burned out in the first day of operation after I had it installed I have sent it off to be rebuilt and got it back however before putting it back in service I decided to check the control box to make sure it had failed do to age and not faulty wiring.

I believe the lower selenium rectifiers is faulty. Heat can be felt rising from the rectifier within two minutes of turning it on.

Both the tank manufacturer and the parts manufacturer went under decades ago leaving me without schematics or ratings on the components.

I believe due to the application that the motor is intended to turn at a lower RPM than its rated RPM(690) when the switch is in the down position (cooling position) but is intended to rotate faster (perhaps at the rated RPM) when the switch is in the up position (wash cycle).

This tank operates in a humid environment and was intended to do so.

I am inexperienced with electronics in general, I CAN wire electricity in a building and have built my own PC's but this panel is beyond me.

I have taken a few pictures of the control panel.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps059477f6.jpg
http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps733dfada.jpg

I can't see your pictures as this thread is 2months old.
However, selenium rectifiers give off an awful smell when the go faulty.
It may be that your speed reduction switch did no more than put a rectifier in series with the supply, so that the motor was only powered on half-cycles. If so you could probably find a silicon rectifier to replace it - possibly a 1N5408 or similar.