Ruh roh.... may be time for a new DC - Update. Problem found and solved

[HowardH]

new update.  After 3 weeks, the new capacitor blew. Felder was asking if the power to the unit was consistent which I believe it is.  It ran fine for 2 years without a hiccup and now it blew out twice.  They want me to hire an electrician to look at the connections and check the power.  They also charge $110 per hour to diagnose and that's probably throwing good money after bad. Thinking something is wrong with the motor.  My sales guy is asking the factory guys what else could be the problem. If they say it needs a new motor I'm probably just going to throw the whole thing away as the only thing of value is the motor. I would imagine a new motor would come close to the cost of the entire unit.  Very disappointing from what is supposed to be a high quality product from a high quality company.

 

[waho6o9]

" Here's the Felder capacitor.  Pretty clear that it blew out. How does that happen? "

There's several reasons why capacitors pop, hopefully you can figure this out. 
https://www.circuitsgallery.com/what-causes-a-capacitor-to-explode/

 

[ChuckM]

If you're getting a new dc, this time, try having one that is HEPA rated.

 

[HowardH]

that new one from Harvey is really interesting but unfortunately it's too big for my shop. 

 

[Peter Kelly]

I put this system together for around $600 a few years ago, worked out pretty well so far. Only hiccup was replacing the bearings in the Hazard Fraught motor on top of the blower unit, runs much more smoothly now.

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[HowardH]

Felder contacted me and they are attempting to locate a compatible capacitor in the US. I'll give it shot but if doesn't work out long term, I'll probably order a Harvey G-700 as it has some great reviews.  They also now come with a HEPA filter. 

 

[HowardH]

I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with the machine. Today, I removed the motor and impeller assembly to see what's going on. First thing I noticed is the impeller doesn't spin freely when turned. There is quite a bit of drag when i try to spin it.  Shouldn't it spin freely if it was working correctly?  I'm taking this in to the Felder showroom in Dallas on Monday.  Should be interesting to see what they say. 

 

[HowardH]

Fortunately, there is a Felder showroom in Dallas about 10 minutes from my house so I took the motor and impeller unit to have them look at it. At the other end on the motor, there is a plastic housing that acts as a safety shroud around a small cooling fan.  Evidently, it somehow got misaligned and was interfering just enough with the small fan blades to keep the motor from starting. The tech got everything lined up and adjusted. Once he did that, we plugged it in and it spun right up. If it happens again, I'll know what to look for.  No charge by the way. That's excellent customer service. I'm back in business. 

 

[ChuckM]

Good to know that you came across a helpful vendor and technician. Woodworking as a hobby or as a job can at times be frustrating for all kinds of reasons, and your story with a happy ending should be a good way to begin the woodworking year of 2024 for you.

 

[mino]

Fortunately, there is a Felder showroom in Dallas about 10 minutes from my house so I took the motor and impeller unit to have them look at it. At the other end on the motor, there is a plastic housing that acts as a safety shroud around a small cooling fan.  Evidently, it somehow got misaligned and was interfering just enough with the small fan blades to keep the motor from starting. The tech got everything lined up and adjusted. Once he did that, we plugged it in and it spun right up. If it happens again, I'll know what to look for.  No charge by the way. That's excellent customer service. I'm back in business.

That could have been the root cause of the inial cap failure even.

The durability of electrolytic caps is heavily influenced by temperature. Plus, a quality cap rated for higher temp may cost even 10x more than a "normal" one. Would not surprise me if the replacement or even the original cap went out because of this. If the fan was sqeezed a bit, enough for its RPM to be reduced but not enough to prevent the unit to run, the cap could have been overheating. And here "overheating" can mean it reaches 60C instead of an expected 30C .. so one may think it is still "OK" while it is not.

No idea of where the cap is placed, just saying for posterity as these types of big capacitors are quite sensitive to operating temperatures and it is easy to forget/not know about that.