Two Minute Tips  

Keeping Track of Starts

Noah Bethel | Vice President-Product Development, PdMA Corporation

One of the primary variables in determining the life expectancy of your motor is heat. Heat is often the final variable causing premature aging and breakdown of your insulation system. Another component of your electric motor, overlooked for heat-related failure is the rotor. The rotor experiences extreme heating during every start causing natural heat-related aging of the steel, copper, and aluminum. Motor design engineers know this and consider 3,000 starts a normal life expectancy. So, if you are not tracking the number of stars, maybe you should start tracking them. Knowing this could help your decision making when you are considering a repair vs. a replacement later in the motor’s life.

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About the Author

Noah Bethel Vice President-Product Development, PdMA Corporation

Noah has over twenty-five years of broad operations and electrical systems maintenance experience in industrial, commercial, and military settings ranging from nuclear submarines to world class amusement parks. His experience includes high and low voltage, AC and DC, power generation, power distribution, motors, and motor controllers. Noah is currently in charge of product development for new and existing PdM technology at PdMA Corporation.

Noah is a graduate of the University of the State of New York and the Naval Nuclear Power School and Training Unit. He is a Certified Maintenance Reliability Professional, with field experience in motor circuit analysis, current signature, power analysis, thermography, vibration analysis, oil analysis and ultrasonic testing.