Vacuum cleaner series universal motor triac control board

  • Thread starter Thread starter FusionJim
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
The discussion centers on a vacuum cleaner with a universal series motor that experienced overheating after the removal of its TRIAC control board, which regulates RPM and suction power. The user initially believed that running the motor at maximum setting would supply it with full mains voltage, but this led to overheating issues. It was suggested that the TRIAC board alters the sine wave applied to the motor to manage speed and heat, and that running the motor without this control could have caused damage to its windings. The user later found a replacement controller and motor, but still faced overheating problems, indicating potential damage to the motor itself. The conversation highlights the importance of the TRIAC control board in maintaining motor performance and preventing overheating.
FusionJim
Messages
56
Reaction score
11
Long story short, I got a vacuum cleaner with a standard universal series motor inside. It also had the TRIAC pcb with a potentiometer and a triac/thyristor to control the RPM which allowed to control the suction power. Some moisture got on the pcb and it shorted. I simply took it out since I run the cleaner at max setting anyway thinking that at max setting the motor receives the mains voltage anyway. I think I was wrong because now the motor tends to overheat shortly after running. Can anyone explain how the triac board controls the universal series motor? Because judging from sound alone, the motor spins at roughly the same RPM as before yet now it overheats quickly. How do these board alter the sine wave applied to the motor to keep it cool yet running fast?
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
They chop out varying amounts of the leading edge of the sine wave. Perhaps your speed controller/motor combo was never designed to pass full power, or there’s a separate fault in the motor. Have you tried troubleshooting the PCB? They’re pretty simple. Some makes, like my Henry, will supply replacement controllers.

1750808668338.webp
 
FusionJim said:
I simply took it out since I run the cleaner at max setting anyway thinking that at max setting the motor receives the mains voltage anyway.
What is your local AC supply voltage ?

Can you switch the unit between 120Vac and 240Vac ?
 
@ Guineafowl I found a replacement controller, and a different motor that has roughly the same size. now it works it seems. This motor that I had previously, I believe the windings either in stator or rotor armature had shorted because even with the new added controller it still heated up fast, the RPM were fluctuating and it started to smell like windings when they get too hot.
Either the windings got some mechanical damage when I was moving the motor, or more likely running the motor without the control board caused it to overheat and a fault in insulation formed. There aren't many other options in a simple system like this.

@Baluncore, the motors are all 230 VAC (more precisely 220-240 VAC) rated. The vacuum never had any switch it was made to run on 230. My mains voltage is 230 VAC, was 220 earlier but now we have 230
 
Thread 'One pin AC connector  (Coaxial)'
I was reading about someone building a DC house, because this would make solar+battery more efficient. I was wondering what those plugs would look like, but found that there didn't seem to be any standard for DC 120v plugs and sockets. So I thought I'd try to make one, just for kicks: This is based loosely on the 12v coaxial cable that most AC/DC adapters use. I figured that for 15A it would need to be bigger. It has four pins and so can carry both AC and DC, or 120v and 240v, or...

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
4K
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
7K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
5K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
27K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • Sticky
  • · Replies 48 ·
2
Replies
48
Views
67K