Storms Prove The Necessity Of Preventive Maintenance To Eliminate Motor Failures, By Meg-Alert

www.meg-alert.com

Stormy weather often means disruption of normal business operations. You don´t need to operate an offshore drilling platform to be affected by the weather. Common lightning storms cause as much damage as hurricanes! The motors that your business depends on are affected by every variation in the electric grid - as well as the weather!

You probably thought that motor operation is not affected by the weather. This is not true because motors, first of all, are electrical apparatus. All motors operate by the passage of electricity through insulated "windings". Electricity creates a magnetic field that in turn causes the rotation of a shaft that is connected to whatever produces work – a fan, pump, assembly line, etc.

Motor operation, under ideal conditions, is engineered to be constant and trouble free for tens of thousands of hours. And yet, actual motor life is typically less than HALF this ideal. Why? One of the reasons is the mechanical "wear and tear" that motors are subjected to, including vibration, dirty conditions, and lack of lubrication. But the main reason motors do not reach their engineered life is electrical failure.

Greater than 80% of motor failures occur due to electrical failure at startup.

Anything that weakens the insulation of the electrical windings within a motor will lead to failure. Again, some causes of damage are mechanical such as vibration. But the main causes of electrical failure are environmental. For example, operation in proximity to caustic chemicals can weaken this insulation.

Heat is a major factor in the loss of insulation resistance. An operating temperature of 10% above the maximum recommended range can cause a reduction in winding insulation resistance of 50%, and this is cumulative for every additional 10% increase. Storms often occur during the warmest weather when motors are already running hot. If ventilation is reduced due to rainy weather this can cause motor insulation to reach the failure level.

Likewise, humidity is a huge contributing factor to insulation failure. Moisture is a good conductor of electricity. If excess moisture is introduced to the motor windings – either from exposure to rain, snow, or even condensation – this moisture can allow electricity to "leak" across the windings rather than be contained within the insulation.

Voltage spikes often accompany storms. These fluctuations in the input voltage cause a breakdown of the motor insulation. Any voltage variation results in a lessening of the motor life.

All the environmental factors listed above combine to weaken the quality of the insulation within a motor. When a motor starts it requires more electricity than is necessary to operate it under normal conditions. The result is the extreme likelihood of a motor – with lessened insulation resistance – failing when started.

But the solution is simple and proven and inexpensive. Meg-Alert manufactures the "Motor Guard" which is installed to precisely measure the quality of the insulation resistance within motors (and generators.) When – not IF – this resistance falls to levels that would cause the motor to fail (that is, "burn out") at startup, the Motor Guard sounds an alarm in advance. AND, the Motor Guard can also be connected to the motor starter so that the alarm level will disconnect this circuit, making it impossible to start the motor even if you try to ignore the alarm!

Motor failures can be prevented in advance! Motor Guard enables preventive maintenance that ALWAYS costs less than repairs or replacement. Call Meg-Alert Corporation for more information at 866-768-1817, or email info@meg-alert.com. More details can also be found online at www.meg-alert.com.