The current trend of upgrading to the latest equipment available in order to achieve higher levels of energy efficiency may make some inexperienced facilities managers to overlook some of the benefits that may accrue from equipment repair, such as motor rewinding. This article discusses some reasons why it may be advisable to rewind electrical motors instead of replacing them with new ones.

Impact on Production Time

You need to spend plenty of time planning for an equipment upgrade. You also need to take the equipment out of service in order to install the new motor that you ordered. That downtime may increase in case the old motor failed and the equipment has to remain out of service while the new motor is ordered, shipped and installed.

Motor rewinding has the least adverse effect on production time. This is because it takes a shorter duration to rewind a motor and reinstall it in comparison to drawing up specifications for a new motor that has to be shipped to the facility for installation. Motor rewinding is therefore less costly in terms of production time.

Impact on the Starting Torque

Machines usually consume more energy when they are starting because the starting torque of their motors is much higher than the torque needed to keep the motor running once it reaches its optimum speed.

Thus, buying a new motor for your old equipment means that you will have to buy other components, such as a new drive. This is because the new motor may require a lower starting torque when compared to the torque requirements of the old motor.

Installing the new motor without changing the drive would therefore mean that the motor would fail quickly because of being exposed to higher torque than it can handle. Motor rewinding enables you to restore the functionality of your equipment without buying any additional parts.

Greater energy-efficiency can be attained by installing a soft-start mechanism on the existing equipment after rewinding the old motor. This will most likely be more cost-effective when compared to having to buy a new motor and a new drive.

Cost Justification

A small motor that is only used sporadically would be too costly to replace with a more efficient one. This is because the energy savings anticipated may be so low that it would not be prudent to incur the high upfront cost needed to replace the old motor. Rewinding that existing motor would therefore remain as the only justifiable way to improve motor efficiency without straining your budget.

Other factors, such as the suitability of a given motor to its operating environment, may influence your decision to rewind or replace that motor. You should therefore talk to motor rewinds professionals so that their expert advice can guide you as you make a final decision.