Ellpea

Hello,
I've been distracted for a while, but now am back to working on my Universal 15-30. The motor needs rewiring, and I've prepped it all pretty well (reading the step-by-step instructions on the VSSM blog), but there are a few differences since mine is not a potted motor.

I have a nice appliance cord with plug ready to solder on, but realized the plug is polarized, and I'm not sure which wire on the motor would take the polarized wire. It does make a difference, doesn't it?

If necessary, I can take a photo of the wires coming out of the motor, but they aren't colored. If I try to extrapolate from the potted motor instructions, the longer cord from the motor takes one wire and the shorter cord takes another. Should I consider that the red wire is the polarized one, and attach my polarized lead in like fashion?

Thanks for any help!

Ellpea

Oh dear.

As I was thinking more about this, I realized there is another problem.

I'm installing the cord with a plug, so it can plug into the little motor/light outlet down in the cabinet. It just occurred to me to check the outlet, and of course it won't accept a polarized plug.

So now the question is two questions:

1. Is it OK to use polarized plug/cord with this motor.
2. Is it OK to use an adapter in the outlet to accept the plug, or should I just give up on this cord and try to find something better?

I was really hoping to use a cord (such as an extension cord or appliance cord) with the plug already attached, because the other wire-it-yourself or clip-on plugs just don't seem as sturdy as I would like this to be.

Again, any advice appreciated!

Rodney

Yes to both questions. It's probably a code violation so use this idea at your own risk: File the fat blade of the plug down until it fits the non-polarized outlet. Using a polarized plug on a non-polarized device like your motor won't hurt anything. The other way around might.

I did a quick search. You can still buy non-polarized plugs online. You might be able to get them at a better hardware or electrical supply store too.
I used "buy non-polarized plug" for my search.
Here's one example.
https://www.google.com/search?q=non-...49504528767866
Cheap and it looks better than many replacement ends. black ones are available too.
Rodney

DonnaMiller

DH agrees. It shouldn't make any difference on AC. Also, if you can find one, you can use an adaptor and not file the blade. There are probably still some around, if you ask enough people. The older machines weren't well grounded. That is why sometimes you can feel stray voltage when you very slightly touch them. Even my new machine with 3 wires has a little stray voltage. We have a 3 wire, grounded wiring in our house too. Go figure

ann31039

I found non polorized plugs at Home Depot. They had white and dark brown. Very easy to install, just snaps together. I think they were 57 cent each. They also had a "vintage" looking one that was oval and looked just like the original power plug that was on the machine.

Ellpea

Thanks everyone! I definitely need a black cord and plug... too much work is going into this sweetheart to hash some ugly together! I do have a black snap plug... but if I can alter the polarized plug without doing anything any damage, I'd rather do that... it's a good appliance-grade cord and a very solid plug -- much more durable IMHO.

But speaking of "stray voltage", is that something we can fix?

Ellpea

I have to say I'm very stoked to learn these plugs can be altered. I need to do two cords (light and motor) on a very pretty Brother machine with white cords. I was all prepared to buy the lamp cord by the foot and the white snap-on plugs when I noticed the extension cords on sale for 1.99, with "engineering" much more solid than something I put together myself.

Then DESPAIR when I realized this bright idea might not be a solution at all.

Now HAPPY, because it IS! Yay!

chris_quilts

Not to hijack this thread but my old Rowenta iron has a non-polarized plug. I bought it when we moved to Kansas in 1995.