How to connect a motor from an old washing machine?

Usually, washing machines produced 15-25 years ago are equipped with either collector or asynchronous motors. Inverter motors are already installed on more modern machines and are used for "secondary" purposes extremely rarely. Therefore, we will figure out how to connect a motor from an old washing machine. We will tell you what you need to know, what are the features of connecting different types of devices to the electrical circuit.

Single-phase asynchronous motor

You can find this type of motor only on very old automatic and semi-automatic washing machines. Before trying to connect the device, check it with a multimeter. Switch the tester to measure resistance and find the wires that "ring" with each other. The remaining two terminals are a pair of the second winding.

Then you need to understand where each winding is. This can be done "by eye" - the cross-section of the starting wires is smaller than the working ones. It is still better to determine the type of winding with a multimeter.

The starting winding is necessary to create the primary torque. In most cases, it functions only for a few seconds after the motor starts. The working winding is needed to maintain the magnetic field of rotation, it is "active" until the motor is disconnected from the network.

In addition to the two types of windings, the engine circuit also includes a contactor or a capacitor with a capacity of 2 to 4 μF. If you plan to use the motor without loads, you can do without these auxiliary devices. How should you understand the expression "without loads"?

The design of the washing machine implies that a pulley with a drum will be connected to the motor shaft. The motor must spin the "centrifuge", and at the moment of switching on it experiences an increased load, therefore a capacitor or "power supply" of the starting winding is necessarily provided in the circuit. If you plan to use the engine in more "gentle" conditions, then auxiliary devices that facilitate starting can be neglected.

If you have assembled a new device (for example, an emery machine or an apple slicer) using the motor from an old washing machine, and the motor gets too hot even after a short period of operation, you need to take appropriate measures. There may be several reasons for such "overheating":

• Broken bearings,
• Reduced “gap” between the stator and rotor (because of this, the parts constantly rub against each other),
• An incorrectly selected capacitor, namely one with an excessively large capacity.

It is quite easy to check whether the capacitor is the culprit. It is necessary to disconnect it, and then the picture will become clear. If it is the culprit, the capacity of the starting device must be reduced.

There are single-phase motors with three terminals instead of four. This is because the two windings are already connected to each other at one point. In any case, when dismantling the motor from the washing machine, be sure to look at how the motor was connected. This will help you when creating your own electrical circuit for a homemade device.

Brushed collector "engines"

Such motors are installed in most washing machines manufactured in the last 3 decades. Collector motors do not have a starting winding and do not require a capacitor to be included in the circuit. They are capable of "accepting" both direct current and operating from alternating current.

First, you need to find the terminals for connecting the Hall sensor, they will definitely not be needed during further operation of the motor outside the washing machine. Arm yourself with a multimeter and measure the resistance of the wires. The tachogenerator windings will give readings of about 60-70 Ohms.

The collectors also have a thermal protection contact. It produces zero resistance. And this output can be classified as "unnecessary".

To include the collector device in the circuit, voltage should be applied to the free terminal of the winding. Its other end is connected to the right electric brush. The left brush is connected to the 220-volt network wiring. After such manipulations, the motor will start working and rotating in one direction.

To change the direction of the electric motor, you will have to swap the brushes. So, the right one will be powered by the network, and the left one will be connected to the winding wire.

In some cases, it may be necessary to regulate the number of revolutions of the collector motor. For these purposes, a dimmer can be used. In this case, the power of the device must be greater than that of the electric motor.

You can buy a special dimmer in stores where ventilation system components are sold. Since such devices are used to control the speed of supply ventilation and exhaust motors.