The learning process/ongoing

Recently I ordered a Vicmarc VL150 to supplement my Vicmarc VL100 from Timberbits the Australian Agent for the Brisbane manufacturer.. My purchase this time a BARE Lathe that is bench top no frills. I have been using a Variable Speed Controller and will use this with the new Lathe when it arrives. It has served me faithfully for many years. Twenty years aqo I aquired a few 3/4 hp three phase motors that were then many years old so I have a spare to fit to the new lathe ready to go. (keep something for so many years comes the lathe comes the day). Several years ago I made contact with a firm in Sydney who imported this new Controller that converts single phase to three phase up to 1 hp motors, put it on the shelf in the lounge room and last thursday got it out ready to use and phoned the firm in Sydney by the same name as the Controller the Tech manager said glad you rang Peter saved you a bundle send me your Controller and I will reform the capacitors at a cost because so many people have spares like you have and hook them into their equipment followed by a nasty explosion and terrible mess because the capacitors malform over time.

Wow torn between lets have a go or sound tech advice etc today I will send my unused Controller to them for reforming the Capacitors.

This note is to perhaps create an awareness that if you dabble like me in unfamiliar territory there can be a price to pay either way.

The original guy who sold me the Controller has since left the Company but we became friends over the deal and I discovered he was from Kenya in Africa and used to sell Ebony Walking Sticks for many years following a request from me when he visited his family in Kenya a couple of years later he purchased for me a rarish one piece carved walking stick in Ebony. I will write again aqnd show pics ofr that Stick awaiting the time and season when I need to use it. I travelled 200 miles to collect it from him at the time.

Summing up thought this news of Capacitors undoubtably old hat for some members could be like it was for me revelation of a known fact and word to the wise.

Kind regards Peter.

I always say, stick to what you know best Peter ..

Looking forward to seeing the walking stick, you don't see many one pieced Ebonies about that is for sure ..

Regarding the Vicmarc, i have been looking at the Scottish supplier here in the UK as next year i may be getting one myself, thou still not sure of which one yet, but i have plenty of time before my mind is made up ..

I am one who believes in horses for courses, stick to what you know best

I had a start capacitor let go in my planer/thicknesser (now Paulm's) a year or so back. Worst I got was a strong burning/melting smell and then a pile of goo spewed out of the capacitor which I had to clean out of the casing. I could imagine it being far worse, though - definitely not something to be trifled with.

This stuff frightens me Peter, capacitors.... whats it all about. I would always leave it to the boffins Peter. I look forward to seeing the walking stick though it sounds like something very special indeed.

David:
Planer Thicknesser is the dogs danglies.

You are fortunate that you rang the company even if nothing had gone dangerously wrong you may have had to pay for a repair or buy a new one, fortunately for me my next door neighbour is an electrician and I do everything under his guidance or he does it for me.

Peter

The old Capacitors / condensers are a lot more vicious than the modern type but depending on the voltage / charge still do a lot of damage to the circuitry of any pcb.
As a young lad I was a line feeder for the local PYE ether factory at the transition from Valves to transistor and we used to charge a cap up on the bench then short it and use them as missiles across the factory floor.
Much like Paintballing today, didn't arf get a bruise if one hit you, the fun of youth aye.
Today it would would be called stupidity and you would get marched off the premises, then it was a bit of fun

Many years ago, too many now I think about it, when I worked as a tv engineer, we used to charge up big old high voltage 32 microfarad electrolytic capacitors and leave them on the workbench for some poor unsuspecting soul to pick up!

Wicked, but fun at the time.

Mike

mickleuk said:

Many years ago, too many now I think about it, when I worked as a tv engineer, we used to charge up big old high voltage 32 microfarad electrolytic capacitors and leave them on the workbench for some poor unsuspecting soul to pick up!

Wicked, but fun at the time.

Mike

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OOh and them ht valves didn't arf give a belt too specially when they still plugged in but even when they weren't init?

Jim said:

Regarding the Vicmarc, i have been looking at the Scottish supplier here in the UK as next year i may be getting one myself, thou still not sure of which one yet, but i have plenty of time before my mind is made up ..

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I would recommend a VL300 or now you got the new lean to, the VL600