[Horse Shoe]

All,
Im looking at a Dadant 20 frame radial that is in the range of 20 years old. It does not spin as fast as it should. What would you look at to determine where or what the failure was.....hopefully it just needs to be cleaned up.

Thanks,
HS

 

[wildbranch2007]

the first thing I would check is the bearing in the bottom of the tank, if not maintained and cleaned they need replacing.

 

[Schnee]

Does it have a malfunctioning speed control?

 

[Riverderwent]

"What would you look at to determine where or what the failure was"
Worn carbon brushes in motor; too long of an extension cord; other high wattage items in circuit being used at the same time; bad resistor or short in speed controller; speed controller knob out of adjustment; worn bearings in motor or power train; gears or pulley misalligned; shorted motor winding. Check the easiest things first.

 

[odfrank]

Talk to Penny, Queen of Dadant extractors at Dadant Metal Manufacturing. 217 852-3324

 

[loggermike]

>the first thing I would check is the bearing in the bottom of the tank..<

Thats the usual suspect when they run slow. Mine seem to get 1 season before needing replacement.I keep plenty of extras on hand to eliminate down time.

 

[Horse Shoe]

Mike,
Ww broke the machine down and I checked to see of the bearing was seized and it wasnt, but it was not smooth by any means. When you hand turn your basket, does it spin freely or only turn if you continune to move it manually?

Thanks

>the first thing I would check is the bearing in the bottom of the tank..<

Thats the usual suspect when they run slow. Mine seem to get 1 season before needing replacement.I keep plenty of extras on hand to eliminate down time.

 

[Ross]

If it has the friction speed control, it might be worn to far. I've never replaced the bottom bearing in mine, maybe time to look at it.

 

[loggermike]

I replaced the bearing in one of the extractors about a thousand lbs ago. So I just gave it a spin by hand and it spun for around 25 seconds before stopping. No roughness. Before replacement it just wasn't getting up to speed.Once out and in my hand, the roughness in the old bearing was obvious. These are sealed bearings, so no place to lube them.

 

[Michael Bush]

If it has some kind of variable resister for the speed control that could also be bad. If it's a belt driven it could be you need to tighten or replace the belt.

 

[Horse Shoe]

If it has some kind of variable resister for the speed control that could also be bad. If it's a belt driven it could be you need to tighten or replace the belt.

This is a belt driven unit. When we broke it down, I was able to turn the bearing with my finger but it was not very smooth. The belts are worn but don't seem to be cracked. The motor runs fine and everything else seems structurally sound, just old.

Now for the fun part. We just purchased this used from a fellow who was selling his deceased fathers old honey house equipment. When this was stored 20 plus years ago, it was put away with about 100lbs of honey in the extractor and another 200 or so in a storage tank. I know that honey doesn't go bad, but the local critters had found the extractor as a great place to winter. Rat nests, nuts, seeds, the works...a buffet for vermin. $25 dollars in quarters at the local wash plus 6 hours of elbow grease has the other 2 tanks, clarifiers and uncapping table looking pretty darn good. The only problem is my wife knows my old football injuries wont keep me from using Comet if I really want to.

So, my wife and I are restoring this to get it operational so we can replace the 4 frame tang we currently use. Kind of a big jump in equipment to go from a 4 frame tank and 5 gallon buckets to a 1000lb and 3500lb holding tank and all the other goodies, but hey....we have BIG plans lol.

 

[funwithbees]

Try tightening the large wing nut on top of the friction drive. That controls the final speed of the unit.
Nick

 

[loggermike]

My oldest 20 frame is around 12 years old , and its direct drive ,not belt driven. So not sure how the lower bearing is set up on an older one. But if honey ever got in the bearing, its very likely gone bad.