First, I’m looking for someone in the general vicinity of Delaware that can troubleshoot and possibly repair an automatic Vandercook Universal III. Know anyone? If not, is there some kind of electrician I might try contacting. Obviously, I need more than someone to hook up a 3-phase here.
We were running our III the other day and as the cylinder ‘approached’ the end of its trip away from the feedboard, it simply stopped.
We checked fuses which were blown. We replaced them, but they immediately blow.
If you set it to Manual, the forward / reverse switch causes the relays to activate, but nothing moves.
Thoughts?
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Ray.
We called Perry. Got someone from his place down to Delaware from Staten Island.
Turned out to be the motor.
The bushings were getting very worn and one of them turned sideways in the motor. We’re getting that fixed. Pretty expensive overall, but couldn’t work without it.
Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas. Fritz had it right in his list of possibilities.
Three phase? What’s the serial number of this press? The motors are dc, normally single phase ac and there is a rectifier that converts the ac for the motor. Sounds like a short in the motor, wire harness that connects with the motor, or a broken wire somewhere. Perry is mainly Northern New Jersey and New York City, but give him a call (201-435-5409).
Fritz
Contact Perry Tymeson in New Jersey suitcasepress@earthlink.net