Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

The Regular Stuff: Chat, Buy, Sell, Off Topic, etc. => General Discussion - Dynamos, Generators, Alternators, Magnetos... Scale Models, Toys, Originals, etc => Topic started by: D E Jones on April 05, 2023, 01:32:27 pm

Title: Re: Lazy Generator
Post by: SteamerJ on April 06, 2023, 12:03:06 pm
I give mine an occasional spray of contact cleaner.
Title: Re: Lazy Generator
Post by: D E Jones on April 06, 2023, 09:26:54 am
  I don't have any pictures, but that is was what it was , Oil and graphite paste . The tip of an Exacto blade scraped it right out . Since I like to lubricate things, I imagine over oiling is the culprit .

D. E. Jones
Title: Re: Lazy Generator
Post by: MadeForThat on April 05, 2023, 09:21:42 pm
Any pics of the goop between the pads? Wondering if it was a mixture of oil and worn graphite from the brushes. Could maybe end up grounding out any power generated back into the coil before it gets to your line
Title: Lazy Generator
Post by: D E Jones on April 05, 2023, 01:32:27 pm
  Well, my PMR generator had gotten weaker and weaker , down to about 1.5 volts , and It would just barely operate anything. I took off the brush end frame , and after an inspection,  cleaned the commutator and brushes , paying special attention to the grooves between the commutator segments . There was a big buildup of crud in those grooves , so I think that was the problem . Anyway , it seems to be back up to operating potential. I haven't tested it with a volt meter, but it really  does power my electrical accessories like it should. If it works with the PMR , I think a good cleaning might possibly rejuvenate any weak , small generator that has brushes .

D. E. Jones