My original Coolant pump when I got my 15L was DOA. I replaced it with a 110v one off Amazon which has worked fine for 18+ months. All of a sudden today it just wouldn’t start half way through the day. Checked everything I can on it, cleaned it, rebooted system etc and just nothing, so assuming it’s dead.
My question is, can I use a 230/240v Sump instead of a 110v? Use an plug converter so it can plug into the back of the machine and be operated by the software to stop and start with each program? Assuming it would just run at lower pump volume rate?
Reason is, I’m in Australia. I can have a 240v pump here tomorrow. But to get a 110v one it’ll be 3-4 weeks from the US.
Before you replace the pump, make sure you have power reaching it. I’m not super familiar with the 15L but I assume there is a fuse on the controller for the pump which may have blown.
Either way, make sure you’re actually getting 110 to the pump when the machine commands it on, if not, replacing it isn’t going to do you any good.
You might also try a bench test on the pump. Set it on the bench and apply power to see if it spins.
As for running a 240v pump on the 110 circuit, I’m not a motor expert, but my limited understanding of AC motors tells me that you would end up drawing double the current if you attempt to run it at half voltage. This might be ok for the machine itself, if the rated current of the 240v motor is half the 110v motor, but it could also lead to overheating of the windings in the motor which could cause rapid, or at least, premature failure.
If you had a gray colored pump on your 15L like in my 440 kit, I would upgrade that if you are about to buy one to replace the Amazon replacement (not sure what you had originally or got as a replacement, they do sell industrial replacement pumps here in the US on Amazon but variety is not as great as non-Amazon options, which may be different - probably way better for you in Australia, being closer to China).
I’m commenting broadly, because I’m in the middle of upgrading my 440 cooling system and this may be an issue for me (higher amperage pump than original engineered design for the electrical cabinet and output). The upgraded pump or equivalent black color pump on Tormach’s catalog with chip guard would be a much better choice if you had the grey one.
If you are finding your coolant reservoir to be inadequate (pump runs dry unless reservoir is topped all the way up), you can also use this opportunity to size the replacement pump to a deeper tank to help with this. The grey and black both of them seem to be sized for about 7” off the bottom of the reservoir. Those pumps can be ordered “taller” for a deeper reservoir…
Following on Ian’s suggestion, I would take a voltmeter to the plug and confirm you are getting voltage and what voltage you are getting at the pump (would guess you checked this at some point before ordering the replacement pump from Amazon to know what you are supposed to get but if not…)
Without going into the electrical panel, you could wire up the 110V output to an external contactor that switches the 220V pump and then you are running the replacement pump at its intended voltage. I don’t know the specifics of the 220V variants of what are normally 110V in the US (I am assuming your mains power plug is 230V) in terms of what they supply to the various points and what amperages they are intended for.
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