One of the more mundane things we as repairers must be concerned with is motor storage. For many of us, storing large motors for major customers is its own profit center. For all of us, being aware of how our customers store the motors we repair and send to them is critical to customer satisfaction. A poorly stored motor is likely to suffer winding or bearing failure, and we don’t want unrealistic warranty claims over something outside our control.

Una de las cosas más mundanas de las que debemos preocuparnos como reparadores es el almacenamiento de los motores y para muchos, almacenar motores grandes para clientes importantes representa ganancias. Para todos nosotros, ser conscientes de cómo nuestros clientes almacenan los motores que les reparamos es crítico desde el punto de vista de la satisfacción del cliente. Es probable que un motor mal almacenado sufra fallos en el devanado o en los rodamientos, y no queremos reclamos por garantía poco realistas sobre algo que está fuera de nuestro control.

This webinar recording discusses motor storage and drills down into the nuances of maximizing customer perceived value.

Storing an electric motor for more than a few weeks involves several steps to ensure it will operate properly when needed.  Factors like temperature, humidity and ambient vibration in the storage area also influence the choice of storage methods, some of which may be impractical for smaller machines or need to be reversed before the motor goes into storage.

It is common knowledge to those involved in the electric motor storage business that maintenance philosophies and procedures vary. Thorough reviews of available information on the topic of long-term storage from EASA and seven different motor manufacturers revealed some interesting similarities and differences in the information available from each source. Several sources share common elements such as environment, moisture protection, bearing maintenance, and insulation resistance. The purpose of our discussion here is to describe some of the differences and hopefully give some points to consider when creating a long-term storage process for end users.

Vibration readings provide the best early warning of developing problems in a motor or system component. Other parameters to monitor may include operating temperature of critical components, mechanical tolerances, and overall system performance, including outputs such as flow rate, tonnage, and volume.

When an electric motor is expected to be stored for an appreciable time before it is placed into service, certain steps should be taken to ensure that it will be suitable for operation when it is needed. The practical limitation we need to recognize is that much of what we do when putting a motor into long-term storage has to be undone when the same motor is moved into operation. This article addresses common recommendations for stored motors.

Trickle heating is another very practical option to heat AC stator windings or DC field windings while they are not energized.

We all know that seemingly small time savings can significantly improve the bottom line. For a service center with a 12% return on investment (ROI), shaving a few minutes off each job is the equivalent of adding 2 manmonths of billing per productive employee. This paper, from the 2005 EASA Convention, provides many tips for increaseing productivity.

Many service centers are also motor distributors, keeping a large stock of motors to sell. In addition, many hold motors in storage for specific customers as their spares. Many end-users also keep spare motors on site to keep production moving when a motor fails or needs an overhaul. In any of these cases, whether a motor is stored for a month or many years, there are certain steps that must be taken to ensure that as soon as a motor is taken out of storage, it will be in good condition.