This PowerPoint presentation is available for members to use to present the factors that should be considered when customers are faced with making the difficult decision to repair their existing motor or purchase a replacement.

There is always the concern that customers aren't repairing as much as they used to. EASA asked our customers if they noticed an increase or decrease in the number of repairs they have had. Only about one-third of respondents to the most recent industry survey say they are repairing fewer electric motors than two years ago.

Selection of replacement motors is usually straightforward if the ratings are equivalent. Sometimes, however, a different type of motor is necessary or desirable. For success in these cases, it is essential that the replacement motor provide the required performance — and do so reliably.

When faced with an ailing or failed motor, plant operators typically consider whether to repair or replace it. According to a 2014 study conducted by Plant Engineering magazine for the Electrical Apparatus and Service Association (EASA), just more than one-half of plants have a policy of automatically replacing failed electric motors below a certain horsepower rating. While that horsepower rating varied depending upon the plant’s installed motor population, the average rating was 30 hp.

While such policies address a portion of the motors used at most plants, they do not cover what occurs with those motors. That question was addressed in a more recent research project commissioned by EASA that focused on the disposition of electric motors considered for repair.

Are end-users repairing more electric motors today than in the past? Or fewer? What’s the trend? Certainly, this is an important question for most EASAns. This article briefly examines answers to these questions as gathered from the 2014 Customer Research study.