[Vermiculite]

I live in Brisbane and was wondering if stepper motors can be salvaged if they have been submerged in floodwater or should I just get some new ones? Flood was higher than the 74 flood where I live

Verm

[wildgrav]

Definately worth a try. If silt has gotten in wash with fresh water. Distilled if you have it. Blow out with air and let dry for another day. Should be good.

Noel

[mmcp42]

once dry try measuring the resistance of each coil
if it matches the spec you're in with a chance

hope it was only the steppers that suffered
not been good from what we've seen
heart goes out to you

[RCaffin]

Doubt the flood waters will do much harm to the stepper motor itself, but all the bearings and rails etc may be suspect. Clean, dry, WD40, and test.

Cheers

[Vermiculite]

Thanks for the info. We had heaps of family and friends come and help us and it has been great. All the tools I could salvage got flushed with fresh water and soaked in wd40. It is still amazing how fast things start to rust. Will pull everything apart when I get time and give it another clean and oil. House is priority no. 1 at the moment.

Cheers

Verm

[allrounder]

Just watch the WD40 doesn't evaporate on you and actually allow rust to form. Re the motors being wet, If they've now only CLEAN water in them, long-term warmth from something such as an incandescent lamp up against them for a couple of days should dry them decently. I have a quarter HP motor on a large power hacksaw which won't fit in my shop and so lives outdoors with a tin-topped table over it. I always do a 500V insulation leakage test on its 240 v motor before I use it, and if leaky, connect it to power through a 60 w lamp for about a day, which dries it nicely. But you can't do that with steppers, though you CAN warm them up by external means. I'm in Rockhampton, and was lucky. The floodwaters came about a third of the way across the front footpath. Last flood I had a backyard full and it came partway into my ground level workshop. But There is now a big shed on the block behind on a foot high concrete slab so the flood didn't come in the back. Though now with heavy rain the yard won't drain, so have to do some very technically designed earthworks as I can't build up my shop floor. I've had water right through, 3 to 9 inches deep, but not from the flood, from the rain. But just keep an eye on the important bits for rusting, especially if all your walls etc are damp. We're lucky I guess, some lost the lot.

[Vermiculite]

Glad to here you were ok. Rockhampton looked pretty bad on the news. Mostly worried about the house. All the furniture is in the shed now and we are using a generator and industrial fans to dry everything during the day. Tomorrow I will go over all the tools again and I think I can borrow a heat gun. I have an old air compressor two of us struggled to get onto my work bench just in case the water went into the shed. We shouldn't have bothered as it floated off the bench anyway. Going back to the house was a bit heartbreaking. The floor is a meter off the ground which is about where the 74 flood went according to the council. We had over a meter on top of that. I am very grateful to the helpers who cleaned all the stinking mud out of the house and shed. Family all safe though.

Regards

Verm

[allrounder]

I wonder if, while you have the outlets off the walls, could you stick something in the hole to dry the walls out? Re your compressor, around here several people put their gear up onto 44 gallon drums - they float even better than compressors! Also they fall over! Watch the hot air gun - they take paint off and melt things more quickly than you expect them to. An ex-pig farmer I know once told me that leaving things in sunlight for a couple of days will kill bacteria. Some who had flushed their houses and copped a second dose must be really feeling the strain. Our waters are still receding, went to see if I could help a friend only two blocks away yesterday, but still can't get near the street, still under water and barricaded off. But we can at least leave town now, and might receive some mail soon, though the Rocklea Markets probably won't have much produce to truck up. Most of the farmers have been wiped out. Haven't been able to buy milk, except long life UHT, and let me tell you, an omlette made with pink strawberry milk just isn't the same! Some days we can buy bread. Keep your spirit up and look after your health. If it gets too much, just do a bit at a time, and go help a neighbour for a couple of hours. All the best.

[Ron Dunn]

What happens to the stuff that gets emptied out of flooded houses?

I've watched these mobs of volunteers emptying houses onto the nature strip, and I'm sure they're tossing out good/salvageable items.

[Vermiculite]

I don't think the generator has enough balls to start the air compressor otherwise I would be using it. It is a shame about your friend, not sure how muddy the water up there is but the longer everything is under water the more mud is left behind. All of the stuff that gets put out on the street is being picked up and taken to the tip. My Brother in-law has been helping the neighbour across the street who also isn't insured for flood. I am guessing at least half the street has flood insurance as they have been throwing away things like BBQs.

Regards

Verm

[allrounder]

I'm betting we won't be allowed to touch anything that's been contaminated with sewage, but I'll keep an eye on the dump shop, which now opens only three days a week. Ours is in a low spot. No, small lighting plants won't start compressors.

[Vermiculite]

Thought I would post an update in case anyone is interested. Yesterday I got a chance to spend a little time in the shed so I started to assemble the cnc mill. I haven't completed assemble yet but everything seems fine except for two stepper motors. They are seized. Thinking it would be the bearings (as that is what seemed to go in other tools) and with nothing to lose I pulled one apart. Both bearings move freely but there is corrosion on the rotor and stator. I am assuming stepper motors have pretty small clearances between the two. have ordered replacements so will hopefully be up and running soon.

[allrounder]

Hi, Vermiculite. If those seized motors will come apart, they could probably be cleaned up as spares. The rotors and stator holes could be toothbrush - cleaned and then after drying while apart, a thin coat of something like shellac, which is probably thinner per layer than any modern coatings. But now that you've ordered replacements.....
That friend I mentioned a few blocks away (we're in Rocky) was unlucky enough to be on a world tour while the flood was on, so wasn't he happy when he returned and wasn't allowed in. He builds furniture and all of his gear was downstairs. Though he was lucky to receive a free new washing machine from a charity organisation. He's still working on his gear. I still haven't gotten anywhere on starting a CNC build. Increasing living costs have me concentrating on getting those down, with LED lamps, solar panels, Peltier effect experiments etc. as a matter of urgency. Expecting first 110 W solar panel for low voltage workshop lighting next week. Havent decided on tracking method yet - did you know up to 40% more if you can track the sun? Certainly makes it sound worthwhile doing.
Cheers !