Hi,
Anyone had the brushes on a power tool wear out at all?
Bought a router a couple of months ago, and one of the brushes has already worn right down.
Looks like a design fault with the brush holder, but it got me wondering as til now I've never had any brushes wear out at all.
cheers, Pete.
Yes.
============================ Every tool I've bought recently has had a spare set of brushes included in the 'bits and pieces' packet - couple of routers, angle grinder, saw etc.
Somebody must expect them to wear out before the end of the tool's life but I don't think I've ever had to change any.
Cic.
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Yes; I had a Bosch power drill that kept burning its brushes out every five minutes (okay, I exaggerate slightly...). In the end I binned it, disgusted to have been let down by a Bosch tool. I then bought one from Wickes which doesn't burn out brushes (so far).
I suspect it is down to the quality of design and construction of the tool in question. Most power tools I've owned almost never need brushes replacing - unless I'm using them in very dusty environments.
Drake
Pete C explained :
Some tools seem to include a spare set these days, though up until a few days ago I've never had them wear out except after many years of (ab)use.
My angle grinders seen lots of use recently cutting block work then it died. I found the brushes completely worn out with no exact spares to hand, so I made do with some from a plane. They didn't last very long before the flexible wire burnt out. Unable to find a brush supplier, I bought a new grinder - then a DIY shop gave me the exact brush set I needed - so now I have two serviceable angle grinders :-)
Yes, roughly 3 minutes after you last stripped it down for repair :)
I recently dropped one of my Bosch angle grinders (had it probably 15 years or so) and it broke the on off button. I stripped it down, looked at the bearings, greased the gears and checked the brushes. They had plenty of meat left on them so I just ordered the button, and a spare in case it happened again and the long actuator arm inside as it might have been damaged. Total cost was surprisingly next to nothing and as it was going on the end of a much bigger tool order postage wasn't a concern. A few days later the bits arrive and are fitted. The angle grinder gets used for a couple of quick jobs no problem, then I pick it up and it's as dead as a dodo. Transformer fuse is ok (110v) as are the connections to the plug. I remove the end cover and see that one brush is sat about 5mm away from the commutator. Then I find out the Bosch brushes are quite clever (in some ways) in that they protect the commutator from damage. Embedded within each brush is plastic pin around 2mm diameter and a relatively strong spring (stronger than the normal brush spring) The pin is released when the brush wears beyond a certain point, this lifts the brush from the commutator and stops the motor rather than the usual method of running until the brushes are worn away to nothing.
Of course having gone this far I pulled out the plastic pin and spring, put it back together and quickly had it working again. I might get round to ordering some new brushes in another 15 years :)
Thanks for the replies, the power tool that I've had the problem with is a Trend T3E router.
Nevertheless, they're going to replace it, so hats off to Trend!
cheers, Pete.
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