Assessing Motors’ Optimized Power Packages
Food Processing, December 13, 2013From a glass-half-full perspective, the relatively short life of electric motors in food manufacturing environments is a blessing in disguise, giving companies the opportunity to reassess their power transmission system when it’s time to order a replacement motor.
Ten-plus years is the rule-of-thumb for induction motors in general industry, notes Mark Gmitro, business development engineer-food and beverage at Baldor Electric Co., Greenville, S.C. In sectors such as grain-foods production, 6-10 years is more likely, and in harsh environments like poultry plants, 2-3 years of useful life is not unheard of. Standard NEMA motors manufactured in recent years boast electrical efficiencies that rival premium motors, discouraging many organizations from upgrading.