[patooyee]

I just bought an old but still good 7000# 2-post lift and got it bolted down in my new shop floor. I am ready to wire it but have a question about something called an "amp-adjust knob" that is located in the main electrical junction box. It appears to be between the main power supply and the motor and the instructions that I got from the manufacturer say to adjust the knob to 8 amps for a 2.2kw motor or 7 amps for a 1.5kw motor. The device itself appears to be broken and the previous owner appears to have bypassed it and applied 220 single phase power directly to the motor, just breaking the supply of power with a household light switch. Therefore, one leg going to the motor is always hot and the other is only hot when the switch is on.

I've spokent o a buddy who has a few lifts and he says none of them have anything like an amp-adjust knob. It obviously my lift isn't essential to my lift either as it has obviously been bypassed by the previous owner. But I want to wire this thing up right and know that I've done a good job as it is the first lift that I've owned and I just can't live knowing that I did it half-assed.

Anyone got any advice? I'd be willing to bet that buying a new amp-adjust knob is expensive. Should I buy it, keep bypassing it, or replace it with something else? My buddy says a starter would work well but I dont' know what that is, either.

J. J.

 

[patooyee]

I think you are right about it being a potentiometer. No way to get pics for a few days at least. It is just a little knob on the front of a black plastic junction block though. Smaller than a dime. What is its purpose given that the lift works fine without it and modern lifts do not have them?

J. J.

 

[patooyee]

Here are the wiring instructions for the lift:

J. J.

 

[patooyee]

Oops, I'm sorry. The instructions say that the motor can run on 3-phase or single-phase. I posted the wrong diagram above. Here is the 230V single-phase diagram:

J. J.

PS: The knob is not meant to be adjusted real-time as the panel it is attached to is about 10-feet up the side post and behind a screwed on metal cover.

 

[patooyee]

The adjuster is not broken off. The knob is still there and spins. The plastic panel that it is attached to is busted off the metal backing plate and some wires to it have been cut. It is hanging just by some wires at this time.

The way the previous owner had it is as you explained. So from you are saying, I gather that the adjuster was just to adjust the trip setting in case the motor locks up or something? The breaker at the panel should also protect against that if I am not mistaken, so the adjuster is just redundant, correct?

What exactly is a starter. I have a buddy who is good with electric who said I could also wire one of those in to replace the adjuster. Where could I get one on short notice? I'm wanting to get this thing up and running this Sat. (My days off of work are few and far between.)

My shop is 30 mins away over a toll bridge from where I live. I can't just run over there for pics. I can snap some pics while I'm there this weekend but that will be too late.

J. J.

 

[patooyee]

Well after spending a few minutes at the electric supplier I came home with a new contactor and switch. But after looking in the electric box of the lift more I realized there was a switch built in that in contact by a lever when you push a certain direction on the release lever at the bottom of the lift. So I just replaced the busted contactor and rewired it all back to factory form minus the amp adjuster and it all works great now! Looks like it should, too instead of stringing a shitty switch down the side of the post. I knwo the motor does not have its own protection now but I dont' think I'll be working it to death anyway. I may use this thing once or twice a week, not up and down all day like it would see in the shop it came out of and was sold for.

It is rated at 7000# but it is WAY beefier than any 10000# lift I've seen made these days. (Not that I own anything that would tax the 7000# limit anyway.) Cappy cell phone pic, but thanks for the help ya'll.

J. J.

 

[patooyee]

As a side-note, does anyone know where to buy cheap replacement lift pads?

J. J.