DeWalt DW-375 planer tripping breaker


crumlett

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Good Morning All, 

So I have a 5 year old Dewalt DW-735 with the Shelix upgrade. I love the planer but it has developed a very annoying problem. The internal breaker on the planer keeps tripping after about 10 min of use. If turn it off, wait 5 min, reset the breaker, then I can continue using it for another 10-ish min. 
 
I've tried the following things:

  • waxed the bed (very fresh coat of wax will allow me to go 20 min vs 10)
  • turned the cutters
  • ensured the blower chute is clear
  • it's on a dedicated 20A circuit. 
  • purchased a new breaker for it. (seemed to fix the issue for a month, but now that one  keeps tripping.)
  • I always run it on the slow feed setting. 

Now, I have started using hard woods for various projects, hard maple, pecan, mesquite.... but, it doesn't matter how light of a cut I take or the width of the board. This morning, it tripped on a 3/4" wide strip of hard maple. 

Does anyone have any ideas? 
Thanks. 

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At 5 years, how many times has that thermal overload breaker been tripped? They do have a limited number of operation cycles before they become problematic. Might just need a new breaker.

If you have access and knowledge to use a volt meter, check your receptacle to be sure you have proper voltage. Also check the other socket of the pair, while the planer is running, to see if the voltage drops.

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1 minute ago, wtnhighlander said:

At 5 years, how many times has that thermal overload breaker been tripped? They do have a limited number of operation cycles before they become problematic. Might just need a new breaker.

If you have access and knowledge to use a volt meter, check your receptacle to be sure you have proper voltage. Also check the other socket of the pair, while the planer is running, to see if the voltage drops.

Hola,
I have several dedicated 20A circuits in my shop and the planer trips on all of them. I've also used a DMM to verify the voltage of each circuit. 
I replaced the breaker already once a couple months ago. The problem got better for a bit then came right back. That made me think that the breaker is not the root cause of the issue. However, a worn breaker is definitely not helping. 
 

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Does the planer run with no load, and not trip the breaker?

If not, I'd lean toward an electrical issue with the motor. However, if it only trips while cutting, regardless of how lightly, I would suspect a bearing or other mechanical problem in the drive train. One motor drives the cutter, feed rollers, AND the chip ejector fan. Lots of places to bind up. 

You haven't mentioned odd noises, feed rate changes, or poor chip ejection, all of which would be signs of mechanical failure, so its still mysterious.

Just curious, did the segmented cutter help any with the noise that planer makes?

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8 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Does the planer run with no load, and not trip the breaker?

If not, I'd lean toward an electrical issue with the motor. However, if it only trips while cutting, regardless of how lightly, I would suspect a bearing or other mechanical problem in the drive train. One motor drives the cutter, feed rollers, AND the chip ejector fan. Lots of places to bind up. 

You haven't mentioned odd noises, feed rate changes, or poor chip ejection, all of which would be signs of mechanical failure, so its still mysterious.

Just curious, did the segmented cutter help any with the noise that planer makes?

Correct, it only trips while cutting. I'll pay attention to the bearings when taking it apart today. 

The segmented cutter did help with the noise, but it is still the loudest thing in the shop by far. 

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So, I performed some of the testing prescribed and disassembled the 'easy' components today looked for frayed wires, bad bearings, and just overall something 'Wrong"...

-The circuit is supplying 124VAC. This drops briefly to 122VAC when I turn on the planer but never drops below 120VAC even while planing. 
-All the components attached to bearings seemed able to freely rotate. I tried wiggling each one to see if there's any play and they were all solid. 
- I removed the brushes and looked at the commutator segments. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. 
-before I reassembled it, I took a good 10 min t blow it off with compressed air. 

I haven't had a chance to use it again extensively, but will keep everyone informed. 

Thanks again for everyone's assistance. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good Evening all, 
So, I replaced the thermal overload breaker again and started using it. According to the Wixey guage, I'm removing about 0.005" each pass (moving the handle about 1") Hasn't died yet on 13" wide poplar boards. 

but I'll be selling this one soon since I grabbed a Powermatic 15HH during the sale.

Thanks again for all the replies. 

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1 hour ago, Chestnut said:

:( jealous i wanted to buy a 15HH during the sale but i must live up to the promise i made myself.

Just curious? 

 

21 minutes ago, crumlett said:

only if ACME will process the dang order. It's still in "received not processed"

 

Hold their feet to the fire! 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I have a problem similar with my 735 + SHELIX recently. It's worked fine for a year, but the internal breaker has gotten temperamental. I put a Kill-o-watt on the plug and it trips under 18-ish amps. I don't know the baseline if the machine is pulling more juice than normal or if the breaker isn't working right. This is just doing less than 1/4 turn on the wheel.

I tried turning the cutters and that seems to help reduce the amps, but still can't push it much. I'm guessing a fresh breaker is my next step.

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On 1/4/2019 at 4:01 PM, joe l said:

No gfci. It is terribly frustrating. At times I'm only taking light (.05) or less of a cut. I also have a problem with chip buildup inside the machine. I have a jet 1150 cfm collector, so I know that's not the problem.

How old is the unit?   The plastic in the upper chamber takes a serious beating from the chips and leakage starts, and chips fill the upper chamber.  Replace all the plastic in the upper chamber, that will solve the chip build up for several years.  For the stoppage I have no solution, I haven't had that problem.

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  • 2 years later...

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