Ridgid Planer Question

[Hal Peeler]

Like many I have been out of the shop for too long so this weekend I needed to use my Ridgid planer that I bought in 2002. I blew the dust off of it and started using it and all was fine until I noticed a heavy arching in the motor and before I knew it it had overheated and stopped. I was planing cypress so it wasn't like I was overworking it. I let it cool down and went to remove the brushes and one of the caps broke, I guess from the heat (?) and the brush that I removed looked fine. I'm no mechanic or electrician so what are your suggestions for a next step? I will try to order new brushes today and maybe go back to Home Depot and see what they say. Maybe it's covered under the old lifetime warranty? Thanks
Hal

[glenn bradley]

The warranty is actually a Lifetime Service Agreement that you would have established when the unit was purchased. They send you some documents (registration number, etc.) when the LSA is complete. This takes 8 to 12 weeks in my multiple experiences and setting up an online account to verify and track registration seems to work best. It is a bit of a pain to setup and must be setup right after you buy the qualifying item but, it has worked for me on several occasions, mostly the free battery replacement.

Parts are readily available so a replacement brush cap should be no problem. Was the unit left uncovered in an open environment where something could have built up over time inside the unit? If it was just setting in a loosely enclosed area like garage I wouldn't think simply non-use would be the culprit. When you blew it off did you also blow out the motor area? Maybe some sort of build up? Sorry, I'm not being much help here. Any motor guys want to chime in?

[Earl McLain]

The original Ridgid LSA was more like the Craftsman deal--went with the tool and registration wasn't necessary. I can't recall the cut-off date, but it happened around the time of the paint color change from gray to orange. If it's a gray tool--I'd call the nearest Ridgid authorized service center for a chat to see what the possibilities are.
earl

edit--I just spent some time reading on a Ridgid Forum, not sure whether to retract the above or not!! How about I change it to "might be worth a call if you have unlimited free minutes" and "good luck!!" It may have required a new registration in 2005, or maybe--the Ridgid experts can't seem to agree...