Jet 1642 EVS Lathe

[Greg Long]

Hi - Just bought a Jet 1642EVS lathe. Love the thing, but am concerned with how hot the phase inverter on the back of the pully housing gets in operation. A chip got lodged in the heat sink last night that didn't produce flame but did smoke and cinder pretty good. I've rigged up an "ad hoc" cover for the inverter, but this whole thing looks like a serious design flaw to me - anyone else experience this with this lathe or something like it?

[Jim Swift]

Hi Greg

Congrats on the new Jet1642. I too just bought one and got it home, cleaned & waxed the bed and got it all nice and purdy. Plugged it in and....Nothing.

Called Jet customer service and they sent me a new inverter. Replaced inverter and so far it turns on and spins. Have yet to turn a piece of wood but in the next couple of days I'll be out there filling the floor with shavings.

Good luck with your lathe and turn safe

Jim Swift

[Richard Madison]

Greg,
Something is almost certainly amiss. It takes temperature in the vicinity of 400 F to char wood, and unlikely that any portion of the circuitry would normally operate at that temperature.

Be sure that your impromptu cover does not restrict air flow in any way.

[robert hainstock]

Call the factory tech support line; something is going to burn up, and you really don't need that.
Bob

[Greg Long]

Thanks for the replies - I am going to contact Jet tech support ASAP about it because the temps produced on that housing just can't be right.
G

[Greg Long]

Jim,
Spoke with JET tech suppor today. They tell me that the temperatures I am seeing on the inverter are normal - they recommend blowing the thing out from time to time to clear out any chips etc. Basically the thing is going to get pretty hot in operation.
I assume your lathe is now running. Are you experiencing something similar?

Greg

[Richard Madison]

Greg,
Did the Jet tech rep actually tell you, in degrees Fahrenheit, what temperature is "normal"?

[Dale Gregory]

Greg, I turned a small bowl over the weekend and checked the heat on the inverter cover just because of your thread. Warm to the touch, but not hot.

Dale

[Mark Ebert]

I also have a 1642 and after turning a few bowls the controller gets to be warm to the touch, but no way is it supposed to get so hot that it can scorch chips resting on the heatsink. In my opinion there is something wrong with your controller, as it is NOT normal for it to get so hot. It may be a good idea to contact Jet again and stress to them that the unit is getting HOT and appears to be a fire hazard. They should make good on this as they are well known for great customer service.

Good luck and happy turning...

[Steve Schlumpf]

Greg - like Mark, I also checked out my lathe as a result of your thread. After turning a bowl I found that the heat sink was warm to the touch but not hot! I could - and did - hold my hand on it and there was no chance of getting burned! I would equate the heat to that of the motor - just warm and in no way hot enough to burn wood!

[Greg Long]

First of all - thanks to everyone who replied - I appreciate the help.

So, here's some further info that some may find interesting/useful:

I have the 1.5 HP lathe - runs on 120V/1 phase AC but the inverter steps voltage up to 230V and converts to 3 phase AC for the motor. I have the tool on a dedicated 20 amp breaker circuit. According to my calculations, the motor should draw 9.3 amps to deliver 1.5 HP at a line voltage of 120V (not start up current). The direct 230V lathe will obviously draw half of that value for the same HP.

Jet Tech service thought the power to the tool might be the issue - if voltage to tool is too low the inverter will cut out (which has not happened) but if the voltage is "low", then inverter might run hotter than "usual". Okay.......

I measured the voltage drop at the wall plug and the lathe motor under both load and no load conditions with a good multimeter. All measurements yielded a clean 120V - motor sees no line voltage drop even under load or varying load. So, power to the tool appears to be okay.

So, I borrowed an infrared thermometer from work and measured the temp of the inverter heat sink blades during lather operation. After ~ an hour of turning a few small bowls and boxes, the blades measured a temp of 150 deg F max. Hot enough such that I do not want to lay my hand on it for very long, but certainly not hot enough to ignite wood. I cannot explain why the one chip I observed to char did so. Of course the surface area and moisture content of the wood will also come into play.

The Jet tech tells me that the temp I measured is very normal for the lathe - nothing to worry about. They measured a 230V lathe in their shop and it had a blade temp of 129 deg F after about 45 minutes.

So, I guess all is well. I confess that the heat from the blades is higher than I would like - Jet says that some of the lathes have a plastic cover over them - mine does not - I guess I will keep turning and see if that blade temp gets hotter over time. Better safe than sorry -

Thanks again for the help - I aprpeciate it

[Steve Schlumpf]

Greg - I turned 2 bowls today back to back and never shut the lathe off for more than a few seconds. I constantly put my hand on the heat sinks and at no time was it even warm. I do have the 220v 2 hp version but I still think the heat sink shouldn't be getting anywhere near 150*F. As long as your lathe is working - use it but keep an eye on the heat issue!