MX5Ireland

im in the process of making a spincaster

I have the motor from a 10 yr old hotpoint washing machine and was thinking about wiring this up to a dimmer switch so i could run it at variable speeds.

Can it be done ?

Hi Charged_rs

Quick answer is no.....
...unless the motor is DC but then you need to find the rectifier in the washing machine and then make sure the current rating of your dimmer can handle the load of the motor.
Chances are the motor from your washing machine is a single phase AC motor. A dimmer switch is for resistive loads like a standard bulb. To control the speed of AC motors you need a controler rated for the motor current usage. This can be expensive because to change the speed you need to change the frequency of the voltage supply.
The other option is find an AC motor with multiple windings for a selection of speeds. Each winding runs at a different speed and the controler is simpler and cheaper.

Hope this helps a bit anyway!

wtf is a spincaster

sidewaysreilly wrote:wtf is a spincaster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_casting

used for making stuff from low melt alloys / metals / thermoset plastics

aha, taut you were doing some dj job somewhere........

sidewaysreilly wrote:aha, taut you were doing some dj job somewhere........

lol no..i'll leave that to the pill poppin , coke snortin youngsters , plus i can barely mix cement let alone tunes