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Workshop Hints
"Current Notes"
#4 Coil & Motor Winding
The following Electrical Notes were compiled by Mr Mike Frost and published on the Clock/Clockers mailing lists on the Internet. We Thank Mike for giving us permission to publish these pages
on the BHI's web site. The information here does not necessarily indicate a method approved by the BHI, we are publishing these notes so that others can decide for themselves whether the
methods listed below will suit them.

Recent threads have discussed uses of 'fine' or magnet wire and some clarification and cautions are in order.

Thin copper wire is classified a magnet wire. It comes in sizes ranging from AWG 14 to AWG 56, single or heavy coated. It is typically used, when coiled around a metal core, to produce a magnetic field
that affects an introduced object towards some sort of motion.

In the good old days, magnet wire was usually cotton-coated or enameled. These materials were state of the art at the time but were found to be less than satisfactory in practice. The coatings didn't last very
long which tended to cause shorting and overheating of the coils. Today, there are several types of coatings available for a variety of purposes. I use Phelps-Dodge wire, Nyleze/155. This wire is single-
insulated with polyurethane with a Nylon overcoat, good for temperatures up to 155C. Wire this size comes in 6" or 10" spools and ranges in price from $45 to $85, depending upon market costs of copper.
You usually cannot find new wire smaller than AWG 30 in small amounts.

The sizes I have are from AWG 24 to AWG 44. As an example of size, a 35AWG single coated wire is .0056" and 42AWG is .0025". Single coatings for the 35 is .0004" and the 42 is .0002". I have used
every size in repairing clock motors, coils, car clocks, and organ coils.

Measurements for magnet wire are always for the bare wire nominal size. If you have small wire that you need to replace, dip one piece of the wire in acetone, or use a cig. lighter and carefully burn off the
insulation. Use a 4 place micrometer to measure the bare wire. A chart in any radio or TV code book will tell you what AWG rating the wire is. Measuring the coated wire without removing the coating will
tell you nothing.

Most clock motors and rotor coils use wire in the range of AWG 35 to AWG 42, and turns from 3680 to 8020. The size of the wire and the number of turns, the permeablility of the core, size of the core,
number of poles, etc are all related. For example, a Telechron #48 coil as sold in the parts houses, uses AWG 36 wire, with 4790 turns. Even though this coil (underwound) tends to run hot, (caution), puting
AWG 42 wire with the same number of turns will not produce the same magnetic flux density neede to turn the rotor. A Sessions round motor with 3 copper shading rings uses AWG 39 with 5080 turns. A
small field coil for a non-self starting United movement uses AWG 42 and 7130 turns.

Changing wire sizes, or using old wire scavenged from other equipment is a recipe for problems. Improper turns on a coil could cause the coil to overheat and cause a fire. Damage to your euipment or clock
can result when the wrong flux field is generated. Your reputation can suffer when you repair a customers electric clock by using old wire that doesn't last long or causes damage.

If you have sufficient liability insurance to cover faulty wiring in clocks, then by all means do whatever you have to to get the works back out to the customer with the least cost to you. If not, then do the
repairs properly or have them done by a competent repairman.

Final note. If you want to unwrap a coil to 'fix' it, just remember that once the number of turns is unknown, it may be impossible to make a new coil that is correct.

As usual, comments, suggestions, or critques are always welcome.

Mike Frost Time Guard, Inc. Electric Clock & Motor Repair 9655 Richmond Street Manassas, VA 20110 1-800-390-5540 (lv msg) "Helping you set the current time."

Index of the Hints and tips

Page address http://www.bhi.co.uk/hints/cn4.htm

Last Updated 25th August 1996

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