# Starter box wiring for jointer



## Faceman_ (Oct 24, 2013)

Recently I picked up an jointer which was wired with a 240v 2hp Dayton motor. Not wanting to just plug this guy in and having a disaster on my hands I checked the wiring in the on/off box and motor. The motor's wiring appears to be fine but the on/off box has me wondering why the ground was just floating uncapped in the on/off box, not something I feel comfortable with. I see a space that is green in the front of the box but I don't want to place the ground there without any knowledgeable advice.

Any ideas would be appreciated and yes I tried Googling first but did not come up with anything.










EDIT: About a year later I finally got around to wiring the jointer and it runs amazingly. This 120 year old machine will outlast me.

For the wiring, I grounded within the motor wiring casing to a screw and within the starter box pigtailed the grounds together.

I wasn't confident at first since the initial wiring threw me off but after running all new lines, smooth as silk.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Best bet is to try and find the data sheet/installation guide for that starter… I believe Cutler Hammer is now part of Eaton, so you might look over there.

Kind of hard to tell from that picture if the green terminals up top are grounds, but it would be reasonable. Should be able to see what those are connected to, or you could verify by testing with a meter. You could also tie that ground to one of the screws/bolts holding the starter to the saw, which should be a good ground point as well.

Cheers,
Brad


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## Faceman_ (Oct 24, 2013)

> Best bet is to try and find the data sheet/installation guide for that starter… I believe Cutler Hammer is now part of Eaton, so you might look over there.


Mentioned before, tried, nothing for this exact one.



> You could also tie that ground to one of the screws/bolts holding the starter to the saw, which should be a good ground point as well.


I thought of that and if the jointer was 120v I would have. Being that the jointer is 240v, I'm not too keen on grounding to a giant cast iron base in case something goes wrong and you have a 1400lb block of electricity in front of you.

I showed the photo to an electrician friend and he believes these two highlighted screws are grounds. Now to check which wire is ground on the Dayton motor.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> > You could also tie that ground to one of the screws/bolts holding the starter to the saw, which should be a good ground point as well.
> 
> 
> I thought of that and if the jointer was 120v I would have. Being that the jointer is 240v, I m not too keen on grounding to a giant cast iron base in case something goes wrong and you have a 1400lb block of electricity in front of you.


Nope… wouldn't happen. IF something goes wrong and your saw is grounded… any electricity that escapes will go directly to ground, not someone touching the saw. That is what the ground is for.

Cheers,
Brad

PS: The "1400lb block of electricity" could only happen if you DON'T ground the thing


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Those screws are to pull the starter apart. Definitely NOT for grounding.

Brad is right about grounding.

The ground screw on the cover is just for that. Grounding. Since the cover isnt secured to the enclosure by a screw into threads. It needs a pigtail.

Not much to grounding it. Ground from your cord into starter enclosure to a ring terminal under a screw. From same screw to green screw in motor j box.


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## Faceman_ (Oct 24, 2013)

> PS: The "1400lb block of electricity" could only happen if you DON T ground the thing


I've done electric work before and have ground to boxes but if there's a proper spot for the ground, I'd like to do it. Just the idea of this thing not being properly ground makes me imagine a Tesla coil in my garage with this huge block of old American industrial might.



> Those screws are to pull the starter apart. Definitely NOT for grounding.
> 
> 
> > I haven't had a chance to get out to the garage to check those screws, just going by what he said from the photo. He wires houses and Xray machines, funny how a starter is stumping both of us.
> ...


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## FancyShoes (Aug 31, 2014)

A lot of really old things didnt use grounds! You may have to just make something ground.


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## Faceman_ (Oct 24, 2013)

Apparently the starter box has a wiring diagram for a heat coil in it.

Here is the green bar:










Here is the photo wiring diagram for the motor:










I know all motors are not created equal but at least this one has a ground or it's just labeled clearly:


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