Why Lure Motors Are Not Guaranteed
Injoy cannot guarantee the lure machine motors because we have no control over the conditions under
which these motors are used or, in some cases, abused. If a motor is run
continually after it gets hot, it will burn out. I have seen a
motor start to smoke and stop running after one hour of
practicing dogs...one right after another with no break to let
the motor cool-down. The motor got so hot that it melted the
solder in the motor which broke the electrical connections. That
motor was not defective...it simply was asked to do a job that it
was not designed to do. Or, as my rebuilder in Vermont told me
(smooth talking devil that he is) "if you ride that motor
hard and put it away wet, don't call me when the horse
dies!"
History of the lure machine motor.
In the beginning (early 1970's), lure coursing for
sighthounds was conducted using a drag system whereby the string
was wound onto a take up wheel. This method required a motor with
a long shaft to mount the wheel. The course was re-strung by hand
using a variety of means from riding on shank's mare to
motorcycles. No matter what method was used to restring the
course, a lure coursing trial using a drag system was a lot of
work to complete. The time it takes to restring the course does,
however, give the motor time to cool-off...this is a good thing!
By the late 1970's, sighthound clubs had begun to experiment
with a continuous loop system which did not require the
re-stringing of the course because the bunny was run on a belt of
string that was driven by a wheel on the motor. The change to a
continuous loop system allowed the lure trial to proceed at a
somewhat faster pace and was certainly less work...once again
proving that constructively lazy individuals are extremely
creative. This is when the motors started to overheat and
burnout. Why...because there was no forced timeout when the motor
could cool down while the course was being restrung. You could
run one course right after the other with no need to stop...or so
the theory went. However, an automotive starter motor is just not
designed to run continually without some provision for cooling.
While a continuous loop system does not require a long
shafted motor to operate, at the end of the day you are still
faced with the need to retrieve all that string out on the
course. So, the long shaft is still required to mount a take up
wheel to retrieve and store the string.
Until 2007 (and maybe beyond), the Ford long shaft starter motor has been the standard motor for lure
coursing because it: (1)has the required long shaft, (2)is
battery operated, and therefore can be used anywhere,
(3)basically has the power to do the job required, (4)is readily
available, and (5)has a relative low cost to purchase and/or
rebuild.
In 2002, I was fortunate to locate some newly manufactured (not rebuilt)
Ford long shaft (FLS )starter motors from India....these motors were fabulous.
Unfortunately, in 2006, the company in India went out of business, which I found
out about when I received 20 motors from my supplier in November 2006 that were
of the worst quality I have ever seen in the 28 years I have been purchasing FLS
motors. Since I returned these motors to my supplier in November, I have
received several sample FLS motors, both new and rebuilt, from various
sources and none of them have been of an adequate quality for a lure machine.
They probably work OK for their intended automotive purpose of starting a
vehicle, but they were not going to last very long in a lure machine.
I have a few good FLS motors left in stock and when they are gone...and if I
cannot locate any good FLS motors in the mean time....I will not be making
anymore lure machines using the FLS motor. I am currently having a new
style motor manufactured with a 6 inch long shaft. These motors are not
vehicle starter motors but are used in various commercial and industrial
applications. One motor is rated at 2.5 HP and one at 4.8 HP...you can
read more about these motors here. You can also
read more about the testing of these motors....a
work in progress.
HISTORICAL REFERENCE INFORMATION
MOTOR FACTS FOR THE FORD STARTER MOTOR: The Ford starter motor is a 12 volt DC motor with
a short duty cycle (more on duty cycle later). I do not know the
horse power rating, but my guess is somewhere around 2 HP. The
maximum RPM under load (when running a continuous course) is
around 2200. The average speed (RPM) needed to complete a course
plan is between 1500 and 1800 RPM. The max RPM of 2200, using a
continuous loop wheel with a 9" diameter string groove, will
give you a lure speed of approximately 55 MPH.
The electrical current (at 12 volts DC) required to start the
motor from a stop is 300+ Amps. Once the motor is started, it
will use from 100 to 200 Amps to maintain the average 1500 to
1800 RPM speed. It is a little tough to measure the exact Amps
used with the pulsing on/off method used to control the lure
speed, but these readings are close enough for this purpose.
Incidentally, if you wonder why your pulleys make a
"whirrr'g" sound when the rabbit is running, it is
because a pulley with a 1.5" diameter string groove is
turning at about 12,000 RPM with a lure speed of 55 MPH.
The duty cycle, mentioned above, is the amount of time the
motor is expected to operate between rest periods. The duty cycle
for the Ford motor is short because the motor has no provision
for dissipating the heat generated when operating. The heat is
generated by the large amount of Amps (electrical energy at 12
volts) required to operate the motor.
Remember, the original intended use for this motor was to
start a vehicle's engine which probably takes around 5 to 20
seconds. To run a lure course, the motor operates around 2 to 3
minutes for a short course (500 to 600 yards) and probably around
4 to 5 minutes for a long course (1200+ yards).
Manufacturers of motors such as this one usually state the
duty cycle as "on" time and "off" time and it
would be stated something like this; 5 minutes run time with 15
minutes at rest or an on/off cycle time of 5/15 minutes. I do not
know the original manufacturers' stated duty cycle for the Ford
starter motor. What I do know (and most of you who have operated
lure machines know) is that this motor heats up and if not cooled
down will eventually burn out and cease to operate.
THE WORLD OF VARIABLES So why do some motors heat up and some
don't... why on some days and not on others... why did that 600
yard course yesterday give me fits while the 1200 yard course
today is running with no motor problems? Welcome to the world of
variables! Here is but a short list of some of the variable
conditions that will effect how your motor will operate: weather
(hot, cold, wet or dry)... length of grass... type of terrain...
new/old string... amount of string tension... type of drive
wheel... condition of the motor... condition of the battery...
quality of the electrical connections from battery to solenoid to
motor to ground... pulley placement on the field, particularly
hold down pulleys... pulley condition... and finally, choice of
lure operator. Oh yea, don't forget the lure operator. When all
else fails, blame the lure operator for everything, including the
weather!
When you consider that each one of the above broad categories
could have 4 or 5 possible variables, it is pretty easy to see
how there could be thousands of conditional variable
combinations. So how do we deal with all these potential
problems? It's really quite simple...eliminate as many variables
as you possible can before you ever get to the field to set up
the course. Don't worry, you will be adequately challenged when
you get to the field with grass, weather and terrain conditions.
Here's a suggestion; make yourself a check list of things to
do the night before using the equipment. Make sure the batteries
are full of water and are fully charged. Check the electrical
connections on the lure machine; make sure they are tight; wires
in good shape; and particularly that there is no green or white
crud around any of the connections. This crud can cause you lots
of trouble because it is preventing the motor from getting
adequate electrical current to do the job and the motor will heat
up needlessly. Check the condition of each of your pulleys; do
they turn freely; are they wobbly or rubbing on their base. Just
one bad pulley out on the course can cause the motor to heat up.
Check the condition of your string. Old or used string is not
necessarily bad string. If it is not worn or abraded and is not
full of knots, it is probably better than new string because it
is pre-stretched and if it was used on hot days it has probably
been heat set. This is a condition that people using dacron
fishing line pay a premium price to obtain. And finally, make
sure that you select lure operators with good problem solving
skills and a sense of humor... because they're going to need
both.
So, how do you keep your Ford starter motor cool? The
following is the method that I have used for years. I set up two
lure machines close to each other, with the ends of the motor
shafts facing each other. This is done so that the string can be
easily switched from one machine to the other. When one motor
starts to get warm, I switch the string over to the other machine
for three or four courses until that motor starts getting warm. Notice I use the word warm, not hot enough to fry eggs. If the
motor is so hot that you can not hold your hand on it, it's time
to let the motor rest and cool down.
This method works pretty well for long courses when the
ambient temperature is around 70 degrees or less. When the
temperature gets into the 90's this still may work OK but usually
you need to provide some additional cooling method. I have always
used a fan and some method for concentrating the air flow over
the motor...the more air the better.
The last important functioning part of a lure machine is the
solenoid. The solenoid gets very little attention from anybody
until it locks up...and then all hell breaks loose. A solenoid
failure, though happening very infrequently, can be a
particularly exciting and a frantic situation if you are
unprepared to deal with such an occurrence. What happens is that
the contacting surfaces in the solenoid become pitted and burned
due to normal operation and will weld together. When this occurs,
the lure machine continues to run even though you are not
pressing the button. Usually, the lure machine can be stopped
with a couple of sharp blows being administered to the top of the
solenoid. If this action does not correct the situation, one of
the battery cables needs to be disconnected from the battery. The
faulty solenoid should be replaced with a new one after such an
occurrence.
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