Hi,

I’ve seen a lot on the internet about fisher/paykel washer motors being used as generators, rewired etc, although we don’t have F&P washers in the UK, we do have LG which have the same direct drive motors.

Unfortunately they all seem to be now made with Aluminium wired coils. I understand a copper wired one would be best, but if I can only get hold of an aluminium wired one, will it be a major problem?  I was thinking of twisting wires together when rewiring it as I hear soldering aluminium wires is near impossible?

Can anyone tell me if it would be possible to use an aluminium type effectively or am I wasting my time?


Thanks in advance!

Chris

Resistive losses are a little higher for aluminium but not a deal breaker.

Twisting the wires won't last long as the oxide film that forms on the surface is non-conductive and quite tough. You need screw connectors that can maintain sufficient pressure (but not too much, aluminium is soft) to prevent oxide forming at the points of contact. Under pressure aluminium can "cold flow" so the screws need tightening occasionally.

Long ago it was possible to get solder and flux for aluminium but it was only suitable for busbars and very thick cables. It contained an abrasive to scrub off the oxide. The surfaces were first heated and tinned while scrubbing with a wire brush.
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Edited 2024-04-24 09:12 by phil99

Ok thanks for the info, I’ll look into some screw connectors for the joins. Will have to think of something to do the joins to the phase wires as joining the aluminium to a thicker copper wire might be a task.

Since these things are wired 3 phase I would assume there are joints at the star or delta point of the coils.
Have a good look how the manufacturer joins the wire and see if you can copy that method.

Chris , I have done this and used "Noalox" on all connections to prevent oxidation . I also used closed end crimp connectors because twisting the wire can be a problem

search "windmill rewire" for a lot of good information