I can remember using the growler in my uncle's repair shop about 50 years ago - very useful tool to have. That was back in the day when we used to remove bad starters and generators (before alternators were common) on cars and rebuild them right there in the shop instead of just replacing them with new units like they do today. I can remember rebuilding a huge starter off a John Deere tractor once.
It's been a while like 50 yrs but in auto electric shop we held a hacksaw blade over the armature and if the blade was pulled to armature, there was a shorted winding. Thanks for the video!
Takes me back in time, I used to repair them when I worked for the Singer Sewing Machine factory in Scotland,...Happy days , nice video explains everything.
Nice demonstration! I used to use a growler when I worked for an electric motor shop in the mid 90's. All my work was with APU's on jet planes Mainly Delta Airlines. They would send them in to have them rebuilt after so many running hours and very few had any issues but they wanted them rebuilt anyway.
Thank you again good video. I used to rebuild car alternators and starters I just gave the armature the smell test and also you could see discoloration in the windings. But now days it's hard to find the components to repair starters and alternators. You can find them but you either have to drive all over the place or order them on line. Diode packs bearings and bushings used to be readily available in one county or town now you've got to hunt them down. Oh and I forgot the brushes and a few other parts.
Very nice growler ya got there! Thank you very much for the demo. I got to see and hear about them at tech school 20 years ago but never got to see it in use!
I have a growler and an armature lathe. I used to fix old tractor generators and starters. You can check starter armatures for shorts with it but not for opens for the fact the windings are too heavy gauge wire. My pacemaker stopped a couple of times while you had that on. Medtronic did not list Growlers but I but it would send mine into a tizzy.
nice 👌. i inherit my growler from my dad after he retired. i still use it in my repair shop up to this day and it does the job great. my dad's growler is older than me.
ZIGgassedUP Thanks a lot!! Older tools and equipment may be heavy and bulky and have fewer features but when I see the build quality and simplicity compared to most new items I don't even have to think about what I would rather use...
Interesting. The growlers we use at the shop I work at are a different design but same principle. Most of the motors we work on are a tad bigger than that one your useing for demonstration. Setting a half ton armature on that little box would probably end badly and you wouldnt be rotateing it by hand :p Ours are more handheld and set on top of the part were testing but same basic testing procedure.
Nice Vid Mike. They are still a few out there, lots of older G.A. planes still use gennies and some well equipped A & P shops have them for an occasional bench check.
I went to a garage sale at the weekend and the woman said that she had an old grey growler, but it was a bit rough around the edges compared to this one. We used these at tech school in the 70's when I was an apprentice mechanic.
gjmob They usually are in rough shape because 20 some years ago they got pushed under the bench when starters and generators on cars became cheaper to just replace rather then repair!
Back in the early 80’s I worked for a power tool company as a tech we used a Growler unit similar to that one..also had a commutator cutter machine .those that were non repairable went in a large box back to the factory …aka recycle…now a days they end up in a landfill somewhere…great video Brother!
That is an interesting piece of equipment. The local Napa store near me still repairs generators in house. They have even converted one of my gen. from 6V to 12V for me. I imagine they probably have a growler sitting on the bench. Electric motors and generators are something that I wish I knew more about.
Nothing to them. An Armature growler, lathe and a ohmeter is pretty much it. It has been 35 years since I have worked on them. I still remember them like it was yesterday.
Start by ordering a remanufacturer kit. There are common kits available for generators, alternators, and starters as they're all pretty similar. You can save about $100 just on the rebuild by DIY too.
you answered your own question! i only use a multimeter... i test the armature coils and commutator and call it a day. of course the older outboard starters are so easy to rebuild / replace.
Good and informative video... but I stopped at 11:17... rather than flip the armature over, I would have moved the shorting washer... but I’m lazy.. LOL... now back to the video.
Could you also test this by putting a ring of bare wire around the commutator, attaching it to one lead of a megger, then attach the other lead of the megger to the motor shaft, and megging it that way?
Mike : All around excellent vid man . Great restore work on that , It is still is a great tool to have when you have a love for the old stuff as we do !!
I just got an Allen Growler, but it was smashed in shipping. Do you have a booklet or wiring diagram for these, so I could check mine out and possibly get it operable again?
i used a growler back in the day god she taught me a few thngs ....lol no really used one to test armatures in small drills and hand tools the one i used you could wind up the voltage with a big knob was so cool
Excelent video! Can you guive me some idea of the type of meter you use? I think that is an AC volt meter, but I'm interested in the full scale you can reach in each extreme setting of the knob. I have a crawler, but without the instrument. Thank you a lot.
Very useful tool, probably even as a demagnetizer too :). I remember learning how to use one in high school auto shop. Geeze do they even have shop classes anymore?
Is there line voltage thru this? This thing scared me when the armature jumped at continuety check, this is the kind of tool i am quite delighted that it is not in use anymore. And that noise- i am used to when i hear that sound i immediately cut power because some went horrific wrong. But i see the usefulness in this, it would take me a while feeling safe using THAT. Nice explaining, though. You seem way more comfordable with this than I´ll ever be, keep up the good work.
Here, in Brazil, we have a DIY armature tester, much simpler then the one you have, It is called "Ratinho". It is made out of a dishwasher motor pump. There are videos on TH-cam, unfortunately, all in Portuguese. Check it out.
I think You can compare it to an electromagnet running on AC, but the magnet field will be in the armature (normally it´s in cooperation with the stator), the hacksawblade will be drawn and retracted in the cycles of the line frequenzy from the mains, in this case (ie an electromagnet running on AC where the circuit is shorted out, that´s why it start acting weird i guess), if You live in America it will be 60 Hertz, that´s why it starts to vibrate i think. (That meter is just a Voltmeter with a reostat (adjustable resistance), same princip as in a modern multimeter, but analog instead of digital.) Sorry for my terrible English (it´s not my native language), but i hope it straightened things ot a bit more for You, it´s pretty simple once one get a basic grip on it.
I havew one made by Allen,..and it's a newer model, as the volt meter is ''built in' so to speak. I have no use for it,.but as I'm in Canada, I can't send it to you. It's been so loong since I used my Growler that I had forgotten how to use it... Cheers
I found an old SNAP ON growler a while back. Had no clue what it was.. pretty cool gadget for real. Not really my line. I should probably sell it. Let someone get some use out if it
![Antique Armature Testing Growler [Restoration]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KShl-grm1lw/mqdefault.jpg)
I can remember using the growler in my uncle's repair shop about 50 years ago - very useful tool to have. That was back in the day when we used to remove bad starters and generators (before alternators were common) on cars and rebuild them right there in the shop instead of just replacing them with new units like they do today. I can remember rebuilding a huge starter off a John Deere tractor once.
Cool
It's been a while like 50 yrs but in auto electric shop we held a hacksaw blade over the armature and if the blade was pulled to armature, there was a shorted winding. Thanks for the video!
Takes me back in time, I used to repair them when I worked for the Singer Sewing Machine factory in Scotland,...Happy days , nice video explains everything.
Nice demonstration! I used to use a growler when I worked for an electric motor shop in the mid 90's. All my work was with APU's on jet planes Mainly Delta Airlines. They would send them in to have them rebuilt after so many running hours and very few had any issues but they wanted them rebuilt anyway.
Thank you again good video. I used to rebuild car alternators and starters I just gave the armature the smell test and also you could see discoloration in the windings. But now days it's hard to find the components to repair starters and alternators. You can find them but you either have to drive all over the place or order them on line. Diode packs bearings and bushings used to be readily available in one county or town now you've got to hunt them down. Oh and I forgot the brushes and a few other parts.
Very nice growler ya got there! Thank you very much for the demo. I got to see and hear about them at tech school 20 years ago but never got to see it in use!
Thank you. This is a first for me, I've never seen one until today on FB marketplace and I searched videos to learn what the thing was and found you.
I have a growler and an armature lathe. I used to fix old tractor generators and starters. You can check starter armatures for shorts with it but not for opens for the fact the windings are too heavy gauge wire. My pacemaker stopped a couple of times while you had that on. Medtronic did not list Growlers but I but it would send mine into a tizzy.
nice 👌. i inherit my growler from my dad after he retired. i still use it in my repair shop up to this day and it does the job great. my dad's growler is older than me.
You Mike are the answer to the throw away world...Great vid mate.
ZIGgassedUP Thanks a lot!! Older tools and equipment may be heavy and bulky and have fewer features but when I see the build quality and simplicity compared to most new items I don't even have to think about what I would rather use...
Brought back memories when I used this equipment in the Navy as a electrician, Excellent presentation!
Thanks for watching!
Interesting. The growlers we use at the shop I work at are a different design but same principle. Most of the motors we work on are a tad bigger than that one your useing for demonstration. Setting a half ton armature on that little box would probably end badly and you wouldnt be rotateing it by hand :p Ours are more handheld and set on top of the part were testing but same basic testing procedure.
Just here in my mom's garage. Just bought this new Growler, its fun to energize here in North Dakota plains.
There used to be a slot under cut tool for the commutator for cleaning the spacers out preventing shorts after running a short time
Very interesting video Mike. Nice restoration job. Good seeing old tools come back to life
Nice Vid Mike. They are still a few out there, lots of older G.A. planes still use gennies and some well equipped A & P shops have them for an occasional bench check.
O
I went to a garage sale at the weekend and the woman said that she had an old grey growler, but it was a bit rough around the edges compared to this one. We used these at tech school in the 70's when I was an apprentice mechanic.
gjmob They usually are in rough shape because 20 some years ago they got pushed under the bench when starters and generators on cars became cheaper to just replace rather then repair!
Sexy
I have vague memories from high school auto class of cleaning commutators and cutting the grooves with a hacksaw blade. Been a long time.
this is was my job for many years working on motor shop i have 8 growlers on my garage,i love them
Back in the early 80’s I worked for a power tool company as a tech we used a Growler unit similar to that one..also had a commutator cutter machine .those that were non repairable went in a large box back to the factory …aka recycle…now a days they end up in a landfill somewhere…great video Brother!
Thanks for checking it out!
That is an interesting piece of equipment. The local Napa store near me still repairs generators in house. They have even converted one of my gen. from 6V to 12V for me. I imagine they probably have a growler sitting on the bench. Electric motors and generators are something that I wish I knew more about.
Chip Wright Thanks for the comment. I have found that reading old electrical books is a great way to learn about this type of thing.
Nothing to them. An Armature growler, lathe and a ohmeter is pretty much it. It has been 35 years since I have worked on them. I still remember them like it was yesterday.
I used one when working on a Renault 4 generator in the mid 90s.
Start by ordering a remanufacturer kit. There are common kits available for generators, alternators, and starters as they're all pretty similar. You can save about $100 just on the rebuild by DIY too.
is this method superior to the resistance testing done with a dmm nowadays? The general methodology is nearly identical.
you answered your own question! i only use a multimeter... i test the armature coils and commutator and call it a day. of course the older outboard starters are so easy to rebuild / replace.
Good and informative video... but I stopped at 11:17... rather than flip the armature over, I would have moved the shorting washer... but I’m lazy.. LOL... now back to the video.
Could you also test this by putting a ring of bare wire around the commutator, attaching it to one lead of a megger, then attach the other lead of the megger to the motor shaft, and megging it that way?
Thanks for the vid. It is a great refreasher as I haven't used a growler since I was an apprentice back in the 70's
Mike : All around excellent vid man . Great restore work on that , It is still is a great tool to have when you have a love for the old stuff as we do !!
I just got an Allen Growler, but it was smashed in shipping. Do you have a booklet or wiring diagram for these, so I could check mine out and possibly get it operable again?
i used a growler back in the day god she taught me a few thngs ....lol no really used one to test armatures in small drills and hand tools the one i used you could wind up the voltage with a big knob was so cool
i work repairing and overhauling aircraft starter generators and motors and use one on a daily basis, its a allen but not as flash as this one.
Wow you just brought back memories..and made feel old..LOL..Excellent video
I remember actually fixing components when I started my career.
I work at a small steam plant, and a lot of stuff is tossed. So many things are not even worth rebuilding from the high cost of labor.
Excelent video! Can you guive me some idea of the type of meter you use? I think that is an AC volt meter, but I'm interested in the full scale you can reach in each extreme setting of the knob. I have a crawler, but without the instrument. Thank you a lot.
Just bought a growler similar to yours ..... I am also refurbishing it. You would not happen to have a schematic (or drawing ) for your device ?
I can imagine someone with his ears ringing after working with that machine for a while. It must be awful.
Interesting video. What did you do for the bearing journals on the armature in the video ?
Very good I still have one of this than I use to repair old starter motors
Very useful tool, probably even as a demagnetizer too :). I remember learning how to use one in high school auto shop. Geeze do they even have shop classes anymore?
Yup that is where I saw it used, to check starter n generator armature. A great item to have in a shop 4 electric work
Is there line voltage thru this? This thing scared me when the armature jumped at continuety check, this is the kind of tool i am quite delighted that it is not in use anymore. And that noise- i am used to when i hear that sound i immediately cut power because some went horrific wrong. But i see the usefulness in this, it would take me a while feeling safe using THAT. Nice explaining, though. You seem way more comfordable with this than I´ll ever be, keep up the good work.
A relic of the "Safety Last" days of electrical equipment!🤣
Also of the days when motor shops actually performed repairs on motors.
I used one when I worked in a generator/starter rebuilding shop, nice restoration 😃😃😃Thanks
Thanks, I always wanted to see one in operation.
dictare Thanks for watching!
Hey I'm from Kalamazoo, MI! very cool to see that, and I am enjoying your videos as well. You do some great work!
A lot of good, long last products from there! We have a few in our shop.
tendrias los datos del growler el numero de vueltas calibre y datos del hierro si lo pudieras compartir seria de gran ayuda
isme submersible pump ka roter check kr sakte he
Interesting and informative. Thanks for posting!
what unit in 8:10 this analog meter showing ?
Where else would I learn of these things, thanks.
Nice job There still used in electric motor shops . Mostly on specialty motors . High priced AC or DC The induction works the same
Lawnmowerman02346 Seems like any internal motor/ generator work is becoming a specialty!!Thanks for watching!
Real nice video, and ya did a good job restoring that growler. I enjoyed this
I inherited a growler, Does this work for starter armatures? Good video, thanks for sharing!
MudRFunR Yes it will work for any wound rotor machine with a segmented commutator.Thanks for watching!
Good to know, thanks!
@@MudRFunR I've even used one on a squirrel cage motor rotor. It only works on the magnet test, but that's all you need to see it that's the bad part.
Growlers were useful devices. There's a lot of them out there for sale. Not much use for them anymore, as you stated.
Here, in Brazil, we have a DIY armature tester, much simpler then the one you have, It is called "Ratinho". It is made out of a dishwasher motor pump. There are videos on TH-cam, unfortunately, all in Portuguese. Check it out.
does it check for hot spots
That's a cool instrument to have.
Thanks for watching!
Very informative video , thanks for the upload.
Thanks a lot for posting.
how exactly how the growler, what does it .... what damage can be detected with a growler
I think You can compare it to an electromagnet running on AC, but the magnet field will be in the armature (normally it´s in cooperation with the stator), the hacksawblade will be drawn and retracted in the cycles of the line frequenzy from the mains, in this case (ie an electromagnet running on AC where the circuit is shorted out, that´s why it start acting weird i guess), if You live in America it will be 60 Hertz, that´s why it starts to vibrate i think.
(That meter is just a Voltmeter with a reostat (adjustable resistance), same princip as in a modern multimeter, but analog instead of digital.)
Sorry for my terrible English (it´s not my native language), but i hope it straightened things ot a bit more for You, it´s pretty simple once one get a basic grip on it.
That was neat to see !!!
how bought them
I havew one made by Allen,..and it's a newer model, as the volt meter is ''built in' so to speak. I have no use for it,.but as I'm in Canada, I can't send it to you. It's been so loong since I used my Growler that I had forgotten how to use it...
Cheers
Reg Sparkes Thanks Reg!! Yea these things are not very light weight so shipping would be a killer!Thanks for the offer and thanks for watching!
This test could help explain the strange sounds being heard in the sky all over the world
Very good video
need ac voltage or dc
excellent video, thanks man
,,, good job,,,,
Thank you for sharing.
nice work
thanks very informative
Looks likes a device from room101 ( movie1984 )..
dude make some small video if we see near the exam then
Terrific!
Thanks
Thanks again.
elliott graham No Problem, thanks for checking it out!
Happy new year.
cool
Jim Rowlings Thanks Jim!
Siemens and Rockwell ... watch this.
Growler means something different in British slang lol
half of the info is wrong...
thank
Growler? Wen it grows little feet, then is it a grawler? lool
I wish all videos could skip the nonsense and get to the meat & potatoes.
I'm so
Devendra Kushwah 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
I found an old SNAP ON growler a while back. Had no clue what it was.. pretty cool gadget for real. Not really my line. I should probably sell it. Let someone get some use out if it
thank