Treadmill Motor Overheats
What should you do if your treadmill motor overheats?
There are a couple of measures you can take.
Measure 1: Give the motor some cooling time.
Stop the treadmill immediately and give your motor some cooling down time. See if you can get it to start after 30 minutes or so. Usually, it’s unlikely that you can still fire up the motor after it has been overheated. This tends to happen to smaller and less powerful motors. Any additional load will add a lot of heat to the motor. For more powerful motors, the chances are much lower, but it’s still possible for the motor to overload.
Measure 2: Check your warranty for motor.
If after 30 minutes you still can’t get the motor to fire up, it’s time to check the warranty of your motor. The warranty usually depends on your treadmill model. Higher end machines that come with more powerful motors (more than 2.5 CHP) tend to have longer warranty periods. Warranty should be about 10 years or more for these machines. Some models, like Landice Treadmills even offer lifetime warranty. Of course, you can expect these machines to cost a lot more.
You usually don’t have to worry much about commercial grade treadmills. It’s the smaller home treadmills that you have to worry about. These are machines that cost around the $500 range.
The warranty may still cover the motor, but warranty for parts and labor may have expired. The warranty period for parts and labor is usually within the 1 to 2 years range. There is a manufacturer that offers 90 day on labor, and they are causing quite a stir, for the wrong reasons.
If the warranty for labor has expired, that means you have to figure out a way to replace the motor. You can send in a request for a new motor, and the manufacturer will honor the warranty and send you a new motor. However, if you don’t have the know how to replace the motor, it’s still not going to help. If so, you may have to hire external help.
First, you may wish to call up the official service center to see if they can send someone down the repair the treadmill. Of course, you must be prepared to pay a fee. If that is not possible, check with your electrician to see if he or she has any experience replacing motors.
Prevention is always better than cure.
As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure.” How wise and true. So is there anything you can do to prevent the motor from overheating? The answer is yes!
Cooling method 1.
Keep the treadmill in a cool room. If possible, always have your air-conditioning on while using the treadmill. That will prevent the motor from overheating.
Cooling method 2.
Unless you are really fit, avoid using the treadmill at max. intensity for prolonged periods of time. Usually, even for very fit individuals, it’s very hard to overheat a treadmill motor, even at max. intensity. But when you have multiple runners using the machine consecutively, that’s a different story. If multiple runners are going to use the treadmill at max. intensity, then let the machine rest for 10 to 15 mins before the next runner starts.
Cooling method 3.
Okay, this is not really a cooling method, but it helps to prevent the motor from overheating. Always buy a machine that is more powerful than its intended use. For example, if you weight 275 pounds, don’t buy a treadmill that supports a max user weight of 275 pounds. Buy one that supports at least 300 pounds. The idea is to give allowance to the motor while supporting a heavy runner. If budget permits, try to buy a more powerful treadmill that supports up to 325 pounds. You never know when you are going to get fitter and heavier. Lean muscle mass weighs more than fat. So as you workout, you tend to become fitter and heavier.
Read more about treadmill motor overheating and find out what exactly causes the motor to overheat.