# Help! How to wire a motor for a wall plug.



## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

So I am not savvy in the ways of electricity. If it doesnt already have a wall plug, I have no idea how to make it work.

So I want to purchase a simple gear motor and make it so it plugs in to the wall to run a simple fake saw blade.

What kind of motor should I get, and as simple as possible, how do I get it so it plugs into a wall socket to work. I need a very quiet motor, so your suggestions are appreciated here as well.

Thanks in advance, and keeping it simple for the stupid (me)


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

The motor type kinda depends on how fast you want your saw to move and how much torque you need for the prop. A good motor for this may be the trusty wiper motor, plenty of torque, very quiet and you can run different speeds by changing the power supply voltage. Most people use either 12VDC or 5VDC. Best source I know of is Monster Guts.
http://monsterguts.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=4


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

If you happen to get your hands on one of the increasingly hard to find 4 RPM vent motors, this tutorial by Spooky1 shows how to connect it to a wallwart in using a computer power supply:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=23705&highlight=computer+power+supply


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

If electrical work worries you it is best to try and find a motor from a Christmas animated reindeer. These are around 4-5 RPM, have decent tourque, and already have the plug attached. I have been using the following lately for FCG rigs, 6 RPM and excellent tourque, however they do require you to attach a 110 plug to the motor..

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?catname=&qty=1&item=5-1702

If you are not familiar with electricity maybe you have a friend who is. If you provide the parts they could connect it in a matter of minutes.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

heresjohnny said:


> If you are not familiar with electricity maybe you have a friend who is. If you provide the parts they could connect it in a matter of minutes.


No I am familiar with electricity, we have it at our house and I use it nearly every day.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Turbophanx said:


> No I am familiar with electricity, we have it at our house and I use it nearly every day.


LOL, good point.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Turbophanx said:


> No I am familiar with electricity, we have it at our house and I use it nearly every day.


Oooooohhhh Ouch... that's gonna leave a mark...

I agree with Otaku that you need to decide what speed you want your Sawblade to run at. 4rpm may seem cheezy and far to slow, whereas 200rpm is slower than a real blade but is still fast enough to be a blur and potentially be dangerous. I dunno.... I would suggest somewhere between 30 and 60 rpm depending on what size the blade is and what kind of lighting you'll be using on it.

However it all depends on what your vision is. Try to pick a speed (EG 60rpm = 1rpm per second) and then we can probably help you pick an affordable motor and help you hook it up.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

niblique71 said:


> Oooooohhhh Ouch... that's gonna leave a mark...
> 
> I agree with Otaku that you need to decide what speed you want your Sawblade to run at. 4rpm may seem cheezy and far to slow, whereas 200rpm is slower than a real blade but is still fast enough to be a blur and potentially be dangerous. I dunno.... I would suggest somewhere around and 60 rpm depending on what size the blade is and what kind of lighting you'll be using on it.
> 
> However it all depends on what your vision is. Try to pick a speed (EG 60rpm = 1rpm per second) and then we can probably help you pick an affordable motor and help you hook it up.


Yeah about 20 to 60 RPM would be about right.


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Hmmm...I think a wiper motor can run at around 55 RPM on 12VDC, high speed. Might be the way to go.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

Otaku said:


> Hmmm...I think a wiper motor can run at around 55 RPM on 12VDC, high speed. Might be the way to go.


What is 12VDC Is that the plug inthe wall?

So where does one get a cheap wiper motor and how do I make it plug into the wall?


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Easy. There's a link in my first post in this thread to the Monster Guts site, where you can get both the motor and the power supply you'll need. 12VDC is 12 volts, direct current, pretty much what your car runs on. The motor has two speed options, high and low, and there's a set of videos on the MG website that demos the different speeds. You just plug the power supply cord into the wall and the 12 volt side into the motor. I strongly recommend getting the Quick Connect adapter to connect easily to the motor terminals. I have several of those motors, and I'm very pleased with them.

I should mention that I'm not plugging for MG, I'm just a satisfied customer.


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## Warrant2000 (Oct 8, 2008)

Turbo, a 12V power supply is like the power source that come with answering machines, or tool chargers, or cell phone chargers. They are usually black, square, about the size of a small baseball, and yes, they plug right into the wall.

Read the fine print on it, it will say something like, "Input: 120VAC, Output: 12VDC". Many different chargers have different numbers, you want one that outputs 12V.

You would use it by clipping the end if the wire, stripping the ends, then carefully attaching it to the connectors of your motor. Plug the 12V power supply (the black box) into an OFF power strip, then stand back, hit the switch on, and if all is lined up the motor will start turning.

Disclaimer, I'm not an expert at all with electricity and am terrified of it.

Wiper motors can come from any junk car. You can find them on eBay for under $10. A typical wiper motor will have 5 wires coming out of it. I clipped all the wires and started experimenting with clips attached to the 12V power supply. I finally found the 2 wires that powered the motor. Reversing the clips made the motor run in the opposite direction.

I used clips and prods from a multimeter kit that had rubber covers on the metal clips and prods for added safety.


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## Turbophanx (Jun 30, 2008)

Thanks for that write up. Helps much!


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