Thu
1 Jan 2009
9:37 pm
Update 9/10/09: The treadmill was fixed under warranty. One important point was that my walking belt had worn down – it was replaced as well, which significantly reduced friction and allows the motor to operate with far less strain. Now I lubricate the walking belt more frequently in order to keep the belt in good shape, and so far things seem to be working fine.
About a week ago the treadmill I use in my treadmill desk — a Nordic Track A2350 — wouldn’t start. The display turned on and read “1.0 mph” but there was no movement. Then I turned it up to a higher speed. Still nothing. Then some sparks came out of the motor, the treadmill went dead, and the circuit breaker on my surge protector shut it off.
My treadmill is toast. Good thing I have an excellent warranty.
But if I may generalize from my experience so far — this one that just died is my fourth replacement motor, IIRC — the average home treadmill isn’t set up for desk use. The motors aren’t geared to be efficient at 1 to 2 mph, or for many consecutive hours of use. Really, the treadmills are built for the most common use case: moderate activity for a couple of weeks followed by years in the garage.
I’ve already attempted to improve airflow and cool the motor using fans. Is there a practical way to effectively modify the gearing so 2mph isn’t such a heavy load? Are there other ways to keep an electric motor happy and cool?
Full Entries RSS
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
One way to prolong the life of the treadmill at slower speeds is to increase the elevation. This way the motor does not work as hard. I like the idea of treadmill desks and have been searching the internet for the best. So far I have found the TrekDesk at http://www.trekdesk.com, has anyone found any others?
June 9th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
That totally sucks, and I sympathise. One of the issues that I am very concerned about, especially on the lower end treadmills, is the motor and gearing life when used for hours upon hours a day at the lower speeds. I am not sure if the lower motor speed builds up heat faster (generally in an electric motor it should not) but prolonged usage is a problem. I’ve just installed and setup a second treadmill desk in our office, and the treadmill is a much cheaper model than the one I am currently using (I have had my Nordic Track Solaris for about 6 years now), it being the second treadmill in my treadmill desk over the course of a decade (the first was a cheap second-hand one, that was still going, that I traded out after almost four years of usage). I can’t think of other ways you can save your “general purpose” treadmill other than to take a look at the treadmills used in the “Tread Desk” that are designed only to run at a maximum speed of 4MPH. Perhaps they have found similar issues and come up with a solution to the problem.